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.

only one who packed a

eight, the school teacher checked off everyone's names, and they lined up to board the

in the

bus, Mamie and Roseanne sat together, with Scales in the row behind

to navigate a winding mountain road en route, where cell signal

Kindle to catch up on some

up conversations with everyone around her,

nothing better to do, leaned back and

landscape was dotted with mountains, and since it was winter, the sun rose late. Despite the early start, daylight had only just begun to

the mountainsides, like a white shawl draped over the

peek through, promising

watched the scenery for as long as the

eleven in the morning, they

was

sectors, A through D,

further segmented intohet

planted with

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

collect ten basic plant specimens, which would account for 80% of their final grade. Finding rare specimens

Completing the mandatory tasks

ensure a decent grade, while the optional ones were a chance to

the

sector should we head to first?"