2025-07-11, 07:18 PM
The train doors closed, and soon the train began to roll slowly away. I leaned back in my seat, feeling nervous and antsy. What would await me in this strange city? I was finally allowed to travel alone to a strange city, to stay with my uncle for a week. I unpacked my computer BILD magazine and leafed through it without interest. Frantically, I put it away again and pulled out a book. This, too, soon disappeared into my heavy travel bag; my mother had once again been a bit too generous with her clothes. Hungry, I left my things in the compartment and sat down in the dining car to get something to eat. I hastily devoured two small rolls and three cups of hot chocolate. I wondered what I might see there, but even that did little to lessen my excitement and anticipation. After countless train changes and a four-hour journey, the time had finally come. I was allowed to leave the train. The bag was so heavy that I simply dragged it across the train to the nearest exit. I wondered what my mother had packed now?
My uncle was already standing at the front of the platform, waiting for me. "Hello Chris!" he greeted me cheerfully. "You've grown so much," he added. We'd barely exchanged greetings when he took my bag and carried it to the car. "Tell me, how old are you now?" he asked me. "I'll be 16 in a month! Have you already forgotten?" "No, I just wanted to make sure—16? Well, then you've probably met a lot of nice girls already?!" He patted me on the shoulder, and at that moment, a chill ran down my spine—didn't he already know? There was a lot of traffic, so we had plenty of time to talk. We talked about all sorts of things: cars, which I knew nothing about, football, which I hated, and women. But suddenly he changed the subject: "Oh, I wanted to tell you, I totally forgot—my godson, Philipp, is still with me. I'm sure you'll get along well!" What? Excuse me? And what about me? "Well, I don't know," I replied uneasily.
Surely he was one of those annoying little snobs who still wet his diapers and watched Teletubbies. Why did he have to invite his godchild over when I was already invited? That ruined my mood, and I no longer wanted to spend a week's vacation with him. My uncle parked the car, and we went into the house. He unlocked the door, kicked off his shoes, and hung up his jacket. "So, now I'm going to introduce you to Philipp!" he said happily. He'll probably have to get him out of his crib, I thought. "Philipp! We're back!" I heard a door open upstairs. Shortly afterward, I saw someone coming down the stairs. I was frozen. Was that Philipp? A tall, about 17-year-old boy stood in front of me. "Well, hello! So you're Chris. I've heard a lot about you!" With a smile and a near cardiac arrest, I barely managed to stay afloat. I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head. "Hi!" was all I could say. "Philipp, show him the room, okay?" "Yeah, sure! So, come with me!" He smiled at me and carried my bag upstairs, into a large room. I closed the door behind me. A large double bed filled most of the room. There was also a mattress with a blanket and pillows against the wall, and a small desk with a typewriter on it. A large closet was to the right of the door. "You can stuff your clothes in here!" He pointed to an empty section of the closet.
I couldn't say a word, my throat felt like it was closing up. I can now spend a week on vacation with this absolutely sweet boy? "Well, I've been sleeping on the big bed up until now. I don't know how you do it, you can sleep there, or on the mattress on the floor!" What? Sleeping in the same room, too? In the same bed? It probably wouldn't be long before my heart completely stopped and I fell over dead from joy. "Um, if you don't mind, I'd love to sleep on the big bed too!" "Yeah, sure! You know what, just throw that stuff away, we'll see how it works tonight!" I put my luggage next to the bed and followed Philipp downstairs. "Boys!!!" my uncle yelled from the kitchen. "Come and help me cook!"
My uncle really had it nice. A huge house, a big BMW, and enough money to afford almost anything. He was some important banker, with a management position or something. Philipp set the table, and I kept catching myself sneaking after him. Finally, the three of us sat in the large dining room, munching steaks. "Bayern is playing tonight! We're going to watch it, right?" "Without me!" said Philipp. I looked at him in total amazement and soon after said, "I'd rather not watch that either!" "What? It's the final, you just have to watch it! But if you don't want to!" "No, I still have to work on my term paper!" My uncle made a disappointed face. I had absolutely no desire to watch some stupid soccer game either. After dinner, Philipp quickly disappeared into the room.
I helped my uncle in the kitchen. "Chris, I hope you're not mad at me for not telling you that Philipp is here!" "No, it's not that bad," I said. If only he'd known how happy I was about it. "You know, he's been having a lot of problems at home, and that's why he came here three days ago." He grimaced. I was a little surprised that this boy, of all people, would have problems at home. Possibly a pregnant girlfriend! This thought made me laugh. "What are you laughing about?" "Nothing, just a thought. What's wrong with him?" "I don't know, he didn't want to tell me. It seems to be something serious, though!" I was slowly becoming curious.
After the kitchen, I went into the room. Philipp was sitting at his typewriter, typing. "I'm back!" I closed the door. He turned to me. "So, did he persuade you to watch the game anyway?" I laughed: "No, he wouldn't have been able to do that either!" "Oh yeah? You must know your uncle pretty poorly." "It could be, I only see him once every four years." I sat down on the bed. "I haven't seen him that often either." Then I remembered the conversation from before. "Oh yeah, and why are you here now?" "That's too long a story to tell now!" "Oh, come on... you're having a fight with your parents?" His smile vanished. "Yes, I am." I didn't dare ask any more questions. It fell dead silent. Suddenly, Philipp grabbed a pillow and threw it at my head. "There, you idiot!" He laughed loudly. I couldn't help but laugh. I quickly grabbed him by the sleeve, threw him onto the bed, and stuffed the pillow in his face. It escalated into a small pillow fight; I was wildly throwing pillows and blankets around, barely a meter away from him, and he was doing the same.
After a while, I collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. My batteries seemed to be completely drained, and I lay gasping on my back. Philipp, however, seemed to have yet to run out of air. He grabbed a pillow, sat on my stomach, and clamped my arms so that I could no longer resist. He tickled me. I tried to free myself and, after a long time, managed to free one arm. Philipp stopped tickling me. For about a minute, it remained silent. No one dared to move. My heart was pounding. If only he knew what kind of person he was fooling around with. He might beat me up and not want to sleep in the same room anymore. I pushed these thoughts away. I placed my free hand on his chest and pushed him to the side. He let himself fall to his side without strength. I stared at the ceiling. Philipp lay about a meter away from me, staring up into the air. "What are you actually writing, if you don't mind me asking?" "Yes, you can, but you won't understand it anyway. I have to write a term paper on the development of aphids." I laughed. "And you can actually write about something like that? It must be terribly interesting. Now tell me, why are you here?" I asked, obsessed. "Well, my parents don't entirely agree and think what I'm thinking is…" he hesitated, "wrong… yes… wrong!" I didn't quite get it. "Is that really a reason to just leave?" "I'm only here for the holidays. We don't have school right now!" He looked at his watch. "What? Already half past eleven?" Startled, he sat up and looked at me. "I have to sleep. I have a lot to do tomorrow!" I looked into his eyes and felt like I was sinking into them. "Hey!" He smiled embarrassedly. "Don't look at me like that!" He looked away. I looked at him, startled. Had I been staring at him? Had he noticed something? I was overcome with fear. "How am I looking at you?" I asked, anxiously. "Well, just like that!" He laughed. "Well—whatever, I still have to go to sleep!" "That means I should go to sleep now, right?" "No, you can go downstairs and watch the soccer game!"
My uncle was already standing at the front of the platform, waiting for me. "Hello Chris!" he greeted me cheerfully. "You've grown so much," he added. We'd barely exchanged greetings when he took my bag and carried it to the car. "Tell me, how old are you now?" he asked me. "I'll be 16 in a month! Have you already forgotten?" "No, I just wanted to make sure—16? Well, then you've probably met a lot of nice girls already?!" He patted me on the shoulder, and at that moment, a chill ran down my spine—didn't he already know? There was a lot of traffic, so we had plenty of time to talk. We talked about all sorts of things: cars, which I knew nothing about, football, which I hated, and women. But suddenly he changed the subject: "Oh, I wanted to tell you, I totally forgot—my godson, Philipp, is still with me. I'm sure you'll get along well!" What? Excuse me? And what about me? "Well, I don't know," I replied uneasily.
Surely he was one of those annoying little snobs who still wet his diapers and watched Teletubbies. Why did he have to invite his godchild over when I was already invited? That ruined my mood, and I no longer wanted to spend a week's vacation with him. My uncle parked the car, and we went into the house. He unlocked the door, kicked off his shoes, and hung up his jacket. "So, now I'm going to introduce you to Philipp!" he said happily. He'll probably have to get him out of his crib, I thought. "Philipp! We're back!" I heard a door open upstairs. Shortly afterward, I saw someone coming down the stairs. I was frozen. Was that Philipp? A tall, about 17-year-old boy stood in front of me. "Well, hello! So you're Chris. I've heard a lot about you!" With a smile and a near cardiac arrest, I barely managed to stay afloat. I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head. "Hi!" was all I could say. "Philipp, show him the room, okay?" "Yeah, sure! So, come with me!" He smiled at me and carried my bag upstairs, into a large room. I closed the door behind me. A large double bed filled most of the room. There was also a mattress with a blanket and pillows against the wall, and a small desk with a typewriter on it. A large closet was to the right of the door. "You can stuff your clothes in here!" He pointed to an empty section of the closet.
I couldn't say a word, my throat felt like it was closing up. I can now spend a week on vacation with this absolutely sweet boy? "Well, I've been sleeping on the big bed up until now. I don't know how you do it, you can sleep there, or on the mattress on the floor!" What? Sleeping in the same room, too? In the same bed? It probably wouldn't be long before my heart completely stopped and I fell over dead from joy. "Um, if you don't mind, I'd love to sleep on the big bed too!" "Yeah, sure! You know what, just throw that stuff away, we'll see how it works tonight!" I put my luggage next to the bed and followed Philipp downstairs. "Boys!!!" my uncle yelled from the kitchen. "Come and help me cook!"
My uncle really had it nice. A huge house, a big BMW, and enough money to afford almost anything. He was some important banker, with a management position or something. Philipp set the table, and I kept catching myself sneaking after him. Finally, the three of us sat in the large dining room, munching steaks. "Bayern is playing tonight! We're going to watch it, right?" "Without me!" said Philipp. I looked at him in total amazement and soon after said, "I'd rather not watch that either!" "What? It's the final, you just have to watch it! But if you don't want to!" "No, I still have to work on my term paper!" My uncle made a disappointed face. I had absolutely no desire to watch some stupid soccer game either. After dinner, Philipp quickly disappeared into the room.
I helped my uncle in the kitchen. "Chris, I hope you're not mad at me for not telling you that Philipp is here!" "No, it's not that bad," I said. If only he'd known how happy I was about it. "You know, he's been having a lot of problems at home, and that's why he came here three days ago." He grimaced. I was a little surprised that this boy, of all people, would have problems at home. Possibly a pregnant girlfriend! This thought made me laugh. "What are you laughing about?" "Nothing, just a thought. What's wrong with him?" "I don't know, he didn't want to tell me. It seems to be something serious, though!" I was slowly becoming curious.
After the kitchen, I went into the room. Philipp was sitting at his typewriter, typing. "I'm back!" I closed the door. He turned to me. "So, did he persuade you to watch the game anyway?" I laughed: "No, he wouldn't have been able to do that either!" "Oh yeah? You must know your uncle pretty poorly." "It could be, I only see him once every four years." I sat down on the bed. "I haven't seen him that often either." Then I remembered the conversation from before. "Oh yeah, and why are you here now?" "That's too long a story to tell now!" "Oh, come on... you're having a fight with your parents?" His smile vanished. "Yes, I am." I didn't dare ask any more questions. It fell dead silent. Suddenly, Philipp grabbed a pillow and threw it at my head. "There, you idiot!" He laughed loudly. I couldn't help but laugh. I quickly grabbed him by the sleeve, threw him onto the bed, and stuffed the pillow in his face. It escalated into a small pillow fight; I was wildly throwing pillows and blankets around, barely a meter away from him, and he was doing the same.
After a while, I collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. My batteries seemed to be completely drained, and I lay gasping on my back. Philipp, however, seemed to have yet to run out of air. He grabbed a pillow, sat on my stomach, and clamped my arms so that I could no longer resist. He tickled me. I tried to free myself and, after a long time, managed to free one arm. Philipp stopped tickling me. For about a minute, it remained silent. No one dared to move. My heart was pounding. If only he knew what kind of person he was fooling around with. He might beat me up and not want to sleep in the same room anymore. I pushed these thoughts away. I placed my free hand on his chest and pushed him to the side. He let himself fall to his side without strength. I stared at the ceiling. Philipp lay about a meter away from me, staring up into the air. "What are you actually writing, if you don't mind me asking?" "Yes, you can, but you won't understand it anyway. I have to write a term paper on the development of aphids." I laughed. "And you can actually write about something like that? It must be terribly interesting. Now tell me, why are you here?" I asked, obsessed. "Well, my parents don't entirely agree and think what I'm thinking is…" he hesitated, "wrong… yes… wrong!" I didn't quite get it. "Is that really a reason to just leave?" "I'm only here for the holidays. We don't have school right now!" He looked at his watch. "What? Already half past eleven?" Startled, he sat up and looked at me. "I have to sleep. I have a lot to do tomorrow!" I looked into his eyes and felt like I was sinking into them. "Hey!" He smiled embarrassedly. "Don't look at me like that!" He looked away. I looked at him, startled. Had I been staring at him? Had he noticed something? I was overcome with fear. "How am I looking at you?" I asked, anxiously. "Well, just like that!" He laughed. "Well—whatever, I still have to go to sleep!" "That means I should go to sleep now, right?" "No, you can go downstairs and watch the soccer game!"