Summer was approaching its end, and the twelve-year-old boy made his way back home alongside his father. Their house was amidst a wild forest that extended as far as the eye can see. The two carried buckets of fish, strolling along the grassy pathway. The simple life that the boy had lived was about to change.

"Why are you late? Badr needs to sleep, tomorrow is a big day!" a voice was heard once they opened the creaky front door.

"Sorry about that, there was a lot of good fish today. Either way, Badr," the man turned to his son. "Go to sleep right away."

"Yeah, I'm sleepy anyway. Goodnight!" said Badr to his parents. He rushed up the stairs and climbed his bed, excited for the next day. Badr lay there, his head whirling with imagination for he was trying to envision the time ahead. When he was fast asleep, his body couldn't stop tossing wildly around the sheets. He clearly couldn't wait for tomorrow.

"BADR! Wake up, come on!" His mother's strict voice rang through his ears in the early morning.

Badr quickly jumped out of bed. He changed into his clean shirt and cargo shorts. Next, he grabbed his bags and hurried downstairs, almost tripping from excitement.

"It's about time to get going," his mom told him. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes," Badr replied. "Where's dad?"

"At work," she stated.

"Okay, well...Tell him I'll miss him and also grandpa. I should probably go now, so bye mom! I'll miss you so much!" He opened the door to descend down the slate steps. His mother accompanied him outside the door.

"Bye!" Badr waved goodbye to his mom who suddenly brought him close to her and hugged him tightly.

"Take care, Badr," she said emotionally, while stroking his spiky brown hair.

Badr promised while hugging her back. "I love you mom. I'll be back before you know it."

The two smiled at each other one last time before Badr's mother muttered, "Me too." She watched her son leave until he was out of sight, then she returned home.

Badr inspected the empty streets for the bus that he was supposed to be in. He walked and walked but there was no sign of anyone. A while later, Badr saw that the bus was moving away from the direction he was heading.

"Wait!" Badr turned around and shouted. "Wait for me! I'm here! Don't go!"

It was too late. The bus had already left dashing towards the next stop.

'Why do I have to be so late...' he stepped forward. 'Do I really have to walk all the way to the airport? It's so far away...'

The young boy wandered down the paved street carrying along his travel bags on his shoulder. He just continued straight, thinking of how long it would take him to reach the faraway airport. He couldn't think of any way other than running fast and asking for directions.

A few minutes later, he found himself racing an old style car, which was moving with very slow speed. Its engine made strikingly noisy sounds. Badr decided to approach the car to ask for directions about the airport.

He stood near the front headlight of the automobile which made the car stop immediately. The dusty window opened.

"Hey, you there!" the driver snapped. "Why are you standing here alone? What's your name?"

"My name is Badr, and I missed my bus to the airport."

"Are you traveling alone?"

"Oh, no, I'm not. Many other kids have been accepted to Evenlane other than me."

"Evenlane! Jump in, boy, jump in!"

"Thanks a bunch!"

Every year, a grand lottery takes place in all the public schools located in Rimor, in which the winning students have the free opportunity to enter the popular and rich boarding school, Evenlane academy, where they are to be taught both academic and practical skills. Badr was one of the two and only lucky winners in his school. However, when the day has finally arrived to depart to Evenlane, he missed the bus that was supposed to take them to the airport.

Badr sat in the car, thinking about how he missed his whole family. He also tried to imagine life in Evenlane. Would he meet friendly people there? He was very thrilled to explore Nuport, which was the city were Evenlane boarding school was situated. He gazed out the window noticing a well that was situated on one of the two sidewalks leading to the crowded airport.

He quickly told the driver, "Sir, I feel thirsty. Thanks for the ride, you can drop me here. I saw a well I can drink from."

"As long as you know the way to the airport," the driver stopped his car.

"I don't think it's very far, thanks. Bye!" Badr stepped out, his shabby brown pocketed bag on his shoulder with another big travel bag in hand. He waved one last time. "THANKS!" he called out to the driver's car, which was now driving away.

Badr approached the well. It was kind of odd that it was placed there. It appeared very old, partly because a few bricks seemed cracked. He peered inside to find water that looked clean, but it was a bit deep. He noticed that there was no bucket so he reached out to get a drink of water but absentmindedly fell inside.

Before he knew it, Badr was already falling in that well. Luckily, he clung tight to a brick that was about to fall. He fixated his feet on the brick walls while trying to keep steady. His hands were slowly slipping and he was sweating so hard. He tried to climb back up, but the bricks were all pushed inside at the same level. The brick that his hand clutched was the only one sticking out. Badr was starting to get anxious.

He tried to push himself upwards multiple times, until his foot reached that brick. It was hard to balance because his hands and left foot were not holding onto anything. Badr tried to come up with ways to get out of this situation but he couldn't think of anything. This was the end. He was on the verge of falling. Suddenly, just when the brick was nearly cracking, he heard a faint voice that shouted: "Hey! Grab my hand!"

Without thinking, Badr quickly got hold of the person's hand and escaped the well. To his surprise, it was a slender-looking boy, who seemed about the same age as him.

Badr gaped at the boy gratefully. The boy had golden hair, aqua blue eyes, a small straight nose and notably thin red lips. He was slightly shorter than Badr, and he wore a white collared shirt along with long dark green shorts and boots that went just above his ankles. He gave Badr a glare which Badr didn't quite understand.

"Th-thank you!" Badr smiled at the boy who was still glaring. It made Badr feel uneasy.

"Um, my name is Badr. What's yours?" Badr held out his hand for him to shake. In contrast to Badr's tanned skin, the kid had a much fairer skin tone.

The blonde turned to leave while keeping his hands in his pockets. Badr wondered why the boy was ignoring him. Maybe because he wanted Badr to return the favor right away? Or maybe a thank you was not enough?

Badr thought it wouldn't hurt to try again. He followed the fair boy and said, "Thanks, really! Can you tell me your name?"

The boy stopped to take a careful look at Badr. His clothes were more presentable than Badr, who was wearing olive green shorts with a worn out yellow t-shirt. His glare softened to a slight smile.

"You're welcome," he replied, carrying his cotton string bag and a black sling backpack with him.

Badr observed the blonde boy stride away to grab the handle of a bigger travel trolley bag that was left nearby. He followed him to the airport with many others.

It was Badr's first time in an airport. He had never really traveled away from Rimor so this was surprising for him. The airport was full of people that Badr couldn't even breathe. He had lost sight of the blonde boy. After squeezing in between people and finally catching his breath, he strolled along, smiling to himself. Badr scanned the crowded airport, pausing every now and then to stare at the screens and the packed trollies being pushed by busy passengers.

"Ow!" he suddenly exclaimed, for someone just bumped into him. He gawked up to see who it was. A tall, unfamiliar boy with a sharp face, small light brown eyes and old clothes glared at him and soon paced away.

'Why is everyone so unfriendly?' Badr wondered, his eyes still on the dark haired boy, who was now heading to a certain counter which had a group of kids (roughly his own age) waiting in line. He grinned when he saw that the thick-haired blonde boy from before was there too. He was at the end of the line, standing with his belongings. The dark haired boy who had just crashed into Badr stood behind him.

Badr rushed over to the blonde boy, who still had his hands in his pockets.

"Hey!" He waved happily.

The boy turned around. "Hey."

"By the way," Badr scratched his head. "Where are you traveling?"

"To Nuport city. I'm attending a boarding school called Evenlane Academy."

The tall, dark haired boy glared at Badr and his new friend as he watched them talk.

"Really?! Me too! Are we supposed to wait here? Where do we put our big bags?"

"We wait in line to put them on the machine in front."

After half an hour of waiting in line, they checked in their names with the counter and placed their bags on the carousel. The fair boy peeped at his watch. "We have about two hours until the plane takes off. What do you want to do?"

Badr observed around. "Let's explore!"

They traversed the airport, stopping every now and then to glimpse at the items they sold. They also went to stare at the food being served at the mini restaurants. As they sauntered towards another area, they saw a dark, mysterious figure slip from behind them. It snatched the blonde's small string bag and ran as fast as it could.

The light-haired boy yelled something and ran quickly after the figure. Badr followed him outside the busy airport. "There!" Badr pointed before they both started running. The person, presumably a boy, glanced back, glaring furiously.

"Do you know him?" Badr asked.

"NO!"

The thief, who had jet black hair, ran up a small nearby stone, arch bridge and examined the contents of the bag. He averted his eyes from the bag to see the two friends running desperately up the bridge to catch up with him. He went out of control and accidentally dropped the bag in the river. Badr and the boy arrived just in time to see the bag sinking underneath the surface of the water.

The black-haired boy, who also appeared the same age as Badr, stood up and shot both of them an impolite frown while narrowing his jade green eyes. He shrugged and advanced away.

The golden-haired kid was now on the edge of the bridge, looking anxiously for his bag. Badr had a sudden idea. He started taking off his shoes. The boy stared at Badr, confused.

"I can swim," Badr assured, ready to jump in the water. Badr's rash actions surprised him and he couldn't understand why Badr would go that far to get him his bag.

"No, don't! You'll drown!"

"It's fine. I know how to swim in the deepest waters. I'll get your bag in no time." And with that, he dived into the water.

The boy sat down on the bricks and glanced at his watch. What would he do if Badr didn't come back? He couldn't swim. Should he just stay in his place and wait? Why was he so concerned about Badr now?

His heart was pounding in his chest. "No! Badr!" he stood up. "Badr! Come back! No need for the bag!"

A few minutes of fear had passed and Badr still didn't appear. The boy was very worried so he gathered Badr's belongings with trembling hands and ran down the bridge until he arrived at the landscape.

Badr dived deep in the water while trying to find the bag. He popped his head up to take another breath then dived back in. Badr reached for the bag with all his might. When he finally got hold of it, he swam up. "Got it!" he breathed as he drifted his head out of the water. He swam back to the shore and the boy helped him out.

"Thank you so much. You don't know how important the things I have in my bag are to me. You are very kind and brave," he said gratefully as Badr handed him the soaked bag.

Badr grinned, "No problem! I was just trying to help you because you helped me earlier."

The boy smiled. "Call me Yousef."

"Okay, Yousef, let's go back to the airport!"

And the two friends walked back to the crowded airport.

Author's note: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this story. If you liked it, it would really mean a lot if you voted this chapter. Thanks in advance!