07-10-2025, 03:18 PM
The sun beat down mercilessly on the bare stone slabs of the schoolyard, and even the scattered trees could not provide any cooling shade. Since early morning, the oppressive heat had been weighing heavily over the city. In the shade of a schoolyard elm, a few students had gathered; five or six boys from the twelfth grade.
“I'm dead against it,“ said Karl, whose shoulder-length, jet-black hair was standing on end from being pulled in all directions.
“But it's just too hot for anything else. At least the movie theater has air conditioning.” The somewhat lanky Thorben was not so easily dissuaded from his idea. “Besides, I've wanted to see this movie for ages.”
“Knock yourself out,” Karl snarled. ‘I don't feel like sitting in the movie theater all evening anyway. Aren't there any more constructive suggestions?’ he turned to the others. But before anyone could answer, a stocky middle-aged man approached them from the school building, whose expression did not bode well – the sports teacher of the upper classes.
“Finder!” he barked. ‘You seem to have forgotten something? You were supposed to clean the equipment room, remember?”
Karl grimaced. ’Mr. Schroeder, we've been out of school for a quarter of an hour. Can't it wait until next week?”
“No way! You had time to take care of it all week. But apparently you had better things to do. I don't know if you would necessarily appreciate a warning from the principal, though?” The teacher gave the small group a contemptuous look. ”You can get one of them to help you, so it'll be faster, I want to go home eventually, too. But just one, got it? I know what will happen if I let you all run around the hall together! No way!”
Karl looked at his classmates carefully. Finally, his eyes settled on Jakob. “You.”
The others breathed a sigh of relief. None of them were particularly keen on starting the weekend by cleaning up Schroeder's junk room.
Jakob, however, was also not particularly keen on the idea. “Why me?” he grumbled under his breath.
“Because I said so, that's why.“ Karl sometimes had such an authoritarian manner about him that could literally drive you crazy.
“Are you finally ready?” Schroeder looked at his watch.
Karl nodded. Jakob held back an angry retort that was already on the tip of his tongue. Sometimes it was better to just follow Karl's whims. The boy could be very moody and resentful.
“Let's go, then. It's just after four now. How long will you need? Well, I'd better stop by again around six.”
The gym teacher pointed to the gym door, and Karl reluctantly got moving.
Jakob followed him, while the other boys quickly dispersed.
“That lousy wanker!” Karl kicked a box angrily and then angrily fell backwards into a pile of mats.
Jakob looked at him questioningly.
“He caught me smoking pot in the schoolyard,” Karl explained, grumbling. ‘And to keep him from running straight to the headmaster, I had to agree to clean up this shit. The bastard! He knows damn well that I can't afford another scolding.’ He reached for a tennis ball lying nearby and hurled it across the hall. Near the window, the ball rolled under a bench and came to a stop. Karl rose again. “All this talking isn't going to make the mess any better,” he grumbled, and climbed over the loose mats to the mat cart. “Come on, the sooner we start, the sooner we'll be out of here.”
Jakob climbed after him, and together they piled the flat gymnastics mats on the wagon. Then they collected the odds and ends lying around among the equipment: spring balls, tennis and table tennis balls, skipping ropes, badminton rackets and two volleyballs, long, colorful ribbons used in gymnastics classes, and eight small dumbbells that had probably been left there by the fitness class. She neatly sorted the small sports equipment into the designated cubbyhole, which was adjacent to the equipment room. Next came the heavy medicine balls, which were actually supposed to be on the high shelves at the back of the room, but for some unknown reason were always found on the floor in front of the shelves.
After they had pushed the two uneven bars into place with an unspeakable amount of effort and finally the trestles, boxes, beams and also the horse were properly in place, Jakob went on strike.
“I'm out,” he gasped exhaustedly and sat down on the wide high jump mat. ”I've had enough.”
Karl brushed the sweat from his forehead and sat down next to him. He had worked doggedly and silently the whole time, and even now he remained tight-lipped. “Just this mat and then we're done.”
“Forget it.” Jakob leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head. “I need a break first.”
Karl looked down at him thoughtfully. “All right. Then let's go out for a bit of fresh air and then finish up as quickly as possible.”
“Agreed.” Jakob rose again and followed Karl into the vestibule by the front door.
Karl pulled on the door, but nothing happened. Then he pushed against it, but it still didn't budge. “That asshole!” he shouted angrily and kicked it. “He's locked us in!”
“Probably doesn't trust us,“ Jacob stated wearily. So now they would have to sit here until six.
Karl gave the door one last kick, which made it tremble on its hinges, and turned away. ‘Maybe we can get out through the office window.’ But both office doors were locked too.
“The emergency exit,” Jacob remembered.
Karl shook his head. Since the emergency exit had been broken open a few months ago and the hall robbed, it had been secured with a thick chain and an even thicker padlock. “We're stuck,” he soberly stated.
They went back into the hall to open a few of the upper hinged windows. Nevertheless, the air remained warm and stuffy.
“There's likely to be another thunderstorm,” Jakob predicted. ‘It's been so humid all day. And the sky is already closing too.’ He pointed out the window.
Karl shrugged. He had completely different things on his mind. ”Maybe we can break open the lock somehow?”
“It's a security lock.“ Jakob grinned weakly. ‘The most you can do is break your teeth.”
Karl gave him a dark look. ’Do you have a better idea?”
“No.” Jakob took a basketball out of the cubbyhole and dribbled a few laps. Then he started shooting hoops. “What about you, you want to join in?”
Karl shook his head when Jakob demonstratively stood in front of him. He would only have had to stretch out his arm to take the ball from him.
Outside, thunder rumbled softly.
“Don't you dare?” Jakob narrowed his eyes and grinned mockingly. ”Don't want to embarrass yourself, do you?”
Karl rose clumsily from the bench where he had been sitting. He would show him! He leaped forward and reached for the ball, but the other boy was faster. Jakob dodged skillfully, dribbling the ball through his legs, and turned around. Karl chased after him, but despite full physical exertion, he couldn't prevent Jakob from getting closer and closer to the basket.
“Hepp!” The ball sailed through the air and fell through the net without touching the rim. Jakob caught it skillfully and laughed softly. ‘Your turn,’ he explained, throwing the ball to Karl.
At that moment, outside the window, a gigantic bolt of lightning struck the earth, and the simultaneous thunderclap made the gym tremble. The fuse blew with a bang, the ceiling light went out, and only now did they realize how dim it had become due to the dark storm front.
Karl, who had winced at the impact just like Jakob, carelessly dropped the ball and climbed onto the heating railing to get a better view out the window. “Look at that!”
Jakob followed him onto the parapet and clung to the net that protected the windows from ball tossing while he looked out. The cloud cover had turned a sulphurous yellow, dark shreds of clouds drifted between them, thunder rumbled again and again, and lightning flashed across the sky. Finally, the rain set in with thick, pattering drops. The air tasted of wet asphalt and got noticeably cooler, which they noticed through the hinged window.
“Deluge.“ Karl climbed back down and looked around for the ball.
“End of the world,” murmured Jacob and followed him.
“In such lousy weather, Schroeder won't dare come out to let us out again.“ Karl had found the basketball and was holding it thoughtfully.
“Of course he'll come. He can't leave us here until Monday.” Jakob took the ball from him and took it to the cubbyhole. When he closed the door, Karl was standing next to him, grabbing him by the collar.
Jakob threw his arms up protectively as he was pushed against the wall, but instead of a punch, he suddenly felt two soft lips on his mouth. Surprised, he let himself be kissed, kissed back. Karl's hands gently stroked his face as he then carefully broke away from him and looked at him in wonder. “What's going on? Are you kidding?”
“I never do anything for fun,“ was the calm reply. ‘I'm completely serious. And what about you?”
Jakob looked him in the eye and remained silent, lost in thought.
Karl reached for his hand and pulled him with him to the high jump mat. With their backs to it, they stood on the heavily loaded mat wagon. ’On the count of three,” explained Karl, counting. “One, two, three!”
Together they fell backwards onto the mat.
Jakob laughed softly. “And what was that supposed to be?”
“That was just for fun,” Karl explained patiently, turning onto his side. “Well, which do you like better?”
“I think I'd like to have both – as a double pack.” Jakob folded his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. “And please give me the economy pack.”
Karl smiled mockingly. “You have high standards!” He moved closer to him and laid his head on Jakob's chest.
Jakob stroked his dark hair tentatively.
A noise from the front door startled them.
“What happened here?” they heard the gym teacher curse as he fumbled with the light switch in the dim light.
Karl jumped up and pulled Jakob up as well. “Quick, the mat!”
Each of them grabbed one side of the bulky high jump mat, and together they managed to straighten it up and slide it along its length into the gap between the wall and the uneven bars.
Meanwhile, Schroeder had entered the hall and was shining his flashlight on them. ”You're still here!”
Karl shot him an angry look. “It's not easy when the gym is locked.”
The teacher ignored the snide remark and shone his torch into the equipment room. ‘There you go, a little goodwill goes a long way.’ He nodded with satisfaction and motioned for the boys to leave the gym.
Karl took his backpack and followed Jakob into the vestibule, where their street shoes were.
Finally they were outside again and could move freely. The storm had passed, but it was still raining heavily. They found brief shelter under the porch of the school. The school building itself was already dark and locked, and there was no light left in any of the rooms. Only over there, behind the windows of the gym, could you see the flickering glow of the flashlight in which Schroeder was looking for a new fuse.
Karl held out his hand to shield the rain. “What time is it?” he wanted to know.
“Quarter to seven,” Jakob said after a quick glance at his pocket watch. He looked thoughtfully at Karl. ”What was that actually earlier?”
The man addressed turned to him and looked thoughtfully into his eyes. “I don't know exactly,” he said seriously. “I just know that it was good to be locked up with you.”
Jakob smiled and tentatively took him in his arms.
Karl laughed softly. He rarely did that, but it sounded nice when he did. “Jakob.” He ruffled his thick hair with his fingers. “What did we get ourselves into?”
“I don't care.” Jakob kissed him gently. “I just think it could go on like this for a while. I don't want to get out of it, do you?”
Karl shook his head and carefully extricated himself from him. “I have to go home,” he explained regretfully, making a face. “My father is already tearing my head off because I'm so late.”
“I see.” Jakob looked over at his bike, standing lonely and abandoned among the many empty bike racks. “I'll be on my way too.”
Karl waited patiently until Jakob had locked his bike. In silence, they walked through the slowly diminishing rain to the school gate.
“Well, then...” Jakob stopped and pointed to the left. ”I have to go that way now.”
“I know.” Karl pulled him close and kissed him wildly. Then he smiled. He had remembered something else. ‘I almost forgot in all the chaos: my band is playing tomorrow night at the Würfel, and I would be really happy if you could come. On the guest list, of course.”
Jakob raised his eyebrows. ’You play in a band? What?”
“Trombone.“ He laughed when he saw Jakob's surprised expression. ‘We play skapunk,’ he added, explaining.
“Oh.” Jakob grinned in relief. “Well, then I'll definitely come.” He swung himself onto his bike.
“From ten, approximately.”
“I'll be there.” He waved again and started pedaling.
Karl watched him disappear around a corner, then turned right and made his way to the Suburban Railway.
“I'm dead against it,“ said Karl, whose shoulder-length, jet-black hair was standing on end from being pulled in all directions.
“But it's just too hot for anything else. At least the movie theater has air conditioning.” The somewhat lanky Thorben was not so easily dissuaded from his idea. “Besides, I've wanted to see this movie for ages.”
“Knock yourself out,” Karl snarled. ‘I don't feel like sitting in the movie theater all evening anyway. Aren't there any more constructive suggestions?’ he turned to the others. But before anyone could answer, a stocky middle-aged man approached them from the school building, whose expression did not bode well – the sports teacher of the upper classes.
“Finder!” he barked. ‘You seem to have forgotten something? You were supposed to clean the equipment room, remember?”
Karl grimaced. ’Mr. Schroeder, we've been out of school for a quarter of an hour. Can't it wait until next week?”
“No way! You had time to take care of it all week. But apparently you had better things to do. I don't know if you would necessarily appreciate a warning from the principal, though?” The teacher gave the small group a contemptuous look. ”You can get one of them to help you, so it'll be faster, I want to go home eventually, too. But just one, got it? I know what will happen if I let you all run around the hall together! No way!”
Karl looked at his classmates carefully. Finally, his eyes settled on Jakob. “You.”
The others breathed a sigh of relief. None of them were particularly keen on starting the weekend by cleaning up Schroeder's junk room.
Jakob, however, was also not particularly keen on the idea. “Why me?” he grumbled under his breath.
“Because I said so, that's why.“ Karl sometimes had such an authoritarian manner about him that could literally drive you crazy.
“Are you finally ready?” Schroeder looked at his watch.
Karl nodded. Jakob held back an angry retort that was already on the tip of his tongue. Sometimes it was better to just follow Karl's whims. The boy could be very moody and resentful.
“Let's go, then. It's just after four now. How long will you need? Well, I'd better stop by again around six.”
The gym teacher pointed to the gym door, and Karl reluctantly got moving.
Jakob followed him, while the other boys quickly dispersed.
“That lousy wanker!” Karl kicked a box angrily and then angrily fell backwards into a pile of mats.
Jakob looked at him questioningly.
“He caught me smoking pot in the schoolyard,” Karl explained, grumbling. ‘And to keep him from running straight to the headmaster, I had to agree to clean up this shit. The bastard! He knows damn well that I can't afford another scolding.’ He reached for a tennis ball lying nearby and hurled it across the hall. Near the window, the ball rolled under a bench and came to a stop. Karl rose again. “All this talking isn't going to make the mess any better,” he grumbled, and climbed over the loose mats to the mat cart. “Come on, the sooner we start, the sooner we'll be out of here.”
Jakob climbed after him, and together they piled the flat gymnastics mats on the wagon. Then they collected the odds and ends lying around among the equipment: spring balls, tennis and table tennis balls, skipping ropes, badminton rackets and two volleyballs, long, colorful ribbons used in gymnastics classes, and eight small dumbbells that had probably been left there by the fitness class. She neatly sorted the small sports equipment into the designated cubbyhole, which was adjacent to the equipment room. Next came the heavy medicine balls, which were actually supposed to be on the high shelves at the back of the room, but for some unknown reason were always found on the floor in front of the shelves.
After they had pushed the two uneven bars into place with an unspeakable amount of effort and finally the trestles, boxes, beams and also the horse were properly in place, Jakob went on strike.
“I'm out,” he gasped exhaustedly and sat down on the wide high jump mat. ”I've had enough.”
Karl brushed the sweat from his forehead and sat down next to him. He had worked doggedly and silently the whole time, and even now he remained tight-lipped. “Just this mat and then we're done.”
“Forget it.” Jakob leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head. “I need a break first.”
Karl looked down at him thoughtfully. “All right. Then let's go out for a bit of fresh air and then finish up as quickly as possible.”
“Agreed.” Jakob rose again and followed Karl into the vestibule by the front door.
Karl pulled on the door, but nothing happened. Then he pushed against it, but it still didn't budge. “That asshole!” he shouted angrily and kicked it. “He's locked us in!”
“Probably doesn't trust us,“ Jacob stated wearily. So now they would have to sit here until six.
Karl gave the door one last kick, which made it tremble on its hinges, and turned away. ‘Maybe we can get out through the office window.’ But both office doors were locked too.
“The emergency exit,” Jacob remembered.
Karl shook his head. Since the emergency exit had been broken open a few months ago and the hall robbed, it had been secured with a thick chain and an even thicker padlock. “We're stuck,” he soberly stated.
They went back into the hall to open a few of the upper hinged windows. Nevertheless, the air remained warm and stuffy.
“There's likely to be another thunderstorm,” Jakob predicted. ‘It's been so humid all day. And the sky is already closing too.’ He pointed out the window.
Karl shrugged. He had completely different things on his mind. ”Maybe we can break open the lock somehow?”
“It's a security lock.“ Jakob grinned weakly. ‘The most you can do is break your teeth.”
Karl gave him a dark look. ’Do you have a better idea?”
“No.” Jakob took a basketball out of the cubbyhole and dribbled a few laps. Then he started shooting hoops. “What about you, you want to join in?”
Karl shook his head when Jakob demonstratively stood in front of him. He would only have had to stretch out his arm to take the ball from him.
Outside, thunder rumbled softly.
“Don't you dare?” Jakob narrowed his eyes and grinned mockingly. ”Don't want to embarrass yourself, do you?”
Karl rose clumsily from the bench where he had been sitting. He would show him! He leaped forward and reached for the ball, but the other boy was faster. Jakob dodged skillfully, dribbling the ball through his legs, and turned around. Karl chased after him, but despite full physical exertion, he couldn't prevent Jakob from getting closer and closer to the basket.
“Hepp!” The ball sailed through the air and fell through the net without touching the rim. Jakob caught it skillfully and laughed softly. ‘Your turn,’ he explained, throwing the ball to Karl.
At that moment, outside the window, a gigantic bolt of lightning struck the earth, and the simultaneous thunderclap made the gym tremble. The fuse blew with a bang, the ceiling light went out, and only now did they realize how dim it had become due to the dark storm front.
Karl, who had winced at the impact just like Jakob, carelessly dropped the ball and climbed onto the heating railing to get a better view out the window. “Look at that!”
Jakob followed him onto the parapet and clung to the net that protected the windows from ball tossing while he looked out. The cloud cover had turned a sulphurous yellow, dark shreds of clouds drifted between them, thunder rumbled again and again, and lightning flashed across the sky. Finally, the rain set in with thick, pattering drops. The air tasted of wet asphalt and got noticeably cooler, which they noticed through the hinged window.
“Deluge.“ Karl climbed back down and looked around for the ball.
“End of the world,” murmured Jacob and followed him.
“In such lousy weather, Schroeder won't dare come out to let us out again.“ Karl had found the basketball and was holding it thoughtfully.
“Of course he'll come. He can't leave us here until Monday.” Jakob took the ball from him and took it to the cubbyhole. When he closed the door, Karl was standing next to him, grabbing him by the collar.
Jakob threw his arms up protectively as he was pushed against the wall, but instead of a punch, he suddenly felt two soft lips on his mouth. Surprised, he let himself be kissed, kissed back. Karl's hands gently stroked his face as he then carefully broke away from him and looked at him in wonder. “What's going on? Are you kidding?”
“I never do anything for fun,“ was the calm reply. ‘I'm completely serious. And what about you?”
Jakob looked him in the eye and remained silent, lost in thought.
Karl reached for his hand and pulled him with him to the high jump mat. With their backs to it, they stood on the heavily loaded mat wagon. ’On the count of three,” explained Karl, counting. “One, two, three!”
Together they fell backwards onto the mat.
Jakob laughed softly. “And what was that supposed to be?”
“That was just for fun,” Karl explained patiently, turning onto his side. “Well, which do you like better?”
“I think I'd like to have both – as a double pack.” Jakob folded his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. “And please give me the economy pack.”
Karl smiled mockingly. “You have high standards!” He moved closer to him and laid his head on Jakob's chest.
Jakob stroked his dark hair tentatively.
A noise from the front door startled them.
“What happened here?” they heard the gym teacher curse as he fumbled with the light switch in the dim light.
Karl jumped up and pulled Jakob up as well. “Quick, the mat!”
Each of them grabbed one side of the bulky high jump mat, and together they managed to straighten it up and slide it along its length into the gap between the wall and the uneven bars.
Meanwhile, Schroeder had entered the hall and was shining his flashlight on them. ”You're still here!”
Karl shot him an angry look. “It's not easy when the gym is locked.”
The teacher ignored the snide remark and shone his torch into the equipment room. ‘There you go, a little goodwill goes a long way.’ He nodded with satisfaction and motioned for the boys to leave the gym.
Karl took his backpack and followed Jakob into the vestibule, where their street shoes were.
Finally they were outside again and could move freely. The storm had passed, but it was still raining heavily. They found brief shelter under the porch of the school. The school building itself was already dark and locked, and there was no light left in any of the rooms. Only over there, behind the windows of the gym, could you see the flickering glow of the flashlight in which Schroeder was looking for a new fuse.
Karl held out his hand to shield the rain. “What time is it?” he wanted to know.
“Quarter to seven,” Jakob said after a quick glance at his pocket watch. He looked thoughtfully at Karl. ”What was that actually earlier?”
The man addressed turned to him and looked thoughtfully into his eyes. “I don't know exactly,” he said seriously. “I just know that it was good to be locked up with you.”
Jakob smiled and tentatively took him in his arms.
Karl laughed softly. He rarely did that, but it sounded nice when he did. “Jakob.” He ruffled his thick hair with his fingers. “What did we get ourselves into?”
“I don't care.” Jakob kissed him gently. “I just think it could go on like this for a while. I don't want to get out of it, do you?”
Karl shook his head and carefully extricated himself from him. “I have to go home,” he explained regretfully, making a face. “My father is already tearing my head off because I'm so late.”
“I see.” Jakob looked over at his bike, standing lonely and abandoned among the many empty bike racks. “I'll be on my way too.”
Karl waited patiently until Jakob had locked his bike. In silence, they walked through the slowly diminishing rain to the school gate.
“Well, then...” Jakob stopped and pointed to the left. ”I have to go that way now.”
“I know.” Karl pulled him close and kissed him wildly. Then he smiled. He had remembered something else. ‘I almost forgot in all the chaos: my band is playing tomorrow night at the Würfel, and I would be really happy if you could come. On the guest list, of course.”
Jakob raised his eyebrows. ’You play in a band? What?”
“Trombone.“ He laughed when he saw Jakob's surprised expression. ‘We play skapunk,’ he added, explaining.
“Oh.” Jakob grinned in relief. “Well, then I'll definitely come.” He swung himself onto his bike.
“From ten, approximately.”
“I'll be there.” He waved again and started pedaling.
Karl watched him disappear around a corner, then turned right and made his way to the Suburban Railway.