Chapter 2: The Girl on the Cliff (1)
Julian was fifteen when they camped out for a school project. They decided to camp at the mountains a little far away from where he currently lived. He heaved as they hiked with their heavy equipment on their back.
"Why… Did we pick this place again?" Julian heaved.
"..."
"Aaron! Don't just! Haa! Be silent!"
"I didn't do anything! You guys accepted it either way!" Aaron wheezed.
"Ugh! He's right… we agreed to this...," Jahleel groaned.
"Are we there yet?" Julian complained with a whine.
"... Jul, if you complain again it will definitely affect your grade on this," Reed mumbled as he stepped.
"Damn it!"
"Alright. Your grade is down."
"Hey! It doesn't work that way!"
Reed smirked as he glanced at Julian.
"... what now?"
"See? You still have energy. Don't worry, we will be there after we climb this hill. Right, Aaron?"
"..."
"Answer!"
"Ugh… yes."
"So, don't worry, Jul. We will be there for a bit."
Julian was about to complain when he saw a beautiful girl also walking along them about five meters apart with her own backpack. He grabbed Aaron's shoulder as the boy complained with a groan.
"Dude! It's already heavy as it is!"
"Dude… look at that," Julian said as he pointed at the girl. Aaron rolled his eyes then looked at where Julian was pointing. Then, his steps faltered.
"Bro! Bro!"
"What now?!"
"Look! A girl! A beauty at that!"
"You're… hallu-...cinating…," Reed mumbled as his gaze locked on the beautiful girl. "... woah. What is she doing here? Alone at that?"
"Maybe she came late or early… what should we do?"
"... let's follow her."
Reed smacked Aaron's head then grabbed his ears. He pulled him forward as the boy was already following the girl.
"Hey hey hey!!! That hurts! Let go!"
"We came here for our school project. We still have to meet our guide after this hill. What if we got lost? What if our tardiness deducted our grade?"
"..."
"So, don't be an idiot and just follow us."
"Yes, yes," Aaron sighed.
However, Julian slowed down as his eyes followed the girl. Also, she had a gray jacket tied on her hips. It reminded him of that girl he met back when he was seven. The girl had the same color of a jacket, but anyone could have those in their stack of clothes. He shook his head as anxiety filled his mind. Even if eight years had passed, he still couldn't forget the girl that smiled brightly at him whenever they met; and… her note. He breathed out his exhaustion then looked skyward. When will they meet, he wondered.
"Look! It's Sir Tray. We got Sir Tray! Sir Traaaay!" Aaron waved as he ran down the descent.
"Be careful there, Aaron! Guys!" Tray yelled as he waved back to the group.
Julian heaved as he sat on the grassy ground. He removed his backpack from his back then collapsed. He had the worst stamina in their group, so he had to catch his breath for a long time. Then, his eyes trained on the nearby cliff and saw the girl looking down at them. He smiled, though he knew that she wouldn't see lf even know that she was the one he smiled for. Since her gaze was still at them, he took this opportunity to watch the girl as he caught his breath.
"Julian?" Tray approached the boy with a water bottle in his hand.
"Yes?"
"I thought you went to sleep, so I called you. It seems you are okay now. You should settle down in the tent you brought."
"Haha. I will, Sir Tray," Julian energetically sat up then grabbed his backpack. His gaze went to the cliff where the girl was as his hands retrieved the folded tent.
"Hmm?" Tray noticed that the boy was getting sidetracked and followed his gaze. "Oh! That girl!"
"You know her, Sir Tray?" Julian said as he looked at Tray.
"I saw her here yesterday when I came to check the location. Though I never had a conversation with her since she always minded the distance between us. Well, I haven't tried shouting at her or she might get offended ...."
Julian looked at the girl then took a deep breath, clasping his hands beside his mouth.
"HELLO! I AM JULIAN! I WILL BE IN YOUR CARE!"
"Hey! Shut it! We know you are Julian!" Aaron yelled.
"Stupid! He is talking to that girl! Can't you see where he is looking?!" Reed exclaimed as he smacked Aaron's head.
"I am not looking though? So, how can I know?! Stop calling me stupid! The one who calls me stupid is also stupid!"
"Also, he said. Pfft," Jahleel stifled his laughter as he held his stomach.
While they were bantering, the girl looked at them from afar and her eyes seemed to scan Julian from head to toe. She immediately turned away then climbed down the cliff. Julian stiffened when he was clearly ignored by the other party. When her back no longer visible, Julian proceeded to prepare his tent with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Do you have an insect repellant?" Reed asked Julian once he was done working with his tent.
"Of course! If I didn't bring it, Sir Tray will know and it'll be deducted from my grades!"
"Heh. We'll know later what you forgot to bring with you," Aaron smirked.
"What about yours, Ron?" Jahleel interjected.
"... let me just settle down my things," then Aaron went away, his hands rubbing against each other.
"He forgot it."
"He totally forgot it."
"As expected."
The three boys shook their heads and began arranging the items they brought in their tents. However, there was suddenly a commotion outside that Julian stopped whatever he was doing and peeked out from the opening of his tent. Suddenly, his heart jumped from his chest. There was she, the girl from that cliff. She still had the huge backpack on her back and was casually walking towards them. Julian abandoned his work and immediately went out of his tent. Their eyes met as if they were drawn to each other. The girl smiled brightly at him, and the face of the small child he met overlapped with her.
"You're the girl from the cliff," Tray interjected.
The girl turned to look at the older man and nodded with a smile. She began, "I am Nerida, sir. Can I join you? I promise that I won't do anything questionable. I live a few mountains back."
"We are currently doing a school project, Nerida."
"Oh! I won't help them then, I promise. I'll just be camping over there," Nerida pointed at the space that was a few meters away from them. "So, you don't have to worry about me. I am used to camping outside. Please do not touch my belongings though or ransack my tent."
"What?! Why would we do that?! Even if you're pretty, I will fight you back! Come on!"
Reed sighed with his palm over his forehead.
"Aaron…."
"I'm sorry if that offended you," Nerida gently said as she waved her hands.
"No, don't mind the child. Nerida, you're welcome to join us for dinner later."
"Thank you very much! I will just set up my tent, quietly," Nerida bowed then turned her heels away.
Meanwhile, Julian couldn't help but stare at the girl. When his companions jeered at him, he shook his head then entered his tent in a hurry.
"What's wrong with him?" Aaron asked, one of his eyebrows arched.
"Who knows."
"He's smitten."
Tray sighed then clapped his hands.
"Alright, students. Time to finish up and get ready for dinner. Who will start the fire?"
"... excuse me, sir?" Nerida suddenly interjected.
"What is it?"
"You can't light a bonfire here."
"Ah. Is that so?"
"Yes. The locals would get angry and even appear here if the smoke rises. In that case, you have to stop camping."
"Thanks for the information, Nerida."
"No problem, sir. I also made that mistake, so I just wanted you to know. Well then, please excuse me."
"... what are we going to do now? We can't cook food."
"Hah! You guys are noobs! I brought canned goods with me!" Aaron proudly announced.
"Let me guess, you don't have a can opener," Jahleel snided.
"Of course, I don't! It's easy-to-open can, stupid!"
"..."
"And you all don't have any shares with it! Wahahaha!"
"Aaron… this is a group camping."
"Ah."
"This stupid idiot…," Reed sighed once again.
Tray looked at them, amused. He sneered, "I guess that would be a deduction on the group grade. Though, you are ready, so your individual grade isn't touched."
"Sup, losers!"
Julian got out of his tent then gave each member five variety of canned goods and immediately went over to the girl that just finished preparing her own tent. Nerida looked at him when she saw the boy from her peripheral vision.
"Julian, right?"
"... yes."
"Thank you."
"For what? I still haven't given you any canned goods though?"
Nerida smiled brightly and that, once again, overlapped with the girl from eight years ago. His heart beated loudly against his chest.
"I'm just thankful."
"Uhm… you're welcome. And uh… I'm sorry if I suddenly yelled earlier. I really thought that you purposefully ignored me."
Nerida slightly smiled as if conflicted.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I just remembered something from long ago."
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