Free Web NovelChapter 62: Chapter 62
Henri answered the knock on his door with a sour expression, why did the field trip have to begin so early?
A bright-faced Valentin stood on the other side of his door, he was already dressed for his days in the wild.
They were provided a backpack filled with everything they could possibly need to survive out in the woods. Food enough to feed ten students for four days would be given to each group but they were encouraged to fish and forage for fruits in the forest to improve their experience.
Henri thought it was fanciful rubbish, why bother hunting for more food if enough was provided?
"Ready, Henri?" He beamed.
Henri winced at the brightness of the Alpha’s smile, resisting the urge to protect his eyes. "No, I’d avoid it entirely if I could." He muttered, going to pick up his backpack.
Valentin watched him struggle to pick it up a few times before offering. "Let me help you with that." He said cautiously.
Henri’s already displeased expression soured even further. "What did they fill it with? Rocks?"
Henri actually hadn’t bothered to check the backpack ever since an attendant brought it to his room the day before. All he did was put on the cotton shirt and pants that had been given to him, as well as hiking boots.
Valentin hefted it up easily like it weighed nothing, chuckling nervously. "No? But there’s more change of clothes, toiletries, a pocket knife, matches, a tent..."
"That’s more than I wanted to know." Henri cut him off, letting Valentin lead the way out.
Out in the hallway, Jann and Cedric were also leaving their room and they seemed to have boundless energy as well. So Henri was left to trudge behind them while they rambled on and on about the fishes they would catch.
They picked up Louis and Dio at the end of the hallway, Valentin informing them that the rest were already waiting outside.
The hallways in the year one dorm were filled with students wearing uniform cotton outfits and carrying large backpacks as they excitedly talked amongst themselves.
"You don’t look very happy about this, Henri." Louis noted with amusement, Dio holding onto one of the straps of his backpack as he walked beside him.
"And it would seem that I’m the only sane person in this school." He huffed.
"Maybe it’s an Alpha thing." Cedric turned around to say, he was still walking in front with Jann and Vale.
Henri didn’t find this theory as entertaining as the others seemed to,
"You sound like my older sister," Jann snickered, earning a kick to the back of his legs from Henri.
"You think it’s a waste of time, don’t you Louis?" Henri turned to the Alpha, he was always calm and level-headed, certainly, he would see the truth in Henri’s words.
"Actually, I couldn’t sleep all night from excitement." Louis said sheepishly, ruffling his hair.
Henri looked betrayed at this.
"Say, Louis, have you ever gone fishing before?" Valentin asked, sparks going off behind his eyes.
"Once with my uncle, we went fishing in the..."
Henri just tuned them out, sighing in exasperation as they made their way out of the building. It wasn’t just because he was an Omega, it was just common sense to not want to endure the torture of living in the forest. Errol would definitely understand him.
...
Errol definitely didn’t understand him. Although Seton stood off to one corner of their group as they waited for a carriage to take them to the gate located at the eastern end of the college grounds, Errol was just as energized and ecstatic as the others, he was a lost cause.
The population of the academy was roughly 300 students so when divided into groups of 10, it gave them about 30 groups of students from various years.
Large carriages were utilized so that entire groups could fit in a single trip and it was when they were finally in the carriage that they stopped going on and on about fishing and setting up tents.
Henri was certain that Seton, who had been silent the entire time, was the cause. He had chosen to sit beside the Alpha who had taken a window seat because he felt responsible for his presence in the group.
Because, although Henri would rather spend the four days in his dorm room, he wanted his friends to enjoy the well-deserved break.
Seton on the other hand was thoroughly unaffected by the atmosphere he had single-handedly created in the carriage. If anything, he seemed amused by everyone’s aversion to him.
"If it means anything, I also have no interest in forest living." He turned to speak to Henri, blatantly ignoring everyone else.
Now, Henri had been looking for someone to support his movement all morning but now that Seton said it, he didn’t want it anymore. free𝑤ebnovel.com
"Sycophancy doesn’t suit you." Henri said without holding back.
Seton leaned in his direction, ruffling the feathers of everyone else in the carriage. "I’m the very last person who would need to grovel, your Highness."
Something in the way Seton said that made Henri put his guard up. The conversation ended there, silence filling the carriage till they got to the gate.
At the gate, there were professors waiting for them all. The Chancellor wasn’t present but one of the Vice Chancellors was and he did his best to give a fitting speech before they were all sent off into the woods behind them.
Professors would be camping at the entrance to the woods for the duration of the field trip and would occasionally patrol the students’ campsites to ensure peace and order.
Students were to also come right to the professors if there was a matter they couldn’t handle. Sick students were to also report in to the supervising professors so that they would be given proper treatment.
Each group was handed a food box filled with dried meat, dried fruits, and foodstuffs. Water in bottles was also handed out because the lakes and rivers in the forest were for cleaning up, not drinking.
The lakes were man-made solely for the field trips hosted at the forest biannually. This was to make sure that each group had a body of water next to their campsite.
Groups were allowed to interact with each other during the duration of the trip but their campsites were quite a distance from each other so it didn’t happen frequently.
This was to prevent rowdiness among the students, the fewer of them in a given area, the better.
And although there were rumors of hunting, there were no animals in the forest other than insects and small burrowing animals.
"...know that each and every one of you represents Alpha Academy even beyond the walls of the college. Enjoy your field trip."
