Miras
Tribune
5-5-2
For two days, Enzo remained the abreaction and reassurance I had once expected from talking to Mom and Dad. A few minutes with was a gift, thanks to which I suddenly did not regret that one of those days was, in fact, my birthday. No one knew about it, and I didn't tell anyone. We had to make holidays and celebrations of our own.
We carried apples for pies from their branches to the kitchen, where we processed them. All that was missing was the planting of apple trees so that we would touch all the stages of preparation. It blessed me anyway. Except for working with a knife or a scraper, I suffered quietly during the cooking, while baking was a joy. Mom may have been a famous musician, but she also baked, and I always sincerely thanked her for those wonderful combinations of dough, sugar, fruit, and everything that went well with both an aperitif and a morning coffee.
I felt good behind the piles of apples on the plate. I didn't have to look at the lectors, and instead of their swearing, I listened to how our harvest was torn apart on the grater. I didn't want to sniff around about other people's results, but a short distance away, I heard the more unpleasant sound of metal sliding down something harder. I continued to grate but also looked at the end of the desk. Louisa Polivka tilted her grater and looked into it, the corners of her lips twitching. Jeez, she's already beaten some of us. If she wants to use it as a weapon...
Suddenly she closed her eyes convulsively, gripped the grater tightly in her right hand, and rested her cheek on it. She moved her head.
I hoped to heaven cooks would think she just slipped when I ran in her direction and held her elbow for a while. "Are you an emo, you ditz?!" I chid her with unhearable expressions.
I didn't know, if it was me shaking Louisa's arms like that or if it was her tossing and turning. It looked like she would have said something to me if her tongue hadn't stuck between her teeth. I had trouble remaining calm, and my head cooled down a little by a walking stick from behind. I turned to co-lector Harris. The face with the bandaged nose filled me with fear, even though it looked uncertain.
"She was going to cut herself," I told her. Harris didn't even try to listen to me. She pushed me to my spot, and I overheard her comforting Louisa. Hell, what if she was doing it for attention? When she's not beating someone up, she loves drama around her and doesn´t hesitate about creating it if necessary. We also had an English lesson that day. While lectured by Sylvia - Mrs. Other Brunkow, who never spanks - Louisa twisted her leg so that her chain played a melody against the floor and the wood of the table. I confronted her.
"Can you control yourself? So talk to us, dammit! Instead of bullying us or cutting your face."
"I don't want to," Louisa said in a weak voice. "I made a mistake. People forgave me. I wasn't worthy of that..."
It sounded like more and more dope stuff, but as Louisa wept with anguish, I didn't even care what she was talking about. I felt she was going to try something else, so I watched her in the hallway. She looked sadly at the wardens without wanting anything from them. I stupidly underestimated it and only understood when she went crazy again. One warden was not following our march. She was heading somewhere in the opposite direction, clearly pissed off. Louisa looked at her and casually crossed her path. The woman, who had lost her balance herself, looked at Louisa, who coughed nervously and dropped on her ankles and wrists. The reaction did not take long.
"Pull yourself together, you moronic malingerer!" shouted the warden, kicking Louisa in the side. Once she laid on her back, the warden kicked her even harder, sending her closer to her colleague, who struck the girl with less zeal, but the same enthusiasm for abusing the helpless. I hated to see it, I didn't even wish it on Louisa, and the question of what the girl was punishing herself for was poisoning my mind. My classmates didn't consciously notice it. They had their interviews, after all. I had no courage to take the most difficult steps, too afraid of getting hit by a club. But I blamed myself in front of Enzo, and he recognized something.
"Barbara, you don't have to beat yourself up," he told me as I was sweating through the list of things I thought were worth sacrificing for married life. "You are different today, and I don't want to interrupt the session. Husband and wife must be persistent."
I sobbed.
“Tell me honestly what happened since the last time.”
I carefully introduced him to the desperate actions of "one girl from the class."
He snapped his fingers. "You are alluding to the issues of Ms. Polivka, are you not?"
"Is she a legend?" I asked incredulously.
"She had already stirred up some trouble when she talked to Hubert. My friend tried to calm her down - by his usual means. The Wardens then had to slap her long after they left. however, she was the kind of lady who doesn't respond well to that." He sighed. "May I suggest something?"
I felt that it was impossible to say no here, so I nodded.
"The two of us can try to find out what happened to her. If we will succeed and it is clear how to help her, I'd like to invite you to something better. The older ones of you Princesses seem to enjoy some culture here and there with your lovers. I'd like to invite you... Well, on a date. Where we can relax, and live in the moment. Not just discussing."
I'll eat all the sugar before it comes to the whip. "Agreed," I confirmed. "But how do we get Louisa to talk?"
"Your classmate has certainly had enough to say to mine."
For two days, Enzo remained the abreaction and reassurance I had once expected from talking to Mom and Dad. A few minutes with was a gift, thanks to which I suddenly did not regret that one of those days was, in fact, my birthday. No one knew about it, and I didn't tell anyone. We had to make holidays and celebrations of our own.
We carried apples for pies from their branches to the kitchen, where we processed them. All that was missing was the planting of apple trees so that we would touch all the stages of preparation. It blessed me anyway. Except for working with a knife or a scraper, I suffered quietly during the cooking, while baking was a joy. Mom may have been a famous musician, but she also baked, and I always sincerely thanked her for those wonderful combinations of dough, sugar, fruit, and everything that went well with both an aperitif and a morning coffee.
I felt good behind the piles of apples on the plate. I didn't have to look at the lectors, and instead of their swearing, I listened to how our harvest was torn apart on the grater. I didn't want to sniff around about other people's results, but a short distance away, I heard the more unpleasant sound of metal sliding down something harder. I continued to grate but also looked at the end of the desk. Louisa Polivka tilted her grater and looked into it, the corners of her lips twitching. Jeez, she's already beaten some of us. If she wants to use it as a weapon...
Suddenly she closed her eyes convulsively, gripped the grater tightly in her right hand, and rested her cheek on it. She moved her head.
I hoped to heaven cooks would think she just slipped when I ran in her direction and held her elbow for a while. "Are you an emo, you ditz?!" I chid her with unhearable expressions.
I didn't know, if it was me shaking Louisa's arms like that or if it was her tossing and turning. It looked like she would have said something to me if her tongue hadn't stuck between her teeth. I had trouble remaining calm, and my head cooled down a little by a walking stick from behind. I turned to co-lector Harris. The face with the bandaged nose filled me with fear, even though it looked uncertain.
"She was going to cut herself," I told her. Harris didn't even try to listen to me. She pushed me to my spot, and I overheard her comforting Louisa. Hell, what if she was doing it for attention? When she's not beating someone up, she loves drama around her and doesn´t hesitate about creating it if necessary. We also had an English lesson that day. While lectured by Sylvia - Mrs. Other Brunkow, who never spanks - Louisa twisted her leg so that her chain played a melody against the floor and the wood of the table. I confronted her.
"Can you control yourself? So talk to us, dammit! Instead of bullying us or cutting your face."
"I don't want to," Louisa said in a weak voice. "I made a mistake. People forgave me. I wasn't worthy of that..."
It sounded like more and more dope stuff, but as Louisa wept with anguish, I didn't even care what she was talking about. I felt she was going to try something else, so I watched her in the hallway. She looked sadly at the wardens without wanting anything from them. I stupidly underestimated it and only understood when she went crazy again. One warden was not following our march. She was heading somewhere in the opposite direction, clearly pissed off. Louisa looked at her and casually crossed her path. The woman, who had lost her balance herself, looked at Louisa, who coughed nervously and dropped on her ankles and wrists. The reaction did not take long.
"Pull yourself together, you moronic malingerer!" shouted the warden, kicking Louisa in the side. Once she laid on her back, the warden kicked her even harder, sending her closer to her colleague, who struck the girl with less zeal, but the same enthusiasm for abusing the helpless. I hated to see it, I didn't even wish it on Louisa, and the question of what the girl was punishing herself for was poisoning my mind. My classmates didn't consciously notice it. They had their interviews, after all. I had no courage to take the most difficult steps, too afraid of getting hit by a club. But I blamed myself in front of Enzo, and he recognized something.
"Barbara, you don't have to beat yourself up," he told me as I was sweating through the list of things I thought were worth sacrificing for married life. "You are different today, and I don't want to interrupt the session. Husband and wife must be persistent."
I sobbed.
“Tell me honestly what happened since the last time.”
I carefully introduced him to the desperate actions of "one girl from the class."
He snapped his fingers. "You are alluding to the issues of Ms. Polivka, are you not?"
"Is she a legend?" I asked incredulously.
"She had already stirred up some trouble when she talked to Hubert. My friend tried to calm her down - by his usual means. The Wardens then had to slap her long after they left. however, she was the kind of lady who doesn't respond well to that." He sighed. "May I suggest something?"
I felt that it was impossible to say no here, so I nodded.
"The two of us can try to find out what happened to her. If we will succeed and it is clear how to help her, I'd like to invite you to something better. The older ones of you Princesses seem to enjoy some culture here and there with your lovers. I'd like to invite you... Well, on a date. Where we can relax, and live in the moment. Not just discussing."
I'll eat all the sugar before it comes to the whip. "Agreed," I confirmed. "But how do we get Louisa to talk?"
"Your classmate has certainly had enough to say to mine."