An Angel's Heart

Count on Me

When Ging asked for nominations for participants in the Moon and Star Competition, the freshmen began to study their peers, hoping to find a student that could win for their faculty. Yo just sat calmly, smiling at the whole process and relieved to be watching from the outside. Little did he know that he was about to be thrown into the middle.

"I nominate Yo!" Montri shouted as he stood and pulled Yo up next to him. Surprised, Yo tried to sit back down, but Montri held his arm firmly. "He'll be the perfect Moon for our faculty."

"You always have to be first," Jae said, shoving Montri back to his seat and leaning his head on Yo's shoulder. "I wanted to nominate him first."

Yo looked on in amazement as all his new friends supported his nomination, making his cheeks blush. Flattered despite himself, he smiled sweetly at his friends. Ging asked him to come to the front of the room while other boys and girls were nominated.

Several minutes and ten dazed nominees later, Ging asked the question that would determine which two of all the nominees would compete in the competition as their faculty representatives. The question, "What is love?"

************

Each of the nominees gave their answer, many of them similar to the one before, but when Ging came to Yo for his response, Yo asked if he could whisper his answer. Ging, thinking that the boy was just shy, agreed and leaned in to hear.

"I can tell you what love means to me," Yo whispered to Ging, "but that won't answer your question. Does the pounding of your heart mean you've found true love? Only you can answer that. But if you follow your heart, you won't live with regret."

Ging stared at the freshman with wide eyes. How had this boy known that Ging's question was meant to help him find an answer to his own inner turmoil? Was it possible to fall in love with someone you just met? Yo's advice to follow his heart made Ging smile, his first real smile in two days.

After listening to all the responses, Ging joined the other seniors from the Science Faculty and discussed who would be their representative.

"The girls are all good-looking, but I like Nate best. She's beautiful, looks innocent, and has a good body," one senior said, giving his opinion for the Star representative.

"I agree," another senior answered. "Why did we even ask a question? Aren't we going to just pick the best looking people anyway?"

"Well, that means Nate for the Star and either Max or Yo for the Moon," the first man replied.

"What was Yo's answer for your question anyway?" the second senior asked Ging. "Was he flirting with you? Cause you looked pretty happy."

"He wasn't flirting," Ging said, embarrassed. "He was just shy."

"Well, we better choose Max for the Moon," the first senior responded. "We don't want someone who can't speak in public."

"No," Ging said hurriedly, "Yo's going to be our Moon. He'll be amazing. Trust me."

"You're just saying that because he flirted with you," the second senior said, laughing at Ging's response.

************

Yo ordered lunch from the one of the food stalls at his faculty's canteen. He smiled as he replayed the days events in his mind, so far he'd made a good start. He'd made friends with the fairy angels and made a good impression on his seniors. Everything seemed to be going well. Hopefully his mission would be a success.

After picking up his food, he walked over to a small grassy area where Mau was patiently waiting. He gave her a portion of food and started eating his own, smiling. Butterflies flitted along the flower beds, encouraging Mau to dance with them. After finishing his meal, Yo cleaned up and returned to watch Mau's performance.