Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Chapter 680

Next to them, Slater, grinning like he was up to no good, was holding a water bottle, with Arkle trailing behind, arms full of gear and snacks.

Roseanne looked away.

She wasn't exactly close with Grace.

"Roseanne!" Mamie called out from a distance, waving at her as she jogged over, a hefty backpack strapped to her back, bulging at the seams. It was stuffed with sunscreen, insect repellent, a hat, water bottles, and of course, a stash of snacks.

"I've packed a bunch, we can share later!" Mamie beamed.

"Sounds good," Roseanne replied.

"Hey, where's Scales? Hasn't he shown up yet?" Worrying about being late, Mamie had sprinted the whole way, even arriving five minutes early.

Scales, who was there before her, quipped, "Where did you get the confidence that I'd be later than you?" Mamie pouted, "So what if you're two minutes early? I just hit the snooze button one too many times. But... why do you guys have such small bags?"

Roseanne didn't need to say anything, and even Scales had only a small backpack that looked nearly empty, hardly weighing anything.

"We heard the botanical facility we're visiting is pretty well-equipped, so I just brought the essentials," Roseanne explained.

Scales nodded in agreement.

Mamie was speechless.

she was the only one who packed a giant bag, half-filled with

teacher checked off everyone's names, and

the outskirts, over 60 miles away,

bus, Mamie and Roseanne sat together, with Scales

en route, where cell signal was spotty, so

to catch up on some

up conversations with everyone around

leaned back and enjoyed the view

and since it was winter, the sun rose

mountainsides, like a white shawl

sun was just about to peek through, promising a

scenery for as

in the morning, they arrived

was divided

sectors, A through

further segmented intohet

planted with different

luggage. The exam would last two days and one night, with the deadline for submission set for the following

would account for 80% of their final grade. Finding rare specimens would earn them bonus points, with each discovery worth an additional

Completing the mandatory tasks

the optional ones were a chance to

in, the trio set

should we head