Chapter 6: Old Friends, New Memories

WELCOME to SAGE Academy! The school among all the schools in this country. The epitome of the future exemplary generation. The playground of unexpected events. 

"She's here! She's here!"

"Oh my gosh, it's Adharia Valler from the Valler family!"

"Wow, she looks so beautiful. Her hair is always on point, kyah!"

"The Goddess Ace has arrived, look!"

"OMG! The campus princess."

"Gosh, I stan the queen so much!"

Yup. This is normal.

Then out of freakin' nowhere, a herd of guys pushed the other girls aside and ran towards me holding bouquet of fresh flowers and boxes of exquisite chocolates from all around the world hoping to confess to me. As expected, I was right. 

Now, shall we make their hopeful spirits be instantly crushed by a party crasher? 

Caspian then attractively stepped out of the car as if he were a celebrity. The sun then shone even brighter, making a spotlight just for him. The wind then blew and disheveled his hair in an alluring manner. And as if that wasn't enough, heat was emminating because of how freakin' hot he is. My golly! What the heck is this special treatment by nature?!

"W-Who's that?"

"He came out of the same car as Adharia, could he be her boyfriend?"

"What?! That handsome-looking Adonis is her boyfriend?!"

"Kyah! He looks so perfect! They look so good together!"

Hmph! As expected, my Caspian is already popular. Popularity level has increased dramatically to 100,000,000%! "Hey, back off. Stay away from my Ria." He turned their way and glared at them devilishly and intimidated them. Ooh~ Possessiveness, I like it! 

The crowd of admirers trembled in fear and ran away like their lives depended on it, dropping their offerings on the ground. It was fun seeing them run like a a bunch of idiots. I glanced at Caspian who was smirking proudly and I chuckled, "Nice work. You worked like a charm," I told him and he clicked his tongue. "Tch, those idiots. Their bodies are still in tact, I should have pounded them for a bit," I bursted out laughing and patted his back. 

"Hari! Over here!" The friendly familiar voice of someone I know called out to me. I faced this familiar person and waved my hand at her, she smiled brightly and ran to me for a hug. 

"Hari, I missed you so much." 

This princess like girl here is Ione Worth, my one and only bestfriend. She's the heroine type in a story who's all gentle, kind, polite, honest and always forgiving. She's always smiling which is her natural charm. She has short blonde wavy hair and dreamy brown eyes, she was wearing the same uniform as me of course but she just looks so much cuter! She's such a cute potato!

"Ione, I missed you too. How are you?" I asked her, "I'm doing well. But.. who is he? He came out the same car as you, Hari," she nosied over Caspian who was behind me. She looked at him from head to toe and inspected him. Just like me, she's also a fan of romance novels so I hope she doesn't notice that he's actually Prince Caspian from the novel. 

"He's Caspian, my childhood friend from States. He came back and he'll be studying here from now on," I explained and she beamed a smile, "Wow! I already approve of him! Congratulations, Hari." Congratulations? For what?

"Why are you congratulating me?" 

"Because he's your boyfriend, isn't he? You can drop the childhood friend now, it's a very lame excuse," she scolded. How could she say that straight with such an innocent and pure smile?! Where's the angel Ione?! 

"He's not my boyfriend! He's just my childhood friend! Stop making stories, Ione!" I hissed. My god! In front of Caspian too, he must think I have a thing for him! I just wanna admire his face from a distance. A distance ya'll! I'm not a pervert, waah!

"Hm.. Fine," s-she bought it?! Great! 

Then she turned to Caspian and introduced herself, "Hello, I am Ione Worth, Hari's bestfriend. It's nice to meet you, Hari's childhood friend and soon-to-be boyfriend." Why this brat! Argh! It's making me wanna wring her pretty neck!

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ione, please call me Caspian. I am Caspian De Leon." D*mn boy! His voice is husky like he just got out of bed, wHat KiNd oF sEdUcTioN Is tHis?!

Ione blushed and swiftly came to my side and whispered, "He's hot. He's got some abs too, he's so fine gurl. I'll make sure no cockroaches make their way to the dessert." What the hell?! "Ione, he's not my boyfriend, so chill out," I whispered back but she didn't listen. "Now, shall we get going? We wouldn't want to let the other flies to just stare into this treasure, right?" Ione was talking about Caspian. 

Seriously, how does she say that with such an innocent face?! 

We then headed towards the Auditorium where the First Day Orientation will be held by the current Student Council last year. The other students made their way there while chatting and greeting their friends. Some are even using their skateboards to look cooler, are they really desperate for attention?!

"Ria, I don't like it when they're staring at you," Pfft! How cute!

"If you want to gauge their eyeballs then please do so." I said in a straight face.

"Are you sure? 'Cause, I might just do that," he whispered back with a mischievous smirk.

"Kidding, we don't want you getting into detention on the first day of school, right?" I chuckled and he sulked. But I can tell he's messing around.

"Hey, lovebirds. If you don't mind flirting somewhere else, some of us are single here!" Ione hissed and pouted, "You're being delusional again. I told you, it's not like that," I insisted but she just rolled her eyes in disbelief. This girl!

Finally, we're here. SAGE Academy's Auditorium! Let's get this BORING session started, suckers!

"Ria, what is this place?" Caspian whispered.

"The Auditorium. This is like a theater or large hall with plenty of audience seats. This is where the students and teachers gather for an event, like this First Day Orientation." I explained, "From the tone of your voice, you must find it really boring. I assume it is like listening to the King's detailed yet tedious speech," Oh? He catches on quickly.

"Yeah, I wanna ditch Orientation. Tch!" I snapped and he chuckled, "Don't be too hasty, Ria." He encouraged with a chuckling laugh. If he wasn't so handsome, I would really love to give him a beating, tch!

"Aish! You're lovey-dovey bickering is getting into my personal bubble." Ione complained.

I was about to say something but I didn't since she won't listen anyway and make weird noises to block my nagging, so nope! 

We've arrived at the Auditorium and not much has changed, except that there are more seats now than it was last school year. The chattering of the students filled the large room as everyone are choosing their seats along with their friends. I sat beside Ione and Caspian in the far back to make sure I don't get to see the Orientation in close-up. The last thing I want to hear right now is the Student Council President's speech. 

And when I say the Student Council President, that means..

"Good morning previous students and new students a like, to SAGE Academy's First Day Orientation. It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure to address all of you, I am Ezra Neil Velga, the Student Council President for three consecutive years. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance.." 

Speak. Of. The. Devil. 

3...

2..

1.

Prepare for screaming..

"OMG! It's President Ezra!"

"Kyah! He's so handsome just like always!"

"It's been months since I've seen the President, argh! Hormones!"

"President Ezra! Make me your slave!"

"Waaah! He's so hot! My President is the best!"

"I'll follow you anywhere, president!"

And there they go. Again. I don't blame them since Ezra is the Prince Charming type since he's a real gentleman who has a strong sense of justice and camaraderie. If Caspian is the Knight Prince who saves the people from danger from a romance novel, then Ezra is the Crown Prince who has great prospects for the Kingdom. He'll work behind in the throne, implementing laws and events that will make the people happy and the Kingdom prosper.

He's also popular among the girls since he has looks, smarts and a kind heart. But now that he's engaged to Seoul, I should knock some sense into him to make sure Seoul doesn't get her heart broken. Knowing the guy, he'll help any girl who needs help since he's got a poor heart. No wonder he can't become an assassin, just being a hacker fits him well. 

"Who's that sparkly-smiling guy?" Pfft! Sparkly-smiling guy!

"President Ezra Neil Velga, a Prince Charming like gentleman who's  as soft-hearted as a marshmallow. He's incredibly smart and a great leader, he always thinks outside the box and gets the job done, that's how he got the 'President' position in the first place." I told him. 

Me, Ezra and the others know each other for a long time ever since we were kids. We play, eat, learn, read, sleep, make stories and even prank the adults. We had so much fun! Despite being 4 years older than me, Ezra was pretty fun to play with. I guess Ezra isn't that bad after all.

"I see, he really is charming." Caspian said and nodded with a smile.

What the hell?! Why does it sound.. erotic?! Is he turning gay for him?! Is this BL?!

"Welcome to SAGE Academy, students! Our prestigious institution aims to help you become the 'light and salt' of this generation. It envisions you to become brilliant and able individuals; finely shaped masterpieces fashioned to aid this generation. The Academy and the Student Council commits to guide you in your search of knowledge, providing appropriate stimulation to bring our your best potentials. We are delighted to have you with us and look forward to your productive learning and growing experiences step-by-step. To all students, welcome to the greatest nurturing ground! We shall journey together and collaborate in making your dreams come true and make a mark!" The students applauded by his magnificent speech.

What is this?! Some battle speech?! And why does it sound like something that is being said in a movie?!

"As usual, President Ezra's words are absolute. But, too flashy for my liking, yuck!" Yup. I agree with Ione. I 100% agree.

"Yeah, he loves adding a little spice of dramatic flare into his words that makes the girls line up wherever he goes. And the worst thing is how dense he is when it comes to that," I shrugged and sighed.

"Yeah."

"Hm."

After the President's remarks, the Principal came up on stage and began his 40 minute speech and the other Professors also came up for the Orientation. I'm really sure that 90 percent of the students aren't listening, only the nerd thuds and new students got their attention. Anyway, I'm going on a short break.

"Huh? Where are you going?" Ione asked.

"I'm hungry. I'm going to the cafeteria," I replied. "In that case, the three of us should go together. It's really boring, right?" She beamed and pulled us along, both Caspian and I. 

"Wasn't it boring, Caspian?" Ione asked.

"Yeah, like when I'm listening to my Father who's orders are absolute," 

"I know the feeling. Hey, you said your name is Caspian De Leon, right?" Oh no! Did she figure it out?! Was she always that perceptive?!

"Yeah."

"Oh! Then you're that famous guy from the States who's known to have a perfect Academic record, a star basketball player, an amazing swimmer athlete and I'm not sure why but you got scouted by Hero Agency in Swordsmanship," she enumerated.

Uhm.. About what all of those things that Ione said, that is true. Caspian just happened to have the same name as the person and has almost the same face as him. That person just died inside his Mansion but the news never got out of their home. So for now, Caspian is living in our world under a fake name and fake identity. My Brother is a genius!

"Yeah, that's me." Oh? He's good in acting.

"OMG! I can't believe a Superstar Athlete is my bestfriend's boyfriend!" Ione beamed and twirled around, "No. He is DEFINITELY not my boyfriend!" I flustered around and I can feel my cheeks puffing, slowly turning red. This girl! She really knows how to break my defenses, tch!

"Okay, I'll order. What do you guys want?" We reached the Cafeteria and Ione volunteered to buy our food. 

"I'll have.. Lasagna, three slices of Spinach Dip Pizza and Coke,"

"You're always so hungry. It's unbelievable how you eat so much but don't gain weight, I envy your body. Ah, how about you Caspian?"

"Uhm.. I'll have anything that Ria is having," he beamed with a smile. Gosh, that smile is dangerous!

"Fine. You lovebirds are really flaunting how in sync you two are, be it your way." Ione hissed and glared at me, she flipped her hair and marched in annoyance towards the counter. 

"You made a great choice choosing what to have for a snack, I have to tell you that it's really delicious," I whispered in his ear, "A snack? All that food for a snack?" He chuckled and I felt embarrassed. It's not my fault I'm always hungry! It's my stomach's fault! "Anyway, after this, we'll head to our classroom to meet our other classmates and our Professor." I diverted the topic and looked away.

"Okay, but I have a feeling you already did a full background investigation towards your classmates and Professors, right?" He asked and I nodded. "Excellent deductions, Caspian. You're right. It was a sense of caution, I do not trust others blatantly right away, I confirm things through a process. A background check is necessary, since wielding the Valler name means perfection. I dear not stoop down like the others." I said seriously.

 "The Valler name, huh? Don't take it seriously, but sometimes, you have to live it your way. You don't have to live up to others expectations, you just have to be you. Your own kind of you. Be the Valler that you want to be," he adviced.

I then felt a tingling sensation to heed his words to heart. It was like a strong breeze of words that I've been waiting to hear all my life impacted out of nowhere and made me realize things even clearer. Is this what realization from a friend is? I don't know why, but this feels like some dramatic scene from a cliche anime. 

"Yeah.." That's the only word I could utter after a realization impact.

"Don't feel burdened about it, it's the same as being born an Imperial member. You shoulder the Empire's complications thus the weight of a forced solution, maintaining or surpassing your triumphs with all your heart, mind and soul. They expect you to be someone you're not, the image of their satisfaction. Yeah, it really is hard. I might not know the kind of hell you've been through, but I can tell you that you can always be the person you want to be. No boundaries, no limits, no expectations, just pure Adharia Navier."

Now seriously, how is he so good with his words?! It feels like he's talking to my soul right now! 

"Yeah, thanks Caspian. You have no idea how much you've helped me realize things, thank you so much. I owe you," I thanked him and I felt the urge to shatter into tears but I held them back.

"Of course, you're always welcome, Ria." He reassuringly smiled.

"Hold up, lover boy! Let's just all eat peacefully without any flirting and we'll get to class. Hm?" Ione, you legend! We are NOT flirting!! 

"Flirting?" Ah, my innocent Caspian who has no idea of this cruel world.

"Don't mind her, it's just pure nonsense. Let's just eat, haha!"

We then ate quickly since the Orientation was almost finished and we need to go to our classrooms for a Class Orientation session. Yeah, it's gonna be boring again. I hope after eating and getting to class that the Class Orientation will finish right away so that I could eat again.