Chapter 1 Soccer

I pace back and forth across the green, Luka watching from her seat on the fence. Ryan kicked her soccer ball past Drake, who was being the goalkeeper.

"Goal!" Ryan yelled, "Take that, Drake!"

"You do know I'm not even trying anymore? You would beat me no matter what I do." Drake sighed, then turned toward Luka, "You want to give it a try?"

"You're kidding right? Ryan would squash me. So would you, actually." Luka pushed herself off the fence. "Lestona, if you keep pacing like that, you're gonna wear a trench in the turf. Stop it." Lestona paused, looked out towards the road, then back at Luka.

"He's never been this late. Not these days." I start pacing again, back and forth, back and forth. "He wouldn't be at work, he gets out too early for that. I HATE not knowing where he is. He isn't as young as he used to be. He forgets that a lot."

"Lestona, your fretting and worrying won't get him here any faster. Sit down!" Drake kicked the soccer ball up and balanced it on his nose. "I'm sure he's fine. Besides, he could very well be on one of his 'business trips'." Drake made air quotes around the last words. Just as he finished speaking, my phone went off, the caller ID saying 'Nick Walton'.

"Hey dad." I said as I answered my phone. I look at Drake and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm caught up in a project for work, so I'll be out of town for a while. Could you tell Drake for me?" My father asked.

"Of course. We'll see you when you get back." I said. "Love you." I sighed as I hung up. I was tired of my father's excuses for his mysterious trips, but by now I don't question them.

I shake myself out of my foul mood and call to Drake. "You're right. Dad's going to be out again. We're walking home." I couldn't keep the annoyance out of my voice, I hated how our dad never told us what he really did, but. . . I guess that's what you get from a dad who doesn't really know how to be one.

I look up at the sky. It's approaching nightfall, and from how the clouds are gathering, it would rain in a few hours. I sigh again and walk to my school bag. "No point in waiting any longer I suppose." I look to Luka and Ryan. "You want to come too? We're having chicken for dinner."

"Lestona! We wouldn't miss an opportunity like this for anything! Who do you think we are, outsiders?" Luka laughed. We knew little of the outsiders, but adults always acted like they were monsters. The only one I'd ever met close by was sick and starving, not a monster. Ryan and Drake came over to me and grabbed their school bags. Luka bounced over and did a cartwheel in the grass. She was full of energy, her happy and cheerful self. I handed her her binder.

Leading the way, I swung over the fence and bounded across the road. This far out, it's rare to see any cars, so I wasn't worried. Our city was built in rings, the center being the Governmental Complex. From there, there were the large businesses, the homes of the rich, small businesses, the middle class, the lower class, and right before the stone wall, the seventh ring. The seventh ring isn't controlled by the government, and is left to the general populace, so it became a near free for all. Almost any buildings in the Seventh are in disrepair and collapse. Only the Colosseum, the schools, and the gang bases are kept in good shape. Beyond the stone wall were fields and forests. There's one more barrier between the city and the far reaches, and then No Man's Land. That's were the outsiders are. Only a small few can go beyond both walls, and my dad sometimes says he's one of them. I don't believe him, since we live between the middle and lower classes. Only the government has total free access, and my dad's never said anything about working for the government that way.