Amanda picked herself up and rubbed her elbow. “Ow! Watch where you’re going, you stupid idiot!” She noticed Leah laying on the ground. “Are you OK?”
Leah reached for her forehead. “I think so, but my head hurts.” A lump formed over her left eye.
“Oh no!” Leah spotted her shattered phone on the ground. She picked it up and turned it over. The screen remained black. Bits fell onto the ground. She bit her lip. “My dad will kill me.”
“I didn’t see who ran into us with the skateboard. Did you?” asked Amanda.
“I got a glimpse. I’m pretty sure it was him. That moron, Sebastian. What’s he playing at anyway?” Leah looked at her phone. Her lip trembled and a tear slid down her cheek.
Amanda had never seen her friend cry before. “It’s only a phone.” She took Leah’s hand and helped her up. “Let’s get back to the boat. It looks like you’ll have a black eye.”
“Oh, great. Now I’ll look hideous.”
Near the famous stone bridge, they passed a small, light green building, with a slanted roof covered in terracotta tiles. Brown and white, diagonal-striped shutters trimmed the doors and windows. A large sign in old-style letters sat on top of the building:
HISTORIC WURSTKUCHE
The smell of sausages and sauerkraut wafted out the open door of the kitchen.
“I remember Karin, our tour guide, told us this sausage house is as old as the bridge. It was originally built to feed the workers building the bridge. How cool is that!”
Leah wasn’t listening. She stared at the group of people sitting at picnic tables outside the sausage house. “It’s him; the bloke who knocked us over and broke my mobile phone.” Angry lines formed on her forehead. She marched over to the table.
“Hey you!”
“Who?” Sebastian glanced up from his plate piled high with sausages and looked around. “Me?”
“Yes, you! What are you playing at? You knocked us down and didn’t even stop. You chased us in Nuremberg too.” Leah’s eyes pierced the younger boy’s. “What do you want from us?”
Sebastian brushed his curly hair away from his eyes and looked over at Amanda. “Ask your friend.” He got up and walked toward Amanda with an evil gleam in his eyes.
Amanda turned around and ran into the sausage house kitchen. Cooks in white hats and long aprons bent over smoky grills, lined with rows and rows of fat sausages. Visible through the smoke, gleaming copper pots hung on the walls. There was no place to hide in the small, crowded space.
“Are you lost, fräulein?” asked a burly cook.
“I – I was looking for someone. Sorry.” Amanda backed out of the hazy kitchen and right into Sebastian.
“What did you do with the violin?”
Amanda didn’t flinch. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It belongs to my family and you must give it to me.” Sebastian grabbed Amanda’s wrist and twisted it.
“Ouch, you’re hurting me. I don’t know anything about a violin. You’re just a mean boy. I can’t believe you’re related to Klaus.”
“What is going on here?” Michael from the boat appeared behind Sebastian. “I thought I told you to stay away from the boat and the passengers. We don’t like stowaways and trouble makers on The Sound of Music.” He grabbed the young boy by his collar. “I warn you. I will call the police.”
Sebastian struggled, escaped Michael’s grasp, and ran down the street.
Amanda rubbed her wrist.
“Are you all right?” Michael looked concerned.
Leah appeared. “Amanda! Where did you go? One minute you were here and the next you disappeared. What did he want anyway?”
“I think he thought I was someone else.” Amanda stared down the street where Sebastian had disappeared.
Michael insisted he walk them back to the boat.
Once on board, the two families shared what they did on their own time over cups of tea in the lounge. Mrs. Ross and Mrs. Anderson agreed they both enjoyed the shopping.
“What did you two girls do?” asked Mr. Ross.
“We saw a giant painting of a giant,” said Amanda. She giggled.
Leah frowned. “Someone ran into us with his skateboard and knocked us over. Now I have a huge bruise and my phone is broken.”
Mrs. Anderson brushed Leah’s bangs aside and looked closer at the bruise on her forehead. “Oh, my. How rude of him. This is starting to turn black. But you will live. We just can’t let you girls out of our sight for long, can we?”
Leah looked hurt and her eyes welled up with tears. “But my phone. It’s broken and I can’t use it anymore.”
“Oh, stop your whinging. We can get you a new mobile when we get back to the UK. At least now you won’t be texting all the time,” said Leah’s father.
Leah brushed her cheek, stood up and stormed out of the lounge without looking at anyone.
7
Amanda returned to the room and found Leah lying on the bed.
“I don’t want to talk to you or anyone else,” Leah mumbled into her pillow.
“I’m sorry about your phone, but it’s not my fault.”
Leah rolled over and glared at Amanda. “I think it is.”
“So now it’s my fault your phone is broken?”
“Like, yes. Somehow you have managed to upset this Sebastian guy. I don’t know what you’ve done, but knowing your track record, you’ve done something. I don’t know why I even invited you on this trip. You always get us into trouble. Now, I don’t have a phone and probably don’t have a boyfriend anymore.”
Amanda felt sick. “I’m sorry, Leah.”
Leah sat up. “So what have you done to upset this bloke so much?”
“He thinks I have something he wants.”
“Why would he think that? We don’t even know him. Are you sure he is Klaus’s nephew?” Leah rubbed her forehead. “It all seems very dodgy to me.”
A knock on the door startled both girls.
“Are you all right, Leah?”
“Yes, Mum.”
“Can I come in? I want to have a look at your head.”
“Sure.” Leah got off the bed and opened the door to let her mother in.
Mrs. Anderson examined the bruise more closely. “At least the skin is not broken. Look, love, you can manage without a phone for now. Don’t let this ruin our lovely holiday.” She ran her fingers over the lump on Leah’s forehead. “Now get ready for dinner. The scenery is lovely. We may even pass some castles.” She glanced at Amanda. “You would like that, wouldn’t you?”
“I am not interested in any silly old castles,” muttered Leah as she walked to the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower.”
After they both showered and put on dresses, the girls left for the dining room. Amanda checked to make sure she had her door pass and pulled the door shut behind her.
Once again, Michael greeted them at the entrance to the restaurant. He seemed very concerned about Leah. He linked his arm with hers and walked her to the table. Leah thanked him with a sweet smile, clearly enjoying the attention.
Amanda chose kaisespaetzle and sauerkraut for her dinner. “Yum, is this ever good,” she commented as she took another bite of the cheesy noodle dish. “What did you order, Leah?”
“I ordered the roulade, just because it sounded interesting; meat rolls filled with bacon, onions and pickles. It is actually very tasty.”
Amanda, pleased to see her friend smiling again, nodded and grinned.
After dinner, the two families relaxed in the lounge while some of the staff did a presentation on growing up in a communist country. Michael, who grew up in Hungary, shared his experiences. “Communism was all we knew, so it wasn’t that bad. We had parents who loved us and food on the table. We were happy. Of course, American television was not available to watch at that time, so we did not know what we were missing. Things are much better now,” he admitted.
After the presentation, the girls said goodnight to their pare
nts and headed back to their room. Amanda noticed the door to their cabin was slightly ajar. She pushed it open and froze. The room had been turned upside down, their things strewn all over the place. Leah stepped past her and entered the dishevelled room.
“Blimey! What’s happened here?” Leah backed out into the hallway, right into Michael.
“What is wrong?” Michael looked past Leah and into the room. “Oh, no! Who would do this thing?” He looked from Amanda to Leah. “Are you sure you locked the door?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” said Amanda. “I shut it tight myself.”
Michael surveyed the room. He took note of the opened drawers, clothes all over the floor and the bed covers pulled back. “It is as if they were looking for something.” He looked back at the girls. “Is anything missing, do you know?”
Leah ran over to her purse and looked inside. “Everything is in my purse.”
Amanda checked her backpack. “Everything is in here too.”
Michael studied the door frame. “It looks like the door was not forced open. I am so sorry. This has never happened on our boat before.” He scratched his head. “I promise I will find who did this. Let me know if you notice anything missing. I will be right back.”
The girls began to put things back in place. Amanda didn’t dare look in the unopened bottom dresser drawer.
A few minutes later, both sets of parents appeared.
“Michael told us what happened,” said Amanda’s dad.
“This is awful.” Leah’s mum began to pick things up off the floor.
“Will it be safe for you to stay in here tonight?” asked a concerned Mrs. Ross.
Mr. Anderson returned with Michael who installed a new lock and a double lock for the inside. “This will keep anyone out. You will be safe in here.”
After everything was tidied up, the parents left strict instructions to not let anyone in and to call if they felt afraid. Leah went into the bathroom. Amanda took the opportunity to open the bottom drawer. Holding her breath, she felt beneath her underwear. Her fingers touched the violin case. Pulling it out, she unlatched it. The violin was still in the case, unharmed. She exhaled.
“What on earth is that?” Leah stood behind her.
Amanda flinched. “The—the violin I bought my dad.”
“Is that what Sebastian wants from you? Is that why someone broke into our room?” Leah scowled. “Amanda, it’s time to fess up. What is going on?”
Amanda swallowed as she stared at the violin and said nothing.
“You can really get right up my nose sometimes. You usually gob on. Why aren’t you saying anything right now?”
8
Amanda closed the lid on the violin case without looking at her friend. “Sebastian wants this violin.” She shook her head and looked at Leah. “But I don’t know why. He couldn’t possibly be the one who broke into our room. It had to be someone with a key.”
“Why didn’t you tell your parents about the violin?” Leah wrinkled her brow. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because the boy who gave it to me asked me to keep it safe and not tell anyone about it.”
“What! What boy?” Leah demanded.
“A boy I saw in Nuremberg. I think he was on this boat when we first got here. He might have been hiding in the storage room. He plays so beautifully but is poor and injured. I felt sorry for him.” Amanda looked down at the instrument case on her lap. “I don’t know why Sebastian wants the violin, but I have a feeling it’s very valuable.”
“Well, we simply cannot keep it here, Amanda. It is too dangerous. Can’t you see that? We have to tell our parents.”
“No! We can’t do that. They will turn it in and the boy won’t get it back.”
“Here we go again. You always get involved with other people’s problems. Always!”
“I’m sorry, Leah. Can we just leave it until we get to Vienna? He said he would meet me there to collect it.”
Leah groaned. “I’m exhausted. Let’s just go to bed.”
Amanda gently placed the violin case back in the drawer and arranged her underwear over it. She couldn’t help but think, ‘How did the person who broke in the room overlook it?’
Waiting in line for breakfast the next morning, Klaus approached the girls. “I hear you had a bit of trouble last night.”
“It was nothing. Probably just a prank.” Amanda piled strawberries on her waffles.
“Be careful who you make friends with.” The old man ran his hand over his beard and winked. “I think I’ll have some of those waffles as well.”
Amanda had an uneasy feeling. ‘Klaus seems friendly and easy going, but something doesn’t feel right. Perhaps Leah is right in wondering if Sebastian is really his nephew.’
Michael came to their table with a broad grin. “I do hope you had a pleasant sleep last night, in spite of everything. We have decided not to mention the mishap to the other passengers so as not to alarm them.” In a louder voice, he said, “I am conducting an informal walking tour of Passau this morning. Would you folks like to join me?”
“That sounds great,” said Amanda. “When are you leaving?”
“We are meeting right outside the boat at ten o’clock. Unfortunately, it is raining, so dress warmly.”
Back in the room Amanda put on her new purple waterproof jacket and pulled the hood up over her head. “This should be fun.”
“Yeah, sure,” Leah retorted. “Tell me, how did Klaus know someone had broken into our room, when Michael said he hadn’t told anyone?”
Amanda shrugged. She had that same uncomfortable feeling again.
They joined Michael outside the boat just as Klaus appeared.
“This is an interesting old town right on the border of Germany and Austria,” Klaus reported. “I believe it is over two thousand years old. In 1792 Mozart came here as a musical prodigy at six years old, to play a recital on the grand organ before the bishop. The cheap old bishop was so impressed he paid him a single ducat—about two dollars.” Klaus chuckled.
“I’ll provide the history if you don’t mind, Mr. Schmidt.” Michael smiled at the older man.
Michael led the small group through the historical part of town, pointing out the bishop’s palace on the hill, historical buildings, statues and churches. He had interesting stories to share, but Amanda had trouble concentrating. She kept looking behind her. Everywhere the tour group went she felt someone watching her.
The group entered a courtyard filled with shrubs and flowers. They stopped in front of a sculpture of a slender monk holding a large cross. Michael began to tell a story about the figure when Amanda thought she heard voices in the flower garden to her left. She slipped away from the group and snuck into the garden. Behind a large rhododendron bush, she spotted Klaus and Sebastian in a heated discussion.
“I’m sorry, but I looked everywhere and couldn’t find it. I had to leave when I heard someone coming. I didn’t want to get caught,” said the frightened boy.
“Can’t you do anything right? I provide you with a key and a time they would be out. And you bring me nothing. It has to be in their room somewhere.” Klaus scowled and lifted his hand.
Sebastian ducked to avoid the blow.
The older man’s face went red as he grabbed the boy by his collar and shook him. “You must find it and get it to me before we arrive in Vienna.”
Amanda shivered as a chill ran up her spine. Klaus no longer resembled Santa Claus. She rushed back to the group just as Michael finished his story about the ill-fated monk.
“Where did you go?” asked Leah.
“I’ll tell you later,” replied Amanda. She looked back at the garden but saw no one. “It looks like we have frenemies on the boat.”
“What do you mean, frenemies?” Leah scrunched up her nose.
“You know, people who are nice and pretend to be your friends, but are really your enemies.”
“You do say the most daft things sometimes.”
Amanda pulled h
er hood tighter as the rain became heavier.
9
Like who?” Leah raised her eyebrows. “Who do you think is a…frenemy?”
“Like, Klaus—perhaps.”
“Klaus? He’s so kind and jolly.”
“Yes, but he just—”
“Are you talking about me?” Klaus came up from behind and rested his hands on the girls’ shoulders. “I hope it was not anything bad.”
“Of course not!” exclaimed Amanda. Both girls faked a smile.
Klaus chuckled. “Well, that’s good. I wanted to tell you there is a nice little print shop you might find interesting. It has been operated by the same family for many generations. It is just around the corner. I believe my wife is there now.” Klaus pointed the way and left them.
“I think you might be wrong about Klaus,” said Leah.
Amanda murmured, “Hmmm. I don’t think so.”
The girls found the print shop and soon forgot about Klaus. Elvira, the owner, explained how they did their own printing with a two-hundred-year-old Gutenberg printing press. They also made their own paper.
Fascinated, Amanda picked up a notebook. “I could use this as a journal.”
“What would you write about? I would never have anything to put in it,” said Leah.
“I can write about my holidays with you, for starts,” replied Amanda.
Leah snorted. “No one would believe it. They would think you made it up.”
“That’s the thing about journals, they are not for anyone to read. They’re just for the author.” Amanda ran her hand over the rough handmade paper. “You must admit, our holidays haven’t been boring.”
“True, but occasionally there has been more excitement than necessary.” Leah grinned.
Amanda was happy Leah was no longer mad at her, at least for the time being.
“Oh, look at this cute carrier bag with music notes and Mozart’s signature. I think I’ll get that too. It will be perfect for my shopping.” Amanda paid for her items and thanked Elvira for the information.
Amanda on the Danube: The Sounds of Music Page 3