Chapter 4
Luca
Even from a distance, I can see the three boys sitting on the curb in front of the train station, trying to look cool. If you ask me, they are having way too much fun and that won’t do.
“Until an hour ago, I wouldn’t have thought my shitty day could get any shittier. Thanks a lot. Get in the car.”
All three look down at their feet, dejected, before piling in.
“Thanks for coming.” Ah, Nael has found his voice again after almost twenty minutes of driving in silence.
“I’m certainly not going to leave you stranded at some train station. What did you learn from this?”
“If we want to go to Karlsruhe, we’ll discuss it with Dayyan and Jannis first.” At least that’s something.
“I’m pretty sure they’ll even buy you train tickets.” Firas and Nael sink a little deeper into their seats, Marvin next to me stares out the window. They know they screwed up, and I don’t need to scold them any further.
Later that night, there’s a knock on my door. “Yes?”
My older brother pokes his head through the door. “Can I come in?”
“Anytime.”
Jannis sits down on my sofa and his head falls back. “Do we need to be stricter with the twins?”
I burst out laughing. “You’re not seriously asking me that?
” I did the stupidest shit imaginable during my childhood and teenage years, without exception.
Until I came to live with this family, I did whatever I wanted, and nobody cared.
I’d traveled through Europe by train without a ticket by the time I was eight.
In Italy, I was picked up by the authorities.
The foster family I was with at the time didn’t want to take responsibility for me anymore after that.
It was tough here with Papa and Paps at first. But unlike all the other homes or foster families, they never tried to squeeze me into a tight straitjacket of rules.
“We need to know where you are, and we want to see you once a day.” That was the only rule.
They never asked questions when I was gone longer or didn’t come home until breakfast. Sometimes I spent my nights at some playground, but mostly I was in our garden shed.
“Good morning, nice to see you. Do you want to have breakfast with us? Adrien brought you some pretzel rolls.” No whispering behind my back, no disapproving looks, just a hot chocolate with cream, just for me.
At first, it was hard to bear, which was one reason why I was out and about so much. I didn’t want to get attached to something I wouldn’t be able to keep. I was absolutely certain I’d have to leave again, that something terrible would happen. And then there was the whole sleeping thing.
“You guys are doing a great job with the two of them.” Jannis’s boyfriend Dayyan took guardianship of his nine-year-old twin brothers after their parents were killed in a car accident two years ago.
The three of them moved in with us so that my fathers could support Dayyan and Jannis while they’re still at university, but we all pitch in when needed.
Firas and Nael know they can count on any one of us, that’s the most important thing. “They called when they didn’t know what to do.”
Jannis raises his eyebrows. “Yeah, you, and not Dayyan or me.”
“That doesn’t matter. We’re a family. They feel safe enough knowing that everything will be okay, no matter what they’ve done.” My brother is still sitting on the sofa like a scolded puppy, and I can’t help but get up and give him a hug.
Since I’ve been here, he’s been my closest confidant—not just my brother, but also my best friend—and I’ll do anything to support Dayyan and him.
***
It still annoys me that I had to leave so suddenly yesterday. That only reinforced Noah’s impression of me. I wanted to prove him that I do take this degree seriously and can be reliable.
So this morning, I’m sitting in the room fifteen minutes before class starts, watching as it slowly fills up.
Noah is late, not yet sitting in his usual spot in the third row, which is uncharacteristic of him.
Our professor is already in the room when Noah slips through the door, completely out of breath, with tousled hair and crooked glasses.
He quickly looks around for an empty seat, but to no avail.
There’s one unoccupied chair left, the one next to mine.
No, I didn’t know Noah would be late, but once the classroom filled up, I saved the seat for him.
Now I take off my backpack and nod at him.
He rolls his eyes, but sits down next to me anyway.
“Thanks.” I smirk a little, knowing that word cost him quite a bit.
“You’re welcome.” And even though Noah looks at me skeptically, I mean it.
“Please read through the case study and discuss the examination process and diagnosis with your neighbor.”
Noah groans next to me and lets his forehead drop onto the table.
“Hey, don’t damage that head of yours. We need those brain cells if we want to get an A.” I grin cheekily at Noah.
“You think I don’t have enough of them to spare a few? My day has already been shitty, the last thing I need is your advice.”
“Why? What happened?”
“You don’t want to know, and even if you do, tough luck, I’m not telling you. Read the case study.”
“Already did.”
“Then get on with it.” Nothing I’d rather do.
“Okay. I think the diagnosis of ‘anxiety disorder’ was made too quickly in this case.” Noah abruptly turns toward me, and for the first time today, he looks me straight in the eye. “Are you going to argue otherwise?”
“On the contrary, carry on.” His hazel eyes sparkle, and I can’t help but smile.
“We definitely have enough traumatic experiences in the past to justify an anxiety disorder diagnosis, and the symptoms seem clear, but the behavioral observations make me suspicious.”
“You mean the constant changes in sitting position and how easily distracted she is by background noise?” Ah, Noah has noticed it too.
“And the constant hair twirling.”
“No academic problems whatsoever. Good to high grades. How does that fit into your picture?” He’s asking exactly the right questions, challenging me, and I’ve never had as much fun in a class as I have today.
“We’d have to ask about her learning and work habits…”
“And then potentially consider giftedness. An IQ test is definitely warranted.”
I nod in agreement. “Which one would you administer?”
Noah thinks for a brief moment. “The WISC-V. Unlike the K-ABC II, it also measures processing speed, and it’s still age-appropriate.” That’s right, the girl in the case study is 15 years and 3 months old. “As part of the testing, we should also pay attention to focus and attention span.”
After twenty minutes, we present our hypothesis and our plan of action. No other group recognized the connection to a possible ADHD, and our professor was very impressed. Now I’m even more excited about our project assignment, it’s going to be so great.
Noah is intelligent, with a keen eye for detail and a solid foundation of knowledge. His great grades aren’t the result of rote memorization. He knows what he’s doing, and I like that.
“Thank you, that was fun.”
Noah furrows his brows suspiciously. “Fun? For you? There weren’t any naked boys or girls involved.”
“Well it could still happen.”
That was a mistake. I know it the moment the words leave my mouth. Noah’s eyes widen and he swallows hard, then he shakes his head briefly. “For a tiny little moment, I thought you weren’t as superficial as I’d assumed. Too bad.”
“You were the one who started talking about naked people.” I raise my arms apologetically, but I can’t help the grin spreading across my face.
Noah just rolls his eyes and shakes his head, and I try to minimize the damage I caused the only way I know.
“Come on, let’s get some hot chocolate in the cafeteria. ”