"Kirsten! Get yourself out of bed!" A voice screamed down my ear, rattling my brain and pulling me from the darkness of unconsciousness; the light in the room bursting through the tiny gap between my eyelids, almost daring them to open and let my eyes get burnt by the bulb above me that is normally dim but now is coruscating like the sun compared to the darkness of my dreams. Groaning, I hauled a lifeless hand, which was apparently mine though I couldn't feel it, over my ear and turned over onto my side away from the direction of the sound, clenching my eyes shut, not giving into the temptation to open them. A cold hand gripped my upper arm, jerking me back onto my back, almost dislocating my shoulder, a strong smell of Mischkaffee, a poor excuse for coffee which only included about half coffee, wafting in my face. Grimacing, I reluctantly opened my eyes, squinting up towards the face glowering down to me, making me feel tiny like a child looking up to the head teacher.

"Didn't you hear me Kirsten Laura Stein?! It may be your summer holiday young lady but you are most certainly doing your bit to contribute!" My head moved in a subconscious motion on the verge of being a nod but I wasn't really listening. Keep eye contact and daydream; it had worked for me so far in life, why stop now? "Good. Now get up and get the shopping for me." Her footsteps were getting quieter as she walked down the wooden hollow stairs, her voice still echoing up through the house as well as her shoes on the wooden floorboards.

Sighing, I pulled myself up into a sitting position, looking over towards the wood panels nailed against my windows, blocking out the sunlight, and sighed before standing up, walking towards my mirror, and picking up a brush to comb through my hair. Putting the brush down, I placed my hands on my hips and looked at myself in the mirror; dark, silky hair falling to my elbows, short parts surrounding my face which held stunning green eyes enhanced by my tanned but not orange skin. After getting changed a loose white shirt and a floral skirt which my mother had sewed for me, saying it was a sign of resistance, but personally I didn't understand why, I went down stairs, picking up a slice of toast before shouting a goodbye to mother and leaving the house, remembering to slam the door on my way out just to annoy her. Leaning my ear against the door, I heard a scream and then a laugh escaping my lips as I turned away and headed down the narrow street, a smile curling up the corners of my lips. Stopping at the T junction, I flickered my gaze one way; towards the prison like school wrapped up in rules like a birthday present in paper, a dark cloud assembling itself over the school like in cartoons, then the other way; the football field, free as it can get around here with clearer skies and a handful of benches under trees to sit on. Taking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes and breathed out before opening my eyes and turning my head to look back at the school that owned so many teachers who'd be glad to see the back of me. A smile spread across my face as I brought up my hand to my temple, clenching my fist apart from two fingers, saluting towards the school as I turned around and began walking in the opposite direction. I had finished school there and would begin work soon, but now it was time to relax. They'll be smiling in their sleep.

I strode down the street, my gaze darting around the area, studying the rundown, tiny, pathetic excuses of houses and feeling a frown scrunch up my face, I averted my gaze to the cracked path beneath my feet which only increased the disgusted look on my face. Glancing around to make sure no one else was here, I strolled towards the bench underneath the apple tree by the edge of the field and sat down, leaning back and looking up through the leaves at the sun and the sky. Closing my eyes, I breathed in then out, relaxing my body.

"Finished school have we?" A deep male voice intruded my daydreaming, forcing me to open my eyes to look across to a tall man sitting next to me, one leg crossed over the other in a casual manner, one arm on the back of the bench lying behind me, the other resting on the bench arm, his hand tilted up, a cigarette in between his fingers.

"G'morning to you too." Rolling my eyes, I returned my gaze to look around the area, waving away the smoke drifting towards me.

"Hey, I only asked a simple question! Besides, you're the good one aren't you? I was just making sure you weren't skipping school or nothing." He said, pinching my cheek between his thumb and his finger before resting his arm back behind my shoulders, taking a puff from his cigarette. Rolling my eyes, I looked back towards him, raising a brow.

"Me? The good one? Cheers. What do you know anyway?"

"I happen to know quite a bit my dear, despite my incredible good looks," he'd lift his hand up motioning to his face before carrying on, "I am intelligent as well." He'd tap his temple with his finger before laying his hand back down on the edge of the bench before raising his brow to my scoff. "I know it's a rare spectacle but I'm the real deal."

"Lukas, you are far from "the real deal". And despite you're cockiness, you unfortunately are not that intelligent or you would be in university instead of sitting out here drinking, smoking and practically doing nothing all through the day."

"Oh my dear, harsh words there but you are unaware of the things I have kept locked up in my head." Frowning, I turned my gaze back to him, studying him, his easy, relaxed expression with lines under his eyes showing he hadn't slept in a while; though not ruining his complexion one bit, but today lay a sly knowing expression behind his dark brown eyes.

"What do you know?" Lukas gave out a chuckle, throwing his head back before making eye contact again.

"Now that would be telling."

"Lukas!" I threw my hands up in irritation, "you can't do that! Lure me in then take the bait away from under my nose!"

"Kirsten!" He threw up his hands in mock irritation as he copied me. "I can do that, I just did," He grinned at me, tilting his head to the side in his lopsided smile of his, something that I'd always liked about him and made his looks even that more gorgeous...

"Lukas! Stop doing that!"

"Doing what?"

"That!"

"Smiling? What's wrong with my smiling? The beauty of it distracting you is it?" The ironic thing was his joke was true; yes it was but I'd never admit to it, his ego is bad enough as it is.

"No, the horror of it is scaring me." I gave him the satisfaction of a grin to tell him I was joking before turning my gaze away to look over the field now with a few couples walking along the path. Lukas sighed lightly before swinging his legs and standing up before making a big show of bowing towards me as I looked over.

"Well, Miss Stein, as much as I love to be in your company, I really must be leaving now but I'm sure we'll meet again soon so don't you fret your little head." Walking around the bench behind me he suddenly stopped and lent down, his hand hovering just in front of my shoulder, a small box in the palm of his hand. "For you, I believe it was your 18th recently if I'm not mistaken. I hope you enjoy it m'dear." Taking the small offering, I held it gently in both hands as if it were the rarest thing on the planet.

"Thank you." A small pat came down on my shoulder before he strode off, dumping his cigarette in the bin and folding his hands behind his back. Opening up the small black leather box, a small silver necklace lying in a soft felt material shimmered in the morning sun. Next to it lay a rolled up piece of paper which I pulled out, setting the box to my side and unrolled it, looking to the neat old fashioned handwritten message:

"I know it's not much but it was my grandmother's and I inherited it but I thought you'd give more use to it than me. Anyway, Happy Birthday m'dear, have a great one,

Lukas."

A small smile lifted the corners of my lips as I rolled the note back up, placing it in the box once again and putting the lid of the box back on, undoing the necklace catch and tying it round my neck, laying it delicately between my collarbones.

Stretching my legs out, I crossed my feet over one another and crossed my arms across my stomach before sighing and closing my eyes gently, letting the small amount of sun wrap me in heat and comfort like a blanket, the soft crisp breeze blowing my hair away from my face as I drifted off into a light sleep.

As the newest football game being played on the field started, the echoes of yelling and cheering began to bring me up from my deep sleep before a loud clapping right beside me fully woke me up and I sat up immediately, startled, my gaze flickering around the area, seeing a middle-aged woman sitting beside me watching her son playing. I glanced over to the once empty field, now full of young boys with a few parents around the edge, chatting amongst themselves and cheering. Sighing, I got up, grabbing the box and looked up to the darkening sky before heading back to the road. I glanced down a street, seeing the mounds of barbed wire piled on top of the concrete wall surrounding us like a prison. I walked towards it, standing right next to it, my hand stretching out to touch the cold wall. A hoarse cough alerted my attention to the young male guard of around 20 clothed in green uniform standing next to the wall, standing as tall as possible, a stern expression on his face as he watched me, his gun level laying on both his hands looking natural with his guard uniform though also looking like it was regretfully forced there. Something about him made me want to run, not because of the gun but because of something else I couldn't quite figure out.

"Calm down, I'm not crossing, don't you fret." I levelled his gaze as he carried on watching me before letting out a deep voice filled with experience and sounding like he'd seen far too much for his age.

"Good. Then run along sweetheart, you have no business here."

"Don't try to intimidate me; it won't work." I kept my ground, his hazel eyes growing more narrowed with frustration, though a hint of joy lingering in the background from the only conversation he'd got all day.

"I'm not trying to. Now, as I said, run along, go back home to your mother and I'd be careful about how you speak to people in future if I were you." I frowned lightly to his words sounding too familiar and friendly, a sense of déjà vu flowing over me but then shook my head as I pushed my hands deep into my pockets and walked back down the street.