Hanji's POV
"I'm thinking of going horseback riding again," I say, "but then again, I want to swim in the lake. I could do both, but I'll be exhausted." I complained, "It's just so frustrating..."
One of my cabinmates nodded her head, "I know, right? I was looking forward to having one last swim in the lake, but someone stole my swimsuit after the early morning lake party."
"Huh!?" Another girl shouts, "What a creep! To steal someone's swimsuit on the last day of camp!"
"How did it go missing?" I ask, hoping to help figure it out. Deep inside, I knew that it was pointless. It is most likely that some pervert stole them and had no intention of returning them. With the hours running low, we would be losing time finding it than celebrating the last few hours we have at this camp.
"Well... I was hanging it up to dry because I didn't want to swim in the afternoon with a wet one. And when I was leaving for breakfast, it was gone." She looks at me with sad eyes, "It was my favorite one too... but I have to face reality, I'm never seeing that again."
Our heads hung low as we knew that she was right. When something goes missing, such as a bathing suit, it's never going to be found. It'll be in the hands of someone weird. A swimsuit like that doesn't go missing without a trace.
"H-Hanji-."
One of the girls pointed behind me, calling my name with a bit of fear. I can't tell. "Hanji," I hear Levi's voice, and I turned around. His eyes immediately shifted away as he took a step back. "Can you come with me for a second?"
"What did I do this time?"
"Just come with me. Only for a few minutes. You can either come or stay."
Curiosity killed the cat, after all. "I'll be back," I say to the rest of the girls, getting to my feet. "Don't steal any of my eggs."
The second I step away, they began to tease me with words like, "Thank you for the eggs, Hanji!" I know they're joking, but I'll come back to see if one is missing. And I don't have the energy to fight that sort of claim.
Levi led me to the kitchens where the chefs were busy cleaning up. "Are you allergic to anything?"
"Allergic? No, I don't think so... can I ask why?"
He didn't reply but continued to lead me to a different area of the kitchen. By the looks of it, he was leading me toward the freezer area. A part of me thought he would stuff me in there and keep me there until I died. My mind changed when he walked inside, not asking me to follow him in.
"What would you like?"
"What do you mean?"
He looks at me in the eyes, and I felt my body turn to stone. "It's a thank-you for saving me from drowning. What do you want?"
"How am I supposed to know what I want if I don't know what you're doing."
"Then get over here." Levi scowls. "It's a bit early, I know, but I don't know what to do."
My eyes gazed over the rows of small desserts. I didn't need a mirror to tell me that my eyes were bulging over the number of desserts they had. I knew they had a stock full of them, but never that much! Ice cream for days! The pounding in my heart startled me as I realized the greed in my heart. All this... as a thank you?
"Well?"
"You could've just said thank you, Levi," I say, seeing him freeze in place. "This is unnecessary. But if you insist... that cookie dough ice cream looks good."
I walked away from the kitchen with a small serving of cookie dough ice cream. He stayed silent, not uttering another word. Before I walked out, I stopped and turned to him. A part of me is happy to have ice cream from the outside world, and I want it all to myself. It's like an addiction. But deep down, I feel like I don't deserve it. A simple thank you would've been enough.
"What's wrong?"
"Why the ice cream?" I ask him, holding it out. "I mean, this is the flavor that I love, but... did I deserve it?"
"I feel like you do."
"But it doesn't. I did something that no one else has had an opportunity to do. It's unfair. If you don't mind, can I eat it here? Might as well feel like I didn't deserve alone than to be shamed by others."
Levi nodded his head, searching for a spare chair for me, and had me sit down. "Come out when you're ready." He says before leaving me alone.
Not one bite into the ice cream and I couldn't stop thinking about him. I know I had given him a hard time since day one, but now, that's one part of the camp that I'm going to miss. I'm going to miss him.
"You're an idiot, Hanji," I whispered to myself before taking a bite of ice cream. "He's never going to want to be in touch. You gave him a hard time... why would he want to talk to me again?"