"Julian! Come on, we're going to be late!" the girl calls out. She smiles when the boy emerges from his room, his tiny legs running towards her. "You ready to go to school, Jules?"

Jules laughs and nods. "Yes! Are we leaving now?"

"Mhm." The girl finishes packing his lunch and leans over to grab his bag. "Luca's coming in a moment."

Just as she finishes getting him to put on his backpack, the doorbell rings. "And that's him."

She smiles as she runs to answer the door.

"Lulu!" Jules squeals, his tiny legs overtaking his older sister. 

Luca is barely ready to prepare himself when Jules throws himself at the taller boy. "Hey," Luca says chuckling. "You ready to be a big boy now?"

Julian nods solemnly. "Will I make any friends?"

"Well, I met your sister on the first day and we've been friends ever since," Luca replies. He throws the girl a boyish grin before turning back. "You'll be just fine."

The girl watches as Luca picks him up and spins him around. She always loved seeing Luca with her brother. It was like a whole new person came out. "We're going to be late if we don't leave now," she says.

A flash of panic crosses Jules' face. "I don't wanna be late," he whines.

"I don't want you to be late." The girl bends down and takes Julian's hand. "Come on."

Almost immediately, Jules escapes from her grasp, skipping ahead of the two. 

Luca laughs at the boy's energy. "You look tired," he says to her.

"I am tired." She sighs. "I don't know how mum was able to take care of me. I was a whole mess."

"You still are," Luca points out.

The girl rolls her eyes. "Maybe. You don't need to expose me."

Within moments, they fall into their usual playful banter, the girl occasionally half-heartedly calling out to Julian to slow down. She was happy that he was much more excited than she was to start school. He had no worries, and she was glad that he didn't.

After dropping him off, she sits down for a moment. "I need to recharge."

"Your battery's dead?" Luca asks. "It's only 7 am."

"That's why it's dead," she replies, chuckling. "I need sleep. I miss sleep."

Luca nods in agreement. "Me too. Do you just want to skip school today?"

The suggestion was a surprise and the girl has to think for a moment. She can't remember the last time she purposefully didn't go to school. It had always been drilled into her to attend, even if she was slightly sick. 

She finally lets exhaustion get the better of her. "Sure! Let's go to your house, though. If I go to mine, I'll just start cleaning."

Luca agrees and the two of them set off. 

When Luca points out a shortcut through the forest, the girl doesn't hesitate to follow him. It was only when they stopped in front of a river with a few stepping stones that she got slightly nervous. However, once her friend showed her that he could hop across easily, she decides that she could do it as well.

She barely makes it halfway when her foot slips off the stone and she falls into the water, screaming.

Pain lances through her leg, and she gasps as pins and needles poke their way through her skin. She can barely see anything, and it's a hard fight to stay conscious.

She can feel Luca at her side, his familiar voice saying something that she can't quite make out. A moment later, she feels her body being lifted into the air before she finally passes out.