Nathaniel

24/01/2345

Nathaniel woke up later than usual, that day, as he did not have assigned chores for the morning. It was a warm day, with sunshine that filled the sky, outside the window. As he got dressed, he noticed that the other boy, in his room, was still asleep.

"Zhao, are you still asleep?"

The boy normally woke up late, so it did not surprise Nathaniel that he was still in bed. But he was worried that he would be punished if Thomson realised he was still asleep.

He approached Zhao's bed and gently tapped him to wake him up.

"Zhao?"

There was still no response. But he looked down at his friend and realised that there was something strange about his breathing rhythm.

He smiled, mischievously.

"Zhao, if you don't wake up, I'll eat your breakfast."

The boy jumped out of bed, in an instant, which actually surprised Nathaniel. Zhao was lazy. He did not do anything if he did not have to. He normally got punished, by Miss Thomson, for being late and avoiding chores assigned to him. Nathaniel figured that the mention of food or his breakfast would get him out of bed and his fake sleep but he did not realise it would be this effective.

"Where is my breakfast?"

Nathaniel could not help but laugh.

Zhao looked confused for a moment but then he realised the reason for his laugh.

"How could you joke about that, Nathaniel?" he asked, annoyed.

"Oh please, I could tell that you weren't actually asleep, Zhao."

He could see that Zhao was actually awake when he noticed the strange and irregular rhythm of his breathing. He knew that people would have a regular breathing rhythm if they were actually asleep.

"Really?" Zhao asked. "You are too smart for your own good."

Nathaniel laughed.

He moved over, by the door, to wait for his friend, who quickly got dressed for the day.

*

The boys made their way downstairs within 10 minutes and sat down at the dining table for breakfast. The other children were also sat down at their places, as servants brought in the food, but to Nathaniel's surprise, Miss Thomson was not there. He turned to the girl on his other side and whispered, "Where is Miss Thomson, Mary?"

"I don't know," she answered, "But I don't think I have seen her since our afternoon classes."

Their afternoon classes?

That was yesterday afternoon.

It was not common for Miss Thomson to be out for that long, as she always checked on them once or twice, between classes.

Unless..

Nathaniel had been there for years and the only other times Miss Thomson had been out for this long was when she brought home children.

Could it be that a new boy or girl was going to join them at Thomson House?

The boy was excited at the thought that he could make a new friend but in that moment, he remained calm and started to eat his breakfast.

As the children ate, they spoke softly, so that they would not get in trouble if Miss Thomson did return.

In about 5 minutes, the front door, which was in view from the dining table, opened and Miss Thomson walked into the house; the children fell silent, intimidated by her presence.

"Good morning, children. As you may have noticed, I was out since yesterday evening, because I travelled to a village in the outskirts, to bring home a new addition to the family."

A new addition? Nathaniel could not hide his smile. He was right. A child was going to join Thomson House.

"Children, meet Angela."

She gestured behind her, as a little girl stepped into the house. She had brown skin and black hair that was tied into pigtails with yellow ribbons. She wore a yellow dress that seemed to brighten and lighten up the room. She looked at the children and smiled shyly, before she lowered her eyes to the ground.

Miss Thomson continued. "For now ,Angela will stay with Nathaniel and Zhao." Her words caught the boy's attention and he looked up in interest. "Nathaniel," she prompted. He stood up, immediately.

"Yes, Miss Thomson?"

"You are responsible for showing Angela around the house and helping her get used to the rules, chores and routines. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand, Miss Thomson."

"Smart boy," she commented.

She turned and gestured for Angela to join Nathaniel.

The girl looked confused but Nathaniel was quick to pick up on Miss Thomson's expectation. He walked up to Angela and reached out with his hand.

"Come with me."

As he led her out of the room, holding her hand, he noticed her hand trembled against his hand. He looked up at her face .

"Are you alright, Angela?"

She lifted her eyes to look at him and Nathaniel was mesmerised by her beautiful brown eyes.

And though her fingers still trembled, her lips tilted upwards into a gentle smile, before she answered.

"Yes, I'm alright. Thank you."

Nathaniel could not explain why, but in the moment, he felt something in his chest constrict and clench. He tightened his grip on her hand slightly and smiled back at her.

"You will be alright," he assured her. "Even if you are not alright, now, I am with you. And I will be your friend. So, you will be alright."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"You... How did you know?"

His smile became mischievous as he let go of her hand and skipped forward.

"Maybe, I know because I'm smart."

He felt his heart well with happiness as he heard her soft laughter behind him.

He slowed down and took her hand into her his hand, again, as she caught up with him.

"I am here for you, Angela," he told her.

She stopped and looked up, into his green eyes, with a solemn expression on her face. "Thank you, Nathaniel."

And that was the start of a friendship and relationship of a lifetime.