Phoenix, Arizona. June, 2006 Meike's breath fogged up the glass window of the school bus. In the desert heat everything was dulling and exhausting; Even drawing a smiley face in the now perfectly shaped steam seemed too much of an effort. The identical landscape rolled by as she was driven further away from her safe and cool house. The music in her ears fit perfectly to where she was: on the Highway to Hell. The boy in the seat next to her had achieved the impossible feat of falling asleep in the heat, and as the minutes dragged on, Meike tried to follow his example. What seemed to be eons later but was actually only just an hour, the bus came to a halt in the middle of nowhere, and one of the teachers stood up. "Okay class, we've arrived. I know I know it looks just like any other part of the desert, but we're here to do research not observe the magnificent scenery. Now get moving." There was the shuffling of student feet eager to move after a long journey as Meike set her sights on a landscape that seemed devoid of all life. "Teufel," the teacher motioned towards Meike, "Can you work with the new girl, whatever her name is?" The new girl was apparently as tall as the teacher and looked completely out of place in the desert with her pale skin, blond hair and icy eyes. "I'm Meike, what do I call you?" The other girl glared at Meike for a couple of seconds, then answered: "Lovisa Harel. What are we supposed to be doing?" She spoke with a slight accent, difficult to place, so Meike let it brush past. "According to our Bio teacher, we have to record any form of life in the desert that we come across. But I see no life." Meike replied, smiling while doing so. Her response raised an eyebrow from the new girl "Can't wait to get started." Hours later, in the scorching Mojave heat, the two girls had found nothing. Meike's boredom overcame her and started to conjure up all sorts of ideas. None of them would end well, that much was clear. "Let's have some fun." The expression on her face would have been enough to make anyone put an end to what she was planning. Luckily -or unluckily so- Lovisa wasn't anyone. Instead she listened carefully to the smaller girl, and how they were to cure the spell of boredom that had fallen upon the duo. An expression of dead calm washed over Meike's face and after a few seconds she let out a shriek of alarm. Several calls of 'What happened?' and 'Holy shit!' echoed from the surprised students. 'Rattlesnake!' yelled Lovisa, the two of them now running away from their spot. 'Exclusion? Exclusion?!' Lovisa kicked the schools metal gate as she walked out, 'I've been here three days and I'm already in trouble.' Meike snickered. Lovisa suppressed the sudden urge to punch her. 'It's your idea that got me into this. It's your fault entirely, why should I pay the price as well.' Meike was now full on laughing. 'My fault? You could have easily told me to stop. You got involved voluntarily, so you cannot blame me.' Of course she's right, Lovisa thought, but that didn't dissolve her anger. Why hadn't she just been an innocent bystander for once? Why did her reckless nature always get the best of her? This could be her old school all over again, and Lovisa refused to consider that. Meike has already started to walk away. Halfway down the block, she turned around. Looking at Lovisa, she asked: 'Well? Are you coming or not?' It didn't take long for Lovisa to catch up. 'So where are we headed to?' Meike just smiled knowingly, and carried on walking. A bell jingled as the door to Bobby's instrument and music storage was pushed open, revealing walls covered in guitars, barely any floor space left between other instruments and shelves filled with scores. Behind the counter sat a boy - around 13 years of age- strumming on a guitar. No-one ever paid Gabriel much attention. He was a typical Hispanic face, with brown curly hair to go with it. But his ears were keen. Not just for music, but for people. So when two girls around his age walked into the shop about midday, they caught his attention. Something about these two sounded off. Not wrong, just out of place, like a discord. Lovisa marveled at the small music shop. Had she been on her own, she would never have noticed it. Meike knew her way around town, it seemed. Lovisa was now staring at a fancy looking guitar when the shop assistant popped up next to her. 'Can I help you?' he asked kindly. Lovisa shook her head. The shop assistant placed a palm on her arm. Lovisa tried to pull away, but the boy kept his grip. 'Let go of me' she hissed 'Listen to me, you are in danger. You are dangerous. Be careful.' Yanking her hand away, Lovisa glared at the boy 'Who are you? What do you want from me? How do you know?'
