The Other Side Of The Hill

Chapters 1

"Greetings to all the audience. I, June Aroki, will speak on 'Trust'." The excited audience quickly move their attention to the next contestant standing before the microphone, waiting for the judges to permit the start.
"Trust is one of the sensitive issues among the many dealt by the human race. In our everyday lives, it is 'trust' that we seek above everything thing else. From birth to death, it is trust that is the relied on.
A child born seeks assurance from its parents that they let it live. A beast becomes our family because it senses  sincerity in our words, in our approach. Trust is an inherent, rather inborn trait of the living. It assures us a life, it makes us feel secure and saf-"
The buzzer cut in to alarm of the duration.
The audience threw appreciating claps, while the judges nodded in support of the words spoken by the contestant.
June bowed and thanked everyone before descending the steps of the stage.

It was a winter morning. The surrounding wore a dull foggy look. The windows of the classroom at Eastern Hills High were blurred all over. The students entered the classroom after a long session of their annual public speaking event.
The class monitor stepped in after the entire class had taken their respective seats. Fixing the glasses over the bridge of her nose, she licked the door behind her and placed a heavy pile of assignment copies on the teacher's table. "The English assignments are back. They are checked and are graded by the teacher. Everyone come up to collect your copy as I call out the names."
She called out the names with an uneasy throat from the continuous shouting she had to do throughout the day.  And the public speaking event made her already low tone to crack.
"June, Ivy is absent today. Can I take her assignment, I shall drop by her home today?"
June couldn't reply more so she signalled her with an approving nod.

She asked the assistant monitor to call out the names while she took a sip from her water bottle. The assistant monitor is already a loud one unlike June. She is both active and smart. Mayra didn't hesitate to take up the job. The students continued to walk down the aisle as their names were called while June took a sit on her chair. Only two copies were left to be distributed- June's and Mayra's, the rest belonged to all the absentees.
Most of the students didn't attend school on annual programmes, they either self studied at home or used the free time to go out with friends and flex on social media.

Mayra hands June her assignment while taking hers to her desk. June offered a grateful smile when they made eye contact.
"Your throat must be aching bad, doesn't it? Grab a coffee when the class dismisses for break. It should help." Mayra patted her back and went to her seat.

After school, June headed straight to her home. She wanted to lose no moment stopping by, so she walked away without catching up with anyone of her classmates. It was a 15 minute walk from her school. The concrete road contrasted with an uneven pebbly lane that travelled midway through a crop land. Spider lilies decorated the road at different corners, huge shady trees on the roadside screen the sunlight as June walked by. She stopped infront of a one storey house. She rushed to open the iron gate and ran up to the front door, ringing the doorbell in an impatient rhythm. Somebody tried to unlock the door from the other side. As the door finally opened, June caught sight of a women dressed in a casual attire. Her warm smile added grace to her aura as she embraced June in her arms. June hugged her back, "How was your day, sweetheart? I came back just a minute ago."
"It was as usual, Mom. Except that we had an additional annual contest".
June's mom owned a cafe in the town. It was the heart of teens. Usually it stayed busy till late. "I know it went great", her mom said caressing her cheeks. June gave her a tired smile and went towards her room.
Her hands reached the doorknob and with a single twist, the locked door gave way to a green hued bedroom with a study table right opposite to the door, a single bed on the left, a bookshelf very next to the study table, a small drawer right next to the door on the right. The walls held a great many postures of k-pop and western artists, a single string of fairy lights hung on the wall opposite to the bed and a small carpet laid under it. Facing the window infront of the table sat a pale young guy, hair well combed and tidily dressed up in a t-shirt and trousers. He faced her as she entered the room. A wide grin enhanced his features.  "Hey, how was your presentation? I know you did well. Peeked through the auditorium window. The left one was opened wide. I was a great sight from there!"
He spoke happily. June gave him a slight nod while she said, "It was quite good actually. I wasn't sure of today's performance to be honest. But I am contented."
"You should be", returned the boy.

"You think so?"

He nodded.

"Isn't it your birthday tomorrow? I remember it was 2nd April? Isn't it?"

He frowned. Letting out a sigh he stared outside through the window. There was a fence around the house and June's room faced the backyard. The lush garden with colourful flowers, a variety of crotons and the huge mango tree felt serene. At last Richard turned his attention towards June.

"It doesn't matter. No one needs to celebrate it now. No one would be happy to remember this day for the person is lost. People will only remember his death, not his birth."

She kept staring at him while he spoke. Her eyes saddened. A tear dropped from his eyes as he looked away one more time.