Far, Far, you come from a distance.

How must my quivering heart speak?

From the very start you took my heart.

Flowerpot

"Aya," her slender hand stopped and lay idly on the stainless steel doorknob. She knew what was coming next for she had heard it countless of times since the last couple of weeks, "I'm sorry."

It always came with an apologetic smile after each phrase and all she could do was smile back at him. She only wished he would stop apologizing all the time when clearly it wasn't his fault. When clearly his illness was inevitable. Words she wanted to convey would be stuck in her throat.

From that day on, she'd do nothing but berate herself. She was the one to be blamed. She was the one who should be asking for forgiveness and not him.

Aya knew her father was growing frail. Ever since her mother died, he had been working twice as hard. People would comment how awing her father was. She felt proud. So proud that she failed to notice her father's condition had already come to its worse. That was her biggest mistake. Not doing anything when a lot of opportunities had been bestowed upon her.

"See you later, Dad." She said and closed the door behind her.

Meisho Daichi Gakuen is an elite escalator school and though it is populated by anything but female students, it is widely known throughout Japan. Parents from rich, high-society families who wills nothing but the best-far from any "distractions"-for their heirs, sends them to this particular prestigious academy which sits in the city of Shibuya.

Racing up the hill towards the school he's currently attending, Yuya cursed under his breath despite having to pant heavily already. His blonde fringes sticking to his forehead due to sweat didn't make it feel any better as well. Voted as the student council's vice-president, arriving late at their first meeting for the new school year would surely cost him his seat in the student council.

Yuya felt a little smile creep its way to his face as the corner that leads to the massive school gates of Meisho Daichi came into view. He placed a little more effort into his running, thinking that if he did he might just make it in time for the meeting. And thought wrong.

As he turned right at the corner, crashing into somebody was in the least he expected to happen. The body felt small against his before it got knocked down to the concrete floor.

Yuya heard a feminine groan but still checked to see who the person he crashed into was. He was surprised to see a female his age within the premises of his all-boys school but put his surfacing inquiries aside upon seeing the person in pain while trying to stand up. She had long threads of silky hair as dark as a coal that reached to her waist, he noted.

"Are you okay?" Yuya held out his hand and grabbed the person by her arm. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking at where I was going." He continued as he helped the person regain her balance.

Aya heard the worried tone of his voice and offered him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. It was an accident." She then picked her shoulder bag up from the ground before facing the guy again. "Thank you." Aya added.

Yuya was about to utter something again when his name being called out filled the silent morning. They both diverted their eyes from one another and to the owner of voice. It was a guy with short, pale brown hair and slanted eyes. As the guy brushed past them, he grinned at Yuya and glanced at Aya and then back to Yuya. "Stop flirting around, dude...You're already running late." He managed to say in between his gasps.

Aya could only hear the surprised gasp of sudden realization from the blonde guy before he made a dash after his friend and disappear behind the iron gate. She chuckled a little to herself and thought Yuya was kind of funny.

_._._._._

Aya heaved a sigh of relief as she closed the oak door behind her. Now that she had spoken and had a brief conversation with the principal of the academy, it was like a heavy burden has been lifted up from her shoulders. She admitted that at first she was very nervous and worried about the whole thing. Regarding about being a gardener, she felt confident about her skills. She did learn from the best. But working in a new environment excessively distinct from hers, the thought of it makes her knees tremble with doubt and fear.

Her eyes were cast down the whole time as she walked through the halls of Meisho Daichi. There were no other sounds except for the shrills of their footsteps against the polished floors. Doors of classrooms were shut closed as classes were currently in session.

"Don't worry." The tall man beside Aya broke the silence. "As long as you keep a low profile..as long as you keep your distance away from these kids..you'll do fine."

Aya strained her neck to look at her father's old acquaintance and watched him with wide, surprised eyes. The man glanced down and smiled gently at her and ruffled her silky hair. She felt an urge to smile back at him, grateful that there was another person to add who comprehends her current situation.

They continued to walk towards the back of the building where the shed was and let silence sink in again.

It was early spring, the first week of April, but the sun was already beating down its rays brightly down below. The little beams of light found its way towards a particular room within the eastern building of Meisho Daichi and illuminated the dim room from behind the closed drapery.

Rei's eyes slowly fluttered open as another radiating stream of sunlight hit his face. Even with the drapery hanging loosely and enclosing the single bed of the infirmary from any disturbance, it was useless if the window was left open to let some breeze in. He remembered closing the glass window before proceeding to the soft cushion and figured someone must have come inside and cracked it open.

Having been distracted from his supposedly peaceful nap, Rei decided altogether to get up and meet his friend. He glanced at his wristwatch and judging by the hands and where it was pointing at, the bell indicating lunch break would soon chime.

He draggingly sat upright on the bed and slipped his school shoes on, but his blazer seemed to be nowhere around the room. He searched the tiled white floor though knowing it was a futile attempt.

Rei glanced around the room leisurely and when he came across near the window, a small figure one storey below caught his attention. Surprised to see an actual female within the school grounds, he walked closer to the window to get a better look. He remembered hearing some insignificant rumor about the school hiring a new staff since the retirement of another in the last couple of months but he never thought it would be a female. Moreover, he never expected it to be a girl around his age.

Narrowing his eyes a little bit more-as if he'd get a better view if he did-the new recruit seemed to be busy eyeing some object. And judging by the mere view he perceived from his distance and where he stood, she looked immersed at what seemed like a flowerpot.

Aya examined the flowerpot more closely. She figured it must be antique since the edges were chipped and the green paint has almost faded. It was covered in dust all over as well and the little remainder of soil inside has dried up and hardened.

Simultaneously at the sound of the lunch bell, Aya glanced up at the 4-storey building and into one of the windows. Her heart skipped a beat when she locked eyes with a dark-haired boy. She felt timid and the need to get out of sight as the piercing gaze he was giving her grew more intense. But she couldn't move a muscle.

"Aya," a deep voice called out her name, "go have your lunch, kid. Leave the trimming after you've eaten." The moment when her father's acquaintance showed up, Aya never felt grateful than ever. She couldn't ask for more than his good timing. "You're looking rather pale." He added a comment. Aya nodded her head once and removed the gloves on her hands. When she was alone again, she took the risk to glance up at the window again to see if the boy was still there.

He wasn't.

Truth be told, she didn't bring any lunch with her. And since she didn't bring any lunch, she didn't know where else to go. Her father's acquaintance has disappeared and when she went to the staff's lounge, there was no shadow of him. She thought about taking a little tour around the perimeter to get herself more familiarize with the vast grounds of Meisho Daichi but was suddenly reminded of the little advice she was given earlier.

While pacing around, with hope in her heart that she might run into her father's acquaintance by chance, Aya stumbled back at the shed and saw her pair of gardening gloves sitting beside the flowerpot.

Not knowing what else to do, she snatched the gloves without a second thought and decided to trim the shrubs and maybe kill time. Along the way, she realized that if the job was done sooner, then maybe she'd get to go home earlier as well. Aya grabbed a few tools needed from the shed and slid it in in the gardening pouch that hung from her hips. She glanced around the area, looking for the most desolated place to start at.

Of course, it was obvious it'd be at the farthest corner and that was where she ended up going.

Aya slipped the gloves on and began observing the shrubs with keen eyes. Her appointed job was to clip the shrubs into a spherical topiary. The leafy bush wasn't much distorted, making it a lot easier to shape into a perfect sphere.

But the mid-day sun was beating down brightly that she had to squint her eyes while focusing on her job. The wind was still chilly, reminding her of the bitter winter. It didn't feel pleasant. At least for her. She felt a little light-headed and her vision became hazy for a brief moment.

"Hey, you're the girl I ran into." Yuya's lively voice ceased her consciousness from slipping away.

Aya, having recognized the voice already, was not surprised at all. Well, at least not until she noticed the person who the blonde guy was with. She wasn't sure if it was the boy she saw at the window but she had a tiny hunch it was him.

Aya studied Rei more carefully. He had dark-brown hair and deep blue eyes. And he was still wearing his uniform without a blazer on. Now that she had taken a closer look at him, he undeniably had a pretty face. She grew frantic mentally as she felt her cheeks burn red and was glad to spot her father's friend pass by.

She didn't waste any more time and spoke. "I-I'm sorry but I-ha-ve to go." She stammered and felt embarrassed for speaking curtly when the blonde was still talking. "B-Bye!"

Aya executed a bow but she did it so rashly that the light-headedness she experienced earlier finally got the better of her.

As she tried to regain her upright posture, everything was spinning through her half closed lids.

Skipping meals and taking little sleep was never a good idea from the start. She had known that but overlooked the fact. She thought she could handle it. She was proved wrong.

Aya lost her balance. Everything went black.

But before her unconsciousness could sink in completely, she felt being embraced by a warm body and held by a pair of gentle arms.

Tell me! Is the plot too cliché? Should I continue? Let me hear your opinions! :)