“Hello?” He said as he wiped sleep from his eyes.

“Hello, this is Isabel speaking, I am looking for Na’tan.”

“Na’tan?” Luca asks, but quickly remembers his gamer tag through his sleep. “Oh yes, yes, yes, that is me.”

Isabel stayed quiet on the other side for a bit and then continued, “Please confirm your age, height and weight for me?”

“16 years ld, 63kg and 1.7m in height.” He heard the keyboard clicking over the phone as she typed something in.

“I am pleased to tell you, you have been accepted for an interview at the Motril based BlueBird Academy. Will you be able to attend an interview in two days?”

Shocked, he was speechless.

“Hello?” She asked after a few seconds of silence.

“Yes I am here, yes I will be able to attend the interview, thank you so, so much.”

“Okay thank you, see you in two days time at the BlueBird academy. Bring enough clothes, if you get accepted you will be living here at the academy for five months. Goodbye.” And she hung up.

The reality took a moment to set in but when it did he jumped up with excitement, laughing and crying, and running to his mothers room. He jumped on her bed and eagerly told her everything about the flier, how he found it and how this is their chance at something good for once.

She slowly sat up and tried to force a smile.

“That’s great love, and I am proud of you… But…” He waited to hear the worst. “You can’t go, because we don’t have transport for you to go there and come back if it doesn’t work out.”

“Don’t worry Mom, I have some money saved up from all my chores, I counted it and it’s enough to afford the trip down.”

“And if you don’t pass the interview, how do you get back? You can’t go, there is no way for us to make it work.” Luca felt like his world was being turned upside down. The little hope he had left was being crushed. He felt outraged, angry that nothing seems to work out, angry at Milo for hitting him and not being a decent person, angry that his father died. He turned around and stormed out of the room.

No, I am not giving up. This is not how the story of Luca ends. This is my chance and it has come NOW. I have to act NOW.

He climbed out of bed, careful not to wake his little sister, and went to the dinner table and wrote a long letter.

Dear Mom and Carla,

I know you won’t understand just like many things I do not understand about the grown up world. But even though you won’t understand, please try to trust me. This is my chance at making it big and changing our lives, maybe forever. I will be back in 5 months and send money whenever I receive something.

Love,

Luca.

He quickly folded it into an envelope and placed it carefully on the counter. He climbed over his sister on the floor and started packing his bags, including a photo of him with his dad and the money tin he put his spare money in. Satisfied with what he had packed, he opened his room window quietly.

“Luca? What are you doing?” Oh no. Carla. She was sitting upright on her mattress looking at Luca halfway out the window. He slowly climbed back inside.

“Go to sleep Carla, it’s okay I am here.” Carla lied down again, luckily not fully awake yet and pretty soon he saw her breathing turn into slow restful sleep. He opened up the window again and left, this time she didn’t wake up. He climbed down the stairs and opened the back door into the lobby of the apartment block. It was quiet. The whole world seemed asleep. He glanced at the clock above the lobby's reception desk. It was 12:30am.

Quickly he made his way into the road and followed his phone's GPS to the nearest bus station. Upon arriving he was glad to see it operating, and singular people were standing around waiting for a bus.He entered the ticket station and went to the nearest booth. There were no people inside except for himself and the booth teller.

“Hello, I would like to buy one ticket to Motril from Madrid please.” And he carefully places all his money into the money slider. The booth teller was an old lady with tiny glasses resting on her nose. She glanced over them and asked,

“Where are you going this time of night son, where are your parents?”

He grasped for words, “Dead,” he stammered. “I am going to Motril to change my life.”

She looked him over for a few seconds deciding whether to believe him or call the police.

He saw her reaching for the phone, and quickly changed his story. “Okay, I lied.”

“But give me a chance alright? My dad just died and I’m doing this to be able to buy food for my mother and sister at home and get her through school. Please, I need to go. I have no other choice.” Tears formed in the corner of his eyes and he quickly blinked them away, remembering himself this morning in the mirror saying, Man up Luca!

She put the phone back on the receiver and typing for an eternity on her computer.

“Okay,” she sighed, one ticket to Motril. She slid the ticket back and when he lifted it up he saw she never took the money. As he was about to tell her about it, she put her finger on her mouth and winked at him. “Shhh, it's our little secret.” Grateful for her kindness, he quickly scrounged the notes and coins into his hand and stashed it in his pocket while taking the ticket and holding it firmly in his hands.

1 oclock came and went. 2 oclock came and went. People were standing all around the platform, waiting on the bus to arrive. Finally 3oclock came and he heard a bus grumbling in the distance. He stood up with his suitcase and walked closer to the loading sign. The headlights of the bus lit the platform and came to halt in front of the small crowd. They all boarded in orderly fashion and he saw his seat number next to a girl with sunrise-gold hair tumbling down her shoulders in curls. When she saw him, she smiled a wide smile. He smiled back sheepishly and proceeded to sit next her, stashing his suitcase underneath his seat. The bus seats were an old brown plastic leather and had been sat through, through the years revealed the yellow sponge underneath. Once they were comfortable she offered him some of her gummy sweets and held out the red packet.

“Sweet?”

He gratefully accepted.

“By the way, I am Ana.” She said cheerfully.

“I am Luca,” he hasn’t ever really spoken to a girl before in person as they rarely went to school and did most of it online. Socializing children was not at the top of the priority list of the Elite.

She held out her hand and he looked at it.

“Shake it.”

He carefully took her soft hand in his and gave it a shake.

“Not like that silly, like this.” And she shook his hand like they just conducted a business deal.

“Oh.” was all he could muster. Luckily she didn't notice his nervousness and continued the conversation.

“Where are you off to?”

“Motril, and you?”

“Oh my gosh, me too!” She squealed excitedly. “I am going to the BlueBird academy to start my gaming career.” She hung her shoulders slightly. “That is if I get accepted.”

“What makes you worried about that?”

She looked surprised but quickly rubbed it off. “Well, you see, I think it is kind of a fluke that I got an interview in the first place. I am not much of a gamer.”

“I can teach you.”

“Are you good?” She looked at him skeptically.

“One of the best,” he replied sarcastically.

“Well then I will appreciate it!” She responded in the same tone of voice. “So are you also from Madrid?”

“Yes, I grew up here.” She seemed awfully cheerful before what could be a life-changing event. He thought to himself.

“Same! Oh my gosh, we are going to be best friends.” She squealed again. “Here, have another sweet.”

He declined, “I think I need to get some rest, it's been a rough few days and I want to be ready for what we could be facing later today.”

Luca made himself as comfortable as he could and settled into a restless sleep. He was constantly woken up by bumps in the road and people talking too loudly. Just when he thought he was fully asleep, Ana elbowed him in the ribs softly.

“Wakey, wakey sleeping beauty, it's 8 am and we’re halfway there. We are in Valdepenas. Here, have some coffee,” She took out a flask from under her chair and poured him some. “Don’t drink there, I drank from that side.” She pointed to the cup.

“Thanks,” he drank the coffee and looked on as the passengers disembarked from the bus.

“Come on slowpoke. Let’s gooo!” Without warning she climbed over him and dragged him by his arm.

Ana has been here before with her family and she showed him around the town. There were large factories and it all seemed too familiar to Madrid.

“I think everyone is just taking a bathroom break and then getting back on the bus.” He said.

“No, don't worry! Buses usually take hour-long breaks when they stop. Come I need to show you something.” With seemingly renewed energy she dragged him further into the factory forest.

They walked for a few hundred meters and she took him down a left, then a right, then a right again. Ahead of him he saw something. The most beautiful thing he has ever seen. In the middle of these gigantic mega factories there was a windmill, with grass and flowers planted around it. On the windmill itself, grew large collections of vines all the way up its white bricks unto the red tiled roof.

“Whoa, that's beautiful.” he spluttered.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” She ran ahead and immediately laid down on the fresh soft grass. After he has taken thousands of photographs in his memory of the beautiful sight, he went to lay down next to her. They looked at the gray sky above them but somehow it just felt different. He was on his way to change his family's life. He met a lovely new friend and now he was touching grass for the first time in his life.

She picked a blade of grass and tickled his ear.

“Hey!” As he tried to do the same with her, she shrieked, jumped up and ran away. “Come back here!” With his weapon of choice, a blade of grass, he followed her as she ran around the tall windmill, laughing and screaming every time he came too close. Once he dragged her to the floor and administered his blade of doom treatment, she had tears in her eyes from laughing and he joined her. Ana caught her breath and said.

“Geez, for a moment I thought I'm going to be stuck with a doom and gloom man all the way to Motril.”

He laughed, “Well don’t get your hopes up.”

“Too late,” she said with a shrug. “Come, I have to take you to one more place.”

They ran down the street in between more of the mega factories. “Two more blocks,” She yelled over her shoulder. “I promise you won't regret it.”

Ahead he could make out smaller houses than the usual tall apartment blocks. In the middle of them was a brightly colored building with a large sign.

‘Helena’s Icecream’

They enter the colorful building and there was an old lady sitting behind a ice cream display. Luca had never seen such a freezer with so many ice cream choices before in his life.

“Hello Ana! Lovely to see you,” She greeted from behind the freezer. “Who’s your friend?”

“Hi aunty Helena! Oh this is Luca! We are on our way to the BlueBird academy!” She said.

“What can I get you two today, you look so happy and I’d hate to spoil it for you. Today’s ice cream is on me.

Ana picked out a strawberry one and Luca chose the lemon sorbet one. They waved their goodbyes leaving the shop and walking to the bus station.

Once back on the bus Luca looked at Ana and was once again blown away by her beauty and her cute smile. “Thank you Ana.” He said. “Thank you for today.”

She bumped him on his shoulder, “It is my pleasure! Anything to see you smile,” Then she winked at him.

Today was one of the best days of my life.

They spent the rest of the trip discussing what they were expecting the challenge would be and how it could make them part of the history of The Shadow domain. The last few hours of the trip flew by as he got comfortable around her. He told her about his father and his family, about Milo and Salvador and Eleina.

She told him she was the daughter of Madrid’s Mayor. But it was not all that glorifying. She was under strict orders to stay at home at all times because the Elite would kidnap the mayor's children to get them to do their exact bidding once they step out of line. And her father seemed to have plenty of under the table deals going on, but she did not elaborate on them. She also told him about her grand escape past her father’s body guards to go on this trip as he forbade her to come. But he is not to tell anyone and keep it between them. He crossed his heart and promised that her secret is safe with him.