Debt and Death

Chapter One

The dawn has arrived. The sun is slowly showing its light through the little gap in the dusty blinds. Ollie's eyelids are opening and his ocean coloured eyes are showing. He feels weak but something is driving him to get out of bed. He pulls the white linen sheet from his bare chest and pushes himself into a seated position. His honey skin gleams in the bright morning sunlight. He takes a deep breath and stretches for a while, trying to get the feeling back in his arms. He then finds his water bottle from last night and uses it to gulp down the many pills that await him every morning on his bedside table.

"I'll live another day", he says, like he always does every morning.

"Ollie! You're going to miss your flight if you don't hurry up!", his father calls from downstairs.

"I'm getting ready Papa", he calls back.

Ollie smiles to himself at the thought of the day ahead. He's finally going to travel, like he has always wanted to do.

He gets up to change. He's determined not to let any illness stop him from going on this adventure. He changes into a grey hoodie and a pair of jeans, something that wouldn't cause him bother throughout the flight.

Having already packed his bag many weeks ago, he heads down the wobbly stairs to the kitchen where his mother and father meet him. He looks at his parent's begging faces and knows what's going to happen next. He knows the drill.

"Mama, Papa, please do not worry about me", he says. "I am seventeen, I am responsible and Yannis is going to be with me."

Ollie knew that using Yannis as a way of reassuring his parents wasn't the best idea but it was worth a shot. Yannis wasn't exactly the most reliable person ever.

"Are you sure there is not someone else you could take with you?", his mother asks.

"Lilia, it is too late now to get someone else", his father says, saving Ollie from having to explain, yet again, that he did not need, know nor trust anyone else to go with. 

"I know I know; but Paulie I cannot help but worry about my son", says Lilia. 

"I promise I will be ok Mama", he reassures her.

"I trust you Ollie but if you get into trouble in England I swear I'll kill you", she says. A little scared of his mother's threat and knowing that if he doesn't leave soon he'll  miss his flight, Ollie picks up his bags and heads to the door.

"Have you definitely got all your medicine?", his father asks. Ollie nods.  "Your splint?" Ollie nods. "Your crutches?"

"Papa, I have everything I need, and I need to go now", says Ollie giggling. He goes over to hug his parents one last time and then heads out the door. The door shuts with a loud bang and Ollie doesn't look back. He knows that if he looks back that he might change his mind about this so he walks as fast as possible down the street.

The streets of Cologne are covered in the early morning mist and warm white streets lamps lead Ollie to Yannis' house.

Yannis is sitting in the doorway when Ollie arrives. His hazel eyes brighten when he sees Ollie coming. 

"You look very handsome young man, going somewhere?", he asks jokingly.

"Well I'm not going to dress up for sitting on an aeroplane for three hours", Ollie remarks. "And you can't talk, you're wearing sweatpants."

In truth Ollie knew that it didn't matter what Yannis wore, he looked good in everything, he was one of those people. Yannis is about the same age as Ollie, he has chestnut brown hair with natural gold highlights that appear in the sun, almond coloured skin and he wears a gold chain around his neck that his sister gave him before he left home in Berlin and went to school in Cologne. Ollie met Yannis when he was seven. Him and his family were visiting his mother's friend and young son in Sao Paulo. The young son, Yannis, took Ollie to a beautiful lake near their house and the two young boys spent that day skimming pebbles, trying to see who could skim the fsrthest. The competition wore on until the late hours of the night and Ollie's mother and her friend were sure that the two had gotten kidnapped. They finally figured out that neither of them were going to win this odd competition so they called a draw and headed back to Yannis' house. They were greeted by two angry mothers and a police officer. After that little incident Ollie and Yannis decided that they would be best sticking  together and getting through any further incidents as best friends, so they did. Thy're friendship had been long distance for a while but then Yannis' mother got a job in a solicitor's office in Berlin, so they were long distance friends no more. Then furthermore, Yannis decided to come to school in Cologne, Ollie's city.