Hey guys! I've decided to remake the first chapter, so here it is! still the same, only a few revisions and edits.
Enjoy!
Ch 1
No one would notice it if their mind was a scattered, dismantled puzzle, occupied; the feathery breeze that gently brushed the leaves, barely nudging them about.
Ludwig noticed the small breeze that softly glided over his skin and smiled as he strode over to a bench at the local park near the new bakery his grandfather opened in this lovely little town, worth much more than the monochromatic city they moved in from.
Ludwig sat down and opened the book he recently checked out at the public library. It was a manual on how to play soccer. "Soccer? What an odd name for football," Ludwig thought. He wanted to know more on the sport because his grandfather and older brother were "experts" in this "soccer", and he wanted to quickly get to their level. Shoving his nose into the book, Ludwig heard the hollow thud of a soccer ball being kicked and the laugh of a teenage boy. Ludwig adjusted his reading glasses and focused in on the book...
THUNK
THe glasses skidded across the concrete as Ludwig's face was planted into the book. He heard and "Oh my god!" and an apology- a rather desperate one.
"Oh Mister! We're so sorry! We didn't mean it!" the boy cried in an Italian accent. He had auburn hair, golden eyes, an unruly curl coming up on the left side of his head, and an innocent-looking face. He also had an aura of airiness. Another teenager walked up and he looked slightly irritated. His features were similar to the boy, but his hair was darker and it appears that hardship affected his young face. There were bags under his eyes and a frown appeared to be sculpted onto face.
"Hey, are you alright?" the more stern one asked. He also had an italian accent. Ludwig gave him a nod and picked up his glasses and the ball.
It was a rather worn out football, the black and white pattern was wearing off. Ludwig looked up at who he assumed were brothers and gave them a sheepish smile. The innocent-looking one smiled back and picked up his book.
In a curious, tenor voice, he asked, "You don't know how to play soccer?" He stared at Ludwig with big eyes, making Ludwig feel a little embarrassed.
Ludwig cleared his throat and in his deep German voice, he replied, "Ja, I-I don't know." Ludwig shifted his eyes to the side as he felt his ears redden."I want to get as good as my grandfather and brother." THe boy began to jump up and down in excitement.
"Let us teach you!" he heard the Italian say. Ludwig looked at him with raised eyebrows. "What do you say, Lovino?" The other Italian shrugged and said whatever. "C'mon! My name is Feliciano, by the way and this is my big brother, Lovino!" Feliciano gestured towards his brother.
"I'm Ludwig."
"Yeah, yeah." Lovino said, taking the ball. "Lets play already." Ludwig smiled at Lovino's unintentional rudeness and followed the brothers to the grassy area where they were playing.
Lovino dropped the ball and began to dribble it with his feet. He then kicked it skyward towards his brother, who stopped it with his chest and kicked it towards Ludwig. The flying ball bounced off his head and he clumsily tried to save it but ended up falling backwards onto his back.
It was quiet. Only the sound of the rustling leaves and the singing birds can be heard.
Then, the sound of a child's laugh broke the silence. Feliciano held his sides as his body shook in giggles.
"You've got a long way to go!" Feliciano said, holding out his hand to help Ludwig up.
After Ludwig got up, they continued to kick the ball until the sun's rays gently kissed the darkening sky. Lovino looked at his watch and picked up the ball.
"We got to go, or Grandpa's going to worry," Lovino said. Feliciano nodded and turned to Ludwig.
"That was fun!"Feliciano chimed, giving Ludwig a crushing hug. "I hope I'll see you again, Lutz!"
"It's Ludwig," he corrected.
"Oh! I'll see you later then, Luddy!" Ludwig hasn't heard that nickname ever since his older brother left for college. A small smile grew on his face.
"See you later, Feli." The brothers turned and walked away as Ludwig watched. When they turned the corner, Ludwig began his short journey home.
On his journey back home, Ludwig noticed that the wind picked up a bit and it was now a breeze that made the leaves dance.
When Ludwig arrived, he spotted his grandfather trying to fix his truck, which has broken down the day before.
"Still having trouble, Opa?" Ludwig asked, walking up to the older man, who had the hood propped open. The man gave his grandson a sideways glance and continued to work on the engine. "Papa Heinrich?" Finally getting his grandfather's attention, Ludwig held out his hand to offer assistance. Heinrich stepped aside to allow his grandson access to the engine.
Ludwig took a few minutes examining the ancient contraption until he finally found the problem.
"You just need to add more engine oil, that's all," Ludwig said, closing the hood and wiping his hands on the rag Heinrich gave him.
"I'm losing my touch. Must be my old age. Heinrich patted his grandson's shoulder, "I'll go get that oil tomorrow. How about we pick up, then I'll have dinner ready in a bit." Ludwig nodded and helped his grandfather pick up.
Once finished, Heinrich began to prepare some wurst and he took out the knödels from the refrigerator that were left over from the night before. Ludwig sat down at the small dinner table and inspected the green and red plaid design on the tablecloth, contemplating the day.
"How was your day today?" Heinrich asked, placing two plates full of dinner on the table.
"I met two new people today at the park nearby. They taught me how to play football," Ludwig replied. "They were brothers, Italian, I'm assuming. Both seemed to be about my age." Heinrich asked where else did he go. "I went to the library and checked out a book about football." His heart dropped to his stomach as he realized that he left the book at the park. He'll have to pay the fee of a lost book: the price of the book.
"I'm such an idiot," he cried as he facepalmed, "I left the book at the park." Heinrich stared at his grandson and started to chuckle. Ludwig stared at him in surprise.
"Don't worry about it. Maybe someone found it and returned it to the library or something." Heinrich concluded his statement by taking a bit out of the wurst.
"Ja, if you say," Ludwig took a bite out of a knödel.
After a few moments of silence, Heinrich asked, "Are you ready to start school tomorrow?"
"Ja, I'm always ready for anything," Ludwig replied confidently. Heinrich acknowledged his confidence with a nod. Again, silence filled the room.
"Your brother called." Ludwig quickly looked up at this new piece of information. "He wanted to wish you good luck on your first day at school." Smiling, Ludwig shook his head. Gilbert, always treating him like a child.
"I'm not a child anymore," Ludwig thought out loud. "How is he doing in Austria?"
"He's doing good, he's having slight trouble with money, but he's slowly managing."
"I should get a job and help him," said Ludwig, finishing his wurst and wiping his mouth with a napkin. Heinrich shook his head.
"No. If you get a job, it should be for yourself," said Heinrich, muffling a burp. "Although you don't really need a job, it's good for me to know you want to be an independent young man. You're in your third year of high school and you need to either start saving up for college or look for scholarships." Heinrich used to be a doctor who worked in a hospital, but he retired when he turned 65 and decided to open up a small German bakery in this town. Ludwig always admired how hard his grandfather worked.
Ludwig looked at his grandfather with bright, sky blue eyes, and Heinrich stared back his with experienced ocean-blue ones. They stared at each other intently in understanding until Ludwig dropped his gaze onto the empty plate.
"Let me first settle down at school, okay Opa?"
Heinrich smiled while getting up to put away his dish in the sink and gave Ludwig a rough pat on the shoulder.
"Get some sleep, okay?" Nodding, Ludwig placed his dirty plate in the sink and set off upstairs to his room.
"Guten nacht, Opa," he called from his room and he heard a reply coming from downstairs.
Ludwig changed into plaid pajamas bottoms and a white t-shirt for extra sleeping comfort. He stood in front of his small, lonesome bookshelf and contemplated its contents, volumes and volumes of manuals and novels.. He was in a mood for suspense, but his tired eyes told him to go sleep so he decided to turn in for the night.
Hitting the pillows on his full size bed with warm burgundy bed sheets, his eyes fluttered shut and the last things that he thought of that night were the Italian brothers; Lovino with a frown forever on his face and the smile of innocent Feliciano.