2009

The last bell rang, signaling the end of the school day and the beginning of summer. Busy laughter and chatter filled any empty space as students flooded out the doors, already talking of plans for summer.

Louis dumped the last of his school papers into the trash with the rest of his friends, whooping and cheering at the start of summer. A week or so later and he was already on a plane.

Running on the post-school summer high, Louis walked the streets of Italy, where his family decided to spend the summer, staying with a couple of relatives he hadn’t heard of before. After the jet-lag from the flight wore off, he was already setting off to explore town.

Louis looked around the busy streets, a small excited grin on his lips. Dancing through crowds and swarms of people. He aimlessly wandered, wide eyes looking between different shops on the street. Music from a street band mixed in with chatter and footsteps, busying the street. A break in the crowd allowed view of the band. A distraction and a bump in the pavement had him losing his footing, running into another with a small grunt.