07-10-2025, 03:20 PM
When Mark came
It was already dark when I came home. My mother was already waiting for me and immediately shouted at me why I was so late. I said that I was still at Sam's doing homework. She silently looked at me while I walked past her to my room to get ready for bed. When I looked at the clock, it was now half past twelve. ‘I didn't know you did homework at friends‘ houses,’ I heard my mother say from the door of my room. I hissed at her: ‘And we've forgotten how to knock, have we?’ She looked at me rather sternly and left.
Oh man, and I'm probably being a bit rude to you. So my name is Kaylen, but my friends call me Kay. I recently turned 16 and will soon be moving up to ninth grade at Carl-Gittermann-Realschule. I'm actually a pretty normal guy.
After my mother had left the room and closed the door, I went to bed and snuggled into the dream until the alarm clock at a quarter to six pulled me out of my sleep. Man, I was in a mood. No wonder when you go to bed at one at night. So I grumbled, got out of bed and went to the bathroom, which unfortunately, as always, was occupied by my sister Anna for hours. So I waited outside the bathroom until she was finally able to leave after what seemed like an eternity. When I had finished in the bathroom after a quarter of an hour, I went to the kitchen to have breakfast. A slice of toast and a cup of cocoa. My mother had gone to work very early. So my sister and I were alone at home.
Later at school, Sam was waiting for me. He had been waiting for me in the break hall with his girlfriend. ‘Hey Kay. Did your mother say anything else about yesterday?’ I heard him ask. I silently shook my head and continued towards class. Just as I was about to go in, I saw Mr Wittner walking towards the class with a boy I didn't know. The boy looked a little shyly at the class when Mr Wittner introduced him. ‘Quiet... I SAID QUIET! So this is Marc Schuster. Marc, why don't you just sit in the empty seat next to him.’ Mr Wittner pointed to the seat next to me, which had been empty since the beginning of the school year because someone had to repeat the class. Marc hesitated a little, until he finally sat down next to me. ’All right. Then please turn to page 58 in your books.’
When the bell rang for the break after the two most boring hours I've ever had, I saw Marc running. Well, more of a jog, as if he were fleeing from something. I didn't pay much attention to it and went to the playground to Sam and his girlfriend Monika. They've been together for four months. Sam sometimes asks me if I don't want one too, finally. Like today. ‘No. I have more important things on my mind at the moment. The last exam is coming up soon and I still have to study. I can't afford a girlfriend. She'd just distract me.’
‘Great excuse. You couldn't think of anything better. Am I right? You're just afraid of not getting one. You should never have broken up with Jessica. You guys were a great couple,’ he said to me, pointing at her. Jessica and I were together for two years. But at some point I just didn't feel anything anymore and ended it a few weeks ago. She doesn't seem to have gotten over it yet, because whenever I walk past her, I see that she gets tears in her eyes. Well, okay, two years is a damn long time. ‘Oh shut up, Sam. I just don't want one right now and that's that.’ So I didn't have to listen to his drivel anymore, I lied that I was going to the school kiosk to get something to drink. As I started walking, I spotted Marc sitting alone on a bench. I ran to him. He still looked quite shy and very frightened. ’Hi Marc. I haven't even introduced myself yet. I'm Kaylen. But everyone here calls me Kay,’ I said, while I sat down next to him. “Hi,” he replied quietly, almost in a whisper. The bell rang for the next lesson. My favourite subject, biology, was next. God, how I hate it.
When I finally made it through the school day alive, I made my way home. I looked around for Sam, because he had the same route as me. But I didn't see him anywhere. He probably went with Monika. So I went home. Just before our street, I saw an open front door and a moving truck. Apparently we were getting new neighbours. As nice as I am, I knocked on the open door. A woman came to me. Long wavy black hair. Around 35-40 years old. ‘Hello, I'm Kaylen, your neighbour. We live in the corner house,’ I said friendly. She looked at me and smiled, ‘I'm Carolin. Come in.’ I shook my head and said that my mother was expecting me for dinner and that I had to go home. She accepted this and said goodbye to me. When I finally arrived home, dinner was already on the table. My mother then came into the dining room and sat down with me. ‘Tell me, do you actually have plans today?’ she asked me while I scooped the potatoes onto my plate. I looked at her a little confused and replied, ‘Actually just homework and then... I don't know. Why do you ask?’ She then started to tell me that an old school friend of hers had moved here with her son and asked me if I could help her with the move. My mother would come later because she had to go to the bank first. I accepted the request to help. When I had finished eating, I went up to my room and started my homework. Maths was easy because I was an ace. English was okay.
After I had finally finished, I set off for the address my mother gave me. When I arrived there, I saw that it was Carolin's house. I knocked on the door and she called out for me to come in. So I followed the voice, which seemed to be coming from the living room. Carolin looked at me in surprise. ‘My mother thought you could use some help. I'm happy to help.’ She looked at me in confusion and then it occurred to her: “Oh, so you must be Frauke's son. Yes, then you can take the bucket and start painting that wall over there. My son will be home soon, so you can do it together.” She smiled and then went into the kitchen. I just started with the wall when I heard footsteps behind me. When I turned around, I saw Marc. ‘Kay, what are you doing here?’ I looked at him and had to laugh. ‘I'm helping your mother paint. My mother's orders. But if it bothers you, I'm happy to leave.’ He looked at me and grinned. Oh man, he has such a cute grin... stop, why do I care about his grin? Oh man, I'm crazy. ‘No, that's fine. If your mother wanted that and mine agrees, too, then that's okay,’ he said with this super sweet smile and disappeared from the living room. I then continued with what I was doing.
At some point, I looked at the clock and noticed that it was already after five. Carolin came in and brought me tea. Marc followed her with a tray of sandwiches. So we sat down and talked a bit. I told her that Marc had come into my class and would sit next to me. I also said that he was a very quiet boy. When I had finished speaking, I saw that Marc looked frightened again and left the room quickly. ‘Did I say something wrong?’ I asked, feeling insecure. His mother looked at the door and replied, ’You should know that Marc was bullied at his old school. That's why we moved here to start over. His father died very early and we haven't always had an easy life. He's afraid that he'll be bullied here too when they find out that he...’ She didn't say any more and I didn't want to go into it either. Instead, I got up to look for Marc. I finally found him in his room. When I knocked, only a soft ‘Yes’ came from the room. I opened the door a crack and saw that he was lying on the bed. He had buried his head deep in the pillow. I approached him slowly and asked if I could sit down. He nodded slightly and I sat down on the bed next to him. After I had sat down, he also straightened up and wiped some tears from his face. ‘Your mother told me why school scares you so much. What you had to go through at the other school is really stupid. But why were you bullied there? If you don't want to tell me, I understand,’ I said quietly. He looked at me and answered somewhat hesitantly: ’At my old school, they found out that I'm different from others. I realised very early on that I feel more for boys than for girls. I'm gay and they took advantage of that at my old school and started bullying me. I've been open about it for a year now, but it's still very hard for me.’ And again he broke down into tears. I approached him and took him in my arms. He returned it and also closed his arms around me. He was able to really cry it out. I realised that I liked this hug. After what felt like an eternity, we broke away from each other a little and looked into each other's eyes. He had bright blue eyes. He slowly came closer until he touched my lips with his. I was a little surprised, but returned the kiss. There was a feeling inside me that I couldn't describe. But it was a beautiful feeling.
It was already dark when I came home. My mother was already waiting for me and immediately shouted at me why I was so late. I said that I was still at Sam's doing homework. She silently looked at me while I walked past her to my room to get ready for bed. When I looked at the clock, it was now half past twelve. ‘I didn't know you did homework at friends‘ houses,’ I heard my mother say from the door of my room. I hissed at her: ‘And we've forgotten how to knock, have we?’ She looked at me rather sternly and left.
Oh man, and I'm probably being a bit rude to you. So my name is Kaylen, but my friends call me Kay. I recently turned 16 and will soon be moving up to ninth grade at Carl-Gittermann-Realschule. I'm actually a pretty normal guy.
After my mother had left the room and closed the door, I went to bed and snuggled into the dream until the alarm clock at a quarter to six pulled me out of my sleep. Man, I was in a mood. No wonder when you go to bed at one at night. So I grumbled, got out of bed and went to the bathroom, which unfortunately, as always, was occupied by my sister Anna for hours. So I waited outside the bathroom until she was finally able to leave after what seemed like an eternity. When I had finished in the bathroom after a quarter of an hour, I went to the kitchen to have breakfast. A slice of toast and a cup of cocoa. My mother had gone to work very early. So my sister and I were alone at home.
Later at school, Sam was waiting for me. He had been waiting for me in the break hall with his girlfriend. ‘Hey Kay. Did your mother say anything else about yesterday?’ I heard him ask. I silently shook my head and continued towards class. Just as I was about to go in, I saw Mr Wittner walking towards the class with a boy I didn't know. The boy looked a little shyly at the class when Mr Wittner introduced him. ‘Quiet... I SAID QUIET! So this is Marc Schuster. Marc, why don't you just sit in the empty seat next to him.’ Mr Wittner pointed to the seat next to me, which had been empty since the beginning of the school year because someone had to repeat the class. Marc hesitated a little, until he finally sat down next to me. ’All right. Then please turn to page 58 in your books.’
When the bell rang for the break after the two most boring hours I've ever had, I saw Marc running. Well, more of a jog, as if he were fleeing from something. I didn't pay much attention to it and went to the playground to Sam and his girlfriend Monika. They've been together for four months. Sam sometimes asks me if I don't want one too, finally. Like today. ‘No. I have more important things on my mind at the moment. The last exam is coming up soon and I still have to study. I can't afford a girlfriend. She'd just distract me.’
‘Great excuse. You couldn't think of anything better. Am I right? You're just afraid of not getting one. You should never have broken up with Jessica. You guys were a great couple,’ he said to me, pointing at her. Jessica and I were together for two years. But at some point I just didn't feel anything anymore and ended it a few weeks ago. She doesn't seem to have gotten over it yet, because whenever I walk past her, I see that she gets tears in her eyes. Well, okay, two years is a damn long time. ‘Oh shut up, Sam. I just don't want one right now and that's that.’ So I didn't have to listen to his drivel anymore, I lied that I was going to the school kiosk to get something to drink. As I started walking, I spotted Marc sitting alone on a bench. I ran to him. He still looked quite shy and very frightened. ’Hi Marc. I haven't even introduced myself yet. I'm Kaylen. But everyone here calls me Kay,’ I said, while I sat down next to him. “Hi,” he replied quietly, almost in a whisper. The bell rang for the next lesson. My favourite subject, biology, was next. God, how I hate it.
When I finally made it through the school day alive, I made my way home. I looked around for Sam, because he had the same route as me. But I didn't see him anywhere. He probably went with Monika. So I went home. Just before our street, I saw an open front door and a moving truck. Apparently we were getting new neighbours. As nice as I am, I knocked on the open door. A woman came to me. Long wavy black hair. Around 35-40 years old. ‘Hello, I'm Kaylen, your neighbour. We live in the corner house,’ I said friendly. She looked at me and smiled, ‘I'm Carolin. Come in.’ I shook my head and said that my mother was expecting me for dinner and that I had to go home. She accepted this and said goodbye to me. When I finally arrived home, dinner was already on the table. My mother then came into the dining room and sat down with me. ‘Tell me, do you actually have plans today?’ she asked me while I scooped the potatoes onto my plate. I looked at her a little confused and replied, ‘Actually just homework and then... I don't know. Why do you ask?’ She then started to tell me that an old school friend of hers had moved here with her son and asked me if I could help her with the move. My mother would come later because she had to go to the bank first. I accepted the request to help. When I had finished eating, I went up to my room and started my homework. Maths was easy because I was an ace. English was okay.
After I had finally finished, I set off for the address my mother gave me. When I arrived there, I saw that it was Carolin's house. I knocked on the door and she called out for me to come in. So I followed the voice, which seemed to be coming from the living room. Carolin looked at me in surprise. ‘My mother thought you could use some help. I'm happy to help.’ She looked at me in confusion and then it occurred to her: “Oh, so you must be Frauke's son. Yes, then you can take the bucket and start painting that wall over there. My son will be home soon, so you can do it together.” She smiled and then went into the kitchen. I just started with the wall when I heard footsteps behind me. When I turned around, I saw Marc. ‘Kay, what are you doing here?’ I looked at him and had to laugh. ‘I'm helping your mother paint. My mother's orders. But if it bothers you, I'm happy to leave.’ He looked at me and grinned. Oh man, he has such a cute grin... stop, why do I care about his grin? Oh man, I'm crazy. ‘No, that's fine. If your mother wanted that and mine agrees, too, then that's okay,’ he said with this super sweet smile and disappeared from the living room. I then continued with what I was doing.
At some point, I looked at the clock and noticed that it was already after five. Carolin came in and brought me tea. Marc followed her with a tray of sandwiches. So we sat down and talked a bit. I told her that Marc had come into my class and would sit next to me. I also said that he was a very quiet boy. When I had finished speaking, I saw that Marc looked frightened again and left the room quickly. ‘Did I say something wrong?’ I asked, feeling insecure. His mother looked at the door and replied, ’You should know that Marc was bullied at his old school. That's why we moved here to start over. His father died very early and we haven't always had an easy life. He's afraid that he'll be bullied here too when they find out that he...’ She didn't say any more and I didn't want to go into it either. Instead, I got up to look for Marc. I finally found him in his room. When I knocked, only a soft ‘Yes’ came from the room. I opened the door a crack and saw that he was lying on the bed. He had buried his head deep in the pillow. I approached him slowly and asked if I could sit down. He nodded slightly and I sat down on the bed next to him. After I had sat down, he also straightened up and wiped some tears from his face. ‘Your mother told me why school scares you so much. What you had to go through at the other school is really stupid. But why were you bullied there? If you don't want to tell me, I understand,’ I said quietly. He looked at me and answered somewhat hesitantly: ’At my old school, they found out that I'm different from others. I realised very early on that I feel more for boys than for girls. I'm gay and they took advantage of that at my old school and started bullying me. I've been open about it for a year now, but it's still very hard for me.’ And again he broke down into tears. I approached him and took him in my arms. He returned it and also closed his arms around me. He was able to really cry it out. I realised that I liked this hug. After what felt like an eternity, we broke away from each other a little and looked into each other's eyes. He had bright blue eyes. He slowly came closer until he touched my lips with his. I was a little surprised, but returned the kiss. There was a feeling inside me that I couldn't describe. But it was a beautiful feeling.