The day of the trip came  and I haven’t slept a wink. My eyes are as red as they can be, even after taking a bath and preparing myself to depart, I still looked like a zombie. I wasn’t able to sleep in fear of not being able to wake  up early and not being able to make the call time which is 6 AM. 

I went to school and arrived a little early.  It’s only 4:47 AM and it’s still very dark as I sat on one of the field benches.  I barely saw anyone, only a handful of people are here this early  but good for us, we won’t be left out of the trip. 

Without realizing, I was able to fall asleep since my body and brain is not functioning right like it’s looking for some sleep which is not surprising. 

I was suddenly woken up by someone pinching my cheeks and saying “Aren’t you a little early? This isn’t like you at all”.

It was Yukino. 

“Your hair’s all messy Aoi”

I quickly seated properly and panicked thinking about what I look like right now. I looked at the clock  and it seemed like I slept for a good 20 minutes since it was already 5:17 AM. Way to wake me up like an alarm clock. 

“Yeah, I haven’t slept one wink to be completely honest.”

“It definitely looks like it. So you’re the type to go anxious about not waking up on days before the field trip huh? What are you, a kid?”

“Yeah that’s what I am, this will be the last after all I don’t wanna miss it. But nevermind me, you’re early as well. Where’s Shin? Aren’t you guys in the same group?” 

“She’ll be here by 5:45. She's actually on her way now.”

“Then why are you early?”

“Well, unlike a certain someone I know. I am known for always being early.”

The two of us played chess on her phone to pass some time since we’re early. As time passes by, the number of students coming to the campus increases little by little. Aside from IT students, there are people who have a 7 AM class whom I bet envy us because we’re excused to our subjects for 3 whole days.  

A few minutes later Shin arrived so she and Yukino went on their way to meet up with their own group. 

“We’ll see you later Aoi!” 

Now I wonder where my group mates are.  I kinda expected that Haruto would be the type who, just like me, will be late for such events. But to be completely honest, I never expected it from Kaito and Arata.

It’s  5:55 and the groups on the same bus as us started gathering to board the bus and here I am still at the same bench waiting for the three of them. A few minutes before 6 at exactly 5:57, Kaito and Arata arrived so we quickly boarded the bus and went to our designated seats at the back. Surprisingly, Haruto was already waiting for us there. 

“C’mon how can you guys be late on the last trip of our school days?” Said Haruto.

“Can you not use your phone? If you’re here already, at least text us!” Argued Kaito.

“Oh yeah, I forgot. Anyway sit already and open up a snack” 

“Already?” The three of us  remarked.

I sat by the window and beside me was Haruto. Kaito and Arata sat just right beside us, only the aisle separating us from the two. 

The trip to the mountains according to our guide would take up to 8-10 hours depending on the traffic. But since today is friday, I believe that we’ll be there by 4 or 5 PM depending on how much time we spend on our stopovers. 

As soon as the bus started moving, Haruto already started munching on some snacks he brought as I fell asleep due to being up all night. 

“Oi Aoi wake up, you slept like a log for 3 hrs. The professor said that we’ll be having a stopover about 5 minutes from now”

Haruto woke me up from my deep sleep. As I woke up and gazed at the window, I realized that we’re already far away from the city as fields of grass greeted my eyes. 

“Shouldn’t we wake up the two of them?” I asked Haruto since Arata and Kaito are sleeping while their heads rest on each other like a married couple, so Haruto also woke up the two.

As soon as we arrived at the stopover, there were several family restaurants and fast food chains to choose from, even souvenirs, clothing, and other sorts of shops can be seen. Haruto suggested that we eat at a fast food chain instead so that we won’t be spending a lot of money on food as early as the first day.

I told them that I’ll go for a smoke first since I was yearning for a smoke after such a long ride. 

As I was scrolling through my phone at the smoking area with a cigarette lit at the tip of my fingers, a professor from one of my major subjects also lit a cigarette beside me.  I didn’t try to hide it since it was already too late. 

“Shouldn’t you be panicking since I saw you smoking and during a school trip?” Said my professor. 

“I’m sorry, but shouldn’t you also not let your students see you smoking?” 

“Hmm, do I take that as a threat or a question?”

“No, I'm just asking sir. I’ll accept any punishment.”

“Well you don’t have to worry, I started smoking way back in my first year of college so I understand. Let’s just have a deal to forget that we saw each other smoking.”

“Deal”

“Don’t let other professors see you.”

The professor went on his way first after only smoking half of his cigarette. 

Half of the day passed by with the same routine for most of us which consists of either  eating and sleeping during the long ride. We had two quick  stopovers for pee breaks which lasted for only 10-15 minutes unlike the first stopover for lunch that lasted for 45 minutes.  

Like the other students, I mostly slept during the ride and just woke up at around 5:45 PM just to find our bus  in deep traffic. I looked around and barely anyone was awake. Even the energetic  Haruto was asleep. 

Heavy clouds surrounded us as it started to rain just before the night approached. Arata was woken up from sleep by the sound of the raindrops falling on the roof of our bus.

“Are we not there yet?” Asked Arata.

“According to the maps on my phone, we are about 15 km away from the lodging. But considering the traffic, I bet we’ll arrive there late” 

“Wow, a surprisingly detailed answer. I guess the first day's activities will be postponed now huh. What a way to start our final field trip.” 

“It looks like it.”

A few hours later after an endless scrolling through my phone, we finally arrived at our lodging area at around 7:30 PM and the rain had already stopped. The lodging area was surprisingly a hotel with a few floors enough to accommodate all of us. I didn’t  expect to find a good hotel  like this in a rural area just like this one. 

The students were asked to just drop their belongings in their respective rooms and to come back to the reception hall by 8PM to have the joint dinner covered by the university. 

The four of us entered our room and we were greeted by two huge beds and a TV attached to a wall in front of the beds. The room was really spacious. I wondered how much the university spent just to book us rooms here. 

“I’m taking a quick bath. How about you guys? "said Haruto.

“I’ll be taking one after dinner so go on ahead.” I answered. Arata and Kaito also agreed to take one after dinner.

We waited for Haruto to finish as the three of us unpacked our luggages and lay down on the bed like logs. It truly was an exhausting ride. I can still feel my body moving like I was still on the bus. 

After Haruto finished taking a bath, the three of us made our way to the reception hall which held a buffet style of dinner. I’m surprised by how grand this hotel was. 

After dinner at around 9 PM, most of the students went back to their respective rooms to rest after that long half a day bus ride. The three of them also went back to the room and gave me a key so that I can enter just in case they  fall asleep. 

I went outside and went to the nearby convenience store about 2 minutes from the hotel that I saw earlier while on our way here. As most of you already expected, I’m going to buy a pack of cigarettes and go for a quick smoke. I doubt any professor will see me since just  like us, they are also tired. 

I bought canned sodas and a pack of cigarettes and lit one by the convenience store parking lot. That was when I saw a shocking revelation that I almost questioned my sanity. 

“You look surprised Aoi.” Said Hina smiling at me while smoking a cigarette.