Chapter 38
Dayyan
Am I nervous? More than I’d like to be, but not for myself, for Jannis. He, on the other hand, is surprisingly relaxed as we lock up our bikes.
“Are you ready?” I pull Jannis in by his hips and reach up to kiss him.
“Yep. Ludi incipiant.”
“Is that Latin?”
“Yes, but we learned it in history class. Ancient Rome?” It’s damn easy to feel stupid next to Jannis.
“That was in seventh grade. You remembered that?”
He shrugs apologetically. “It was interesting.”
“And what does it mean?”
“Let the games begin. You’re welcome.” Valérie squeezes between us and puts their arms around our shoulders. “Okay, boys, now kiss and let’s go.”
Completely perplexed, we do just that, intertwine our fingers, and climb the stairs to the auditorium. Valérie walks two steps behind Jannis, but I can feel their presence. Strong and unyielding. Powerful. Like a protective shield.
As soon as we enter the auditorium, I see people whispering, some turning around to get a better look at Jannis and me. We find a spot a little out of the way, protected from most of the curious glances, but it doesn’t help.
“I feel like I’m in a zoo,” Valérie says loudly. “Ninety percent of the people staring at you now didn’t give a shit about you before summer break.”
Val’s choice of words is cruder than usual, but it seems to strike a nerve with some people.
With the bell ringing we make our way to our classroom. The door is locked so we stand crowded together in the hallway. I lean against the wall and Jannis stands right in front of me, so close our stomachs touch – and more, but that doesn’t matter here.
He smiles at me cautiously and whispers in my ear. “Are you brave with me?”
“I’m always brave with you, sunshine.” I look up at him with a grin, and he leans down to me. It’s just a tiny little kiss, but it has a big effect.
“Since the girls don’t want you, you decided to fish in your own pond, huh?” Torben, being an ass of course. I want to reply, but Valérie is quicker.
“Interesting. I’ve never seen you fish in any pond, ever.
Not even at that party before break, when everyone was so stupidly drunk, it was almost an orgy.
You were there too. You sat alone on that blue sofa.
Do you remember?” Torben tries very hard not to lose his temper.
His jaw is clenched so tightly his muscles stand out tensely.
“So none of the guys wanted you either? Or did I misunderstand?”
There is giggling and whispering around us.
I quickly realized one thing when I came in this class: Torben is not popular, but he can stir things up and no one wants to get in his line of fire.
His problem is, he is not particularly smart, and Valérie plays their cards so intelligently, he doesn’t stand a chance.
Val is the secret weapon I didn’t know we needed that badly.
“But they kissed.”
“Lena and Karim kiss too.” As if on cue, Lena sticks her tongue down her boyfriend’s throat. “Oh my God, Torben, look. Even with tongue. You’re absolutely right, that’s totally unacceptable.”
Across the hallway, Lena winks at me and I grin back. They’re on our side.
“Huh, no, they’re totally normal.” Torben had the chance to just keep his mouth shut. Too bad for him he didn’t take it.
“Normal, huh? That’s a great word. Answer me a few questions, would you? Is it normal to fall in love?”
Torben nods.
“Is it normal to find someone sexually attractive?”
Torben nods again.
“By the way, it’s also completely normal not to feel sexually attracted to anyone. But let’s continue with the subject at hand. Is it normal to kiss someone you find sexually attractive?”
And for the third time, Torben nods.
“Then why isn’t it normal for Jannis and Dayyan to kiss?”
“But they’re two men.”
Val looks at Torben for a moment, then nods understandingly. “Oh, I see, you’re homophobic. I’m so sorry it took me so long to understand that. I thought homophobia was something for people over seventy. Our generation is too enlightened and intelligent for that, isn’t it?”
Valérie leaves this question for our class to answer and everyone around us nods and mumbles in agreement. Literally everyone. “Geez, I’m so sorry for you, Torben.”
“Good morning, 13c! What’s going on here? Would someone fancy to explain?” Our math teacher takes a look around, but then opens the classroom door.
“Torben is homophobic. Is that contagious, Mrs. Güthner?” Karim asks the question with such seriousness I’m not the only one who has to turn away to keep from laughing out loud.
“Does this have anything to do with our new couple? I can reassure you, homophobia is not contagious. We can all decide for ourselves whether we want to condemn people for something wonderful—loving and being loved.”
Jannis reaches for my hand, which is lying openly in the middle of our table, and when I look at him, he is beaming from ear to ear.
“But if you two lovebirds can no longer pay attention in class, I’ll still separate you.” That’s fair.
The rest of the day is pretty uneventful, with the occasional Torben-style comment here and there. But Valérie is always ready with a comeback, asking anyone who gives us shit, “Did you make out with Torben at the last party?”
The reactions to their question were priceless, with everyone denying it.
“No? Are you sure? Torben is homophobic, so you might have caught it. Your symptoms are very clear.”
I don’t know if suddenly no one wanted to be homophobic anymore, but definitely no one wanted to have made out with Torben.
Laughing, we stumble into the bike cellar after class. “Val, you’re amazing! I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.”
Jannis puts his arm around their shoulder and pulls V close. Looks say more than a thousand words, and Valérie understands. “I’d do anything to protect you, and you know that. You are my friend.”