Trafika Europe 9/10 - UK in Europe

Zöe Beck the only one who stuck up for her. The other girls knelt beside us and tried to console Silvana. The only one who stood frozen and pale by the door to the girls’ changing room was Britta. She had a single, light brown braid that fell below her hips and which she had to pin up during PE. Her parents belonged to some non- denominational church, but because I couldn’t stand Britta, I had never paid much attention to that. The order from some parents to avoid contact with Silvana was losing its power, at least during school hours.

didn’t hear about it until Monday, when the police showed up at the school to ask questions. After I ran home and told my mother about this, her initial response was to call every single person she knew. Not in order to help. Only to gossip. Everyone assumed that Silvana’s mother must have run away with Herr Schneider, whom they were sure had used his alleged sick leave to plan their getaway. Mother sounded as if she were talking about people who were planning to tunnel their way under the Wall. But even I thought that our German teacher had run off across the mountains with Silvana’s mother. Until we saw him crossing the cathedral square Tuesday afternoon. He was heading toward a

Silvana’s mother vanished the next day, but because it was the weekend, we

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