Sweet Hearts

★ Chapter 1 ★

Our bags are packed and the house is empty. Gran is pulling at the old sick coloured curtains, anxiously, and checks her watch. She looks old, tired and the lines on her forehead crease as she frowns. We're all anxious. Mel is running around the flat, whispering hurried goodbyes to the animals, the picture of the angel on the wall. The taxi arrives and suddenly, we're moving, the neighbours are gathered outside. It's as if someone pressed the fast forward button, when Gran starts crying, the tears falling fast as she tells us to be brave. The neighbours surge forward, pressing warm fifty pences into our palms, wishing us luck. We wave goodbye from the back of the taxi, until they've all but disappeared. The fields and houses flash by as we are finally on our way. This is it. The last time we'll see Dinkelsbühl.
Our Mum ran away when I was three and Dad took it hard. He tried smiling through the pain, but he was lonely. She left him with two kids and barely enough money to feed himself. He took up a job in the factory, making shoes, but the wage was small and life was hard. When I was 10, he joined a dating website. "The girls need a mother," Gran had insisted, frowning as she shook out a pair of badly ironed blouses. Dad ignored her, ruffling my hair, but his eyes, I noticed, were sad. He found a woman and they immediately hit it off. She was beautiful and had a warm smile, kind eyes. She was definitely mum-material. The problem? She lived in England. Dad was disappointed but he didn't give up. 2 months ago, he went down to visit her. It must have gone well, because he came back, glowing. He handed in the keys, quit his job and went straight back down. He wanted to move in with her. He wanted to start a family. He had a new job, working the night shift at the bowling alley. He wanted us to join him. "Britain is the land of opportunity!" He told us, his eyes shining. "The land of dreams!" He really believed we could start a new life, building it up from scratch, and so did I. "Are there robins there?" I asked and he chuckled. "There are many birds in London, Clara! Britain is not all that different to Germany!" But he was wrong. Britain was a whole new world.
We said goodbye to Gran, packed everything up into boxes and bought our plane tickets. Beside me, Mel is crying silently into Mr Ted, the bear, Dad made her when she was tiny. He would make us toys, bears and dolls alike. Dad told us the house was nice with a beautiful garden. I imagined a beautiful small cottage, ivy crawling up the walls, the path lined with gold. I imagined blue skies where the butterflies danced and the birds sang, a place where everybody was friendly, a sea of smiling faces. I said goodbye to my friends, my school, my home. I was ready for a whole new world. Now we're on the plane. Mel tugs on my arm, pointing out of the window. A rainbow has formed, spreading right over the plane, the colours bright. We buckle our belts and Mel grabs my hand, squeezing. It's our first time on a plane and we both jump as the pilot's voice comes over the intercom. We are finally flying, rising high above Germany, leaving it behind. I whisper a silent goodbye to everything; my life, my friends, my family.
The white, fluffy clouds I love to admire, are barely visible beneath us. We're heading away from everything we've ever know, and heading into the unknown. You might as well put a blindfold over my eyes, spin me round three times and give me a shove. We have no idea what we're going to face here. Finally, the aeroplane begins to dip downwards, kissing the candy floss clouds. Mel is bouncing up and down in excitement. I can hardly wait. London is the place for ya, Dad has insisted. I almost believed him. We finally stepped on to British soil and faced upwards towards the sunny skies. That's a lie. The heavens had opened, huge teardrops of rain falling fast from the dark, ominous clouds. No sign of sun anywhere. We hurried, pushed against one another, as the crowd surged forward, a blur of unknown faces and mixed up words. We were drenched, our clothes sticking to the skin, hair hanging like rats tails. I grab hold of Mel's hand and we collect our bags. She shrieks suddenly, the sound piercing my eardrums abs earning ya a few disapproving glances from the security guards. "DAD!" She shrieks. "DAD!" And I see him, clearly, through the downpour, his eyes wide and a smile a mile long. I follow Mel, dropping my bags, and fling myself into his arms.
"Mel!" Dad grins, breathlessly. "Clara!" I smell his mint aftershave, as he stands back, studying us closely. He grins again, his eyes sparkling. We both pull him closer, as he tells us happily how much we've grown and how much we're honing to like it here. He explains that there is a bit of an accent in London, but he ruffle my hair, proudly. "You're both rather good at English," he praises us. "We'll get through this." I bite my lip. The language barrier might be a bit of an issue, but Dad's enthusiasm is contagious. He stands back, and finally, I realise, he's not alone. He pulls the pretty, blonde woman from the dating website towards us, with a grin. She smiles, shyly, and gives us a little wave. She speaks extremely slowly and mines a little, but I still can't understand what's she's saying and by the looks of it, neither can Mel. I just smile politely. "There's one last person I want you to meet," Dad grins, looking shifty. Behind him, steps out a bored looking, blonde teenage girl. As she catches my eye, her lip turns up into a sneer and she stares me up and down in disgust. I've barely been here five minutes, and already I have a enemy.