Set The Star Aglow

Chapter 2: The Janitor boy

Hey, guys! Hope yall enjoyed the first chapter. Thank you to everyone that bothered to read and review. It truly makes a difference :) On with the chapter!

The church was unusually quiet that Saturday evening. And an annoyed, rather angry 12 year old Hiro, did not like it one little bit.

He scowled bitterly at the brilliantly colored tile in the main hallway as he roughly moved his mop in a single direction, not getting much work done. His small, but very strong hands gripped the chipped wooden handle, ignoring the pain of the splinters.

Despite the pain in his hands, he knew he was getting the job done efficiently. The proof lied within the tiles, which glittered in brilliance underneath the fine chandeliers above his head.

Hiro hated the silence that seemed to engulf the hallways, it was so lonely. It irritated him greatly, causing him to grit his teeth, and mutter curses out of annoyance.

Why…?

Why couldn't he hear her voice once more? That girl… she had the voice of an angel. No, an angel was an understatement. He didn't know anything of higher beauty than an angel, but Hiro knew that there had to be a richer way to describe her.

"Who is she anyway?" Hiro muttered through his teeth as he shook his head in annoyance as he finally changed directions on his old mop. "Why do I even care?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a luminous image of the girl joyfully singing under the bright church spotlight burned into his mind, and refused to fade away into the darkness.

A heavy layer of red formed on Hiro's cheeks as the image grew more luminous, blinding him from the rest of the world.

"Hmph! Stupid girl…" Hiro growled quietly, gripping the old handle harder than ever. "What's so great about her anyway?"

Maybe its because you loved her voice…? A quiet, but nonexistent voice seemed to whisper in his right ear, causing Hiro to twitch in annoyance.

"SHUT UP! I NEVER ASKED YOU!" Hiro whirled around quickly, as if someone was behind him, mocking him mercilessly.

"I-I'm sorry…." Hiro jerked his head up as he heard a delicate quiet voice, that seemed to tremble from shyness and a hint of fear. "I-I didn't mean to offend you…"

Hiro turned around, and widened his brown at the tiny little girl in front of him.

It was the girl from last night, standing right before him with her hands clasped tensely to her chest. Her amber eyes were wide with shock, her face the color of tomato juice. Her dirty blonde hair contained bits of white snowflakes, and looked like it had been tossed ruthlessly by wind.

She was wearing a spotless white trench coat, black boots, and that same wool, multicolored scarf.

Hiro just stared dumbly, mouth lowered to his chest. His actions caused her to flush a deeper red.

Of course she would just show up when I'm making a complete fool of myself…what scould she possibly want with me…?

Last Night

"Boy! Where's that bucket of soap I asked for!" The boss, Machi, barked at the struggling boy, who was dragging a metal bucket that was twice- No, THREE times the size of him.

"I'm trying, old man!" Hiro growled, using the last of his strength to thrust the bucket at Machi's feet, sweat traveling down both sides of his face, and face flushed to a rich red.

"Feh. Disobedient as always, boy," Machi smirked at the panting boy, who was still trying to catch his breath. "I don't why I always get stuck with you on night duty."

Hiro glared nastily at him, annoyance filling his face.

"Shut up, old man! Why do you always call me boy, anyway?"

Machi laughed whole heartily, his laughter echoing through the elegant church hallway.

"Who knows? Why do you always call me, 'Old man'?" His expression clearly showed he had won this battle.

Hiro grumbled and growled under his breath as he started to mop the hallway, which made Machi laugh whole heartily once again.

Even though they always argued, Hiro viewed Machi to be his father. Hiro's father left the family without warning, leaving his broken hearted, but unbroken mother all alone with Hiro, and an unborn brother or sister.

Still to this day, Hiro held great anger and resentment towards his father, going as far as to claim that he didn't even have a father. Watching his mother suffer, mostly in silence, was something he wasn't ready to forgive his deadbeat father for anytime soon.

Since Hiro's mother's job did not bring too much money, Hiro started to work at the local church as the janitor boy, and Machi willingly and kindly took Hiro under his wing, showing him the ropes.

Deep down, Hiro has always appreciated Machi's kindness, but his stubborn pride and personality prevented Hiro from telling him so.

"I'll be right back, Boy. Don't slip over your mopping job while I'm away." Machi smirked at Hiro once again as he turned towards the men's room.

Hiro bristled tensely, teeth gritted, and fists clenched. "LEAVE OLD MAN! NOW!" With both hands, Hiro pushed Machi towards the bathroom door, eager to get rid of him and his sarcastic remarks.

Machi chuckled happily with amusement as he closed the giant oak door that lead to the men's bathroom.

'Damn that old man…' Hiro narrowed his eyes at the floor, his ears slowly tuning into the music of the choir, which was just beginning its Friday night practice. 'I thought I was the sarcastic one.'

After a few moments of mopping, his ears picked up something different. Sure, everyone was singing… but one voice seemed to crawl out from the rest, and seemed to pierce right into his restless heart.

"Hmm…?" Hiro looked up , his curiosity taking over him… wondering who could be singing in such a beautiful voice.

Hiro's brown eyes quickly darted around the hallway, making sure that Machi was not only away, but also out of sight.

"Heh. That stupid old man can do the rest.." Hiro muttered stubbornly as he cracked open the giant oak church door, trying to find the source of the elegant voice, and not get caught not working simultaneously.

He narrowed his eyes and cracked the door a little further, for it was hard to get a good look at anything with the door barely cracked.

He finally found the perfect balance, and propped the door at just thr right width.

Hiro's breath was taken away by what he found.

It was girl… obviously. But she was a very small, frail, and delicate looking girl, nothing what Hiro expected.

Her eyes were closed, and her arms were raised to the ceiling, as if she was proclaiming something for the whole world and universe to hear.

The bright church spotlight caused her amber hair to shine brilliantly in the luminous light.

And what really caught Hiro's eye was her smile. It was not only joyful, but it was also innocent and pure, and no tragedy in the world would ever cause her to frown or cry.

To Hiro, it was beautiful.

But once he stopped examining her physical appearance, he tuned his ears to her voice, which empowered her other choir mates.

It was enchanting… but also had a hint of sadness. Yet, it was still pleasant, and Hiro felt his soul growing warm and rather peaceful, which was rare for someone like him.

"Amazing…"

However, his memorizing moments were rudely cut off when he felt a strong hand roughly jerk him back towards the cold floor.

"HEY!" Hiro's head landed harshly on the tile, the face of an annoyed Machi overshadowing him. "Oh… uhh… old man…."

"You still have mopping to do, boy!" Machi growled, dragging Hiro away from his well hidden hiding place. " Stop wasting your time spying and stalking pretty choir girls."

Hiro kept staring at the nervous girl, struggling to find his words.

What do I.. What do I say…? Sorry for out loud to myself? I wasn't yelling at her! Man, I'm such an idiot!

"Umm…. May I ask you to do something for me… please?" The girl stared at him pleadingly, the hallway candle light reflecting inside her eyes. " Its very important to me."

Woo! I actually how I wrote this chapter so I didn't change much. Hope yall like it so far! Don't forget to review!