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So, before the story really begins, there is a short description of the main characters, which you don't necessarily have to use.
TOM:
He is 15 years old and goes to secondary school. He is rather small and only measures 1.72 m and is quite slim. He has blonde, ear-length hair, which is shaved short on the side and back of his head. His bright, ice-blue eyes are his most striking feature. He has a gold ring on his right earlobe. His parents have known for over half a year that he is gay. They have come to terms with it well, even though they were a bit shocked at first. His best friend is called Marion. He was the first person he told that he was gay.
MARTIN:
Martin is the biggest heart-throb at school. Although he almost gets a confession of love every day, he has only had two girlfriends. He didn't graduate, though, and so he's repeating the 10th grade. He just turned 17 and is now in the same class as Tom. He is 1.84 m tall and quite athletic, as he is in an athletics club. He has short dark hair and green-brown eyes that flash in the sunlight.
MARION:
Marion is Tom's best friend. Marion is just under 1.80 m tall, has long ash blonde hair and dark eyes. Although she is not the most beautiful, she has a certain charisma. Marion is also in Tom's class. She is actually a pretty good student, only math gives her problems.
And now it starts. Have fun!
Your Sammy
“...The night was without stars and deeply dark. Surely there stood a giant angel with outstretched wings, awaiting the soul...”
(Victor Hugo)
“NO!!! STOP!!!”
A loud crash was heard in the streets and the squealing of tires. He ran towards the lifeless body lying on the median strip. He bent down to see the person's face, but he couldn't. None of the passers-by cared about the person. Tears ran down the helpless man's cheeks. He heard a voice saying from somewhere: “Poor child, has lived his life in vain.”
He woke up.
Or... How You Can Unexpectedly Find Yourself Observing
“Hi Marion, are you back from vacation too?”
Tom hurried over to Marion and almost fell. The two embraced joyfully, even though they had seen each other just two weeks ago. For Tom, Marion was simply the best friend you could imagine. The same applied in reverse. He owed her so much. Tom still remembers the day he confessed to her that he was into boys. He was totally distraught and so afraid that Marion would reject him. But she just laughed a little and took him in her arms. At first he didn't know what to make of it. He had expected a completely different reaction. Shoving him away, shouting at him, running away, laughing at him – he would have understood any of that, but not her putting her arms around him. Was she crazy? He was gay. Marion then explained to him, when his tears had dried, that she didn't care at all who he found his happiness with. The most important thing, she said, was that he was happy at all. She had also given him the necessary courage to tell his parents. Tom sat with her in the kitchen, impatiently waiting for his parents to return from a visit. He fidgeted nervously, playing with the tablecloth and wiggling his foot. Marion tried to calm him down, but nothing she said seemed to work. When his parents finally arrived and he had confessed to them, they were completely distraught at first. His mother wept and his father spoke nervously to him. They put it down to puberty and said it would surely pass. But Tom knew that it would not go away. No, he just felt that way, what was there to change. The four of them discussed it late into the night. Meanwhile, both have accepted it, even if they are not happy.
“Hi Tom, have you turned a few heads again?”
“Oh, shut up, you dork, who would ever look at me?”
“I know a few.”
“Can you introduce me to them sometime, I'm tired of being alone,” he grinned at her.
“In due time, sure. Now let's go, otherwise we'll be late on the first day of school.”
“All right.”
Both walked towards school. As they marched along, they talked about Marion's trip to the Dominican Republic. Two weeks of nothing but sun, beach and sea. It was simply fantastic. Tom didn't go on vacation this summer because his father had to work all of August. He was a department head at a software company, and they had gotten new computers that summer, all of which still had to be equipped with the necessary information. So Tom's father was indispensable. But Tom didn't miss much, because the weather in Germany was also great, and there was a beautiful lake not far from his house. That's where the ones who stayed at home met.
“Has anyone new actually joined our class?”
“I don't know, Marion, I haven't looked at the class list myself yet.”
“Let's go and look.”
So the two of them went to the bulletin board to look at the class lists. Nothing had changed. Christoph was still there, Claudia, the best in the class, and Thorsten, the class clown, were still on the list. There was only one new addition: Martin.
“Hey Tom, look, Martin has joined our class.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Don't act like that. Just a few weeks ago, you were raving to me about how cute he is. And now you're acting like you're not happy about it.”
“Oh, Marion, sure he's cute, but what are the chances that he's gay too?”
“Let's do the math. We have 19 guys in our class. Statistically, 10% are gay. So that means there's a 90% chance he's gay.”
“Huh?”
“Well, 1.9 guys are gay, so if you subtract you, that leaves 0.9 guys. So if he's gay, then there's a 90% chance. It's quite simple,” she grinned at Tom.
Girls and their calculations, but what can you do. Tom and Marion made their way to their classroom. There were still a few seats available in the second-last row. Marion sat down next to the window and Tom right next to her. The class teacher, Mr. Klein, just came into the classroom. Martin scurried in behind him. Without saying a word, he sat down on the last free seat next to Tom. During the whole lesson, he stared at the teacher without once averting his eyes. It seemed as if he was listening intently to Mr. Klein's words, which were about organizational matters. Tom dared to glance at Martin from time to time, but not too clearly, as he didn't want to attract attention.
Finally, the first double period was over, and as soon as the recess bell rang, Martin hurried out of the room and didn't come back in until the next period began. He still didn't look at anyone and stared straight ahead again. Tom whispered to Marion.
“What an idiot, he can't even say hello, even though I'm sitting right next to him.”
“Don't get annoyed, Tom. He's all alone in this class, doesn't know anyone yet, and is supposed to be your long-time buddy right away. But if it means so much to you, then say something to him.”
“I don't know... Should I?”
“That's up to you, but he can hardly say more than LMAA.”
“You're right. I'll say something to him before the next break.”
During the next double period, Tom thought about the best way to approach Martin. But whatever he came up with, nothing seemed to fit or was just plain stupid. The bell had just rung and Martin was about to leave, but Tom simply approached him.
“Oh Martin...”
“What is it?” Martin replied testily.
“If you're going to be so friendly when you're spoken to, then it's nothing.”
“Sorry, what's up?”
“I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself. I'm Tom.”
“Hello, I'm Martin. Anything else?”
“No.”
“Good.”
And Martin was already on his way out.
“Come with me, Marion.”
“What are you planning?”
“Just come with me.”
Marion followed Tom, but had no idea what he was planning, let alone where they were going. Tom went down the small staircase at the back of the building and then stopped.
“Can you explain to me what you're doing in the men's room?”
“Just wait.”
“Just say it already! If you have to, I can wait here.”
“No, but wait.”
Tom knew exactly what he was waiting for here. He had followed Martin and seen him disappear into the toilet. Tom wanted to know what Martin was doing during the breaks.
Martin was a little surprised when he was suddenly addressed. He had no desire to communicate. What should he talk about with the people in the new class? He didn't know any of them. All his friends had graduated by now and had moved somewhere or started an apprenticeship. He sat all alone in the class. And then Tom approached him. What did he want from Martin? Martin didn't know the answer to this, he just tried to disappear as quickly as possible. So he went to the toilet and locked himself in a cubicle. Why he did this, he still does not know. He only knew one thing: he wanted to be alone.
Tom had been waiting for 20 minutes and just as the bell rang, Martin still had not appeared. He must still be in the toilet. Tom wondered what he was doing in there. But then Martin finally came out and made his way back to the classroom. Tom was standing behind a group of other students so that he couldn't be seen, but he had everything in his field of vision. Marion and Tom followed at a slight distance and entered the classroom shortly after Martin, where Ms. Huber was already waiting and immediately wrote some mathematical formula on the board...
Tom couldn't pay attention to the teacher, his thoughts were constantly circling around Martin and why he seemed so dismissive. Did he have something against him, or was he just insecure because he was the only new student in the class? Was he possibly afraid of the others, or was he trying to hide something? Whatever reason Tom thought of, none of them seemed right. He was dying to know what was going on with Martin, but he couldn't just ask him either. They didn't know each other well enough for that. And even if they had been best friends for years, you would have to wait for the right time. What should he do? There had to be a way to find out.
Martin was just as unfocused as Tom, only his thoughts weren't wandering with someone else, but with himself. He missed his old classmates. With them, he knew how to talk, but now... From all sides, he was stared at like a fairground attraction. His every move was watched like a hawk's eye. If he sat down just a little differently, he felt as if he was being scrutinized by countless pairs of eyes that were just waiting for him to make a wrong move, giving them reason to mock him. He didn't even dare to scratch himself, for otherwise he might be branded as dirty. With every little change in his posture, he could hear quiet voices that seemed to come from far away. Although he tried to follow the lesson, he couldn't. He was constantly overcome by the fear of doing something wrong. And something else puzzled him. Why had Tom approached him before the break? Was he supposed to spy on him casually? Or was Tom just being nice? He had an indescribably strange feeling in his stomach. He was visibly uncomfortable in class. Tom had noticed that too.
Meanwhile, the last hour of the day was over and as soon as the bell had rung, Martin had already disappeared from the classroom. Tom and Marion also made their way home. During the walk home, the two hardly said a word. Tom was so lost in thought that he almost missed a red light. Marion was just able to grab his arm and hold him back.
“What's the matter with you?”
“Oh, I don't know. But I can't get Martin out of my head.”
“Have you fallen in love?” Marion grinned at him.
“Oh, nonsense. I hardly know him. But I wonder why he's so weird? Is he just scared, or doesn't he want to have anything to do with the new classmates?”
“Don't worry about it. You won't find out anyway, you'll just have to ask him.”
“You're right, but he doesn't even talk to us.”
“Give him time, whatever it is. At some point he'll realize that we're actually quite nice... So, see you tomorrow morning. Ciao.”
“Ciao.”
Tom walked the last few meters home alone, and his thoughts kept returning to Martin. Tom rummaged in his pocket. Finally he found his key and unlocked the door. A pleasant smell wafted into his nose. His mother was already there, and had cooked his favorite meal - spaghetti Bolognese.
“Hello, Mom.”
“Hello Tom, how was the first day of school?”
Tom told her about the vacations of the others and about the new teachers, only he left out the thing with Martin. After dinner, he went to his room and did his homework first. Fortunately, the teachers had an understanding today and hardly gave any homework, so Tom was finished after a short time. Then he grabbed his bike and rode to the nearby lake.
Or... How strange it is that in dreams your feet never touch the ground
It took Martin over half an hour to get home. Not that he lived that far away, but he, too, was completely lost in thought. And why should he hurry? Nobody would be waiting for him at home. His mother was still at work and wouldn't be back until evening. His father was on a business trip. That was the only consolation for Martin. Since Martin had reached puberty, when he talked to his father at all, they actually only argued.
He unlocked the door and, as expected, no one was home. He put a pizza in the oven, did his homework, and ate while doing it. Then he turned on his stereo, put on a CD, turned the music up to full blast, and lay down on his bed.
“Pull me deep into the water
Breathe life into my face
No air, just air to breathe
And without you, I can't
And now we stand before the abyss
We don't want to feel the ground anymore
Just one step forward to life
No matter how it happens
Pearl diver
Take me with you on your journey
Pearl diver
No matter how deep
And when we can't breathe anymore
When the waves defeat us
I know
We've earned the pearls...
(»Perlentaucher« by Rosenstolz)
Martin fell asleep.
Martin was walking along a beach. He was wearing nothing but swimming trunks. He walked in the surf and the warm sea water washed around his feet. There was no one in sight and the only sound was the sound of the sea. He walked up a small hill. When he reached the top, he looked down at the water. The sun was just setting, casting a reddish-golden glow over the sea. Martin just stood there, looking down. Suddenly someone took his hand and held it. At first Martin flinched and wanted to pull his hand away. But the other hand held his with such pleasantly gentle determination that he let it happen. Martin didn't dare look at the other person. He only heard them say, “Come on, jump with me!” Martin wanted to object, but his voice failed him, not a single sound came out of his lips. The other person jumped and simply pulled Martin along. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. The jump seemed like an eternity to Martin. When they were in the water, the other person began to dive deeper and deeper. Martin was still being pulled along by them. Martin was slowly running out of air, but the other person seemed to be able to breathe without any problems. She turned to Martin, closed her lips over his and breathed air into his mouth. Martin still didn't dare to look at the person, who was swimming unerringly towards something. Again and again she gave him air and finally she found what she was looking for deep in the sea. She took it and swam back to the surface. The person opened Martin's hand and put a pearl in it. They finally reached the beach. Martin lay down on the ground, exhausted. The person bent over Martin once more. For a moment he could see the face before everything went black around him. It was.......
Martin woke up. His hair was damp and his body was soaked with sweat. Martin got up and looked out of the window. Outside, the sun was still shining. He decided to go to the lake right next to his house for a while. Before he left the house, he wrote a note for his mother so that she knew where he was. Even in September, the sun was still strong and the balmy wind that was blowing did his tense limbs good.
Or... How You're Actually Annoyed And Then Have a Great Time
The lake was relatively empty, no one was romping around in the water anymore, and there was hardly anyone to be seen on the lawn either. Suddenly Martin heard someone call. It was Tom.
“Martin! Hello, Martin, come and sit with us.”
Always Tom. Was he following him? What should Martin do? He wanted to meet new friends, but he didn't want to be stared at by everyone either. He decided to ignore the calls, but Tom shouted so loudly that he couldn't possibly ignore them. So he went up to the group of three boys and two girls.
“Hello,” he said, trying to smile.
“What are you doing here?”
“I live just around the corner.”
“Oh, by the way, this is Marc, Thilo, Claudia and Marion.”
“Hi, I'm Martin.”
Claudia immediately began to languish over Martin and whispered with Marion. “Oh, he's so cute! Those eyes! He's got a great body!”
“What subjects did you fail?”
“Math and physics.”
“Hey, I know someone who can help you there for sure. Our math genius Tom.”
“Oh, I'm not that good.”
“Come on, you only have A's and B's. Even Marion is now on a C.”
“I think I can do it on my own, but thanks.”
“Well, if you need help. I'm happy to help.”
The six of them talked for quite a while before it started to dawn and everyone set off for home. Tom was really happy that Martin had joined them. Martin, for his part, also found the afternoon quite nice. The new classmates were very nice. Especially Tom. Martin liked him somehow right away. There was something about him that fascinated him, but what? His friendly nature, his voice, his looks? Martin couldn't find an answer. When he arrived home, his mother was just leaving. Today was her Spanish VHS course. They greeted each other briefly and Martin was alone again. He watched some television and then went to bed. Martin had the same dream that night as in the afternoon. When Tom arrived home, his parents were already gone. They had been invited to an old friend's birthday party. Tom made himself a sandwich and then went to bed too. He didn't sleep very well that night either.
Or... How you study together first and then get closer than you would like
The next few days at school were pretty normal. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. The first impromptu math assignments were written. On Monday, they got their math exam back. Tom had an A and Martin had a F.
“Martin, I'd like to talk to you after class. And Thomas, you too,” said Ms. Sauer.
The name also matched her mood. Always in a bad mood. Tom and Martin waited obediently at the teacher's desk until Ms. Sauer deigned to speak to them.
“Martin, you have to take tutoring, otherwise you'll never make it.”
“I know,” Martin said, annoyed.
“Oh yes, that brings us to you, Thomas. You're pretty good at math, so I'm sure you'll want to help Martin?”
Ms. Sauer was unfriendliness personified. Even though she had asked Tom, he knew full well that she wouldn't take no for an answer.
“Sure, Ms. Sauer.”
“Good, I didn't expect anything else,” she said contently, ”you can go then.”
Tom and Martin disappeared from the classroom.