Always Been There

CHAPTER 3: THE REASON BEHIND......

MAYA'S POV:

Nathan Astley. The most popular person in all Heaven Garden Schools despite not visiting all the schools. All Heaven Garden students use one forum to get students to interract. Once mentioned there would get easy fame in the Heaven Garden. The only chance you get to see him would be at Heaven Garden Inter school festivals where other Heaven Garden students gather. He only participated in sports because it was said that no one can defeat him when it comes to STEM competitions. Rumor is that he was arrogant because of his brilliance. I participated in the Heaven Garden Inter school festival last year in the second year of high school. I only caught a glimpse of him. After all, the festival every year is so big and I saw him for ten seconds. I wonder if he remembers the incident.

I expected him to be arrogant or to have an air of arrogance around him. I expected him to say 'you finally came here' in a sarcastic tone.

What I saw made all the thoughts disappear from my mind. Nathan Astley, a handsome, eighteen year old boy with an air of extremely high intelligence. He has an air of authority around him. He looks warm but there is a chill to which people with motive will get scared. He's that type of person you would respect and you won't even know why.

Seeing a person like him welcoming me personally, I felt flattered. I looked straight into his eyes, taking his hand, I said "Thank you, Mr. Nathan. Nice to meet you "

" Nice to meet you too Ms. Maya. If you don't mind, please call me Nathan " his voice was a bit smooth but rough. Like that of a teenager becoming a young adult.

" Please call me Maya as well Nathan " I gave him a polite smile.

"Please show her around the campus " The staff member said leaving the room.

" All right come with me " He said leading me towards his desk. I could feel others' gazes on my back. Especially a girl and three boys looked at us with particular interest. Although the girl was grinning looking at the guy behind her.

He led me back to his desk. The place beside his is empty. My place for the next 2 years.

" Welcome, deskmate " Nathan said with a smile. It was a two seater. He's a gentleman. He's good enough to give me the spot beside the window. After I slid in, he sat beside me.

" You're transferred here after 3 months of the school. How much of the academy syllabus did you complete there? " Nathan asked me with a pen and book in his hand.

" I know I'm late but you don't need to worry about it. I had a talk with principal Johnathan. The syllabus we completed is the same as yours" I gave him a sincere smile.

" That's good to -

Before he could complete his sentence someone jumped in front of our bench from the window startling me in the process.

" I see. You're getting along with my bro" someone said.

' If it wasn't for Nathan holding my chair in a flash, l would have jumped back in scare ' I opened my eyes to see Nathan standing in front of me???

" Noah! How many times should I tell you not to scare people with your abrupt entries! " Nathan stood up beside me, hitting that Nathan's head? Is he his twin brother? I did hear that Nathan Astley has a younger twin brother who looks like a mirror image of him.

Noah Astley. As the rumor says he looks exactly like his elder twin brother, though there's a chipper vibe around him. But there's something common in between them. Even though they look warm, there's this chill around them that won't let you go near them, yet I don't feel intimidated or alarmed.

" Hello Maya! I'm Noah Astley " he introduced himself with a smile rubbing the spot where Nathan hit him. " Nice to meet you. You can call me Noah "

" Nice to meet you too Noah " At a glance, you can't say whether it's Nathan or Noah but if you observe a second you can recognize them. Their sense of style is also different. Nathan looks like a perfect high school student. While Noah looks tidy there's something you can't pinpoint. His shirt isn't tucked in. He left his coat open with his tie is a bit loosened.

" I apologize on behalf of this i***t " Nathan apologized looking at me.

" Now it's ok. He just took me by surprise and thank you for holding the chair " I noticed the curious look with a hint of confusion in his eyes. He smiled at me but frowned at Noah.

" Go back to your place! "

" Hai! Hai! Kaichou " Noah said like an anime character. Nathan facepalmed at his behavior.

The bell rang for the lunch hour. When the teachers saw me they only asked me for my name and about the syllabus I completed. Keeping my books aside on the table I saw Nathan waiting for me.

" Let's go. I'll introduce you to my friends and also I am the in charge, to show you around the campus " he said leaning against the table.

" Uhhhhhhhh I need to buy lunch from outside. There is some problem with my meal card so I'll get it by evening " l replied standing up after setting my books.

Unfolding his arms, he stood straight watching me walking towards him. He chuckled saying "Don't worry. I can help you. we are friends, right? Even if not as a friend I could help you as the student council president "

I looked at him thinking about what he said. Friend? Well, yeah. He has no motives and he's there to show me around. Guess I already accepted him as a friend.

" Can I be considered as your friend ?" I didn't notice it before but I was staring at him. I quickly bowed my head before raising it again. I could see emotions running in his eyes. He was looking expectantly at me as if it could determine something important.

" Yes, you are " He looked stunned. With a blink of his eyes, he shook his head chuckling. I know l met him a few hours ago. I heard negative rumors about him as well but I don't know why I feel like I could trust him.

" Let's go," he led us, turning around. I couldn't see his reaction.

The cafeteria was bustling by the time we reached. The noisy chatter became low whispers and low chatters when we entered. I looked at him. He pointed his head at a table. It is at the corner of the cafeteria. Along with Noah, I saw the same girl and three boys sitting together. I could feel the gazes on my back but l didn't show it on my face.

" Hey, Maya! You're gonna sit here? With us? " Noah asked me as we reached the table.

" You guys already know her. She'll be with us from now on "

" Hi! I'm Aria " Aria has a pair of gorgeous ice-blue eyes, snow colored hair with pale purple highlights. She looked calm and collected but her eyes are hiding a childish glimmer. She's holding the hand of the boy beside her. "This is Aiden. My boyfriend" Aria introduced showing their holding hands. Her smile has no malice.

" Hello " Aiden waved his hand. Aiden has copper red hair and champagne colored eyes.

" Hi. My name is Ryan. Nice to meet you " The guy beside Aiden said.

" Nice to meet you too " Ryan's hair color is dark gray with sapphire blue eyes.

" I'm Calum" Calum has dark brown eyes with golden brown hair. Among all them Calum and Noah looked more stylish than others. Calum has his hair combed over to the right side, his golden blonde bangs lightly falling on his side of the forehead. He wore his uniform like Noah but the tie is extra loosened and the first three buttons of his shirt was opened. His jacket was flipped over his shoulder a bit giving him the bad boy vibe. Like Nathan, he has a silver pin with the engraved words 'WIZARD OF THE HEAVEN GARDEN '. Both of them sat on the other side of the table.

" Glad to meet you all " I said with a little wave of my hand.

" Don't be formal with us. We're friends from now" Aria said pulling me into a hug suprising me.

" You can sit with them. I'll bring the lunch for us " Nathan nodded his head towards Aria before turning around with his meal card.

" Hey wait! Let me help you " I stopped him.

" I can handle it," he said going towards the servings.

" It's fine. Nathan can handle it " Ryan said with a smile. "Sit down" I sat beside Calum. Aiden looked at me for a moment then smiled again.

" Yeah. All he has to do is ask for help and the whole school will come running to help him " Aiden made us laugh but Aria hit him on his head. Calum let out a scoff folding his hands but I could see the slight smirk on his face.

" Well not exactly. You know about my brother right? " Noah joined Aiden.

" Leave your shenanigans atleast for today you both. Don't scare her! " Aria said turning all the attention on to me again.

"Noah already did!" Aiden smartly replied mentioning Noah's entry into the class.

"No, it's okay. I'm fine" I answered shaking my head. All of them are natural. The way they talk with each other shows how genuine they are "To be honest, at first I thought I couldn't make any friends here, given how many times l rejected the opportunity to study here "

" Yeah. We heard about it. Some people here are still thinking that you are arrogant enough to reject principal Johnathan " Aiden said not bothering to hide the fact that there are people who don't like me or hate me. In reality, he's reminding me that l might run into trouble which I'm grateful for.

" But why did you reject the offer though? " Aria asked me, going for her juice box.

I didn't say anything for a few seconds. Would they believe me if I say the real reason?

" My dad was a military man. His base was at the southern part of military. My dad was stationed there. He seldom came home. After highschool I would rarely get a chance to meet you parents. If l choose to study here, l couldn't meet my mom and dad as a family" Hearing my answer all of them nodded their heads silently.

" Now l understand why Nathan sees you as one of us," Ryan said drinking his herbal tea. Did I mention that Ryan executes the vibe of old money? His gestures and mannerisms remind me of special guests my grandfather invites to the annual celebration party of the company.

Aiden looked like he wanted to ask something but he didn't. Calum was giving a steady stare at him. Sensing that I'm looking at him, Calum asked me "Your future stream?" His look and voice were more, gentle than before. Being in stars section, there's an advantage of learning what we want in the future. That's why stars section have many privileges.

" Molecular Biochemistry " I replied making him smile.

"Cool! That's a close subject to Nathan's" Aria clapped in excitement.

" Indeed it is " Ryan said putting the teacup on the table.

" What's his subject? " I asked because his subject was close to mine. I couldn't help but get curious at that moment.

"Molecular Biophysics" A familiar voice replied. We turned our heads to the voice source. Nathan came walking towards us holding a lunch set. A girl was walking with him bringing another one. She looked tiny beside him but the confidence in her eyes is unwavering.

" Here. Take this one " Nathan said giving me the one he's carrying. Salad, chips, meatballs, and a juice box. Taking the other one from the freshman girl, he sat beside me.

" Thank you, Ms. Markle " Nathan thanked the girl. She bowed her head and went back to her place.

" Glad to know that there would be someone to understand me from now on, " He said looking at me. I smiled at him, Did he read my mind but my attention went when l saw his lunch. He brought a sandwich and juice box for himself.

" I don't have much appetite today " he said when l looked at him. He read my thoughts? I blinked my eyes in confusion.

" Yes, he can understand things with a look" Ryan chuckled.

" Let's eat, " Aria said smiling at me.

I understood one thing about them. They all look up to Nathan. Nathan and Calum are the most silent members of the group. Opposite to them are Noah and Aiden. They are the noisiest members. Ryan looks like a wise person and he is but he's also as sly as a fox. While Aria is the peacemaker and sometimes a child. Her weakness: Aiden acting cute. I noticed that even though we're having lunch like others, people avoided our table.

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Before we left the lunch Nathan gave a strict look at Aria " put on your title pin Aria " Aria nodded back. While he was showing me around I asked him about the title pins they're wearing.

" Students who excel in a particular subject or unique talent are given title pins. Calum is given with the title ' wizard ' because of his talent in computers and programming. You're our friend so I'll let you know that he's a hacker/ coder " Nathan explained as we were walking around the big garden.

" Hmmmmmm What about Aria? " I asked

" Aria's title is ' THE MELODY OF HEAVEN GARDEN '. You probably didn't notice it but Ryan also has a title. ' THE POLYGOT OF HEAVEN GARDEN '. Ryan's family is full of scholars and Aria has a natural talent for music "

" Star section is a bunch of talents " I commented enjoying the breeze.

" Originally star section was created for extremely talented students. Students who are extremely talented in a particular subject while keeping up with other subjects. But the titles have nothing to do with the star section. Any student can have as long as they prove themselves"

" Yeah, I noticed that " I said. I thought of the dorms. "Does the star section have a separate dorm?"

" Yes. There's a building between female dorms and male dorms. Your luggage is already sent to your room. You and Aria will be sharing the room " Nathan informed me.

" Heaven Garden is a state of art school " Nathan just smiled. I became silent. We just stood under a huge ginko tree shade watching the school building silently.

I started remembering how dad once tried to pacify me to study here. One day he came in to my room to talk about the transfer but I didn't agree. He kissed my forehead and let me do what I want, requesting me not tell Mom about this. Mom felt that if try to talk too much l might feel pressured. Tears welled up in my eyes thinking about that day.

" What do your parents do?" I tried to hide the quaver in my voice.

" My father is a military man as well," Nathan said moving a bit closer beside me where I can physically feel his presence.

" Don't you miss him? " I turned my head to look at him. He gave a sad smile, his hand on my shoulder.

" It's not that l don't miss him but I'm a grown-u boy now. When he's not around l need to look after my family " That's when l broke. My tears came out. He said nothing but pulled me closer and let me cry on his chest. I know he heard me talking about my father in the lunch. I felt like he understood why I came here. I don't know why I opened up to him or why I'm able to cry openly infront of him. I don't know if it's his calming nature or the sense of security he provided in this unknown environment but I cried without holding back my tears.

" I...I didn't cry...When l heard the news of......of his...death.... not even in....the funeral...... because my dad.... died protecting.........the country. When.... when all of our..... relatives came to....look at my dad for...for the last time.....I felt a bit better. But I heard them talking...... talking about property and that......that it was good thing......that my father.......died. Why? Why? Wasn't my dad...their brother? Wasn't my dad there....with them when they were in....... troubles? Why........"

Nathan held me tight before saying "In this era, Maya, you can't trust a person even if it's your blood relative. I know l don't understand this feeling of grief that you have for your father but not all pain makes you strong, the pain can also make you weak. That's why you need to let it out. I'm sure your father didn't want to see you weak. Whatever your father had done to your relatives he did help them completing his responsibility" Nathan softly spoke to me. I let out another cry. All the pain, anguish, and grief I held came out.

Hearing my cries Nathan patted my head. The sense of security around him made me cry even more. After calming down I stepped back from his embrace looking at him. He's looking worried.

" I....l..... I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me " I tried to apologize. The corner of his lips slightly raised. Taking my hand into his, he let me sit on the ground with him. I gave him a questioning look. He gave me a helpless smile.

" Calm down okay? Sit here for a while and gather your thoughts " I was still for a moment. I nodded leaning on the trunk of the tree closing my eyes. The gentle breeze was comfortable. Before I know sleep took over me and all l could remember was something warm touching my cheek.