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.

who packed a

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

located in the outskirts, over 60 miles away,

Roseanne sat together, with Scales

navigate a winding mountain road en route, where cell signal was spotty, so

his Kindle to

conversations with

better to do, leaned back and enjoyed the view

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

mountainsides, like

just about to peek through, promising a clear

as long

the morning, they arrived at the botanical

was divided

A through D,

further segmented intohet

with different

at the main entrance, the groups went to check in and drop off their luggage. The exam would last

basic plant specimens, which would account for 80% of their final grade. Finding rare specimens would earn them bonus points, with each discovery worth an additional 20%. It was a

Completing the mandatory tasks

the optional ones were a chance to

in, the trio

should we head to first?" Mamie