

The Boy from Sweden

by

Craig Smith

The Boy from Sweden

By

Craig Smith

Copyright 2014

Smashwords Edition

**Smashwords Edition, License Notes**

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Sunday 17th of March 7:00 am

Gunter moved about in his seat. He was a little uncomfortable, but still felt excited. It was his first time out of his home country of Sweden, off to live with a host family in South Africa for a year. He put down the book he was reading and looked at the digital display in front of him. The plane icon was over the south of Africa. The estimated flying time to the Oliver Tambo airport in Johannesburg was only two hours and thirty minutes. Of what he had found while researching the place it was a big sprawling city which had some areas that were not entirely safe, but it was a modern city in many respects. Gunter couldn't wait to get the chance to explore.

Gunter put his head against the window to rest his eyes for a bit; he felt too excited to want to fall asleep. He didn't want to miss a thing but the long flight, and the emotional goodbye with his family had drained a lot out of him, within in moments he fell asleep.

After what only seemed like only five minutes he felt his arm being nudged softly.

He groggily looked up. It was one of the air hostesses. She smiled a smile that she had most probably smiled a million times before.

"Young man," she said standing up again. "We have arrived, would you like to disembark?"

"We have?" He stood up and remembered at the last second to duck so he wouldn't bump his head on the overhead compartment. He looked around the plane that was now virtually empty. "Oh right, yes, I'll do so."

Gathering his things he double-checked his seat and the area for any dropped items, and made his way out of the plane. Even though he had slept well he felt a little bothered and rushed. His host family would probably be wondering where he was and he hoped they wouldn't be too upset with him. Once he was off the plane he made his way towards customs.

Bewildered by being in a new country he had a worried look on his face, unfortunately the customs officer picked up on that and signaled for him to come over.

"This way, sir," said the man. He was slightly taller than Gunter but smaller in build. "Place your bag on the table."

"Why?" asked Gunter. He didn't like being delayed like this.

"Just a random check, nothing to worry about, sir."

Gunter reluctantly placed his big case on the steel table. The customs official went for the zip but it had a small combination lock on it.

"Open it please."

Gunter did as he was told even though he felt that he shouldn't, there was something about this man that made him feel uneasy.

The man unzipped the bag and took out the contents and looked through them. It was as if he was shopping and going for things he liked. He roughly pushed Gunter's clothes to one side of the bag.

Gunter looked at his watch. The plane had arrived half an hour ago. His host family, the Johnsons were probably getting a little worried or annoyed by now.

The man then picked up a box. It was a Sony PSP that Gunter had gotten for Christmas the previous year. He was going to use it when he wasn't doing homework, getting to know his host family, exploring or sending emails back home. Gunter couldn't help but see that the man liked what he saw.

"Do you have a receipt for this?"

"What do you mean?" asked Gunter with a frown.

"This looks brand new. You will have to pay customs tax on it or it will be confiscated." said the man placing the box to one side.

"I don't understand?" said Gunter. "It was a gift, why should I pay tax on it?"

"It looks new to me, how do I know you're not going to sell it and make an illegal profit?"

Gunter might only be sixteen years old, but he knew that the man couldn't do this. It wasn't as if his whole bag was full of them.

"I would never do that! It's mine!"

Gunter's raised voice attracted the attention of a man who has been half asleep in a chair against the wall behind the custom's official.

"What's going on here, Jannie?" said the man getting out of his chair.

"Nothing, sir," said Jannie his eyes shifting from side to side. "I was just wishing that the kind sir enjoy his time here."

"That's good," said the bigger and balding man. "Now put ALL of his stuff back in his suit case and let him be on his way."

Gunter felt like telling the bigger man what the other had done, but he felt that it probably wasn't necessary. The senior official already seemed to know about the problem. Besides, he didn't have time to spare. The shifty looking man placed everything back in the case, including the box, and gave the case back to Gunter.

Gunter said nothing and calmly walked away. He just hoped it wasn't a bad omen to the start of his stay in the country.

Gunter finally made his way through the huge sliding doors and out into the waiting area. He spotted the Johnson family. They seemed to be waiting patiently for him. He breathed a sigh of relief. Granted he had only seen photos of them, but it was great to finally see some familiar faces.

The Johnsons were a family of four: James the father, Mary the mother, Amy the seventeen year old daughter and Fred the twelve year old son. Fred was holding a huge white cardboard sign that read "Welcome to South Africa, Gunter!" Gunter smiled and went towards them.

James was the first to greet him and gave him a big hand shake and a pat on the shoulder.

"Welcome to Johannesburg, my boy," said James. He was just over six foot tall, brownish hair with some gray and a bit of a bald spot. "How was the flight?"

"It was great thanks," said Gunter after a while. He was still getting used the accent and it took him a few moments to figure out what was being said. James was a few inches taller than Gunter, but his shoulders weren't as wide.

Mary hugged him. "Hi, Gunter," she said with a huge smile. "I bet you can't wait to rest and have a nice hot meal?"

"Oh for sure!" replied Gunter. It was mid-afternoon and he could feel his stomach growling. He had missed breakfast that morning.

Amy and Fred both said hi together and shook his hand. Amy was busy on her cellphone and didn't seem to be paying much attention and Fred seemed a little shy.

"Nice to meet you," said Gunter. Gunter's English was better than most Swedish. He had a good friend who was English and he took extra English classes in high school.

"What you say we take this party on the road and go home?" asked James.

"Totally okay with me," said Gunter.

"Totally okay?" asked Amy. Her hair was long and very dark, Gunter thought he would have found her attractive if he didn't have to treat her like a sister.

"Yes it's like cool in Sweden."

"Oh, very nice," said Amy as she returned to her cellphone and they made their way out of the airport. He found it a little rude that she wasn't giving the situation her full attention, but he had done the same himself a few times to his own family, so he had no room to complain.

Sunday 9:00am

Siswe sat on a used paint tin outside his mom's home. His mother was a maid and she was working inside the main house. His friend Jacobs was visiting him. Jacobs was Siswe's brother's best friend. His brother Thomas and Jacobs were members of the Three Swords Gang and even Siswe had the tattoo on the back of his neck like his brother and Jacobs.

His brother had convinced him to get it when his mother was away for a week when he was only thirteen. Neither of them were popular with their mom when she came back home. His mom hated Jacobs, because he had helped put his brother Thomas in prison. Siswe disliked him too, but he had made a promise to keep in contact with him so that he could tell Thomas what was happening on the streets when he went to visit him in prison. Jacobs was a wanted man and didn't want to risk making a visit to the prison himself. Siswe had just learned that Jacobs had robbed a house and sold R5000 in stolen goods. Jacobs also showed off a very expensive gold watch on his arm. Siswe was tempted by the amount, but he shook his head, it was just too much of a risk. He could get in serious trouble with the police, and his mother would go into despair if he went to jail too. Besides he was doing pretty well at school and had a chance of getting a bursary to go to university, but on the other hand Jacobs was telling him about a very compelling offer. Maybe even a way to get his brother out of jail early.

"Siswe," said Jacobs, leaning forward in his chair with his hands together. "I know you're not as street tough as your old bro, but if you help me I will get Tomboy out of jail."

Siswe shook his head. It was not the first time that Jacobs had tried to recruit him into the gang. Getting his brother out of jail just sounded too good to be true. "How?"

Jacobs had a quick look around. "If you help me jack one car I will use the profits to jump Tomboy out of jail."

Siswe fought the urge to roll his eyes. Jacobs had obviously been watching too many American gangster movies.

"You can't buy someone out of jail."

"Oh yes you can," said Jacobs, raising his left eyebrow, and making the scar above it more prominent. "I have some new contacts. They can do pretty much anything for the right amount of dough." He had never seen Jacobs so calm before. Normally the man was a fiery pot of hot temper. This made Siswe even more wary. Was there some other motive behind him helping his brother?

"I don't know," said Siswe. His mother often said that the right place for Thomas was prison, but he knew that she would love nothing more than to see Thomas out of prison.

"It's easy, don't worry about it."

"My mom would kill me," said Siswe, grabbing at straws trying to get out of it. It would be easier for his brother to make something of himself if he waited his time out and came out properly, but he knew his brother well. Thomas would probably be doing the things he was doing before within a week of getting out. He knew it was a foolish and naive way of thinking, but maybe his brother had changed.

"Eish, be a man, show your brother he can count on you," said Jacobs getting up and making as if to leave.

Siswe didn't reply.

"I will be back for you in an hour."

Siswe was left alone with his very conflicting thoughts. His first urge was to run, and hide for the rest of the morning, but he knew if he did that Jacobs would probably harass his mother.

Sunday 9:45am

Fifteen minutes before his mother's tea break, Siswe left the house and waited on the corner. He didn't want his mother to see that Jacobs was there. If all went smoothly his mother wouldn't have to know and soon they would be a family again. Siswe knew it was a pipe dream, but he really missed his brother. He had put on very dark clothes and wore sunglasses. He also brought a balaclava with him just in case. He didn't want his face all over the papers if someone caught a good look of him. Deep down he hoped that Jacobs wouldn't pitch up and he could get on with his life, but that thought was too good to be true. An old Nissan pickup with huge rust marks and a big dent in the passenger door came tearing around the corner. It was Jacobs and he was playing very loud music. It was the latest Kwaito song. It wasn't Siswe's favourite; but he liked the beat.

Siswe thought of his brother locked behind bars and fought the urge to make a run for it. Jacobs screeched to a halt next to him.

"Let's go, man!" said Jacobs reaching across and opening the passenger door. Jacobs was wearing a bright red leather jacket. Siswe thought that the man dressed a little too brightly for a person who was wanted by the police for many crimes, and who was just about to commit another one.

Siswe hesitated and looked back to his house and he almost hoped that his mother would be there so she could call him in, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Jacobs swore.

Siswe gritted his teeth and jumped in. Before he could even close the door properly Jacobs sped off.

"Ready?" asked Jacobs.

Siswe just nodded.

Jacobs swore again.

Sometime later they stopped a few hundred meters away from an intersection. Jacobs pulled up on to the pavement behind some bushes. He silently got out and they made their way to the intersection. Once they were close enough they stood near a street lamp and waited. There were two men there selling fake sunglasses and another selling pirated DVDs. They came up to Jacobs and Siswe to offer them their wares. Jacob didn't say a word. He just opened his jacket and revealed his gun. Both the street hawkers stared at the gun for a second and hurriedly made their way across the road and away from the intersection.

A part of Siswe wanted to be running away with them. His stomach felt like it was tied into a thousand knots and he wanted nothing more than to be away from Jacobs. But he was in it this far and if his brother knew he had chickened out on Jacobs and getting him out of jail he would be in a whole lot more trouble.

They waited in the blazing sun for what Jacobs said was the right candidate. There were a few, but most of the cars got through because the lights didn't stay red for long enough. Then suddenly when he thought they would be able to forget the whole thing and go home a brand new BMW came up to the traffic light and parked there. There seemed to be a middle aged man in the driver's seat and no other passengers.

Jacobs tapped Siswe on the shoulder and ran towards the car. Siswe hesitated for a second and then ran to the car too. He went for the passenger door while Jacobs went for the driver's side. The man inside was taken by surprise and was waving his arms around wildly. Siswe hoped that Jacobs didn't get carried away and shoot the man.

Sunday 10:15am

The Johnson's car was an oldish Volvo estate. Not too different from the one Gunter's parents had at home. Gunter sat by the window and couldn't help but stare at the things outside. The roads were very busy for a late Sunday morning and the drivers didn't seem to be that friendly. James was cut off twice by other cars.

Gunter asked Fred a few questions, but the boy seemed to be pretty shy and didn't say much more than single word answers. Amy was still on her phone and was now listening to music through some earphones and Mary and James were discussing a business matter. Gunter thought he would be fending off questions left, right and centre, but he didn't mind the quiet. It gave him time to look around and get used to the fact that he was in another country. Maybe they had been told to leave him alone, because they knew he would be tired. Even though he had only been with the Johnsons for a very short while he felt safe with them.

They came up to an intersection. James slowed down, hoping to anticipate the light changing back to green, but it didn't work. They stopped a fair distance behind a silver BMW. The intersection was fairly quiet. Gunter caught a movement out the corner of his eye. It looked like a man in a red jacket running towards the BMW.

"Why is that man running?" asked Gunter.

Another man appeared.

"Quickly! Everyone down!" shouted Mary, turning to the back and putting Fred's head down. Amy followed suit and also ducked for cover. Gunter did what he was told, but he could still see the man. He had a gun and he was pointing it at the driver of the BMW, and another man was trying to get the passenger door open. The man in the car was moving around frantically. Gunter's heart pounded like a drum. All the tiredness he had felt was gone. The only time he had ever seen a real gun was when he went to museum with his school and even then the gun had been decommisioned.

The light turned green and James floored the gas pedal. They swerved to the right of the car. The man who had been pointing the gun was clipped by the Volvo's big side mirror. He twirled around.

Gunter watched in horrified fascination, the moment went by in slow-motion, Gunter caught a glimpse of a tattoo on the man's neck. It looked like three swords facing down. Then everything seemed to speed up again and they zoomed across to the other side of the intersection. Mary started to hit him. James had to slow down.

"What are you trying to do?! Get us killed? I thought I told you no heroics!" she said in a breathless shout.

"He didn't see us..." protested James.

"He's getting up," said Fred.

They all turned around and looked. The man was on his knees and he was raising his gun to point at them.

"Go go go go go!" shouted Mary.

James floored the car again. It wheel spun and jerked away.

They heard a very loud crack and Gunter suddenly felt a sharp pain in his side. Gunter eyes went big as he looked down and watched red spread across his shirt. A very rich red. Gunter heard some screaming and he passed out.

Sunday 10:20am

Siswe stood there frozen with his hand trying in vain to open the car door. The driver of the car had also stopped moving. Siswe wanted to run before the cops got there. Getting up from being clipped by the car, Jacobs saw his face and pointed the gun at Siswe as if daring him to try and leave.

"Don't move!"

Jacobs pointed his gun at the frightened driver and indicated for him to leave. The man put his hands in the air, opened the door and slowly got out. The driver stood next to his car as if waiting for instructions.

Jacobs swore at him and the man ran off. Just before he reached the bushes on the side of the road Jacobs shot in the air; the man thinking he was the target dived on to the pavement.

"This is going all wrong!" said Siswe still stuck at the passenger's door.

"Shut up and get me into the car!" said Jacobs. There were more cars at the intersection, but most of them seemed to know what was going on and drove around them while a few had stopped a distance away. Some seemed to be on their phones.

Siswe ran around the car and grabbed Jacob's hand. His ankle seemed to be twisted quite horribly and he was in a lot of pain.

"Your foot!"

"Damn it, just get me into the car!" Siswe made as if to put Jacobs in the driver's seat. "I can't drive, you idiot."

"Me neither," said Siswe, mostly to himself because he knew that Jacobs wouldn't care if he could or couldn't.

Siswe bundled Jacobs onto the backseat and Siswe got behind the wheel. He was relieved to see it was an automatic. He looked up, a police van was coming towards them and he froze in fear.

"Move it, Siswe!"

Siswe jabbed his foot into the gas pedal and the car jerked forward. He turned off to the left, just missing a truck that was coming through the intersection.

Siswe drove and concentrated on not crashing. The police van came looming up behind them with its lights going and sirens blaring. It felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. Siswe drove with Jacobs shouting behind him to drive faster. Siswe tried to ignore him. He hated Jacobs even more for getting him into this mess and most of all he was upset with himself for agreeing to do it in the first place. If he got caught his life would be ruined.

The police van was almost up beside them. The BMW was a sports a model and they were doing 120km/h in an 80km/h zone. They came to another quiet intersection. At the last second Siswe turned to the left. His steering was so wild that he almost rolled the car and hit the curb on the other side of the road. A girl jumped out of the way. He thought she looked a little familiar, but had no time to think about things like that.

Siswe cursed to himself as he had to swerve around three cars before he got to the left side of the road. The police van had missed the intersection and had turned around.

"Damn!" said Jacobs after he had collected himself from the back seat. "You're crazy."

Siswe smiled nervously. It was dangerous, but exhilarating.

Without realizing it, Siswe noticed that he was driving back to his mother's house. There was no way he could take a stolen car there, but he didn't have to worry; Jacobs directed him away from the town and to the local informal settlement. Siswe was surprised that he had lost the police car, but he doubted if it was for long, there would soon be more of them out there.

Once they reached the settlement, they drove slowly towards one of the outer houses and drove over the crowded pavement into a makeshift garage just a few meters off the curb. Once they were inside the door closed behind them. Siswe let out a huge sigh of relief and slowly let go of the steering wheel. His arms and hands were stiff from holding onto the steering wheel so hard.

Siswe looked behind him and at Jacobs. The man seemed to be in a daze. His foot must have been seriously injured. "You would make your bro proud. A natural."

"Thanks," said Siswe. "What happens now?" He was quite a way from home and he wanted to get away from the stolen car and Jacobs as soon as possible.

"You're taking me to the damn doctor," said Jacobs, gritting his teeth in pain.

"In the car?"

"No," said Jacobs opening the door. "I have a guy close by."

Sunday 10:35am

What seemed like hours later Gunter heard squeaking wheels. He tentatively opened his eyes and looked up. He could see long lights flashing past him. His side was aching very badly. He looked up to his side. It was Mary. She had tears in her eyes and she was holding Gunter's hand very tightly.

The pain in his side was worse. It was the most pain he had felt in his entire life.

"I'm so so sorry, Gunter!"

Gunter didn't know what to say. He felt groggy and could hardly concentrate, but he knew he couldn't blame the Johnsons. He just hoped his parents weren't too worried. He was pushed through some doors into a very white and bright room. Mary gave his hand one last squeeze.

"Take good care of him." Her voice was a little frail, and she seemed to be on the verge of bursting into tears once again.

"We will," said the doctor.

Gunter was placed very carefully on the operating table and a mask was put over his mouth.

"We're going to operate to get the bullet out of you, understand?" Gunter felt as if he was in safe hands. The doctor's face was round and friendly.

"I do."

"Good, now count to ten for me please," said the doctor.

Gunter got to three before he passed out.

Sunday 9:45pm

Siswe walked along the road that led back to his mother's house. His head was racing with the day's events and his stomach ached with worry. After they had parked the car at Jacobs' house he had taken the older man to his "guy". The man said he was a doctor, but Siswe had his doubts about that. The man's operating room wasn't very clean and the supplies he had were minimal, but that's the price you pay for being on the wrong side of the law. Siswe hoped he never ended up needing medical treatment in a place like this. Jacobs didn't seem to mind how filthy the place was and let the man get to work sorting out his foot.

After it had been rather painfully straightened Siswe took Jacobs home; declined the offer of staying over for the night and walked home. He doubted he would have been able to sleep under the same roof as a car he had helped steal or anywhere near Jacobs.

He hoped his mother would be asleep when he got home. He used his key to get through the side gate of the house and was disappointed to see that his mother's light was still on. Once opening the door and seeing her sad and tired face he knew that it was going to be hard to keep the whole thing a secret. He hated lying, but he felt that he had to protect his mother from more heartache.

"Siswe," she said putting down her cup of tea.

"Yes, mom?" She had always tried to speak English to him as much as she could; she said it was to make him more prepared for the world. A world where a good understanding of English would go a long way, but recently now that he knew English just as well as the next person, she only seemed to speak English when she was angry or upset about something.

"Where exactly have you been?"

"I went out with Johnny and Amanda," said Siswe.

"That's strange," said his mother with a raised eyebrow. "I saw them walk past the house this afternoon and you weren't with them."

Siswe's mind started to race again. "Ah... I went to the mall with them and just as we were about to leave we bumped into Lionus and he offered to watch movies with me so we did."

"Is that so," she said, taking the last sip of her tea.

"Yes." Lying to his mother was harder than he remembered. The last time he had told a big lie was when he was playing with one of Thomas' toys and accidentally broke it.

"Mmm... which movie did you see?" she said looking him up and down. "You look a little too tired and worn out for someone who relaxed all day at the mall."

"I spent all my money on popcorn and drinks and didn't have enough for taxi fare to get home so I had to walk."

Siswe was amazed at how sharp his mother was, she seemed to know that something was up.

"Ah, I see," she said with a deep sigh. "I have another long day tomorrow so I'm going to sleep. I suggest you get cleaned up and do the same."

"Yes, mother." He was even more upset with himself for lying to his mother. He felt slightly better after the shower. He lay down for half an hour before he eventually fell asleep. That night he had nightmares that he would rather forget. He hoped that school would be very busy that week and help him keep his mind off that which had happened over the weekend. The thing that worried him the most was if someone had been hurt in the car that Jacobs had shot at. Not only would that make the crime more heinous but it would also mean that he had helped get an innocent person injured or killed and there was no way that he could forgive himself if that had happened. Siswe was surprised he got any sleep at all.

Wednesday 20th March 9:30am

Gunter heard some voices; they sounded close by, then they seemed to fade away and he went back to sleep. Quite some time later he felt something brush his against his hand. He tentatively opened his eyes. His vision was blurred and his eyes stung with pain. He looked up. It was Mary. She looked just as worried as before. She had her eyes closed and Amy was sitting next to her.

"Gunter!" she said putting down her phone.

"Where am I?"

"At the Hospital," said Mary opening her eyes and smiling. "You were shot."

"I remember," said Gunter, surprised at how little pain he felt in his side.

"Because the bullet had to travel through the car, it was slowed down and got lodged in your side. Thankfully the doctors were able to get it out in time."

"I'm glad too. How long I have been here?"

"You've been here a few days," said Mary. "It's Wednesday morning."

Gunter's head was spinning. He couldn't believe he had been out for almost 3 days!

"Wow..." said Gunter not sure what else to say. "What about my parents?"

"We've been on the phone to them every day," said Mary. "They're very scared and worried for you. They want you to get on the next flight home as soon as you're healthy enough."

"But I just got here!" said Gunter. He felt really torn. He wanted to go home, but a part of him wanted to stay and see this thing through. It felt wrong to come all that way and then just give up.

Mary's phone rang. She looked at the screen and passed it to Gunter. "It's your parents."

Gunter still felt pretty weak and his shaky hand took a hold of the phone.

"Hej," he said in Swedish.

It was his mother and she screamed with joy. Gunter smiled and pulled the phone away from his ear. It felt really good to hear his mother's voice. He then went into a long conversation with his mom and dad, and felt like crying a few times, but stopped himself. He was far away from his parents and he didn't want to make them worry even more. He had to be strong. After a few heartfelt goodbyes Gunter handed back the phone.

"What did they say?" asked Amy.

Mary looked sharply at her daughter for being nosy, but Gunter didn't mind and smiled okay.

"They're very happy that I'm okay and they really want me to come home as soon as possible, but they said I could decide for myself once I was fully better."

"Are you sure?" asked Mary.

"Yes, I came all this way to experience a new life and culture and even though it wasn't the very best start in the world I'm going to see if I can make it through. I might decide differently once I've had more time to think about it, but at the moment I still want to make the most of my time here."

"You're a very brave young man."

"Thank you." said Gunter, suddenly feeling pretty tired again.

"The doctor says that you're recovering very well and should be released tomorrow morning."

"Sounds like good news to me."

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow morning then." said Mary.

"Rest up nice and good, Gunter." said Amy, as they both rose out of their chairs.

"I will. Thanks!" He suddenly wondered why Amy wasn't at school. He closed his eyes again and fell asleep within minutes.

Wednesday 6:45pm

A bell rang and woke Gunter up in the evening. He sat up and he had a good solid meal, while watching some local television. He watched some Dutch program. He wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a comedy, but he found the subtitles very funny. And he wondered why all the sets had to be so bright and colourful. He then watched some news. He was half expecting his case to be in the news, it wasn't mentioned, but then he realized it was a couple of days after the fact and it was probably old news by now. He told himself that he would ask Mary or James when he got the chance.

After the weather came on, which said there would be more warm weather, he put the TV off and soon fell asleep again.

Thursday 8:25am

The next morning he woke up to someone running their fingers through his hair. It was Mary.

"How are you feeling? The doctor says you're all ready to go."

Gunter still feeling groggy smiled.

"I'm feeling good and happy to finally be out of here," he said.

Gunter and the few clothes that the Johnsons had brought for him were bundled into the car and he was strapped into the front passenger seat of a small hatchback.

"What happened to the Volvo?" asked Gunter once Mary was in the car and they were on their way.

"The police have it and they're going through it as part of their investigation," said Mary. "But once we have it back we're going to see if we can get another car."

"Why so?" asked Gunter.

"I can't bring myself to be in it again it would just remind me too much of the crazy incident and how you were hurt," she said as they drove through a pretty busy town center. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that whole thing, if only we were a little more careful."

"Don't worry," said Gunter. "It's not your fault. I knew the crime was pretty bad before I came here and even a relatively safe country like Sweden has crime."

"You're so mature and well balanced for your age."

"Thank you."

"What about the police, aren't they going to question me?"

"They wanted to, but we told them that you hadn't seen anything, and besides you were out the last few days. We didn't want you disturbed. Do you have any information you want to tell them?"

"I saw a tattoo on the back of the neck of the man James hit."

"We know, you said so when you had a fitful dream a couple of nights ago. We passed it on to the police and they said they would look into it."

"Ah, thank you."

They drove in silence for the next ten minutes or so. Mary seemed to be thinking hard about something and Gunter didn't want to interrupt her. Besides, he was quite interested by the shops they were passing. It seemed that some of the stores had market stall traders outside their shop fronts. It was the first time he had seen anything like it. He couldn't wait for the chance to explore the town center and its many vibrant looking shop and stalls. He had plenty of family and friends to buy gifts for when he returned home.

A few minutes later they came to some houses and they stopped outside a huge sliding gate. Gunter recognized it as the Johnson's house. He had seen pictures of it via email, but he saw some adjustments had been made to the place since the pictures had been taken. There seemed to be electric fencing along the top of the walls and even some razor wire.

"Home sweet home," said Mary.

"It's good to finally be here," said Gunter.

"I'm really glad you've come." said Mary. "Would it be alright if I help you get settled in quickly and head back to work?"

"That would be great, thank you." said Gunter, who was feeling tired again. The big gate slid nosily to the side and they pulled into a garage that opened and then closed behind them.

They entered the house through the kitchen. The kitchen was big, white and tiled from floor to halfway up the wall. Not as big as his parent's kitchen back home but almost as modern. There was a woman in the kitchen. She seemed to be cooking and cleaning.

"This is Sophie, our maid," said Mary. "She comes in a few times a week to help around the house."

"Hello, Sophie." said Gunter, feeling like he had to sit down. His side was hurting and he could feel the bandage irritating the skin under his arm.

"Hello, Gunter." she said and returned to work.

"Sophie will make you some lunch and show you to your room when you're finished."

"Thank you, Mary."

"It's a real pleasure, Gunter. But I must get back to work; just ask Sophie if you need anything."

"Thank you."

"And get plenty of rest."

"I will."

Gunter almost collapsed into the chair by the table in the kitchen. He rested his head against his hand and looked out of the window. He watched as Mary sped away from the house. He hoped that he hadn't taken too much time out of her work day. A plate was then placed before him. It seemed to be chicken, rice and gravy.

"Thank you." He did feel rather hungry and anything would make a change from hospital food.

"Pleasure." Sophie returned to the kitchen sink and started to wash the dishes she had used for making Gunter's dinner. He had never met anyone who had a maid before.

Gunter took a few mouthfuls of rice and chicken. "This is very nice, Sophie." His side pained him a little less and he felt stronger.

"Thank you."

Gunter found the whole situation strange, but it was good to find out how things worked in his new country. "Mary says you work here a few times a week?"

"Yes. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and sometimes Thursdays," she replied not looking away from the dishes.

"Do you enjoy it?" He mentally kicked himself for not thinking of a better question. Who would enjoy cleaning? On second thoughts his mother was a bit of a clean freak and often said she enjoyed having everything nice and clean.

"Sometimes I do. The Johnsons treat me very well." Sophie turned away from the dishes and looked at him. She seemed to be in her late twenties. "It helps pay for my studies."

"What are you studying?"

"I go to beauty school." She seemed quite embarrassed to be talking about herself.

"That's really interesting."

"Once I have a degree, I'm going to work as a beauty technician, and once I have saved up I'm going to open my own beauty salon."

Gunter smiled. "I like your ambition, Sophie."

"Thank you."

She showed him to the room he was going to use for the period of his stay. It looked as if he was going to be sharing it with Fred. He didn't mind; the room was quite spacious. There was a bed for him to use, and a cupboard which seemed to have all of his clothes already hanging up in it. Next to it was a chest of draws. There was a desk there too. Gunter noticed that his laptop was next to it.

"Just call if you need anything."

"I will."

Gunter was almost tempted to go on the Internet and send an email to his family, but the pills he had taken with his meal had really gotten to him and he felt very tired. He plopped on the bed and promptly fell asleep.

What seemed like a while later he woke up to some noise, it sounded like gunfire and it was in the room. He feared the worse and slowly turned over, but was relieved to see that it was only Fred playing a video game on the TV. It was a war game that involved a lot of gunfire.

Fred noticed the movement. "Oh, Gunter!" he said. "I'm so sorry I shouldn't have had it so loud!"

"Hello, Fred. Please don't worry. I was only having a nap."

"Oh okay." Fred turned down the volume. "Did you sleep well? Are you feeling better?"

"I did thank you, and I still feel a little tired, but a lot better."

"That's really great to hear," said Fred saving his game. "What would you like to do?"

"I'm not sure." Gunter got off his bed and stretched, he stopped halfway when his side started to hurt. "What is there to do?"

"I can give you the grand tour if you like?"

"That would be great." He had only seen the room and the kitchen so far.

Fred led him up and down the passage. There were two other rooms, one for James and Mary and one for Amy. Amy's door seemed to be locked. After the rooms he was shown the lounge and dining room. The lounge was big and spacious with a decent sized TV and the dining room had an 8-seater table. It was all very neat and tidy. Outside there was a large backyard. It was half grassed and half paved. There was a medium sized pool in the paved area. Gunter felt very warm outside and the cool clear water looked very inviting.

There was a second floor to the house. Gunter felt a little more tired going up the stairs, but he pushed on. He had to build his strength up again. The second floor of the house consisted of just one open room.

"This is the games room," said Fred. "My dad built it before he met our mother."

"It looks very nice." In the room there was a pool table, a pinball machine, a bar to one side and a small sitting area by the big windows that looked out over the swimming pool, the garden and the surrounding neighbourhood.

"Would you like a game?" asked Fred going over to the pool table.

Gunter felt weak, but he thought that it would be rude to decline the offer. "If you don't mind me taking a rest halfway?"

"Sure, anytime you like," said Fred getting a little concerned. "You don't have to play."

"Don't worry," said Gunter going over and picking up a cue. "I would love to play"

Within moments Fred had the game set up and Gunter was first to play.

Gunter broke for the first game. After sinking a few balls Gunter's pain was long forgotten, and he really enjoy himself. Halfway through Fred offered him an energy drink from the bar. Fred won the first game; Gunter gained some of his strength back and felt more confident as he went along and won the next.

When they were just about to set up a sudden death game rematch James, Mary and Amy came up the stairs.

"Hello, Gunter," they all said.

"Hi, everyone" Gunter got ready for a shot.

"I hope Fred here hasn't been tiring you out too much?" asked James, who went over to the bar, got a beer and joined them by the table.

"Yes," said Mary, "are you sure you're not overdoing it there a bit?" Mary looked a little concerned. Even though it wasn't his fault Gunter still felt a little guilty that he had caused them so much concern. Hopefully soon they will put the whole thing behind them and be happy again.

"I did have a long nap earlier, I feel a lot better thank you."

"That is great to hear," said Amy, she was in her school uniform still. The uniform made Gunter wonder about school. Was he ready to go? Would the Johnsons let him go?

"After this match, how about a friendly family game?" asked James putting his beer on a side table close by. Gunter found it a little strange that James would drink alcohol while not eating a meal or toasting a special occasion. Of course James would drink at a different time of the day or when not having a meal, this was a different country and different countries had different cultures and practices. Besides James most probably had a long day and needed something to take the edge off.

"I'm game." His side was paining a little, but he he had enough left in him for another game.

Mary smiled. "You guys keep yourselves entertained while I see to dinner."

After Gunter had won the game against Fred by an advantage of one ball, Amy and James played a game against Gunter and Fred. James and Amy were surprisingly good and managed to just beat Gunter and Fred on the 8 ball.

"Wow, you guys are good," said Gunter.

"We know," replied Amy with a smile.

"Rematch tomorrow?" asked James.

"Yes!" said Gunter and Fred together.

They went down for dinner. Gunter was pleasantly surprised to a see a lavish meal set out before them. After playing pool for so long Gunter had worked up quite an appetite, and was more than eager to get stuck into his food.

Amy said Grace, bowls of food were handed around and they dished up their food. There was a lot of new things that Gunter hadn't tried before and he put a little of everything on his plate. He just hoped that he could finish it all. It was bad manners in Sweden to not finish all the food you were given.

"So," said James after everyone had eaten a few mouthfuls. "Besides the horrible incident when you arrived here what do you think of South Africa?"

The others sort off stopped eating and waited for Gunter's reply. He had to finish a hot potato before he could say a word. "So far of what I've seen, the country is very diverse and I look forward to getting to know the place better."

"You're crazy," said Amy.

"Amy!" Mary looked on disapprovingly.

"She's right, anyone in their right mind would want to go home after going through such a horrible thing."

"James!"

"They're right," said Gunter. "I do very much want to go home, but my family has never been people who give up so easily. I have come to South Africa to learn about you and your people and I'm not going to give up because of something I had no control over. It was a terrible thing I would never want to go through again, but I'm not going to let it stop me from doing what I came here to do."

"If more people had the attitude you have then this country and world would be a much better place," said James, leaning over and giving Gunter a pat on the back.

"Would it be alight if I stay here?"

"Of course, Gunter!" said Mary as if the mere notion of the opposite was totally ludicrous.

"That settles that," declared Gunter. "I can't wait to get started at school here," he added after eating a slice of roast beef.

"I'm sure you will enjoy it, and you if you're up to it you can start on Monday."

"I would like to go tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!?" blurted out Mary with that familiar look of concern on her face.

Gunter just smiled.

"Why are you smiling?"

"You remind me of my mom," laughed Gunter. "The last time she gave me a look like that was when I came home from school covered in mud and one of my shoes was missing."

"How on earth did that happen?" asked Amy with raised eyebrows.

"I thought I saw our pet dog on the way home from school loose in a field, and I ran after him and not looking where I was going I slipped on some wet grass and fell in huge mud puddle. The mud was about knee deep. The dog, which turned out not to be our dog, came running, and because I looked like a friendly face and I was hopelessly stuck in the mud, it licked my face."

"Ewww!"

"I know," he replied with a grimace.

"Then what happened?"

"After some frantic thrashing I managed to find some solid ground and pull myself up. I was relieved to be out, but worried to see that my shoe was missing. I spent the next half hour fishing about for it but it was gone."

Amy laughed. "I hope that never happens to me."

"I hope it happens to me though," said Fred. Fred waited until everyone was looking at him before he added. "I need some new shoes."

Everyone burst out laughing, even Mary who would most probably have reprimanded Fred for such a comment. The mood lightened up tremendously and pretty soon after that they were trading stories and jokes for almost an hour after the food was finished. Gunter felt so much more relaxed and relieved. It was good to see the Johnsons smile again.

That night when he went to bed he felt calm and relaxed. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Friday 22nd March 6:45am

There was a loud bang in the distance. Siswe half opened his eyes. His mother came into his tiny room and put some hot tea on the side table next to his bed.

"Good morning, Siswe."

"Good morning, Mother."

"Time to get ready for school."

"I know, Mom," said Siswe with a smile. She said the same thing every morning, it was as if he was going to suddenly forget that he had to go to school. He didn't mind. It meant that she cared a lot about him. He didn't know what he would do without his mother.

"Good, get started!"

Siswe jumped out of bed, drank his tea, ate his breakfast of eggs and toast, and finished a little homework he didn't get a chance to do the previous night. By 7:15 he was all clean and ready to go. He heard a car hooter outside. It was his uncle Ellis, he dropped Siswe off at school every morning. Siswe grabbed his goods, gave his mom a quick kiss on the cheek and ran outside.

His uncle was waiting for him on the other side of the street. Siswe ran across and jumped in the passenger's side of the white Toyota minibus.

"Siswe!" His uncle had a big gap-toothed grin on his face. The old man was always happy to see him.

"Hey, Uncle!"

The taxi had one other passenger in it. It was Melody, a girl that also went to Siswe's school. Siswe found her very attractive, but she wasn't interested and hardly ever spoke to him. He had tried to break through the cold silences, but she resisted every attempt and got more and more sarcastic with her replies. He had given up on her a long time ago and hardly ever said hello to her anymore.

"I see you seem a lot more cheerful today." Uncle Ellis's English was the best in the family, during the years the British were in control of the country he had been the head mail clerk at one of the big newspapers and would on many occasions write down letters the editor of the newspaper would dictate to him. His uncle was proud of his past and would tell pretty much anyone who used his taxi.

"I am."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to me about what was bothering you on Monday. You were very quiet that day and you had me really worried."

On Monday, the day after he had helped Jacobs steal the car, he had felt sick to the stomach the whole day and hardly said a word to anyone. His uncle had noticed and bugged him about it ever since. "Yes! I'm sure."

"You don't have to be nasty about it." His uncle shook his head. They were getting closer and closer to his school.

"Sorry, Uncle. It's kind of personal, but I will tell you one day."

His uncle smiled and winked. They were outside the school. "See you tomorrow."

Melody and Siswe got out of the taxi and made their way to the school. For some reason she didn't run away from the taxi, like he had the plague or something, like she normally did. She actually walked next to him.

"This friend of mine..." she said, not even looking at him. Her skin seemed to glow in the morning sunlight and her dark eyes dazzled. She seemed to stop and look around to check if anyone had noticed that they were talking.

"Yes, this friend of yours?" asked Siswe as they got closer to the school. They passed the school sign. It said Heathwood High School.

"Oh yes," she whispered,"she said that on Sunday she saw you driving like a mad person in a BMW down the road, and almost ran her over."

Siswe's eyes went big, but he quickly caught himself and didn't alter his pace or his voice. It was very hard to stay calm, but he did his best.

"Is your friend high or something?" Now he knew why the girl on the pavement had been familiar. She went to the same school as him.

"Hey! She's my best friend, she wouldn't make things like that up."

"How do you know?"

"It would be a pretty crazy thing to make up wouldn't it?"

"That's for sure," said Siswe, hoping he wasn't sounding too defensive, "your friend needs help."

Melody seemed to consider it for a while. "Yeah, you're too much of a loser to be doing something cool like that anyway!" She stormed off down the passage.

Siswe sighed, turned around, and walked forward without looking where he was going. He collided with another boy.

"Sorry about that," said Siswe, helping the other boy pick up his books.

"Totally okay," said the other boy

Siswe found the boy's accent to be pretty strange and he looked different to most other people as well.

The bell rang and they went off to their classes.

Friday 7:00am

Gunter got out of the shower and put on the school clothes that Mary had bought for him before his arrival. They fitted just right except for the shoulders on the shirt. They were a little tight. He had developed his arm muscles quite a lot over the last couple of years since taking up rowing as a sport at school. The shower had also made him feel a lot better, as if his troubles were washed away. During the night he had woken up from a nightmare. He had been running down the road away from a man in a red jacket with a gun. The nightmare had been so vivid and real. It made him doubt his decision to stay on, but after he had calmed down a little he realized it was just his mind dealing with the high stress situation of the hijacking incident and being shot.

After he had gathered all of his school things he walked into the kitchen. James and Mary were there and Amy was sitting on a tall stool by the counter reading a textbook. Fred was still upstairs getting ready.

"Good morning, Gunter."

"Good morning." He took a seat at the kitchen table and within moments of sitting down Mary came over and put a plate of flapjacks on the table in front of him. They had a big wallop of cream on top and some syrup trickling down the side. Gunter hadn't seen such nice looking breakfast in a while. He normally had cereal and his mother only cooked breakfast occasionally.

"Are you sure you're up for a full day of school?" asked Mary.

"I am. My side is hurting a lot less and I feel a lot more energetic."

"Okay just be careful, and if you feel unwell at any time just go to the nurses office or tell one of the teachers and I will come straight through and pick you up."

"Thank you so much," said Gunter taking a mouthful of the fresh flapjacks. It melted in his mouth. When he was about halfway through he remembered something he forgot to ask. "The incident with the hijacking, was it mentioned in the news?"

Mary was a little taken aback by the sudden change of subject. "It was in the local newspaper and on the radio."

"Not on the TV news?"

"Afraid to say things like that aren't covered on the national news that often."

"Oh, I see," said Gunter continuing to eat his flapjacks.

Friday 7:30am

Fred was dropped off at the primary school first. It was his last year of schooling there. The primary school looked like it was quite a few years old. By Gunter's reckoning maybe from the late 1930's. His own school back home was a new school that had only been built five years ago. In fact the smallish town where he was from had seen a lot of development in the last ten years. Before the high school had been built, students had to travel ten miles to the city.

"Good luck at school," said Fred as he got out of the car and ran inside.

"He's a bit eager," commented Gunter as Mary drove off.

"Yes," said Amy with a smile. "There's this girl he really likes and he only really gets to speak to her in the mornings so he's always bugging us to get him to school early."

Gunter smiled. "She's a lucky girl, you have a great little brother."

Amy laughed. "I'm glad someone thinks so!"

"Amy!" protested Mary.

"Mom..." Amy sighed, "I was only teasing!"

A few minutes later they pulled up to the high school. It looked even older than the primary school. Gunter was a little nervous. How would the other kids at the school treat him? Was it a good idea going there when he wasn't in full health? Gunter pushed the doubt from his mind when he saw Mary's concerned face again. He said he would be strong and that's exactly what he was going to do.

"Just remember to be careful, and if you need anything please just call, okay?"

"I will, Mary. Thank you."

Mary drove away and Gunter and Amy made their way towards the school.

"How are you feeling?"

"Nervous, but good actually."

Amy smiled. "Do you have your timetable?"

"I do."

"Great, I'll show you to your first class."

They entered the school and started navigating the bustle of people moving around. It was maybe a little more rundown than Gunter was hoping, but he thought it was more than adequate and the place seemed to be kept clean and was well looked after. A few people seemed to notice that he was new to the school, but most carried on with what they were doing and didn't look in their direction. Gunter was talking to Amy and wasn't looking where he was going when he bumped into someone. The schoolbooks he was carrying fell out of his hands.

"Sorry about that," said the boy he bumped into.

"Totally okay," replied Gunter. He couldn't help but see that the other boy looked very worried about something.

The bell rang and the incident was forgotten. "I better get you to class."

They moved swiftly. "I don't want to make you late?" Gunter did his best to hide the fact that moving swiftly was taking his breath away and irritating the pain in his side.

"Don't worry." Her long black hair flowed behind her. "That was just the warning bell."

"Who was that kid I bumped into?"

"That was Siswe." Amy slowed her pace. "You best be careful of him."

"Why is that?"

"There are rumours that his older brother is in prison because of being in a gang and that Siswe might be a part of that gang too."

"Oh, I see." Gangs and prisons were the sort of things you only heard about through TV or reading the newspaper in Sweden. There were said to be a few gangs in Stockholm, but most weren't considered to be too dangerous.

"Of what I've heard he's a very good student, but no harm in being extra careful."

They stopped at the start of another passageway. "Your class is down there, I better get to mine. Good luck and enjoy. I'll see you during break time."

Gunter hugged his books a little closer and joined the boys line outside the class. A few of the other students looked his way, but none seemed to be overly concerned about his sudden appearance. A boy in front of him was the exception, he turned around and looked Gunter up and down. He was slightly bigger built than Gunter, he had red hair and there was a sprinkling of freckles across his cheeks.

"You must be that Swedish boy who was shot?"

Gunter found this to be a funny and really direct way of being greeted. "Yes I am, and your name is?"

"Ryan," replied the red-headed boy with a frown and a grin. "And yours?"

"It's Gunter." They firmly shook hands.

"You have a good grip."

They hadn't noticed that the class was looking at them and that the teacher had come out. "If you ladies have finished groping each other, I would like to start my class, if that's okay with you?"

"Indeed it is, sir," replied Ryan, not missing a beat and smiling broadly at the hulking teacher.

Some of the class chuckled but soon stopped when Mr. Haversham stared them down.

First the girls then the boys filed into class.

Gunter was the last to go in and Mr. Haversham stopped him for a quick talk.

"Sorry about the strange greeting," said the man in hushed tones. "You have to use every tactic to get and keep their attention."

"It's totally okay."

"Great, and I have to say you're real brave coming out to a strange country to learn. I hope I can be a positive part of your stay here."

"It's great to be here," replied Gunter, feeling a little better. The greetings of Ryan and the teacher had made him a little wary about his decision to stay. "And I'm sure you will be, I love learning new things."

"You'll do just fine." They entered the class where Mr. Haversham quickly introduced Gunter and showed him to a chair. A few moments later Mr. Haversham started the History class.

Some of the kids gave Gunter a few long stares as if he was an alien or something, but this soon stopped once the lesson was underway. Mr. Haversham, was prone to asking questions about the lesson at any time, and not getting the answer right normally meant homework for not just the person who got it wrong but for the whole class; it wasn't a very good way to make friends.

Gunter read along with what the teacher was reading from the text book. They seemed to be covering the American war of independence. Gunter had covered that in primary school, but it was quite a few years ago now, so most of it was pretty new to him and they seemed to be going into it with more detail than he had when he had done it.

It took a while for him to get used to the teaching style, but by the end of the class Gunter was really into it and hoped the rest of his classes were just as enjoyable.

Once History class was finished, they made their way to art class. One of the girls matched her pace with Gunter's. "Hello, Gunter, I hear you're from Sweden."

"Yes I am." He smiled in reply.

"I'm Melody, do you snowboard?"

"I've been a few times," replied Gunter.

Her eyes went big. "I so want to snowboard!"

"I'm sure you would enjoy it."

They rounded a corner and another class was waiting outside of the art class. "I so would! I hate art class!"

"Why is that?"

"It's a double lesson with another class, 10E. They're a bunch of clowns!"

"Clowns?" Gunter frowned. He found this girl a little a weird. She was loud, spoke fast and seemed to get very excited about things. He liked it though. She was fun and bubbly.

"Yeah, they take none of their classes seriously, and they're always acting the fool."

"Oh." Gunter wasn't really a fan of gossip, but he prepared himself for anything.

The two classes joined up. Ryan went further up the line and joined another bigger boy. Gunter guessed that they were more than likely part of the rugby team or something. From what he had read back home, rugby and soccer were big parts of the culture here. Siswe, the boy Gunter had bumped into that morning, was in front of him. He was leaning against the wall and seemed to be half asleep.

"Hi," said Gunter. "Sorry about this morning."

Siswe suddenly noticed him. "It was my fault. I should watch where I'm going."

"My name is Gunter." They shook hands.

"Siswe."

"Nice to meet you."

"You too. You're that exchange student aren't you?"

"I am."

"Cool."

They spoke for several minutes about general things before the teacher came out. The art class teacher seemed to be laid back and easy going. The two classes were split into pairs, with one pupil from each class joining a pupil from the other class. Gunter and Siswe were paired together. Their task for the lesson was to make a collage from various materials, about a scene of their choosing and they had a lot of fun. Gunter found Siswe reserved, but after a while he opened up and enjoyed it too. The time flew by and before they knew it class was over. They were very pleased with the results of their collage and they got a well-deserved A for their efforts. Gunter noticed that Melody looked at them strangely a few times, but he put it down to her being curious about the new kid in class.

Friday 2:15pm

Gunter joined Amy outside the school to wait for their lift home. Amy seemed to be tired, Gunter was feeling the same, the day of meeting new people and doing new things had really drained him.

"How was your first day?"

"I enjoyed it.

"That's great." Amy yawned.

"That Siswe is a good guy, he's in my art class."

"Really? I'm glad to hear it, Gunter. You're good at making friends."

Friday 5:25pm

Siswe sat in his room doing his homework when his mother came in. He looked up and smiled.

"You seem to be more cheerful today."

His mother looked really tired.

"Hello, Mother."

"What has my boy all happy now? A new girl?"

"No, I wish," he laughed. His mother was always inquiring if he had a girlfriend. It had seemed like her pet project lately to get him involved with someone.

"What is it then?"

"I made a new friend today."

"That's good. What is he like?"

"He's an exchange student from Sweden."

"That's far!"

"I know."

Friday 7:30pm

That night Gunter and the Johnsons ate dinner and played a game of Monopoly. There was plenty of laughing and joking. Gunter had a great time, and just before he went to bed his parents phoned him and he told them about how well his first day at school went and that he was feeling a lot better. His parents were very proud of him and said they missed him tremendously. He felt the same, but he was really starting to enjoy it in South Africa, and he couldn't wait to get back to school on Monday.

Saturday 23rd March 10:15am

That day Gunter slept in late. After he had a late breakfast Mary dropped Gunter, Amy and Fred off at the mall. After looking around and Gunter buying a few things to take home with him back to Sweden, they decided to watch a movie. Gunter was surprised to see that most of the movies that were on circuit in Sweden were also on circuit in South Africa. There was even a few that would only be out in Sweden in a few weeks' time. Gunter was a bit a movie buff and kept track of these things. A movie he wanted to see was on at the moment. Amy decided to see a more romantic movie, which started just after they got there and Gunter and Fred's movie would start half an hour later. So instead of waiting in the cinema they went and sat at one of the restaurants outside.

They ate a quick lunch. Gunter noticed someone he recognized. It was Siswe from art class. Gunter beckoned him over.

"Howzit, Gunter," said Siswe with a wide grin.

"Hello, Siswe. This is Fred, my exchange student brother as I like to call him."

Fred laughed and shook Siswe's hand.

"Nice to meet you. What you up to today?"

"We're just about to catch a movie. How about you?"

"Just browsing."

"If it's alright with Fred would you like to join us for the movie?"

Fred shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, no problem."

"I'd really like to, but I don't have enough with me." said Siswe.

"I'll pay."Gunter liked Siswe, he seemed like a good guy, and it never hurt to have too many friends.

"You sure?"

"Of course."

They finished off their quick lunch and got Siswe his ticket, bought popcorn and drinks, and went into the cinema. It was an action movie that had them riveted to their seats from start to finish There was also some funny parts of the movie that had them laughing just as hard as anyone else in the cinema. Siswe made funny comments about some of the scenes in the movie and they couldn't stop laughing. After the movie they met up with Amy who was waiting for them outside. She was surprised that they had an extra person with them.

"Hey, guys," she said. "How was the movie?"

"It was awesome!" exclaimed Fred.

"It was great, thank you," added Gunter. "Siswe joined us."

"Hello, Siswe."

"Hi," replied Siswe, looking anywhere but at Amy.

"How was your movie?"

"Bleugh..." she said as if she had a foul taste in her mouth. "It was soppier than I imagined."

Saturday 2:00pm

They walked towards the parking lot where Mary would be picking them up. Siswe tagged along because the taxi rank was in that direction too. He was chatting away with Gunter talking about Sweden when he spotted Jacobs and some other man coming towards them from the entrance. He couldn't let Jacobs see him with the others there was no telling what he would do.

"Hey!" said Siswe, pointing at a shop window and getting closer to it.

"What is it?" asked Gunter. Fred followed and Amy looked on from a few paces away.

Siswe had to think on the spot. He was pointing at a racing bike in the window. "I didn't think they would get this model here. I've always wanted one." It wasn't too far from the truth he did like racing bikes.

The racing bike was very sleek. It was called a Super Streamer 3300.

"It looks very nice," replied Gunter.

"It is," sighed Siswe. Jacobs and his friend had turned the corner and were walking away from them. And just when he thought he had gone unseen, Jacobs turned around and winked at Siswe. Siswe felt a shiver down his spine. He hadn't seen Jacobs since the incident with the BMW. He walked with a limp, but it seemed liked he was almost as mobile as before, he just hoped that he wouldn't come back and want him to work with him on any other jobs.

"You okay?" asked Gunter. Siswe had been standing there for almost a minute without saying a word.

"I'm fine. I have to go now," mumbled Siswe. He wanted to get away before Jacobs decided to come looking for him.

Gunter frowned, but then smiled. Siswe was probably going to be late for his lift home if he didn't rush. "Thanks for  
the movie and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day."

"I should be thanking you for the movie." Siswe edged away. "See you on Monday."

Gunter and the others were left there standing in silence.

"What a strange little boy," commented Amy as she walked off and the others followed.

"A little, yes," replied Gunter, "but he's a good kid."

"I agree," chipped in Fred, "he's fun to have around."

Sunday 24th March 11:00am

Siswe slept in. He had a big project to finish, and he wanted to be well rested and able to concentrate on it properly. Around 11:00 he made his way out of the house and sat in the shade against the tree. He found it the best place in the world to finish his homework. He was halfway through his work when he saw a shadow loom over his book. He had been so absorbed in his books that he hadn't heard the person approach. He thought it was his mother and looked up. She had gone inside to make him a snack and get him a glass of milk. He gave a little jump when he saw it was Jacobs.

"You were always the scared one. Not as fearless as your brother."

"What's it to you?"

"Watch yourself." Jacobs patted something in his pocket. From the shape he could tell it was a gun.

Siswe swallowed. From what he had seen, he knew that Jacobs wasn't afraid to use it.

"You're here about Thomas?"

"No, but he's going to be sorted out soon."

"When?

"Soon, but that is not why I'm here."

"Then why?" asked Siswe, the man might have a gun, but would he really hurt the brother of his gang's leader? He doubted it very much. Besides he had important homework to do, and he had to get back to it.

Jacobs breathed in deeply as if he was controlling some inner rage and doing a bad job of it.

"Those people you were with yesterday. Who were they?"

Siswe's heart jumped into his mouth. Fear swept over him. If Jacobs was asking about them then he didn't have good intentions.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't lie to me!"

"I was with no one yesterday."

"Siswe..." Jacobs went for the gun in his pocket. "I saw you with some people in the mall. Now who were they?"

"Those people?" asked Siswe, he made to get up off the ground, but Jacobs moved in closer making it very hard for him to do so.

"Yes!" Jacobs kicked one of his books across the yard.

"I don't know who they are, they were just looking at the shop like me."

Jacobs pulled out his gun and pointed it at Siswe. Siswe tried to climb backwards up the tree. What had got into Jacobs? Why was he acting like this?

Jacobs swore. "You're playing with your life, man! Now tell what I want to know! Now!"

Siswe hadn't been so scared in his whole life. "The blond haired kid is my friend."

"Ha! Your friend? Who would want to be your friend?"

"He is!" he shouted. His brother might be braver, but Siswe also had his temper.

"He looks rich. And the girl?"

Just then they heard some breaking glass behind them. Siswe fearfully looked behind Jacobs. It was his mother. She had dropped the plate and glass she had been holding. He prayed that she would run for it, but she didn't. Her face turned very grim, and she advanced determinedly towards Jacobs as if she was a prize fighter who was just about to beat the seven shades of something out of someone.

Jacobs was suddenly very jumpy after the glass smashing and the appearance of Siswe's mother. He jumped side to side and then dashed down the side the house. Siswe's mother ran after him shouting in Zulu and trying to throw things at him. Siswe was frozen to the spot. He closed his eyes and cringed. He hoped that he didn't hear a gun shot, but luckily all he heard was a car revving and roaring off.

Siswe got off the ground and dusted himself off. He felt a little dizzy and almost fell over again. His body was quivering. His mother came around the corner. She still looked angry, but when she saw her son's very worried face she ran up to him and hugged him tight. He started to say something, but she stopped him and held him tighter. She whispered an old traditional nursery rhyme to him that she used to sing it to him every night before he went to bed when he was younger. It had been so long since he had heard it. He felt calm settle over him.

"Come let's go get some tea and you can tell me all about it." The way she said it made Siswe know in no uncertain terms that she wasn't going to let him be until she knew everything. Siswe's heart dropped again. How could he let his mother down so much? Would she ever forgive him?

They sat inside the main house kitchen. The family of the house were away for the weekend. Siswe's mother made them some hot tea.

Siswe looked into his cup, and was lost in his thoughts and only snapped out of it when his mother cleared her throat. Siswe knew there was no way of telling her about Jacobs spotting Gunter without telling her about the hijacking. He didn't know where to begin.

"You're going to hate me for this."

"I can never hate you! Now get on with it."

Siswe told her everything from the time Jacobs came to visit him, the hijacking, the time he spent with Gunter and his family until the time Jacobs spotted him in the mall. His mother actually cried when he told her about the hijacking and he wanted to stop to comfort her, but she wouldn't let him. He felt like crying too, but he fought the urge, because he knew if he did he wouldn't be able to stop.

"Siswe, I'm so disappointed in you..." She took the tea cups to the kitchen sink. "Did you not see what happened to your brother when he did things like that?"

"He went to jail..."

"Exactly. You're forbidden to do anything like that again, you understand me?"

"I do, Mom. I felt so angry and disappointed with myself, I don't think even I could live myself if I did something like that again. Are you going to call the cops on me?"

"I'm very tempted to, Siswe, very tempted. You shouldn't follow in your father's footsteps like Thomas did."

"You should..." trailed Siswe, he hadn't felt so bad about something in a very long time, not since his father had died when he was younger.

"I will if you do it again, that's what I did to Thomas. I tipped the cops off about him."

"You did?" Siswe was shocked. He never knew this.

"It was for his own good, if he stayed out on the streets another day he would have been dead. You know your brother. Do you think he would have stopped what he was doing, because someone told to him to?"

"No he wouldn't"

"Now tell me why do you think Jacobs is interested in your new friend Gunter?"

"Jacobs thinks he has a lot of money."

"Is that true?"

"I'm not sure, but most probably. He dresses well and seemed to have the latest cellphone and a very nice watch."

"This is bad, Siswe. I really wish you never got involved with Jacobs, he is really bad. Even your brother was afraid of what he might do."

"I think he might want to kidnap Gunter."

"Seriously?" His mother looked shocked. "But why you say that?"

"He says the contacts who are going to free Thomas are foreigners. One of them was with him at the mall. I've heard rumors that they kidnap people and get their family to pay for their release."

"Siswe, we have to do something. We can't let this innocent boy get into trouble. I'll phone the police."

"But what would you tell them, mom?"

"I will tell them what a scumbag Jacobs is, and they will come and arrest him."

"I wish it was that easy, Mom."

"I'm not going to do nothing!" Declared his mother. "Do you remember where he lives?"

"Sort of yes." Siswe wondered if this was a good idea. Jacobs was the wrong sort of guy to mess around with.

"Good."

"What are you going to do?"

"Give the police an anonymous tip."

Siswe gave her the details, and she went into the front room and phoned the police. Siswe wanted to go listen, but she shut the door on him.

"That's done. Now Siswe I want you to go lock the side gate, and go finish your homework. Madam will be back soon, and I have a lot of work to do, so get a move on."

Siswe cautiously went and locked the side gate and continued his homework. It was a task made even harder by the fact that his mind was racing at a million miles an hour. He had to warn Gunter about the whole situation, and Jacobs's comment about Fred's sister had made him very uneasy too. He wished he had Gunter's number so he could phone him.

Monday 25thMarch

It was a very hot morning. Gunter's side had flared up the night before, and he hadn't had much sleep. He had the nightmare with the man in the red jacket again, and it was even worse when he thought he had lost the man, ran around a corner and straight into a set of three swords. He took some of his prescribed medication with his breakfast that morning and it took a while to kick in. He couldn't concentrate properly, due to the pain, but by first break he was feeling a lot better, and back to his normal self. He sat with Ryan and Fred and had a snack. He hadn't seen Siswe that day yet, he was wondering if he was okay. Just as Gunter put his lunch box back in his bag Siswe came up to him.

"Gunter, I have to speak to you." Siswe seemed to be worried about something and looked over his shoulder as if someone was watching him.

"For sure, Siswe, what would you like to talk about?"

Siswe looked at Fred and Ryan. He would sound crazy to them he was sure of it, but he had to at least warn him. "You remember when we were at the mall?"

"Yes?"

"And we were looking at that bike through the window?"

"It was a nice bike, what about it?" Gunter was confused. What was Siswe getting at?

"While we were looking at it, someone I know saw us..." Siswe didn't know how to say what he had to say without sounding strange. The bell rang and everyone started wandering off to their classes.

"And?" Gunter was very curious.

"Come, Gunter, we have to go. We have Mr. Haversham now and you know how upset he gets if anyone is late!" said Ryan.

"I know, best not to keep him waiting," replied Gunter. He really wanted to hear what Siswe had to say, but he knew if he was late the teacher wouldn't scold him as much as another student. He didn't want it to look like he was getting special treatment, which some of the teachers and students seemed to be giving him. "Siswe, I so want to hear your story, but is it alright if we continue this during next break?"

"Okay. Meet me here?"

"No problem."

Gunter stood there for a moment more as he reached down and picked up his bag. As he did so it gave him a really good view of the back of Siswe's retreating neck. He saw a tattoo he had seen before. It sent a chill through his body. It was the same tattoo he had seen on the man that had shot him. The man that had terrified him. The man who haunted his nightmares. Was Siswe a part of the same gang the hijacker was in? Could Siswe even be the man who had shot him?

He felt a hand grab his shoulder. He almost jumped out of his skin.

"Hey!" said Ryan. "You okay?"

Gunter nodded.

"Cool, we had better go, Mr. Haversham's class is on the other side of the school."

"Yes," replied Gunter simply. Was Siswe just playing him for something? Were they afraid he might identify the man who shot him? Was this gang really that big that they had members in schools too? He couldn't stop the questions from popping up in his mind. He only had a couple hours before break to figure what he was going to do.

11:45am

Siswe sat in his Geography class hardly paying attention to what the teacher was saying. He couldn't get Jacobs and yesterday's frightful events out of his mind. It was halfway through the lesson when he heard a sound he had heard before. It sounded like a familiar car engine. He wracked his brains trying to remember where he had heard it before. An image of Jacobs beckoning him into a car passed through his mind. It was that beat up Nissan Jacobs had used, the vehicle sounded just like it. He looked out of the window. He couldn't see anything resembling the Nissan. Was it his mind playing tricks on him? Or was Jacobs looking for him? Either way he was troubled. He couldn't wait until second break to be able to confess to Gunter.

The teacher was just about to tell them something when the intercom came on. It was the principal. He was known for his formal way of speaking.

"Good afternoon, students of Heathwood High School. I have the great honor to announce that Meredith Kutcher a respected author and motivational speaker is here today to give us a speech, but unfortunately due to her very busy schedule and time constraints her speech will be held during second break."

Everyone in the class groaned.

"I know this might be an inconvenience to some of you, but we as a school, our own little community, can't let up the chance to hear this special woman speak. It's just too much of a great opportunity to miss, but rest assured that you will be given ten minutes before her speech in the hall to eat your lunch. No littering or rude behavior will be tolerated. I expect to see you all in the hall on time, no excuses will be accepted."

Siswe's head sunk. There was always something getting in his way. Maybe he would be able to get a spot next to Gunter in the hall and tell him then. He just hoped that he would be able to explain things to Gunter without scaring him or making things worse than they already are.

12:00pm

The hall slowly filled up. Gunter could hear a lot of complaining. The students were unhappy about their break being taken away. He didn't mind it himself. At least he wouldn't have to see Siswe. Part of him wanted to talk to him and find out about the tattoo, but the other part of him remembered the intense pain and the nightmares that had plagued his mind the last few nights. Somehow he was going to have to sort it out, but he wasn't sure how. He would have to talk to James and Mary about it. They would know what to do. Once he was in the hall, and his eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting inside; he spotted Siswe on the other side of the hall searching for something or someone. Gunter hid behind Ryan's considerable bulk. Ryan frowned when he noticed this, but didn't say anything.

They all sat down. The principal came on stage. He was a middle-aged balding man, who seemed to wear a suit one size too small for him, but this didn't seem to phase him at all. He was oozing with confidence and seemed to give a look that made it clear that if anyone stepped out of line during this speech they would get into serious trouble.

Gunter leaned forward, and looked to the left. He could see Siswe on the other side of the hall. Gunter moved back before Siswe could spot him. A woman in her early thirties came out on to the stage. She wore a peach colored dress suit and what looked like a forced smile on her face, as if talking to mere children was beneath her. She also wore a huge hat, that was covered in flowers.

"Looks like a right stuck up cow," commented Ryan. Gunter and a few others sniggered. He knew it was rude, but that was the sort of impression he got from the woman as well. A teacher at the end of their line gave them a stern look. They all quickly closed their mouths, and tried their best to look as if they were paying attention to what was being said, which was a very hard thing to do because her voice was a dull drone. Gunter thought that the only thing she could motivate you to do was to fall asleep.

2:10pm

Siswe was very worried. He hadn't seen Gunter since first break and now it was ten minutes past the last bell. He wondered if he said or done anything to Gunter to upset him. He wanted to look for Gunter, but he was still stuck in class. One of the kids had a made a fool of himself and everyone had to stay an extra ten minutes. Once the teacher finally let them go Siswe came rushing out of the room, and almost knocked someone over as he made a mad dash for the front of the school. He heard one of the teachers shout his name, but he didn't stop. Something told him he had to find Gunter and find him fast. He finally reached the front of the school.

Through the crowd of milling students he could see Gunter getting into a car. He sighed when he saw that his friend was getting in to a car with Amy and what looked like Fred and their mother. At least he knew they were safe for now. He checked the rest of the street; there didn't seem to be a battered Nissan anywhere and there were no other suspicious cars he could see either. With confidence that Gunter and his exchange family were safe for today, he made his way to the side of the school where his uncle normally picked him up. He made a promise to himself that he would get to school as early as possible the next day so that he could explain the whole thing to Gunter.

He opened the taxi's door. "Hello, Uncle." He plopped down in the comfy seat. He was relieved that the day was almost over and he could get some rest.

"I'm not your uncle," said a voice he knew all too well. Jacobs turned around with a big grin on his face. He sat in the driver's seat.

"What have you done with my uncle!" screamed Siswe.

"Chill..." Jacobs brought out his gun and pointed it at him. "He's alive, for now."

"What do you want?"

"Shut up." Jacobs leaned over and smacked Siswe clean across the face. It stung like burning fire. "Do you think you can call the police on my place and get away with it?"

"I..."

"They tore the place a part. Everything I own is now ruined because of you! I can't go back there now, they will be looking for me," Jacobs spat. "And now I'm going to ruin your perfect little life. I'm going to make you wish you had never been born."

Siswe was in full panic mode. He tried to go for the door, but Jacobs cocked his gun and placed it against Siswe's head. "Make a move and you're dead, and besides you don't want me to kill your girlfriend do you?"

"My girlfriend?" asked Siswe perplexed. The door forgotten. Was Jacobs on drugs? More than likely he guessed, but even he should know he didn't have a girlfriend. He heard some muffled sounds behind him. Siswe turned around. Melody was tied and gagged and the guy he had seen with Jacobs in the mall was holding her. He had a gun in his hand too.

She looked at him with huge eyes. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. Her eyes were pleading with him to save her. Even though she had treated him badly so many times before, there was no way she deserved to be treated like this.

"Leave her alone!" blurted out Siswe. "She has nothing to do with this!"

By the anger that flared up on Jacobs's face he knew he should stop shouting out like that. It could get him and Melody killed.

"Shut up!"

"Ready, Amos?" asked Jacobs

"Aye," replied the man at the back. By the sound of his accent he was definitely not local. Siswe guessed that he was from North East Africa somewhere.

"Ready for what?"

"We're going to pay your little Swedish friend a visit."

Siswe's nightmare had come true. An innocent person was going to get attacked or worse because of him. He wanted it all to end, but then he realized, how were they going to get to Gunter's house? He didn't know where the place was himself.

"You don't know where to find him."

"We were going to follow him home until we found out from your girlfriend here that she is friends with that girl, and has been to her house a few times."

Siswe had forgotten about that. Melody and Amy had been friends for quite a long time. They didn't hang out as much as before, but they were still really good friends.

Jacobs revved the engine and they took off. Once they were away from the school Siswe contemplated jumping out of the door and taking his chances, but there was no way he was going to leave Melody with these fiends or let Gunter and his adoptive family face serious injury or worse. He had to suck it up and be a man. He sat quietly and tried his best to calm himself down. He had to think of some way of warning Gunter and the Johnsons before it was too late.

2:30pm

Gunter, Amy, Fred and Mary arrived home. Mary came into the house with them.

"I just need to fetch a few things and then I'll leave you three in peace to do your homework. That clear, kids?"

"Yes, Mom." Amy and Fred replied.

Gunter just smiled.

They sat themselves around the kitchen table. Fred got out his homework, while Amy went to the fridge to see what was to eat. Gunter just sat there. He didn't feel up to doing his homework just yet. Mary came past again. She had some documents in her hands. "See you guys in a few hours."

"Bye, Mom!"

"See you later, sweethearts."

Gunter put his head in his hands. He felt tired and unsure about being in the country anymore. What connection did Siswe have with the gang? Was it the same gang who hijacked that man and shot him? He hoped not, Siswe seemed like a nice guy. He heard the gate opening, but he didn't look outside like he normally did. He closed his eyes. He felt tired and didn't want to think about anything. A few moments later Amy screamed. It was Mary, she was back and she wasn't alone. There was a man holding her with a gun to her neck. Gunter couldn't believe his eyes. Was his luck so bad that things like this would carry on happening to him? Gunter glanced out the window. There was a taxi in the driveway. Amy backed away from the man. She stood just a few paces away from where Gunter and Fred were sitting. Her hand covered her mouth and she seemed to be on the verge of bursting into tears. Mary's face was defiant, but she didn't say a word. The gun was held tightly against her neck.

"What do you want?" asked Gunter, slowly getting out of his chair.

"Everything," said the man. He wore a dark blue mask over his head. Only his eyes and mouth could be seen. "Isn't that right, boy?" The man looked towards the door that led from the garage to the kitchen. There was no reply. A few seconds later a figure came stumbling into the room. To everyone's surprise it was Siswe. He stopped and looked everywhere except at Gunter and the others. Siswe looked very worried and stressed out.

"Isn't that right, boy?"

"Yes," said Siswe in a simple dry tone.

"Put more effort into it!"

"Yes, sir!"

Another man emerged from the garage. He also had a gun, and Gunter noticed that he seemed to be there to keep Siswe under control. Gunter's mind was so jumbled by the whole situation he wasn't sure what was going on. Siswe seemed to be part of the gang, but why was he so reluctant? And why did it seem that the other two had to keep an eye on him?

"Take me to the money."

Mary tried to open her mouth to say something, but the man pushed the gun harder into the bottom of her neck. "Don't say a word just take me there."

Mary slowly moved forward.

"Move!" commanded the other man with the gun; he herded Siswe and the others to follow Mary and the other gunman. Amy and Fred followed and Gunter slipped in behind them. He didn't want to even look at Siswe. He felt so betrayed. Much to Gunter's surprise they headed up the stairs to the games room.

Fred was very pale and Amy was crying silent tears. Gunter controlled his body. It was shouting at him to do something to save Mary and her family, but his mind kept it under control. He knew if he tried to do something now there would be a good a chance that they would all be killed. They reached the top of the stairs.

"What the hell is this? You better not be playing games with me."

Mary shook her head.

"If you are, my friend here," he indicated the other gunmen with a flick of his head. "He isn't afraid to hurt little children no matter how innocent they may seem."

Mary shook her head more violently and murmured.

"Good," said the man with a big smile, like the whole thing was fun and games to him. The smile made Gunter feel even more sick. "Now, show me the money!" He shoved her forward. She stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Please don't hurt my children!" she cried. Tears streamed down her face. The pressure and stress of the moment was reaching boiling point.

"Shut up and do what I say!" His gun trained on her.

Mary awkwardly got to her feet. She stumbled to the corner where there was a cupboard. The cupboard was against the wall and the big glass windows that lined the room's side. The others followed under the watchful eye of the two gunmen. Once she was at the cupboard she cautiously opened it. There was a large safe inside it; the safe door was locked with a keypad.

2:45pm

Siswe could see Mary in front of him by the safe. He couldn't help but believe that the whole thing was his fault. Why had he trusted and helped Jacobs in the first place? Why did he even let the man near him? It was because of his brother. His older brother whom he loved; an older brother, who had taken the wrong path in life. His brother who was the leader of the gang Jacobs was in. A brother who would be mad to find out his little brother had been used to hurt innocent people.

"Jacobs, stop this or I will tell my brother," he said as calmly as he could. "Leave these people alone, they have done nothing to you." Gunter looked at Siswe with a strange look on his face.

Jacobs laughed. "You misguided fool."

"My brother will make you pay for this and you know it!" Siswe's voice was getting louder. Jacobs had no right to treat his friends like this.

"Let me tell you this, I've never been afraid of your brother!" spat Jacobs. He seemed to be paying more attention to Siswe than he was to Mary and he didn't see her reach in and punch a short code into the keypad. Siswe hoped Mary had some sort of panic button in the safe.

"You're such a liar!"

"He ruined my life, I never used to be like this. I used to be a good kid like you, I used to go to school, pay attention in class and do homework, but all of that stopped when your brother came along. He slowly became my friend and soon after, with his guidance, I helped rob a bottle store. We were almost killed, I felt sick afterwards, but then we went on more and more dangerous jobs. I soon developed a taste for it, and wanted to do more and more dangerous things. Even things your brother didn't want to do. I felt alive."

Siswe felt he could relate about doing something you didn't want to do, but he doubted he could ever develop a taste for doing despicable things like this. He also noticed Jacobs had dropped his gangster way of speaking.

"In fact I should thank your brother for what he did to me. I have never felt more alive than I do now!" He lifted his head up, and then he lowered his face and grinned evilly at Siswe, "But it's too late for that."

"What do you mean?" Siswe wasn't liking where this was going.

"You haven't figured it out have you?"

Siswe just frowned. He could feel his anger building up.

"Your brother is dead."

"You lie!" Siswe's hands were now fists by his side.

"And you want to know the best part?"

Siswe said nothing.

"You helped me, that money we got from hijacking that BMW I got, I didn't use it to free him. I used it to pay someone on the inside to kill him. Siswe, you killed your own brother!"

Siswe dropped to his knees, the agony of losing his brother getting too much for him. He felt so used and dirty. How could his brother be gone? None of this seemed real. He wanted more than anything for it not to be real.

2:55pm

Gunter looked at Siswe on the floor. His friend looked like he was in so much pain. He felt so wrong for doubting him and treating him like he had. When the main gunman had mentioned the BMW hijacking, Gunter had looked at Mary. He wanted to do something but she shook her head. The man who had shot him was standing right in front of him. He never thought he would see the man again, but there was no doubting it. The way he moved and the fact that he had a limp made it clear that he was the man. Gunter was terrified, but another part of him was burning with rage. This was the man who ruined his start to his stay in the country, hurt the Johnsons and made him almost lose his friend, Siswe. And if things didn't improve soon, he could lose all of them in one foul swoop. He had to think of something.

The other gunman seemed to be bewildered by the sudden change in affairs.

Amy and Fred were huddled on the floor clutching onto each other for dear life. Mary had her hand in the cupboard. Gunter noticed that she seemed to be looking for something. Siswe rocked back and forth and moaned to himself. The main gunman seemed to be basking in the glory of the moment of ruining so many lives.

3:00pm

Siswe's brain was like a bag of shattered glass. Every time he thought about his brother or how devastated his mother would be when she found out, it felt like one the of jagged pieces of glass was stabbing him, and ripping him apart.

Jacobs's smile widened even more.

"What about the money, man?" asked the other gunman.

"There's plenty of time to worry about money later, let me have my fun first." Jacobs glanced at Mary for a brief moment. He seemed to be very confident that he had everything under control. Siswe knelt quivering before him.

Jacobs spat at Siswe. "If you think that this is anywhere near over, you're very mistaken." He turned to Mary. "You have a very pretty daughter..." He looked at Amy with evil intentions in his eyes.

Mary began to sob. "No, you can't!"

"Leave her alone!" shouted Gunter.

Siswe could hardly see, he was so blinded by rage. His body stopped quivering. He brought himself under control. He slowly raised his head. Jacobs, the man he despised so much, stood before him. He couldn't let this carry on. Jacobs seemed to be distracted by Gunter's outburst and was pointing the gun at him. Siswe couldn't let anything happen to his new found friend. He gathered all of his rage and channeled it into his reluctant muscles. He shot forward like a man from a starter's block in a 100m dash. Jacobs noticed too late. Siswe took him around the waist and tackled him. The others watched in amazement as they both smashed through the first floor window.

The other gunman stumbled back in shock. Mary wasn't as bedazzled by the whole thing and grabbed the gun she had been searching for in the cupboard and pointed it at the remaining gunman. "Make one move and you're a dead man." The man took one look at the gun and dashed for the stairs. Mary fired the gun. The bullet zoomed past the man to hit a painting against the far wall. The man practically threw himself down the stairs. They thought it would be the last they saw of him, but they heard some shouting and the man came back up with his hands in the air. The armed men in security uniforms advanced towards the gunman.

Siswe felt the air rush past his ears as he and Jacobs plummeted to the ground. He wondered if he was going to die. He heard a loud bang. He closed his eyes. They landed with a thud and a splash. It was all dark and wet. Had he died? Was this what death felt like? It felt too real. He opened his eyes, he could see the swimming pool around him. He came to the surface, gasped for air, and opened his eyes. He couldn't believe he was still alive. Jacobs was laying before him half in the pool and half out. Siswe looked away. The man seemed to be dead. Were the Johnsons okay? He suddenly felt very woozy. He looked down at the water. There was blood flowing into the water and it seemed to be coming from his shoulder. Siswe wasn't the best when it came to blood and fainted. The water engulfed him once again.

The gunman slowly backed up the stairs. Both the security guards had their guns trained on him. Behind the two men appeared a friendly face, it was a face that Mary and the kids were only too happy to see. "James!" cried Mary. Once he was able to do so James came running to her side, and held her tight. Amy and Fred came over and joined in. Tears were flowing freely.

"Is everybody okay?" he asked in a strained voice.

They nodded. Words being hard for them to use.

Gunter felt so happy that they were safe. Mary beckoned him to come over to join, he was just about to do so when the smile of Siswe flashed before his eyes. He rushed over to the window and looked down. The gunman seemed to be dead and Siswe was floating in the pool face down.

"Siswe is in trouble!" he shouted and ran past everyone down the stairs. The second gunman was now on the floor in handcuffs. Once he was downstairs he turned to the pool and sprinted. He just hoped his friend was okay. He reached the poolside and dived in; clothes and all. He grabbed Siswe and brought him to the side of the pool, and with lot of effort pushed him up and out of the pool. Gunter climbed out of the pool and went to his friend's side. He seemed to have a bullet wound to his shoulder, but worst of all he wasn't breathing. Gunter wasn't going to let things be and let his friend just fade away. He wracked his brains and then remembered the short CPR course his mother had forced the whole family to take once a new heated indoor pool had opened up near their home. He went over and started the procedure as best as he could remember. He gave a few breathes of life before he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He looked up with blurred vision. His eyes had filled up with tears. It was a paramedic.

"We'll take over from here."

Gunter got up and stepped back and let the professionals do their work. He just hoped that they were in time, and could do something. The Johnsons were outside too now. Mary came over and hugged him tight. "Are you okay?"

"I will be once I know Siswe is alright."

Gunter felt so warm and safe in Mary's embrace. It made him miss his mom very much. What seemed like quite a few moments later they heard a gasping for air. It was Siswe. He was alive. The paramedics raised him off the ground and placed him on a stretcher. Mary and Gunter followed as they wheeled him to the front of the house and into the ambulance. Gunter quickly went over to Siswe's side. Siswe's eyes seemed to he having a hard time focusing on anything, but they brightened up when they saw Gunter.

Gunter smiled down at his friend. Siswe gave a faint smile back.

The ambulance slowly drove away, turned on its lights and sped off. The front yard was now crowded with police cars and police officers. Melody was found unharmed in the back of the taxi. She was treated and questioned by the police before she was taken home. Gunter's head spun at how many innocent lives were hurt by Jacobs.

The Johnsons and Gunter were directed to the lounge while the two gunmen were taken care of. While they sat and told each other what had happened Gunter wondered what he was going to tell his parents. They were going to think he was in some kind of war zone and would want him to come home as soon as possible. Several minutes later one of the police officers came in and questioned them all. They answered the questions as best they could, but they didn't mention that Siswe had been part of the hijacking. They had all agreed that he had been forced to help Jacobs. They found out that the other gunman was a human trafficker.

After an hour or so the police were gone and they were told not go to near the pool or the games room, because the short staffed forensics team would be there in a few hours.

8:45pm

The hospital was busy and crowded with people. It was a lot bigger than the one Gunter had been in, but from the outside he could tell it wasn't as well run, and the inside wasn't much better. The white walls had faded to an off cream. Everything seemed clean, but he could tell the place hadn't been revamped in a very long time. The place also seemed to be under staffed. James had come with him to visit Siswe. Mary and Amy and Fred were staying at Mary's mother's for the night, he didn't blame them, he doubted if he could sleep in the house that night. After a few minutes of walking they reached the ward that Siswe was in. After a brief word with the nurse she directed them to Siswe's room. The room was square with four beds in it. There were families there visiting the other patients in the room. Siswe was in one of the corner beds. There was drip in his arm and he seemed to be sleeping. Gunter was happy to see that his friend was still breathing. His shoulder was heavily bandaged up. Gunter sat down in a chair next to the bed and James stood with his arms folded. James hadn't said much. He seemed to be quite upset about what had happened that day and Gunter didn't blame him, he was very upset too. He was sure that if Siswe hadn't done what he had, there was a good chance that himself and the others would be dead.

Gunter took his friend's hand and gave it a squeeze. The hand was a little cold, and there was no response. Gunter knew that there was a very a good chance that Siswe wouldn't be awake yet. He knew after his own operation that he had been out for days. Gunter took out a small note pad from his bag and wrote: "So sorry for not trusting you. I hope you get better soon!" He also left his cell phone number. A few minutes later a bell rang signifying the end of the visiting hour. Gunter and James left the hospital.

Tuesday 26thMarch

Gunter and the others went to school as usual. They weren't going to let the whole incident, even though it was very terrifying, stop them from carrying on with their lives as normal. The teachers were told about the whole thing, but the students were kept in the dark about most of it, although as with most things rumors were flying and the story was spread around the school before the end of the day. A huge get well card was bought and everyone in his class or anyone who knew Siswe signed it with get well wishes. Gunter was behind it and by the end he had to get another three more cards to fit in all the well wishes. He was amazed by how many people were with him in wishing that Siswe got better. He visited Siswe that night again. The nurses said that he had been awake that day, but for only a very short while. Gunter placed the cards and some of the gifts he and the Johnsons had bought for him by his bedside. Siswe was in a deep sleep the whole visit. Gunter was a little disappointed that he didn't get to speak to his friend, but he was sure that Siswe would be up and about in no time. He was also told that he had just missed seeing Siswe's mother, who had left several minutes before Gunter and James had arrived. Since she was family she was able to visit Siswe at any time during the day.

Thursday 28th March

A buzzing noise rang in his ears. Gunter rolled over, and tried to go back to sleep. He realized it must be his phone. He opened the phone to answer the call. He expected to hear his mother. She and his father had phoned him everyday since the incident, he had been having a hard time calming them down since he told them about the whole thing.

"Hello," he said groggily.

"Hello, Gunter!"

"Siswe!" replied Gunter. He felt so happy to hear his friend's voice once again. Fred rolled over in his bed across the room. Gunter went down to a whisper. "How are you?"

"Still in pain, but a lot better thanks and you?"

"Great now that you're doing better."

"Thanks so much for the cards and the gifts, I felt so happy to see them!"

"It's a pleasure, my friend."

"I'm so sorry, about everything, you should never have been involved. I hope you can forgive me? I would understand if you never wanted to talk to me again." Siswe's voice had gone from very happy to sad in a few moments.

"Don't be silly, my friend," said Gunter with a small laugh. "I should be the one who is apologizing. I should have trusted you."

"Now you're the one who is being silly, I would have done the same thing in your situation! Everything is my fault!"

Gunter sighed. "We can spend forever saying we're sorry or we can let the past stay in the past and be friends again, what do you say?"

"I say that is a very good idea." Gunter could hear the happiness inside his friend's voice.

"Agreed, friends forever."

Saturday 30th March 11:00am

They picked Siswe up from the hospital. He was almost fully recovered, and was going to spend the next few days with his mom recovering. Gunter and Siswe sat in the back of the car and they spoke the whole way. Amy had come along for the ride.

"You two are like girls, you never shut up," she said.

They both laughed and carried on chatting . Amy rolled her eyes and turned back to her cellphone. They reached Siswe's mom's place. Gunter took Siswe's good arm over his shoulder, and walked him over to his mother's place. She was really happy to see him, and rushed over to give him a big hug.

"Oww... My arm, Mom."

"Sorry, honey," she cooed. Siswe couldn't help but notice there was a huge box behind his mother. It had a red bow on it.

"What is that?" he asked.

Gunter went over to the side of box. "Why don't you find out?"

Siswe looked at them all one by one, but none of them would give the game away. He walked over to the bow and pulled it. The side of the box collapsed away. Siswe couldn't believe what was standing before him. It was a Super Streamer 3300. A bike he thought he would never be able to afford in a hundred years. Next to the bike was all the gear he would ever need. He was about to thank his mother when he realized she wouldn't have been able to afford it either. He turned to Gunter and the Johnsons. He looked at Mary. "You really shouldn't have."

Mary smiled. "We chipped in a little bit, but it was all Gunter's doing."

"Gunter." Siswe hobbled over and gave his friend a quick hug. "You're the best friend ever."

Gunter patted his friend on the back. "It was the least I could do, but I'm afraid there is bad news."

"What is that?" asked Siswe his face dropping. "You're not really giving me the bike?"

"No, don't be silly. Once you're fully recovered you have to ride your bike every day. Is that a deal?"

Siswe grinned from ear to ear like it was silly a question. "I'll be riding this beauty every chance I get!"

7:00pm

Siswe and his mother had just eaten their dinner. Even though Siswe was happy to be back home, and well on his way to recovery he couldn't help but notice that his mother hadn't mentioned what had happened to Thomas. He hadn't mentioned it to her. He found it hard talking about it himself, but surely the police had let her know that he had been killed? He couldn't let it go.

"Mom, did they tell you about...?"

His mom rushed over and hugged him. She started to sob softly. "I know about your brother, I got a letter from the prison and police the day Jacobs attacked you."

"It's horrible, Mom. I miss him so much!"

"I do to, I do to."

They silently hugged each other.

Monday 1st April 10:15am

It was first break and Gunter, Fred and Ryan sat around a table eating their snacks. They were chatting about general things when Ryan seemed to have an idea.

"Gunter?" asked Ryan with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes?" Gunter mimicked Ryan's facial movement and everyone laughed.

"I was thinking, you said you were into sports when you were back home, right?"

"Yes, I'm in the rowing team."

"So you must have good upper body strength? I was wondering if you would be interested in joining the Rugby team?"

"Mmm... It would be a good way to make new friends, but I don't know how to play rugby."

"Don't worry I'm in the rugby team," proclaimed Ryan, it seemed to be something he was very proud of.

"Nice, it sounds like fun."

"Are you sure?" queried Fred. "It's a pretty tough sport. A lot of people get injured."

"I'm sure he'll do fine. Only people who don't know what they're doing get hurt. Gunter is a fast learner and will know everything he needs to in no time. Right, Gunter?"

"Sure," shrugged Gunter. "I enjoy a new challenge."

"Great, see you on the sports field after school today."

"Today?" Gunter was a little worried about the short notice. Would he be ready for it? More importantly would his body be ready for the challenge?

"Sorry for not mentioning it before, but the only try outs for the next few months is today. Not a problem is it?"

"No problem at all." Gunter smiled. There was nothing like the present to do something. "Fred, could you phone your mom and ask her to bring my training kit when she comes to pick us up?"

"Sure." Fred got out his phone and sent his mom a quick text message. "My mother won't be too pleased about this. She says it's a sport for ruffians and hooligans."

"Chicks don't understand these sort of things," said Ryan shaking his head.

2:15pm

Gunter met Fred and Amy at Mary's car.

"Fred says you need your sports kit?" asked Mary.

"Yes, I'm going to try out for the Rugby team."

"Gunter!" The familiar look of concern on her face once again. "It's a very dangerous sport. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, ma'am." He smiled. He knew his blue eyes and blond hair worked on her to some extent.

"You're a fighter. Okay, if this is what you really want. I would love to watch you play, but I have something to do at the office. Is it okay if you give me a call once you're finished? Would you like Fred or Amy to join you?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be okay. Ryan is going to be there."

"Okay, good luck and see you later."

Gunter went over to changing rooms and got into his kit. Most of the other boys were outside on the field waiting for the coach. Once he was outside he went over to Ryan's side.

"You all ready?"

"I think so."

Ryan took one look at Gunter's trainers. "Ummm... I forgot you might not have rugby boots."

"Ah oh..." Gunter looked up and down at the other boys. They all had rugby boots.

"Don't worry, you can borrow mine."

"Are you sure? Don't you need them?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Gunter put the boots on. They were a bit big, but they were comfortable enough. Ryan seemed to be content to wear no shoes or socks at all. The coach appeared. He was just under six feet tall, had huge shoulders and an immense chest. He must have been in very good shape in his prime, but now it seemed to be dropping off quite a bit.

"Good afternoon, men."

"Afternoon, sir," they replied in unison. There were about twenty boys in total.

The coach went up and down the line and looked at them one by one, he lingered over Gunter a little, but carried on.

"Ryan, where are your shoes?"

"Don't need them, sir!"

"Don't need them? Are you mad?"

"No, sir, just the best player you got."

"True," said the man with a chuckle, "but if you don't bring your boots next time it will be the bench for you!"

"Yes, sir!"

Gunter was about to say something. It was a little unfair that his friend was getting into trouble because of something he did, but before he could Ryan turned to him and give him a quick wink. Gunter smiled back. Ryan was quite the character.

"Alright, men, I want everyone to do five minutes of stretches and a lap around the field before we begin. We don't want any of you girls pulling something."

They set to work stretching. Gunter started off slow and was surprised to see that his side was holding out quite nicely, but after five minutes and the run it began to sting. As he stood panting he noticed that there were a few other students sitting on the bleachers watching them. Gunter couldn't help but notice a cute blond girl sitting near the middle.

"She seems quite cute, do you know who she is?"

"I do very well," said Ryan with a wry grin.

"She's your sister isn't she?"

"Indeed she is."

Gunter smiled. "I had better turn my attention elsewhere, hey?"

"She's big enough to look after herself, but I do warn you that I take anyone who hurts my sister very seriously."

"No doubt. I have a little sister too. I know what it's like."

"Wait until she gets to my sister's age, things get a lot harder then."

"I can imagine."

The coach let them rest for a of couple minutes before he had them on the field performing various training exercises. He stood on the sidelines and took notes. He seemed to be quite impressed by what he was seeing, but it was hard to tell because his facial expression didn't change much. After the basic exercises, he had them do some scrums. They were strenuous, Mary was right when she said the sport was brutal. His body and side were really feeling it now.

After a half an hour the try outs were finished and the coach gathered them all before him. "We seem to have some good talent this year and you, boy," he said pointing to Gunter, "seem to have some potential."

"Thank you, sir."

"Your accent sounds different."

"Yes, I'm from Sweden, sir."

"For a long stay I hope?"

"Until the end of the year, sir."

"Good, we could use someone with your skills."

Ryan was smiling that his friend was doing well, but seemed to be disappointed that the spotlight wasn't on him. "What about me, sir?"

"Don't worry, son. This team would get no where without you."

"Right you are, sir."

After he had freshened up and changed, Gunter waited outside for Mary to come and pick him up. Ryan came past with his sister in tow.

"Debbie," said Ryan. "I would like you to meet Gunter. Gunter, I would like you to meet my little sister Debbie." Ryan stepped back and pretended to be interested in his cellphone. Gunter felt a little surprised that Ryan would go this far, but he wasn't complaining.

"Hi," she said. Her voice was soft and gentle.

"Hey." His voice cracked a bit and he felt embarrassed.

"Ryan says you're going to be in the team?"

"I am yes."

"You should be careful about your wound," she said with a little concern on her face. "You don't want to aggravate it too much."

"How did you know about that?"

"Read it in the newspaper."

"Ah, how are old are you?"

"15."

"You're really cute." His ears went red. He realized a little too late that it was most probably not a good idea to say such a thing in front of her brother, but when he gave him a quick look he just winked.

She blushed. "I think you are too."

Gunter chuckled.

She looked over his shoulder. "My mom is here, talk to you tomorrow."

"I look forward to it."

She smiled and ran off.

As soon as Gunter was in the car he was on the phone to Siswe. "You would never guess what happened to me today?"

Mary and Amy looked at each other.

"What happened?" asked Siswe.

"I met a really amazing girl!"

Mary and Amy laughed.

"You did?" Siswe laughed. "Ow... Don't make me laugh it hurts my shoulder."

Gunter told Siswe about the whole training session. Siswe was really impressed and happy for him.

"So tell me, when do you think you'll be ready to come back to school?" Gunter hoped it wouldn't be long now.

"The doctor is saying that Thursday or Friday would be best, but I'm pushing for Wednesday. I'll see how I feel."

"Sounds good to me, buddy."

Tuesday 2nd April

Gunter, Fred and Ryan sat down for second break as usual. Gunter had left over lasagna in his lunch box. He was halfway through it when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. The first few weeks of his stay had made him so paranoid that when he turned around he prepared himself to see anyone, but was relieved and happy to see that it was Debbie. She smiled sweetly.

He returned the smile.

"How about the chat we were talking about?" she asked.

"Sure..." He looked at Ryan for approval. The red-headed kid nodded. Gunter smiled even more, but the big guy had him worried. Why was he so supportive of him seeing his sister? It didn't make sense.

She took his hand and led him away to one of the benches. They sat in the courtyard. It was very hot outside, but luckily the bench was next to a tree and it covered them in some cool shade. They sat down together. Her hand felt so soft.

"I looked for you during first break," he said.

"I was caught up with some friend's problems, sorry. I'll try dodge them next time, okay?"

"Totally okay with me," he replied. He mentally kicked himself for not thinking of something better to say. He couldn't help but stare into her wondrous green eyes.

She laughed. "I love your accent."

"I like yours too."

"Tell me more about your country. I'm fascinated by the place, but I don't know very much about it."

"Hmm... It's very cold and very traditional. Even though we are a modern country we try to live by the old ways and be modest and humble."

"Very interesting." She hadn't looked away from him once. Gunter could feel the blood rushing to his face. He hoped it wasn't showing too much.

"Thank you, I like your country too."

"Seriously?" She seemed a little shocked.

"It has it's problems for sure, but if it has people like Siswe, Melody, your brother and the Johnsons in it than it can't be too bad right?"

"For sure."

"But that's not all." he said with a wry grin.

"Really?" she asked with a frown.

"Yes. If the rest of the country is as half as beautiful as you are then it really can't be that bad."

"Aw you're sweet..." She blushed and turned away. "And what you say is true."

The bell rang.

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and ran off. Gunter just stood there dumbfounded. He had never had this sort of effect on a girl before. Fred came up to him. "Your Nordic charm seems to be doing wonders, my brother."

Gunter laughed. "It seems that way." A small part of him wondered if it was a good idea getting involved with a girl when he wasn't going to be staying there for very long, but he didn't want to ruin the moment of happiness, and pushed it away from his mind. If things got any more serious between then they would deal with it then.

Wednesday 3rdApril

It was humid that morning, and Gunter stopped on his way to the entrance of the school to take off his school blazer. He knew he was supposed to wear it at all times, but he was sweating badly. While he was doing that he spotted a figure coming down the road. He waited a few seconds to see what it was. When it was close enough to see, Gunter couldn't believe his eyes, it was Siswe and he was riding the Super Slipstream 3300. That wasn't the amazing part though. He was riding it with one working arm and the other was still in a sling. Gunter ran over to meet him. Siswe stopped next to him, and almost fell off trying to balance the bike with one hand. Gunter grabbed the bike and steadied him.

"Are you crazy?" asked Gunter. "You trying to get yourself killed?"

Siswe smiled. "Wahoo! That felt good. Don't worry I know how to ride a bike."

"Let me push your bike in. We're going to be late for class if we don't move it."

"Thank you, Gunter. And thanks so much for the bike, it's amazing."

"It's a pleasure."

They slowly made their way to the bike shed.

"The bike ride has got me thinking." Siswe seemed to be having a hard time catching his breath.

"Yes?"

"I want to ride bikes professionally."

"Great idea! I think you'd do well."

"I think so too, there's going to be a bike race soon, and I'm going to start training as soon as possible."

Gunter liked Siswe's determination. "Do you think it's a good idea with your arm?"

"Maybe you're right. I almost fell a few times trying to keep balance."

"I'm sure we'll think of some way to get you in shape before the time."

12:00pm - Second break

"I love art class," said Siswe as they made their way in to the courtyard.

"Me too, it's my favourite class." They had just spent the last hour making a huge hand painting. Siswe had some yellow paint on his sling, Gunter had some red across his forehead.

"You're a great artist even though you could only use one arm."

"Not as good as you!"

They went and sat by Ryan and Fred like they normally did. Gunter sat down and looked around. He couldn't see Debbie anywhere. He hadn't seen her during first break either.

"Sorry I forgot to tell you," said Ryan, noticing his friend's searching. "Debbie came down with bad stomach cramps last night."

"That's not good," replied Gunter. "Tell her that I hope she gets better soon."

"Thanks. I'm sure she will appreciate that, but on another note..."

"Yes?"

"You do know that our first match is going to be next weekend?"

"No way," replied Gunter. "Aren't we going to practice first?"

"Yes three times a week. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays."

Gunter smiled. He wondered what he had gotten himself into. "We practice today?"

"No, only starting next week."

Gunter sighed at least it gave his side some more recovery time.

2:15pm

Siswe made his way to the bike shed, and was surprised to see that Gunter was standing in front of the bike.

"What's up, Gunter?"

"I'm afraid I can't let you ride home."

"Why is that?" Siswe felt perplexed and worried.

"I've invested a lot of time and effort into being your friend and I don't want you to throw it all away by taking risks you don't need to take."

"Really?"

"And besides, I would miss you if anything happened to you."

Siswe smiled. "I was thinking of pushing the bike all the way home."

"No need for that. I've already arranged with Mary that you can drive home with us."

Gunter pushed the bike and they loaded into the back of Mary's new car. She had traded in the Volvo for a huge 4X4. The bike easily fitted in the back. Once they were all strapped in they drove off.

"Siswe?" asked Mary. "Gunter tells me you're going to start training for the bike race, but you can't train because of your arm. I was thinking, how does an exercise bike sound? James had huge plans to ride in the Cape Argus bike race, but got a week into his training program and quit. How would you like his exercise bike?"

"I couldn't, you have done too much for me already."

"Don't worry. It's collecting dust and we can't think of a better use for it, we can drop it off tomorrow?"

"Thank you so much!"

"And do you need a lift to and from school while your arm is healing?"

"Thank you, but I'm going to start going with my uncle again, he has recovered from the shock of the incident, but I want to ride with him just to make sure he's okay."

"You're a kind young man."

Thursday 4th April 7:30am

Siswe jumped into his uncle's taxi. It was the first time he had been in it since the attack, and it was the first time he was seeing his uncle. His uncle had a huge black eye; it was bruised and puffy.

"Uncle Ellis, your eye?"

"Don't worry, son, those ruffians might have busted up your uncle's face but they will never destroy my pride and self-respect."

"I'm sorry you had to go through it all, it's all my fault ."

"Don't worry boy, I always thought Jacobs was a bad apple. I doubt you could have done anything to stop him."

"True, he was very determined." Siswe didn't like dwelling on sour subjects for very long. "Where is Melody today?"

"She was still getting ready when I came past her place, we're going to swing on by to pick her up."

A few minutes later they were outside her place and she came running up. Once she was inside she leaned forward and put her head in between Siswe and Ellis. She seemed to be very cheerful for a change. "How are my two favourite men doing this fine morning?"

Siswe couldn't help but laugh. It was the most out of character thing he had ever heard her say.

"Hey! What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Melody."

"I think she likes you," said Uncle Ellis with a smirk.

She gave the old man a light punch on the shoulder. "

"Don't you encourage him!"

"So it's true?" asked Siswe bewildered.

Her face contorted a little as if she was fighting some conflicting emotions. "You did save my life, and that I do have to thank you for."

Siswe never thought he would see the day where Melody said something that nice about him.

"It was a pleasure."

"Good, but it doesn't mean anything else okay?"

"If you say so." Siswe smiled.

"I still think she really really likes you."

"Just drive, old man!"

The old man chuckled.

Saturday 6th April

Mary dropped Gunter and Siswe off at the movies in the morning. Siswe was going to spend the night at the Johnsons and they were surprised to see when that they got back that all the lights were out in the house. Gunter commented on it, but Mary just said that James and the others were most probably watching a movie in the lounge and had the lights off for better effect.

Gunter opened the door and stepped into the kitchen. The lights suddenly came on and they heard people shouting "Surprise!" Gunter almost had a heart attack and clutched Siswe's arm for a brief moment. Siswe was almost every bit as surprised

Gunter looked at the familiar faces. There seemed to be a mixture of friends there. There were a few of Amy's friends including Melody, a few of Fred's friends and some of Gunter and Siswe's friends. Most of all Gunter was happy that Debbie was there too.

"What is all this for?" asked Gunter as Mary joined them.

"We thought that you had a really rough start to your stay here and both you and Siswe were in hospital, it was about time you had some fun. Don't you agree?"

"Totally okay with me." Gunter's smile grew even wider.

"Me too."

They went and mingled with the others. Gunter naturally gravitated towards Debbie and Siswe seemed to be doing the same towards Melody.

"Hey, Gunter!" breathed Debbie, as he came closer.

"Hi, Debbie, it's really good to see you. You were very good at keeping this a secret from me."

"I know, it was really hard. I was tempted to tell you a few times, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise. The wait was worth it to see you so happy."

"You're too sweet."

"Why, thank you."

Amy started some music in the games room upstairs. The window had been repaired and the room had been redecorated since the attack.

"Would you like to dance?"

"I would like nothing better." She smiled broadly.

Siswe and Melody followed their lead and joined them to dance upstairs.

"Sorry if I have two left feet, I'm not very good at this," said Debbie, stumbling a bit while dancing.

"Don't worry, I'm not the best dancer in the world either." To prove the point Gunter almost lost his balance.

They both laughed. Gunter could easily say without a doubt that it was the best day he had since he had been in the country, and by the look on Siswe's face it was the best time he had had in a very long time too.

Saturday 13th April 1:45pm

The stadium was packed with pupils from both schools. They were dressed very colourfully and they weren't shy about letting their team know that they supported them. Ryan sat next to Gunter on the bench.

"This is the most people I've seen come to an opening game in a long time, Gunter. I think they come to see some of your Viking heroics in action."

"You think so?"

"Well it has to be something." Ryan seemed to spot something out of the corner of his eye. It was Siswe.

"Good luck for the game, Gunter. I know you're going to knock them dead."

"Thank you, Siswe." Gunter was happy to see that Melody was by his friend's side.

Gunter felt pumped and ready for the game, but he was wondering where Debbie was. She had said she would watch the game. She said she wouldn't miss it for the world. The referee called the players on to the field. Gunter stayed back. Both groups of supporters cheered loudly. Just as he was about to run out on to the to field, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around. He found penetrating green eyes looking at him, and before he knew it her lips met his. It was like a explosion of emotions. The crowd's noise faded away and all he could feel and hear was Debbie.

Their lips parted and they smiled at each other.

"I think they're waiting for you."

Gunter turned to looked at the field. Both teams were looking at them and his coach was tapping his foot. "So they are."

"Good luck, my Swedish boy," she said.

Gunter winked and ran out on to the field. He felt like a million dollars.

"Ready to play now?" asked their coach.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Remember your training and keep your eye on the prize."

"Will do."

The referee blew the whistle. The first few minutes the teams ran back and forth, like two fighters parrying, trying to find their opponents' strengths and weaknesses. The other team, the Bluewing Crusaders, were pretty good and their best quality was their defense, but their offense left quite a lot to be desired. About ten minutes into the game, they were at a stalemate and Gunter's still-recovering side was giving him some trouble. Ryan came running past him and threw him the ball and shouted: "Go for the drop goal."

Gunter almost froze with the ball in his hand. Half the other team were charging towards him. He only had a few moments to react. He looked up at the posts, dropped the ball and kicked it as hard as he could. The players stopped and watched as the ball went flying towards the posts. The ball looked like it was off to the left. The ball hit the post, but bounced to the right and went through the posts. The home team's crowd erupted. Gunter couldn't believe it; he had scored the first few points of the game.

In the second half of the game Gunter took a quick breather and searched the grandstand. He spotted Debbie, she waved. He gave a small wave back. The ball landed at his almost unmoving feet, and a couple moments later someone slammed into him. Gunter crashed to the floor. His side burned like fire, and he couldn't bring himself to get back on his feet. Ryan came running over to him and called a time out. Coach Peterson and the game's doctor came up to him.

"How are you feeling?" asked the coach.

"I feel dizzy and my side is ripped up."

"Best get you on the bench."

"But I want to play," said Gunter. He didn't want to let his friends down just because he felt a little unwell. Tries had been scored on both sides and now the home team was trailing the other team by four points.

"Maybe later," said the coach, "but for now you must rest."

"Yes, sir." Gunter could see Debbie in the stands as the coach helped him back to the bench. Her hand was covering her mouth. Gunter collapsed on the bench and put his head in his hands. He just wanted to rest his eyes. After a few minutes he opened his eyes and looked up. There were only about ten minutes left in the game. The other team had possession of the ball. Ryan managed to get the ball off the other team, but a few moments later he was tackled to the ground. The other team scooped up the ball. They ran off and scored another try. They were now nine points behind. If they didn't score a try soon they would be out of the game.

Six minutes before the end of the game Ryan got hold of the ball again, but he didn't get caught up by the other team this time, he charged forward, put down two defending players and managed to score a try. They were back to four points behind. The conversion was next. Gunter looked to his left. The team's star kicker was on the bench with a leg injury.

Coach Peterson called for a timeout.

"Ready to go back on, Gunter? We need your foot."

Gunter jumped up and down. "Ready, sir." His side was still giving him trouble, but he wasn't going to tell the coach that. The crowd roared.

Gunter went over to ball. He looked up at the stands and at Debbie, she waved. He felt his confidence boosted. He lined up the posts, stepped back a few paces back, took a deep breath, charged forward and kicked the ball. It sailed through the air and went through the posts down the middle. The crowd erupted with cheers. The gap was now a two point margin, but they only had three or four minutes with overtime left to try score them in.

The coach queried from the sidelines if he was fit to carry on playing; he indicated that he was. Would he be able to keep himself together for the last few minutes that remained in the game? He really hoped so. The other team seemed to be determined to slow the pace of the game so that the score would stay as is and they would win. Coach Peterson and Ryan seemed to have other plans. They exchanged some hand signals. Ryan grimly nodded his head and charged forwards. A few of the other guys followed. They ran towards the other team in a staggered line. The other team got through a few guys before Ryan managed to take one down and steal the ball.

"Go!" he shouted. All defense was forgotten in a last ditch effort to score some points. Ryan and the team steamrolled their way through the opposition. The Bluewings were a little too spread out and unprepared for the full on assault. Ryan threw ball just as he was tackled. Gunter sprinted forward and so did one of the Bluewings. There was one minute left in the game. The other guy dived forward first. The ball landed just before him and bounced up and over him. Gunter, already going at full speed, had nowhere to go and also dived forward. Amazingly he got a tenuous hold on the ball, landed with a roll, saw that half of the other team were bearing down on him, and threw the ball to his nearest team mate. It was Ryan. Ryan grabbed the ball. Gunter laid on the ground and watched in amazement as Ryan, seeing that his path blocked, faked a left to right movement and dove over the defending man's shoulder, and landed on the other side of the try line.

Some cheering erupted from the crowd, but all waited with baited breath for the signal from the referee declaring that it was a try. A few moments later the referee blew his whistle. The crowd went absolutely ballistic. It had been years since they had won an opening game. Especially against a team as good as the Bluewing Crusaders. Gunter rolled over on to his back and smiled. He was so happy, but so bone-tired as well. A few moments later the ref blew his whistle again. The game was over.

Someone gripped his hand pulled him up and back on to his feet. It was Siswe. "Amazing game, my friend, you really showed those guys how to play!"

Gunter chuckled. "Maybe, but it was a very steep learning curve, I'm absolutely shattered."

"For your first game ever, I think you did very well."

"I'll you give that." It wasn't in the Swedish nature to brag, but he had to admit to himself, he had done rather well. They made their way back to the changing rooms. "How's your training coming along?"

"It was hard at first," admitted Siswe. "But now I can do a few hours on the bike with no sweat, and next week my doctor says I can take off the sling."

"Excellent news."

After the game. Gunter and Debbie spent the evening together relaxing and listening to music. The pain was the last thing on his mind when he was with her and it really helped with his recovery.

Saturday 27th April

Gunter waited at the side of the road. Both sides of the road were packed with people and cars. Everyone was there, even Siswe's mother had come out. Everyone was there except for Siswe. They looked down the road expectantly. They could hear the crowd getting louder and louder from further down the road. A group of riders came into view. They were only seconds away from the finishing line. Gunter searched the faces of the oncoming riders, he couldn't see Siswe's face in the first ten people, then out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Siswe's colours of blue and bright yellow. He was coming down the side on his own. His friend seemed to be very tired, but you could see that he was putting every little ounce of energy he had left into making himself go faster. Gunter, and everyone cheered him on. Melody, who was also with them, wasn't quiet about her support of her boyfriend and cheered him on the loudest. When he heard her voice he seemed to gain that little bit of extra strength. He closed in on the leading pack. It was a little too late, but he had done really well and managed to squeeze into fifth place before he crossed the line. Siswe's mother and Melody hugged each other and jumped up and down for joy.

"Siswe, I'm so proud of you, my son."

"But I didn't win," said Siswe, he seemed to be a little down about not finishing in the top three. The last few weeks it was all he had been focused on.

"Don't be silly, boy, you're still a winner to me."

"Thank you, Mother."

"And besides, you will win it next time. Carry on improving as you have been, and you are sure to do even better next time."

"Your mom is right," said Gunter. "You have gone from a person who used to ride a bike sometimes, to a person who came fifth in a race with other people who have been doing this most of their lives. It's only logical that you will take some time to catch up."

"Very true," nodded Siswe with a smile.

They travelled back in Mary's new 4x4. James, Amy and Fred were driving in James's car.

"And you know another thing?" asked Melody.

"No?" Siswe frowned.

"No matter if you never win a race, you will always be a silly, but cute Siswe." Everyone laughed. Even Siswe thought it was slightly amusing.

Friday 3rd May

Gunter came home from school with the other kids as usual. He was feeling a little down. He had just gotten his report card. It was a little disappointing. His report card was full of Bs and Cs when they should have been As and Bs like he was used to. With the rugby training and spending so much time with Siswe and Debbie or with the Johnsons he hardly had any time to study. Now he had the task of phoning his parents, and telling them the bad news. That evening he phoned his parents:

"Hello, Mother," his voice was softer and more subdued than normal.

"Gunter!" She was always so happy to hear his voice. He had missed her so much. "How is my little pumpkin today?"

He smiled.

"I'm well, Mom, but I have some bad news..."

"Oh no!" Her voice suddenly grew very concerned. He kicked himself for the wrong choice of words. "What happened, no one got hurt did they?"

"Not that kind of bad news."

"Oh! I'm so relieved. Sometimes your father and I are worried sick about you."

"I know, Mom. I'm sorry."

"What is the news, Gunter?"

"My report card..." his voice trailed off. There was no use hanging back in longer. "I didn't do too well. "I got 3 Bs and the rest Cs."

He expected his mom to get quite upset. "Oh, Gunter, that is really okay! Silly boy, you had me worried."

"You're not upset?" He felt better already.

"Of course not, you're doing very well and your father and I are very proud of you. After all you're in a new school, new country and surrounded by so many new people, you are bound to take some time to get into the swing of things, and besides after what you went through, you're lucky to have done so well."

"You're the best, Mom!"

"I miss you so much and I can't wait for you to get here on holiday." Gunter was going home for a few weeks during one of the end of term breaks. He couldn't wait.

"Me too." He laughed. "And, Mum?"

"Yes, pumpkin?"

"Do you remember the girl Debbie I mentioned?" Even though he was almost grown up, he still found it hard to speak to his mother about girls.

"The one you like so much?"

"Yes, I was wondering could she come with me to visit Sweden?" He had asked Siswe if he had wanted to come to Sweden with him, but he declined the offer, he had a big bike race during the holidays and he was going to spend the rest of the time with Melody and her aunt and uncle in Durban.

"Wow, Gunter, that is a big thing to ask. Would her parents let her?"

"I'm not sure. I wanted to ask you and dad first, I didn't want to get her hopes up for nothing."

"I'm sure she would have a lot a fun here, I will speak to your father about it, and you ask her parents okay?"

"Sounds like a plan to me, Mom."

Gunter looked at his watch. He had been on the phone quite a while and phoning long distance wasn't cheap. They quickly caught up on a few other things and said their goodbyes.

Saturday May 23rd 6:00pm

The sun was just setting on the horizon. Gunter and Debbie sat in her back garden. It was her birthday and they had just enjoyed a small dinner party, with her parents. She was happy about it being her birthday, but she seemed a little downcast about something. She looked out at the reddish-pink sky, and didn't say a word.

"Debbie?"

She turned and looked at him with the green eyes that he found so amazing. She smiled a soft gentle smile, but even there Gunter could tell that there was something bothering her. "Yes?"

"Why so sad?"

"You know me well," she smiled a little more. "I don't know, I was just thinking about the winter holidays and how sad I'm going to be with you gone."

"I know, Debbie." He moved in closer and put his arm around her. "Maybe this well help." He passed her a card.

"I hope it's a card with your phone number in Sweden, because I want to speak to you every day. You got that?"

"Oh I'm sure that won't be a problem." he said with a wry smile.

Debbie raised one eyebrow. "You're up to something aren't you?"

"Open it and find out."

Debbie didn't take her eyes off him. She slowly opened the envelope and pulled out what was inside. She looked at the airplane tickets with disbelieving eyes. She looked at the name on the ticket. Her eyes went even bigger. She let out a screaming giggle. "Gunter!" She hugged and held him tight. "You're so amazing!"

Gunter just smiled.

"But how?" She sounded so excited and happy.

"Your parents and my parents both chipped in and now you're coming with me on holiday."

"Oh I can't wait!"

She then ran inside and gave both her parents big hugs, even Ryan was ambushed coming out of the kitchen.

Friday June 5th

After a particularly hard and tiring session. Gunter and Ryan sat on the bench by the field, catching their breath before they went back inside to get changed. It was the first time in a while that he and Ryan had been alone for any length of time and he had been meaning to ask him something.

"For a big brother you're very supportive about me seeing your sister."

"I was wondering when you would ask about this again." Ryan rubbed his eyes and yawned. "To tell you the truth it can be very hard for me to see her with you, but I've gotten over it and I have no reason to be upset with you. You make her feel happier than she has been in a very long time. Even my parents see that you are a good influence on her, even though she wants to spend every waking moment with you, she is working and studying a lot harder and doing much better in school. Could you believe she used to get Cs and Ds?"

Gunter was a little taken aback, it didn't sound like the girl he knew. "Did she have some problems in the past?"

"She doesn't like to talk about it so don't tell her that I told you, okay?"

He found it hard to keep secrets from her, but if he was going to understand her better, then he had better know. "I won't tell her."

"When was nine years old, she went to the Pretoria zoo with our Gran, and had a great time. I was playing rugby that weekend so couldn't go, on the way back a drunk driver sped through a red light and hit the car Debbie and our Gran was in."

"That's so terrible!"

"Except for some cuts and bruises Debbie was alright, but our Gran had been close to the impact, and suffered serious injuries. Debbie was helpless as she watched her only remaining grandparent pass away before her eyes."

Ryan was shaking a little and Gunter could see some tears. "She was never the same after that. She went through a very rebellious stage a few years back and only recently mellowed out, and now when she saw you, a couple of months back, I could see some of the old Debbie coming back. And there's nothing in the world I want more than her to be happy. "

"Ryan, I'm sorry about your Gran." Gunter, fought the urge to cry too. "And thanks so much for telling me. I promise I will take the best of care of your sister."

"You better!" He thumped Gunter on the arm. The tears now forgotten.

Gunter couldn't believe it was possible, but he adored Debbie even more.

Saturday June 22nd

It was a crisp snow-blanketed morning, forests blurred past the windows. Living deep in the north of the country the winter lasted longer than in the south.

"Ah wow!" Debbie gasped. "It looks like pages of a fairy tale come to life."

"It does, doesn't it?" Gunter had never looked at it that way before. It had always just been home. It looked so beautiful seeing it all again.

Debbie could hardly keep her eyes open. She had been so excited during the flight that she couldn't sleep. It was still an hours drive back to his home. They were getting a lift in a taxi. After that they came to some more built up areas and it was mostly just highway. "Debbie, I think you should get some sleep."

"I think you're right." She gripped his arm, put her head against his shoulder and promptly fell asleep.

Halfway through the journey the taxi driver looked back through his rear view mirror. "She has a strange accent. Where's she from?"

"South Africa."

"Wow. That's far. You were there too?"

"I was." Gunter spent the rest of the drive telling the driver about his time and adventures there. As he was telling the man, he realized how much he was going to miss the place once his time was over. He vowed once he got back that he would make every moment count. And not being able to see Debbie was unbearable to think about.

Late that morning they arrived at Gunter's home. His mom was there and his little brother and sister. His mom came up to the door, which he had just opened. Debbie was still asleep against his arm.

"She looks like a sleeping angel." she commented, giving Gunter a kiss on the forehead. Gunter smiled. It felt so good to be home.

Debbie groaned a little and woke up and stretched. "Oh, are we here?" She looked around bewildered. "Oh, you must be Gunter's mom."

"I am yes, nice to meet you, Debbie."

They untangled themselves and got out the car. Gunter gave his little brother and sister big hugs. They were both very happy to see him.

Debbie stood there shivering. Gunter's mom hugged her around the shoulders and took her inside. "Better get you warmed up, dear. Kids bring in the luggage."

Sunday June 30th

Event though they were wrapped up quite warmly the wind cut through all their layers of clothes and made them feel cold. Winter was lingering longer than normal in Sweden. They looked down at the slope before them. To Gunter it looked like a medium slope. One he had been down many times and could most probably do with his eyes closed.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Debbie. "There are a lot of things to crash into on the way down."

"You conquered the beginner slopes with no trouble at all. I'm very confident you can make this out alive."

"Yes, but I have the bruises that prove I conquered those slopes."

"Trust me, you will do fine."

"I hope so, but before I go down this hill and potentially kill myself, can I have my potentially dying wish?"

"For you? I'm sure that can be arranged." Gunter smiled.

"Since I'm now sixteen years old and I've never been kissed can you relieve me of that?"

"What about before the rugby match?"

"That was just a good luck kiss, silly." she rolled her eyes.

Gunter visibly blushed. He wondered when this was going to come. He leaned over, she closed her eyes expectantly, at the last second he moved up and kissed her on the forehead.

She frowned and looked at him. All the emotions under the rainbow passing by her eyes. She looked a little angry.

"That's not the sort of kiss I meant."

Gunter smiled and shrugged.

Debbie seemed to fight the urge to laugh, she didn't win, she burst out laughing and collapsed onto the soft snow.

Gunter laughed and pulled her back up.

She stopped and smiled wryly. "You can't avoid the kiss forever you know."

"I know." he said, brushing some snow out of her hair. "But you will have to catch me first!" he turned and made a dash down the slope.

"Hey!" she shouted.

She went down after him. Gunter slowed down so she could catch up. Once she was level, he smiled, but the smile flew off his face when Debbie threw a snow ball at him, hitting him in the face. She was a natural at skiing. Once they had reached the bottom it had descended into an all out snowball fight. They collapsed onto the snow at the end in fits of laughter.

Saturday July 13th

The airport was packed with people. A lot of them going on holiday or just going on business trips. In the sea of people Gunter and Debbie bid farewell to his parents and his brother and sister. It was the best vacation he had ever had. Debbie said that it was hers many times over too, and had thanked his parents profusely.

Gunter's mom gave him one last hug before they went through security.

"Be safe, my pumpkin, see you for Christmas."

"Don't worry, mum. I will."

She gave him a huge kiss on the forehead.

Monday July 15th

That morning he had art class and Gunter was glad that he was able to catch up with Siswe. Not only had his friend come third in the race during the holidays he had also caught the eye of a bike racing team and was offered a sponsorship for the rest of the year and maybe even beyond.

"Thanks so much for that bike, Gunter," said Siswe. Even though he had only been away for a few weeks he could see that Siswe was in much better shape, and looked the part of a professional biker. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be where I am now."

"A pleasure, my friend. I can't think of a person who deserves it more than you."

Siswe's holiday hadn't been the best in other respects. He said that Melody had broken up with him because "he acted too much like a child".

"It's a shame, she seems like a really nice girl."

"I know, I doubt if I will find anyone like her again."

"Chin up, my friend. I'm sure you will."

Sunday August 25th

It was the last game of the season. The Heathwood High School team was in the final. Ryan and Gunter's partnership in the game had made them local heroes. Half the town had shown up for the game. It was the first time the team had been in the regional final for almost fifteen years. Even all the Johnsons had come out for the game.

Gunter felt really nervous. He had gotten used to the ever increasing bigger crowds over the last few games, but this game was different. The whole season and all the games in it had led up to this game. He would be more than happy with second place himself, but he knew the team and the school wanted the win. He wanted the win too, but he knew it wouldn't be the end of the world if they didn't win.

Before the game, he sat back and relaxed. He had to calm himself down. Ryan seemed to be not phased by it all.

The whistle blew to say that it was the end of the first half. The other team was very skilled and had many good players. Gunter and the rest of the team were having a hard time, defending their side never mind trying to win the game. They were nine points behind.

After some refreshments, coach Peterson came up to them. "Boys, we're in a tight fix here, their defenders are just too fast for us. Whenever we try send someone through they catch them. Ryan was lucky to get through the two times that he did."

"You're telling me, Coach! These guys are tough."

Gunter thought of an idea. "May I suggest something, sir?"

"You can."

"I know someone who can out run all of these guys."

"Who is it?"

"My friend, Siswe, he's a professional bike rider and he has calf muscles made of steel."

"I've heard of him, and he's good, but he can't play if he's not on our player-list."

Ryan stood, "Oh, but he is, before his injury, he had signed to try out for the team, and if I remember correctly, you left all the people who didn't make the team as reserves. There was always the chance we might not have enough people for a whole team."

"I think you're right," said the Coach with a glint in his eyes. "Ryan, I want you to go get our player register, and Gunter go find your friend, we only have ten minutes left of the break."

Gunter ran up to the stands. He ran from side to side looking for Siswe, but he couldn't find him. After a minute or so the crowd started to notice his efforts. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around. He hoped it was Siswe.

"Hey, Gunter," said Debbie with a smile.

"Hey, Debbie."

"Who're you looking for?"

"Siswe, you seen him?"

"As a matter of fact I did." She took his hand and led him to the back of the stadium. He turned the corner. Standing there before him was Siswe and Melody. They seemed to be having a heavy make out session.

Gunter didn't have time to wait. He cleared his throat loudly.

Siswe disengaged and looked around. He smiled sheepishly. "Oh hi, Gunter. How are you?"

"Great thanks. You still remember how to play rugby?"

"Yeah, why?"

"We need you out on the field."

"Me? But you guys have much better players."

"Four of our men are out with injuries, and their defenders are too fast for us to get past. We need your legs."

Siswe looked at Melody with a questioning look. It seemed like Siswe couldn't decide.

"Five minutes before the end of the break."

"Okay count me in, where do I go?"

"We put together a kit for you in the changing rooms."

"Cool see you on the fields." Melody ran off with him.

Gunter strolled back to the field. After the hectic game so far, it was good to relax, and hold Debbie's hand. Just as they were about to reach the end of the grandstand Debbie pulled back on his hand. Before he knew what was happening she kissed him on the lips. Gunter kissed back. He reluctantly pulled away after what seemed like minutes, he had to get back to the bench. "That was nice, what was that for?"

She gave him a blushing smile. "You're playing a potentially deathly game, I had to kiss you before you maybe go get yourself killed."

Gunter chuckled. It was the first time he had properly kissed a girl. He now knew even though in a couple months time they were going to be in other parts of the world he was going to make sure that they spent as much time together as possible.

"Be careful!"

"I will!" Gunter ran off.

Siswe was there to meet him. The makeshift kit looked a little funny on him. The shirt was a little too big for him, and he said the boots were a little tight, but he said he would make do.

The game resumed. Siswe was to be substituted for another player a few minutes into the game. Gunter and the others concentrated on defending their side for now. They just didn't have the overall strength to go on the offense just yet. If it was possible the other team seemed to be more ruthless after the break. The coach seemed to have a hard time convincing the ref that Siswe was on the team, but after a few minutes of talking, and the ref inspecting Siswe's rugby kit he let him on the field.

The game went down to a scrum. Ryan managed to get hold of the ball, he threw it to Gunter, he ran with it, and passed it again at the last second. Siswe caught the ball. He ran for the other team. There were only two defenders in his way. He dodged past the first, and was caught with a glancing blow by the last; it was too late for them. Siswe was at the try line. He twirled away from the defender and planted the ball firmly in the other team's territory.

The crowd exploded with cheers, most of them wondered where the new player had come from. They were just four points behind. Gunter failed to score the conversion. His foot slipped a little on the wet surface and he lost his aim.

But it wasn't too much of a problem as their team was on the offensive now and the other team didn't seem to be able to regain their momentum again. With just a few minutes left in the game, Gunter managed to get hold of the ball. He ran for the other side. A player from the other team caught him around the legs and took him down, before he slammed into the hard ground, he threw the ball in the general direction of his team. As he hit the ground and the wind flew out of him he saw that Siswe had seized the ball. He sprinted past Gunter. Siswe had half the field to go. There wasn't much time left, the rest of the team followed him. The other team had grown wise to Siswe's speed and had three players go after him, but this left their other flank wide open. Siswe threw the ball, and almost on the other side of the field Ryan caught it. All Ryan had was one defender in front of him and a few scrambling after him. He put his head down and charged forward.

He got past the defender by knocking him down, but just at the last minute one of the other defenders caught up with him and tackled him from the side. Thankfully Ryan was a quick thinker, he twirled around in mid air and landed over the try line. He had scored the try that had won Heathwood High the game and the league. The crowd went crazy. The noise was deafening. Ryan was carted off the field by the other players. He was the hero of the game and the season.

That evening they celebrated in the school hall. It was a celebration and game everyone would never forget.

Friday December 6th

It was a sad day. Gunter had to say good bye to all his friends and the Johnsons. He couldn't believe his time was up already. He was going to miss them all.

"Gunter, I want to thank you so much for coming over and visiting, you were a joy to have around. I hope you can visit us again sometime soon."

"No, thank you, Mary. You were like a second mother to me."

He hugged her and said his farewells to James, Amy and Fred. They promised to keep in touch via email.

He gave Siswe a big hug. "I'm going to miss you, my friend. You've been an inspiration to me."

"I have?"

"You have! You showed me that no matter what circumstances you have in life; you can always change it for the best."

Siswe smiled. "You have been to me too. And don't forget to wish me luck for my Cape Argus Bike Tour next year."

"I won't!"

The final person he had to say goodbye to was Debbie. Her eyes were a little red. She had cried that morning on the way to the airport.

"I'm going to miss you so much, Gunter." She hugged him tight.

"I am too, more than I have ever missed anyone in my life before."

Debbie pulled back and smiled. "You promise you're going to visit again next May?"

"I have asked my mom to book the tickets already."

"I can't wait."

He gave her quick peck on the forehead. "Me too."

Gunter gathered his things and went through security. Once he was on the other side. He waved. It was the end of the most crazy year of his life, but he wouldn't swap it for anything in the world. He felt he had grown so much from the experience that it would last him a lifetime.

You can find Craig Smith here:

Twitter: @CraigWFSmith

Blog: The Fantasy/Reality World of a Writer
