Outnumbered E-Book

Malou Theisen

• Herausgeber: novum publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 315

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

17-year-old Kai likes going to school. Not only because he can expand his knowledge in his favorite subject, math, but also because of his best friends Peter and Trina. When the three of them find themselves at the mercy of a teacher one day, they realize that they have to take action. Abandoned by the school administration and their trusted teacher, the class grows even closer together and tries to make itself heard with the facts. However, when the incident repeats itself, Kai knows that he will not remain silent this time and finds his own way to process what has happened – while at the same time holding up a mirror to the school administration.

Leseprobe

Chapter 1

"Wake up!"

The warning hiss was accompanied by a gentle nudge in the ribs. Kai opened his eyes and looked straight into the angry face of his maths teacher. Next to him, Peter sheepishly slid a little away from him in his chair, as if he could escape the waves of anger directed at his desk neighbour.

"Please repeat what I just explained," Mr. Tasnoff ordered with a mean smile on his gaunt face. "Or would you prefer to report to the head office and explain to them that, once again, you're not taking any notice of the lessons?"

Kai continued to stare at him blankly, because he simply didn't know how he had ended up in such a difficult situation again. Oh man, he was so fed up with the fact that everything was going badly for him at the moment. He could have slapped himself for dozing off in this lesson of all lessons, because he knew very well that Mr. Tasnoff would hardly miss this opportunity to show Kai who was master of the classroom. This had little to do with maths skills, but simply with the fact that he was a teacher and Kai was a pupil. If it had been about understanding and enthusiasm for maths, the situation would probably have been the other way around: Kai was very strong in this subject and his teacher frequently felt challenged and even threatened by him. To avoid unpleasant confrontations at the blackboard, the boy tried to behave as inconspicuouslyas possible, but falling asleep was not the right disguise after all. What was he supposed to do, the course was so boring and dry that he simply had to switch off in order not to offend this teacher again and again. Unfortunately, he had already pointed out mistakes and misrepresentations to him several times, and that didn't really make things any better.

"I am sorry, Mr. Tasnoff," he said submissively, "I'm not feeling very well and would like to sign out at the secretary's office and go home."

He looked up at the angry teacher from below with a hopefully pleading look and completed his quick-witted emergency plan with a dry cough, followed by a theatrical sigh and a hand to his forehead as if he had a headache. Mr. Tasnoff immediately took a step back: after this virus had spread a few years ago, everyone had become more cautious when dealing with illness.

There was no way Mr. Tasnoff could prolong his game now; after all, he didn't want to be the one responsible for closing the school. With a gruff gesture, he told Kai to pack his things and leave.

"Just don't forget to sign out, my friend, and you won't be able to avoid the exam tomorrow without a doctor's note, I can assure you of that now!"

He took another step backwards to not get too close to Kai and stepped on Trina's school bag, which wasn't hanging on the hook on the side of her desk, but was lying on the floor as it often did. Startled, he lifted his foot, then kicked the school bag away from him indignantly, causing itto slide against the wall, where most of the contents spilled out.

"Does anyone here have any sense of order at all?" he shouted through the class.

Trina didn't even dare to pick up her things, even though she was boiling with rage inside. Kai caught her gaze and shook his head almost imperceptibly. If she didn't shut up now, they would all be given another loud lecture during which their teacher would continue to talk himself into a rage. It wouldn't be the first time, but it was always exhausting to sit through such uncontrolled outbursts, and it wasn't even nine o'clock yet!

Kai looked from Trina to Peter, nodded briefly and left the class with a hoarse "Goodbye, Mr. Tasnoff". Fortunately, the teacher had turned away and marched towards the desk without giving Kai a second glance. Phew! Just get out of here, he thought and pulled the door shut behind him with relief. He walked along the corridor towards the exit and stopped at the penultimate door. He knocked and while he waited for an answer from inside, he quickly thought of a plausible story. He went through the common symptoms that everyone had heard of by now and decided to invent something in between to avoid being sidelined for the next three weeks. They were taking this very seriously here, but sitting at home for three weeks and missing school was not what he wanted or needed right now.

"Come in!" came the secretary's usual chant and Kai entered.

He was greeted by a mixture of heating, coffee and the numbing scent of powder and soap. It almost choked him up and he didn't even have to put on much of an act to get his story out with difficulty.

"So, sore throat, headache and nausea, right?" Mrs. Mirbach repeated his list. "Hm, well, I'm not a doctor, but I think you should leave the school building, you don't want another drama like last year, do you?" she said, reaching for the prints in the second drawer.

"Name?"

"Kai Lessner."

"Form?"

"12B"

"Form teacher?"

"Mrs. Andres."

"Are you planning to see a doctor on the way home or are you going straight home?"

Hmm, what would be better? Without a certificate, he would have to take the maths test, but if he chose the doctor option, Mrs. Mirbach would have to reach his parents before he was allowed to leave the building. That was the way it was when you weren't yet eighteen! Boy! He was just three months and five days short! Besides, it would certainly be more difficult to fool a doctor than a choleric maths teacher with feelings of inferiority or an elderly school secretary who was actually almost too old to cope with all the work and therefore never had time to discuss things at length.

"I want to go home and lie down first," he said.

That wasn't even a lie. Mrs. Mirbach reached into the drawer again and handed him the yellow note for absence. He would have to sign and date it and hand it back in here if he returned to class within two days. He thanked her, sniffled loudly once more and said goodbye. Before he was out the door, Mrs. Mirbach had already bent over one of her thick folders again and adjusted her glasses. She gave Kai one last hard look, then smiled all of a sudden and wished him good luck.

Good luck? Strange. How about "get well soon"? His heart was beating faster than usual and his stomach felt hot. That look and then the smile: she had seen through him and let him go anyway. Perhaps his circumstances were changing for the better after all. He thanked her in his mind as he pushed open the heavy security door and walked across the courtyard from the school grounds. But what now? He stopped at the crossways, somewhat at a loss, even though the traffic lights were green. People hurried past him and he almost felt a little envious of their busy determination. They all knew where they were going, except him, apparently. He shook his head at his gloomy thoughts, adjusted his bag and made his way to his street car station. Satisfied that he only had three minutes to wait, he looked expectantly in the direction the street car would come from. The ground soon began to vibrate slightly under the soles of his shoes, the street car stopped, he climbed into an almost empty compartment and sat down at a window seat. The window was smeared and smudged and he was careful not to lean his head against it, but the excessive heat in the compartment was already making him feel sleepy and tired again. He struggled to stay awake until he was finally able to get off. When the doors opened, he gratefully breathed in the fresh air and immediately felt a little better. He crossed the road and walked brisklyalong the tree-lined avenue lined with detached houses until he came to number 47. He lived here with his older brother, his father and his father's second wife Yvonne. They had been a couple for over ten years, but they were not married. Kai's mother was no longer alive. He could barely remember her, but he had two beautiful photos of her in his room. One was on his bedside table. She was sitting on her horse, which had turned away from the camera, and both horse and rider were looking back at the person taking the picture. His mother was smiling brightly and the horse was pricking up its ears in a friendly and curious manner.

The second photo was a snapshot of his parents laughing and holding hands as they jumped into a lake together. This had been before Ulrich was born, and even though the photo was old and a little blurred, for Kai it still reflected their love and joy. It had been very hard for the two boys and their father to get along without Marion. When Yvonne came into their lives, many things became easier.

Kai pulled his key chain out of his jacket pocket and opened the front door. At the same time, he called out a cheerful "Hello", but he wasn't sure if anyone was home. Ulrich was probably at university, preparing for his exams. Yvonne should actually be there, unless she had gone to the store or out with the dog. But a glance into the living room quickly cleared up this question: a big snoring bundle of fur was lying in the middle of the carpet. Kai had to smile when the dog opened one eye and literally laughed at him, then yawned and rolled its tongue out and in again. Gina was a two-year-old Leonberger and had come into the family as a puppy. She was unobtrusive and obedient, but she had a special friendship with Yvonne that consisted of more than just food bowls and walks. As Yvonne didn't have a paid occupation, the two of them spent a lot of time together and made a good team. Kai turned towards the kitchen when he heard quick, light footsteps upstairs. Yvonne's friendly voice called out:

"Is anyone there? Kai, is that you?"

He changed direction and climbed the stairs while unzipping his jacket.

"It's me, Yvonne."

"Hello Kai, why aren't you at school?" his stepmother asked in astonishment.

Then she looked at him more closely and asked with slight concern in her voice:

"Are you okay?"

She came towards him and reached for his hand, her bright eyes fixed on his face.

"I don't know, to be honest," Kai replied, trying to look fit and healthy. "I originally wanted to escape the maths teacher, but now that I'm home, I realize that I probably fell asleep for a reason."

Yvonne laughed at that:

"You fell asleep in class? Well, that will certainly strengthen and positively influence your working relationship!"

But then she became serious again, because Kai's face was now slightly grey. His hand in hers felt hot and a little damp, his forehead was shiny and tiny drops of sweat were beading on his upper lip.

"Kai, you should lie down, I think," she suggested, pulling him gently towards his room.

She went ahead and opened the door. The window was still open and the comforter was folded back; it was cold in the room. With two or three quick moves, everything was ready: window closed, bed made, heating turned up a little. The wooden floor immediately began to click,it always did when the wood expanded at the pipe and the adjacent floorboards absorbed the tension. Kai first slipped out of his jacket and hung it carefully on the coat hook by his door, but then he was overcome by such a violent wave of nausea that he had to rush past Yvonne into the bathroom and just about made it to the toilet. Yvonne turned away with her usual delicate tact, went downstairs to the kitchen and checked to see if they still had tea in the house.

Chapter 2

Over the course of the afternoon, Kai's condition gradually improved; he had slept through most of it. In the evening, he sat on the sofa in his bathrobe and watched TV. He didn't catch much of the program as he still felt tired and exhausted. He was pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to go to school the next day. This caused some difficulties: he didn't have a doctor's note and would therefore have to take the maths test. But that wasn't actually possible, as he had dropped out of the last lesson before the exam. In such cases, the school's rules stipulated that the exam had to be re-written. That would mean more work for his teacher, who would then have to put together two tests on the same subject. Kai was sure that the re-test would be a lot harder. He slumped sideways on the sofa, laid his aching head on a cool pillow and closed his eyes. Then there was also the matter of Paula. He hadn't found last night too great. She had seemed superficial and a little silly when she had told him that his way of dressing and his friends didn't actually suit her. The fact that he had paid for the meal had been fine with her, though. He hadn't even contacted her to ask if she had also fallen ill. He found that rather unlikely, as he had had a different dessert to her. When they had said goodbye to each other, he had almost been relieved that she had only kissed him on the cheek. Hehadn't had much experience with girls and relationships, but he realized that this date hadn't gone well.

His gloomy thoughts were interrupted when he heard Ulli's key at the front door. He knew that Yvonne and his father could not yet be back from the swimming pool, which the two of them visited together every week. It had taken Kai quite a bit of persuasion for them to finally leave him on his own, but they knew he would manage. He had already been through the worst of it.

"Hello Kai," Ulli called out as he hung up his jacket. "Are you still alive?"

He came into the living room, took one look at his brother's face and couldn't help but grin.

"Gee, you look bad! If a girl makes you that sick, you better let her go!" he laughed.

Kai groaned and shook his head slightly, but then he had to laugh a little too.

"Oh Ulli, I think you're right. It's probably not going to work out with Paula and me."

"You know, she's quite nice to look at, but I've often wondered what you like about her," Ulli admitted.

He didn't want to hurt Kai's feelings, especially as he could see that he still wasn't feeling very well.

"Do you mind if I make myself a sandwich and then join you? How bad is the nausea?" he asked.

Kai waved him off.

"Yvonne got me some great stuff, I don't feel sick at all any more, I just have a headache and feel tired. You're welcome to eat in front of me, I'm not going to be sick all over you."

Ulli disappeared into the kitchen. When he came back into the living room a short time later, he had brought tea and salt sticks for Kai as well as his own supper. They watched a rather hollow TV movie together, glad of the other's company without having to talk. They had always been friends as well as brothers. Kai lay in his bed later and was glad to leave this exhausting day behind. His last thoughts before he fell asleep revolved around his family, his people, who had been there for him as a matter of course and on whom he could always rely ... and they on him.

Seven o'clock! Time to wake up! Kai sat up and quickly silenced his alarm clock. Why did he feel this strange? Then he remembered: Math teacher, trip home vaguely outlined, the horrible sickness..., drowsy afternoon, dinner with Ulli in front of the TV! He was amazed to discover that, contrary to all expectations, it seemed possible for him to get up and actually go to school. His father had already told him that he had probably contracted a mild case of food poisoning. This comes on as brutally as an express train, but subsides quite quickly in otherwise healthy and strong people. His insides still felt a little watery and his stomach and head were still a little unhappy, but he would manage. After a light breakfast he would go to class, at least that would be the solution as far as the maths test was concerned. He wasn't yet sure how things would develop with Paula, but he knew that it couldn't go on like this. Anyway, what kind of way was that to think about his girlfriend: the thing with Paula. Was she even his girlfriend? If so, why wasn't he drawn to her? If not, why didn't he tell her before things got even more complicated? First get today's performance over with, luckily, she didn't go to the same school. Performance, Kai thought and had to grin despite all his worries, because he was looking forward to the rehearsal later. He would have had to skip that too if he hadn't turned up for class. All in all, his decision to attend school was the right one, even if he still felt a little shaky. He would still manage the maths test.

Or maybe not. Somehow, Tasnoff had once again managed to create fear and uncertainty among his students when handing out the exam questions. He had a habit of insisting that the sheet of paper had to lie face down on the school desk until he had finished handing them out. This was to prevent any attempts to quickly pass on information to each other while the teacher was distracted and thus to suppress any kind of solidarity. He then stood in front of his desk and barked "Turn it over!" into the classroom. Kai saw at a glance that the test contained particularly difficult questions and that three of the five tasks built on each other. This meant a lot of pressure for him and his classmates, as even one mistake or misplaced number would affect the rest of the tasks. Tasnoff was known for the fact that, from his point of view, such a mistake resulted in zero points on the entire exercise. He was not in the habit of praising his students' perhaps correct train of thought and grading it accordingly, even if the end result was maybe faulty.

When the lesson was finally over, the whole class seemed depressed. With his usual sardonic smile, the teacher collected the last tests, notshying away from pulling the paper from under the pen of the student who might still be writing.

"That's enough!" he would say, "that won't save you either!"

The class left the room in the direction of the sports hall. Everyone dragged themselves down the corridor in an unmotivated way and Kai ended up next to Trina. She looked at him briefly and he was concerned to see that she was crying.

"Trina, what's wrong? You're crying!" he said, stating the obvious.

She quickly wiped her eyes with her handkerchief and shrugged her shoulders.

"I messed up the exam ... again," she said quietly. "This can't go on, I'm so worried about my promotion."

Kai was at a loss and didn't know what to say. He thought for a moment and then said:

"I have two suggestions for you: why don't you come along to our theatre rehearsal after the last lesson this afternoon? It might distract you and you can watch Peter and me doing pantomime impressions and laugh your head off as we try to portray melting ice cream."

Peter, who had heard his name, caught up with them. He had overheard what Kai had said and immediately nodded his head enthusiastically.

"It's good fun," he confirmed, "it would be nice to find a few more people who want to join in."

"So, we've gone from watching to participating in no time at all, have we?" Trina said, smiling a little again. "Wow, and the Oscars are scheduled for the end of the year, aren't they?"

The two boys looked at each other and grinned at their success.

"What's your second suggestion?" Trina wanted to know.

She looked at Kai with eyes that were still sad, but he could already see her curiosity.

"If we get a little organized, I could work through the maths curriculum with you and maybe help you out."

"Phew, voluntarily studying in your free time? You would do that?" she asked incredulously.

"I hate to admit it, but ..." Kai didn't get any further, because Peter leaned towards Trina and whispered to her conspiratorially:

"You must know, this boy LOVES maths! I know that for a fact, after all, we share a school desk!"

Kai looked a little embarrassed and Peter almost felt sorry for having behaved this childishly.

"Hey, you know what, it would do me good too!" he added quickly, and that was exactly the right thing to say.

The three young people looked at each other kindly and each thought to themselves that it was nice to feel accepted and understood by others. By now they had arrived at the gym; they parted ways in front of the changing rooms.

Hours later, Kai entered another dressing room, this time the one of the ballroom. The somewhat dusty room was located behind the stage and was packed with costumes and props. To the right of the entrance door stood a golden throne made of papier-mâché, half covered by a thin goatskin. The shelves were overflowing with all kinds of masks and fabrics, more or less neatly bundled together. There were heavy velvets in dark colours, almost transparent artificial silks in various tones, knitted, woven and ribbed ribbons of different widths and baskets full of scraps of wool and fabric. Painted canvases were rolled up and piled up on every available surface. Worn-out sofas and wing chairs formed a large semi-circle with mismatched chairsand stools around a huge table against the wall. On it stood a kettle, a coffee machine and an interesting selection of clean and used cups and glasses. Next to the table was a sink, a rickety kitchen cupboard and an ancient, man-sized fridge that hummed loudly. Along one wall were four dressing tables with old-fashioned mirrors framed by light bulbs, and in between, like in a hairdressing salon, stations with all kinds of theatrical make-up and wigs. The room had a special scent that was made up of dust, make-up, wood polish and cedar wood, the latter to ward off moths. Kai liked this smell very much, as he associated it with many happy experiences. He hung his jacket on the crowded monster of a coat rack and sat down on the bench below to take off his shoes and socks. The wooden floor was warm and surprisingly clean and everyone walked barefoot here, because that was very important to their director. Rolf Mayer was actually a geography teacher, but he had been running the theatre group for years. He was no longer particularly young, but he connected well with his actors, was humorous and passionate about his work and lived out his personal creativity with a changing cast of interested pupils. This year they would be performing a pantomime play at the school festival in the summer and preparations were in full swing.

Kai's eyes searched the already crowded room for Trina. There she was, next to Peter at the other end of the table! The two of them were holding cups in their hands and talking animatedly. Peter gesticulated a bit violently and some of his coffee spilled out of the cup ontothe table, whereupon Rolf threw him a dishcloth. Here in the drama group, everyone was on first-name terms, but it would never have occurred to anyone to do the same in the school corridors or even in class. It was an unspoken agreement between everyone involved and gave the whole troupe a sense of cohesion, which was very conducive to their interaction with each other and made their work together very enjoyable. This was probably why Rolf had had to introduce an upper limit on the number of participants years ago, although he always made exceptions. It was difficult for him to exclude people from his troupe just because there were too many of them. Discipline wasn't an issue anyway, because nobody wanted to be a nuisance here.

For the actual rehearsal, you had to climb a few steps up to the stage. This was quite spacious, with heavy curtains on both sides that you could slip through. What appeared to be a single piece from the auditorium was actually made up of individual strips that made it easy to get through. The curtain facing the hall seemed to fall from unimaginable heights and was only divided in the middle. An old-fashioned crank on one side allowed it to be opened and closed from the centre. Standing in these folds and peering through them into the hall always made Kai feel like a dwarf caught in a magical grandmother's dress. The floor of the stage was slightly rounded towards the hall and marked with white tape. This was to prevent the artists from falling over the edge into the hall, blinded by the light of the spotlights. The fact that this sometimes happened was usually not too bad: the stage was only about eighty centimetres high. In addition, all newcomers were taught very early on to familiarize themselves with thelayout and everyone was well acquainted with their bodies thanks to their training. Balance exercises were on the agenda, as were good warm-ups and basic jumping and dancing techniques. The floorboards of the stage were also very clean and free of splinters, cracks and fissures. Nobody should have to worry about the soles of their bare feet while working.

"Nice to see you!" Kai said to Trina as he joined his friends. "I'm looking forward to showing you how to brighten up your mood!"

Peter laughed and Trina looked at him closely.

"It works pretty quickly for some people!" she said, and then laughed too because Peter was blushing.

"That's right!" Kai agreed and thought it was nice to be here together.

He was pleased to see that Trina's eyes were no longer red from crying.

"If you like, you can watch from the hall. It won't bother anyone here and the worst that can happen to you is that Rolf invites you to join in."

"Who's Rolf?" Trina asked, glancing around the room.

"Our pack leader," Peter said somewhat casually.

How strange he was behaving all of a sudden, Kai thought, he had already expressed himself so stupidly in the morning. He looked Peter in the face and then it dawned on him: Peter wanted to impress Trina! How exciting! Trina tilted her head a little and looked thoughtfully at Peter out of the corner of her eye; she had probably noticed it too. Kai watched as she quickly turned away, but he could still see a small smile on her face. Well, it would probably be up to him whether and how much maths would be studied! They also had to seta time and a place; many good intentions were simply not carried out because people couldn't get organized; Kai knew that from his own painful experience.

"When do we want to meet?" he asked the two of them.

They looked at him in astonishment, as they had completely forgotten about the maths disaster. Then Trina's face darkened and she sighed wistfully.

"Kai, that's very nice of you, but I just can't do it. You're only wasting your time. I simply need to think of a good technique to cheat in the last exam."

She looked at the two boys, who stared back in bewilderment.

"You can't do that!" Peter groaned. "You'll be expelled from school if you get caught!"

Kai nodded his head vigorously. Quenching any and all forms of dishonesty had indeed been a personal goal of their principal for about two years. Back then, a few pupils had obtained the A-level exam questions in advance, thus passing with flying colours and then - insanely - posting their feat on social media ... just as if teachers and principals couldn't read them there too! The final consequence was quite clear in its message: four students were made to take their hats after being stripped of their exams. The two teachers who were involved were given the strongest possible warnings. One of them had obviously not kept the documents safe in the staff room, while the other had opened the sealed envelope prematurely out of curiosity and then carried it around in his school bag. All the cheaters had to do was grab the questions, quickly duplicate them and return the originals to the bag or drawer. Since then, everyone, teachers and pupils alike, had been extremely conscientious and careful, as the school's reputation had suffered badly in the media and no one wanted to be made an example of.

Kai and Peter were rightly shocked by Trina's proposed solution and immediately set about talking her out of it. But then Rolf knocked on the wooden table and everyone went on stage: the rehearsal had begun.

Chapter 3

It was just after half past five when Kai, Peter and Trina finally walked together across the school yard to their station. Kai felt tired and exhausted; it had been a long day. He just wanted to get home and the other two didn't seem to be in the mood for much planning either. They quickly arranged to meet at Peter's house at half past one the next afternoon. His parents had a spacious wooden summer house, which also served as the household's store room and library. They would be undisturbed there and everyone was happy with this suggestion. Kai said goodbye to them and crossed the road, as he had to go the other way to get home. Before he got on, he saw that Peter hadn't boarded the street car that had just arrived, but was waiting with Trina for number 19. He thought that was very nice of Peter, as it was already getting dark. Spring was still a long way off, dusk came early in the evening, especially today when the sky had been overcast all day. It was nice that tomorrow was Saturday. But wait! That also meant that Paula would certainly want to meet him tonight. They had been meeting up regularly on Friday evenings for the last few weeks, it had almost become a matter of course. Kai had completely forgotten to get in touch with her. It seemed a little strange to him; he hadn't been as enthusiastic as before for some time and knew that he would have to think about it sooner or later. He didn't know much about girls and relationships yet, but there was someone he could ask:Yvonne might be able to help him. Glad that he now had at least some sort of plan, Kai closed his eyes for a moment and was pleased that he could cancel meeting Paula for tonight without having to lie.

When he arrived home, he saw that the two windows facing the street downstairs were brightly lit. He quickened his pace and entered with the help of his key. The delicious smell of food hit him and the hallway was almost completely filled with the big dog.

"Well, did you have a nice day?" Kai asked as he crouched down on the floor in front of the dog and stroked her ears.

She gave him a friendly look, but otherwise lay still. Yvonne had spent quite a lot of time teaching her that. Now Gina only got up in the house at a discreet hand signal; it was simply more pleasant to step over a lying dog with for example a full shopping bag or a laundry basket than to be felled by the dog's attempts to get up quickly and get out of the way. Whether this was equally important for dachshund and terrier owners seemed unlikely, but in their case, it made life much smoother.

"Hello Yvonne!" Kai called towards the kitchen, from which music was emanating alongside the beguiling aromas.

His stepmother looked out of the door:

"Oh Kai, it's you!"

She wiped her hands on a kitchen towel and came to meet him on the other side of the dog. She looked at him closely and immediately noticed the light circles under his tired eyes and the white patches that lay like large clamps around his mouth and chin. Then she stepped backwards into the kitchen to give Kai room for his giant step over Gina. He followed her and sat downon one of the kitchen chairs. The table was already set and all traces of the preparations had disappeared. Only the compost bin gave any indication of dinner: potato peelings, onion and garlic skins and lots of odds and ends were waiting to be disposed of in the garden along with the coffee grounds. The whole family always ate together on Fridays; there were hardly any visitors at this meal, as the four of them wanted to use this time after a busy week to bring each other up to date, make decisions that affected them all and - very rarely - clear up frictions and find solutions to problems.

"Please put the glasses on the table, I haven't gotten around to it yet," Yvonne asked Kai.

"Sure," he said immediately, happy to be able to do something to help. "It smells wonderful," he then said, trying to sneak a look at the pots on the stove. "This time yesterday, I thought I'd never enjoy eating again, but it's a completely different story today!"

They smiled at each other and Yvonne decided not to pepper him with questions straight away. "Do I still have time for a phone call?" the boy asked. "I haven't called Paula since the night before yesterday."

"She tried to reach you here earlier," Yvonne replied neutrally.

Wow! Kai was slightly annoyed again. Why couldn't Paula remember that rehearsals were always on Fridays after school? Surely it couldn't be that difficult, after all it took place every week!

Disgruntled, he sat down at the phone in the living room and dialled Paula's number. He could have reached her on his cell phone, but he only used that in an emergency. He hadn't given her his number, butthe family had a landline. He didn't want to be reachable everywhere and at all times, there were already enough cell phone zombies and he wanted to see the car that hit him! He had to laugh at his own bad mood, unfortunately Paula answered just then.

"Hello there, you seem very cheerful!" were her first words.

Oh dear! How was he going to explain to her that he was too tired to meet up with her? He quickly coughed into the receiver and then apologized.

"I had something in my throat," he lied.

Then he got straight to the point:

"We can't meet today, Paula," he said, trying to make his voice sound regretful. "We have a family meeting and it seems like it will be taking a while longer."

"Hm, that's short notice. I actually thought that Friday evening was our time now," Paula said much more coolly. "You already don't have time for me in the afternoon because of your rehearsals!"

Ah, so she did have it on her radar! What was all this fuss about? Was she trying to claim some kind of ownership now?

"I don't want to go on and on about it," he explained. "It's not as if you hadn't known about this beforehand, considering we met after one of our theatre performances!"

"You must be in a bad mood after all," Paula said succinctly. "It's probably better if we don't see each other today, I can't take boring dry sticks, you know that. Just let me know when you're in a better mood ... if that is not too much to ask!"

Stunned, Kai looked at the silent receiver in his hand: she had simply disconnected the call!He could hardly believe it, but immediately afterwards he mentally shrugged his shoulders and hung up. If that's how she wanted it, that was fine with him. He certainly wouldn't get caught up in this silly fuss!

It was good to be annoyed. He even suspected that it was easier than any other possible reaction. However, there was no sign of heartache. Shaking his head, Kai went back to the kitchen and helped Yvonne with the rest of the preparations, grateful for her sensitivity, which enabled her to deal with him naturally and cheerfully.

"How did you get through today?" Yvonne wanted to know. "I can imagine it was quite exhausting ... as sick as you were yesterday."

"You're right," Kai agreed. "Still, it was the right decision to go to school. I didn't want to rewrite the maths test, it's always such a fuss!"

Then he laughed:

"And I definitely didn't want to miss the rehearsal!"