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two crimestories
out, she walked right past
as if she didn’t see me. I
ran after her, but she said
she didn’t feel like having
an ice cream with me, so I
left her alone.
That evening, heading
home from Cem’s, I biked
along the curve that ran
past the school. I saw
Herr Schneider walking
over to his car, parked in
the schoolyard. You could
always recognize his car
right away wherever it
happened to be, because
there were hundreds of
bumper stickers plastered
across the back. He
had at least three of
the
round
“Nuclear
Power - No Thanks!”
stickers, complete with
the laughing, red sun.
Silvana’s mother was
walking next to him, and
they were talking. As they
said goodbye, he gave her
a hug. I almost fell off my
bike in shock. I turned
right back around and
told Cem every last detail
of what I’d seen.
“He’s got something going
on with Silvana’s mother?
No way!”
“Gotta be. What teacher
has ever hugged any of
our mothers?”
We tried to imagine that
for a minute. Cem laughed
uncertainly, while I shook
my head in disgust.
“But Silvana’s mother,”
Cem continued. “Sure,
she’s old, but for someone
as old as Schneider…”
“How old is Schneider?”
Cem
thought
about
it.
“Thirty-seven.
He
mentioned it a few days
ago. Or is he thirty-nine?”