Boy from the Woods (9781311684776)

by Minkman, Jen

  “It was fine. I visited my gran in Eichet yesterday.” She glanced at the flyers Gaby had spread out on the table. “I’m glad the show is at Shamrock,” she added under her breath. Michael played darts with his friends in O’Malley’s, the other Irish pub in town, every Monday evening.

  Gaby nodded, a sympathetic smile on her lips. “So, when are you guys finally going to London?” she addressed the boys while pouring a beer for herself.

  “Actually, I have no idea.” Florian shrugged. “We have to book all over again. I guess it’ll be more expensive this time. The tickets we had were booked months in advance.”

  “Oh, come on.” Axel arched an eyebrow. “Ryanair flies almost for free. Hey, why don’t the girls join us on our trip too?”

  Gaby looked from Tamara to Julia, nodding slowly. “Yeah, why not indeed?” she repeated. “We have all the time in the world. And it won’t break the bank either, if we get a cheap flight.”

  “We were planning on staying in a youth hostel,” Florian said. “That isn’t too expensive.”

  “Well, I think it sounds like a great idea!” Julia exclaimed. “I was just going to arrange a job interview at the bookstore so I can earn some extra cash. If that works out, I’ll have enough money to go to London mid-August.”

  Everyone beamed at each other. “Well, that’s settled then,” Tamara decided. “I say we propose a toast to our travel plans!”

  When Florian got up to flip the record, he came back with a small bag of pot. “It’s time to relax,” he announced.

  “What… you’re going to hit the Chinese all-you-can-eat joint stoned?” Tamara blurted out in shock. “Just so you know, I’m not sitting with you if you act like an idiot.”

  “He act like an idiot no matter what,” Axel remarked, easily dodging the punch Florian aimed at him.

  Axel went inside and got the leaflets and guidebooks about London that were still sitting on Florian’s desk. Soon, everybody was absorbed in the information, making plans for a four-day trip to the English capital.

  “It’s pretty cool we’re all going to London,” Julia mumbled to Gaby. “And I can just focus on work in the weeks leading up to the trip. If I get the job, of course.”

  Gaby put her arms around her in a sweet hug. “You will. It was made for you, you bookworm. Plus, it will keep you off the streets so you won’t run the risk of bumping into some people anymore.”

  Julia nodded. Today, she had felt empty when she’d passed the Old Town – a certain meaninglessness that couldn’t be filled. It was as if she were walking the streets of an unfamiliar town in a blur, keeping up the same appearances but feeling hollow and cold on the inside. No longer could she hold out hopes of running into Michael. Gaby was right: she should go and hide for a while. And where to find a better hiding spot than in her personal Valhalla, the bookstore?

  That evening, they all walked together through the narrow streets and alleys of Salzburg to the Rudolfskai along the river. The door to Shamrock was wide open, a rocker-style crowd gathering outside holding beers and smoking cigarettes.

  “Why don’t you give me the flyers,” Axel told Gaby. “I’ll get drinks for everyone.”

  “Hey, thanks,” Gaby replied. “Guess I’ll be the selfish Goth and smoke a cigarette just for me.”

  Axel laughed and tried to give her a friendly pat on the head, but she nimbly danced away.

  They decided to wait outside. The band was clearly doing a sound check – every now and then, the loudspeakers sputtered some acoustic feedback when one of the band members pushed up the fader on a mixer channel too much.

  Julia checked out the crowd and felt her heart skip a beat when she spotted two of Michael’s friends stepping out of the front door.

  Tamara nudged her. “You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Gaby followed Julia’s stare and rolled her eyes. “Just your luck. Oh well, for all we know those two came here without him. Michael is probably throwing darts all by his lonesome in O’Malley’s. He’s, like, the last person I would expect to show up at a concert like this.”

  Julia let out a shaky breath. Gaby was most likely right, but she couldn’t relax. When Axel showed up with a tray of beers announcing that the band was ready to start, they all shuffled inside. The room was chock-full and dark, which was a blessing. Even if Michael had decided to come here, he wouldn’t be able to see her anyway.

  When the spotlights lit up and flooded the stage with bright, colored beams, loud music immediately exploded from the speakers. Julia flinched – she was standing close to the loudspeaker on the left.

  “Holy hell,” Gaby shouted in her right ear, “they’re playing ‘Cities in Dust’! I love this song.”

  Meanwhile, Florian was staring at the stage with glassy eyes. Julia looked over at the bass player he was clearly checking out. The guy had on a black wife-beater shirt and sporting a black-and-purple dyed Mohawk.

  “Holy hell,” he repeated Gaby’s words. “Who is that? I think I’m in love.”

  Julia snickered. This was typically Florian – he said whatever he was thinking. She shambled a bit away from the speaker. Even though the music was played at earsplitting volume, it wasn’t too bad. In fact, she was kind of enjoying it. She’d only wanted to humor Gaby by tagging along, but the band was better than expected. “This is pretty cool,” she told Gaby when the next song turned out to be less loud.

  Gaby beamed at Julia, her black-rimmed eyes filled with elation. “Yeah, you think?”

  “Yeah, totally. Thanks for bringing me.”

  After a six-song set, the band announced their break. The lights went on, and Axel poked Florian. “Are you coming? We have to get some more drinks at the bar.”

  “Sure,” Florian agreed before suddenly freezing up. “”No, wait!” he hissed. “That cute bass player is coming straight at us!”

  Julia turned around to see the tall, mohawked boy stepping off the stage and making his way toward them.

  “I’m dying of thirst,” Axel whined.

  “Don’t worry, I know CPR. Just wait.”

  The bassist seemed to cut straight through the crowd, the sea of people parting for him as if they could sense he was a man on a mission. His eyes never left Florian, who was starting to look like a tomato suffering from cardiac arrest. Julia could almost hear him swallow when the gorgeous musician stopped right in front of him.

  “Hey,” the bassist said in a soft but resolute voice. “Do you come here often?”

  Florian blinked. He was speechless. Axel visibly cringed at the trite first line, but came to Florian’s aid by grabbing him by the shoulder and answering for him. “Yes, he does. In fact, I bet he’ll be here every week from now on.”

  “Good to know.” The bassist shot Florian a lazy smile.

  “Would – would you like something to drink?” Florian managed to utter at last.

  “Sure, I could do with a beer,” the punker nodded, extending his hand. “I’m Moritz, by the way.”

  Florian shook hands with Moritz. “Florian. So uhm, I’ll get you a beer,” he stammered.

  “Now you’re running,” Axel said indignantly as they both rushed off toward the bar, leaving Moritz with the three girls. Julia chuckled, shooting Tamara and Gaby a ‘what-the-hell-is-happening’ look.

  “Nice band you guys have,” Gaby started the conversation. “Are you going to do more gigs here?”

  “I hope so. Let’s see how this one goes. If you girls want us to be back, pretty please tell the owner so he’ll book us again.”

  “Where are you from?” Julia asked curiously. Moritz spoke standard German without any Austrian accent, but she did hear a hint of something else in his voice.

  “Oh, my dad is English. I lived in London when I grew up. When I was ten, we moved to Cologne for a while, and now we live here.”

  “London?” Tamara said. “Funny – we’re going on a trip there next month. Maybe you can give us some tips.”

  Florian and Axel were b
ack in no time, the former balancing two beers and a glass of soda on a tray. Julia raised her eyebrows at Axel. “Did he knock the rest of the people in line out of the way? That was freakishly quick.”

  “Turns out Florian can jump the queue very well when the need arises.”

  Meanwhile, Moritz was having an animated discussion about the best youth hostels in the center of London with the others. By the time Moritz had to go back on stage, Florian had managed to score his number.

  “I can’t believe this is happening to me,” he enthused, casting another smoldering look at Moritz’s muscular back as he disappeared among the audience. “I saw him, he saw me, we locked eyes and that was that!”

  “Shouldn’t you take it easy?” Julia tried to slow him down. “You don’t even really know him yet.”

  “Not yet, but I will. Nothing’s gonna stop me from buying calling credit for the next one hundred years, first thing tomorrow.”

  Unexpectedly, Julia felt a stab of jealousy. Why was it all so simple for Florian? Why did he have the good fortune of meeting a hot, cute guy this easily, who genuinely seemed to like him?

  The rest of the concert went by in a blur. When the spectators flocked together outside after the music finished, Julia walked up to Moritz, Florian and Gaby having a cigarette outside. “I’m going home,” she announced. “I’m completely knackered.”

  “That’s all right.” Gaby patted her sweetly on the head. “Did you have fun, though?”

  “Yeah, I adored the music! And I’m not even just saying that because Moritz is standing next to me.” She smiled at Florian’s new flame. He smiled back.

  “Why don’t you borrow my MP3 player?” Gaby pulled the thing from her kangaroo pouch. “So you can listen to some of the songs on your way back home. But I’ll be wanting yours in return.”

  “Sure you’re not going to cry over parting ways with your sinister goth and rock tunes?” Axel asked with a playful grin.

  Gaby shook her head. “Nope, I like Enya. Besides, I wouldn’t want to ruin my eyeliner again and look like shit.”

  “Well, as long as you don’t smell like shit.”

  “Shut up!” Gaby shoved Axel.

  Julia said goodbye to everyone and got on the next available bus passing the pub. As she got on, the first raindrops of a sweltering summer storm started to patter on the roof of the bus.

  The rain didn’t let up on Tuesday or Wednesday. Long, summery showers hit the town of Salzburg but didn’t do anything to alleviate the stifling heat. After the rain, the high temperatures were somehow even more oppressive. Wisps of clouds hung between the mountain peaks like mysterious fog from another world.

  Julia stood in the yard, sniffing the air. She wanted to go for a run in the woods, but it was still way too hot now. Actually, she’d prefer running in the rain. Maybe she should wait for that.

  “Are you staring down the clouds?” Anne asked, popping up next to her with the storybook under one arm.

  “No, I’m calling out to them. I want to go running in the rain.”

  Anne sat down on the bench under the awning. “I worked on our tree house with Sabine. See, we want it to look like this.” She pointed at a picture of the tree palace belonging to the fairies in the book.

  “Wow. That’s kind of ambitious. Are you sure you’ll manage?”

  “Wait till you see it, big sister. You’ll be surprised. Thorsten said he’d come and help us too. You know, Sabine’s brother.”

  “Oh, that guy you seem to like so much.”

  Anne snorted. “I don’t like him. I thought he might be your type.”

  At that moment, Axel emerged from the house. He’d dropped by on his old scooter to have lunch with them and borrow some books. “I’m off. Hey, Jules, did you have that job interview at Höllrigl yet?”

  “Going there tomorrow afternoon. I called them yesterday, but the manager won’t be in until tomorrow.”

  “Well, let me know about those employee benefits, okay? I’ll come round and reap them when you’re manning the checkout. A bookworm is always hungry.”

  “So is a tapeworm,” Anne supplied absently, her head in the storybook.

  Axel suppressed a laugh. “Aren’t you a little Wikipedian.” He smiled proudly at her. “Come here, worm, want me to read you a story?” He sat down on the bench next to Anne.

  While Anne listened to ‘The Prince of Trees’ yet again, Julia went inside to put on her running gear and get Gaby’s iPod. When she got back outside, it was raining just as she had hoped. Dark storm clouds were gathering in the skies.

  Axel pulled a face as he started his scooter and put on his helmet. “Hoping for the best,” he said, looking up at the sky.

  “This is the best!” Julia waved at him before sprinting off, popping in her earbuds before slowing down at the end of the street. She jogged toward the forest at a leisurely pace.

  The wind-swept trees swished and showered raindrops on her head. It wasn’t raining heavily yet, but the sound of the falling water hitting the tops of the trees sent an agreeable quiver through her body. She set course for her special oak and sat down for a minute against it, stretching her calves and staring up at the branches winding their way upward to the skies, reaching for the light, escaping the ever-present gravity of the earth. The canopy of the tree branches kept her from getting wet.

  Julia switched off Nina Hagen on her borrowed MP3 player and closed her eyes, resting her head against the oak tree. Every now and then, she heard the rumble of thunder in the distance. Very softly, very far away.

  When the rain started to come down faster, Julia got to her feet and ran back to the forest trail in the direction of Eichet. She wanted to pay her grandmother a surprise visit and have tea with her. After twenty minutes, she reached the edge of the woods and jogged down the asphalt road at a steady pace. In the meantime, the rain had soaked all her clothes, but it didn’t bother her. The temperature outside was still agreeable.

  Julia ran up to the front door of Gran’s house and rang the doorbell with a wet, slick finger. The sound of Mozart’s A Little Night Music jingled through the house. Julia edged forward under the awning to find shelter from the rain and wring out her wet hair.

  “Hello?” she called out through the kitchen window, which she saw was slightly ajar. “Gran? Are you home?”

  Nothing. She peered through the ribbed glass of the front door, seeing the contours of an empty umbrella stand in the hallway. Apparently, Gran had ventured out in the rain as well. Maybe she’d just missed her.

  Disappointed, Julia turned around and walked out of the front yard. At the end of the street, she suddenly spotted Sabine walking in her direction, flanked by a tall guy about twenty years old carrying a red umbrella. Julia waved at the two of them and waited for them to reach her.

  “Hi, Julia,” Sabine said cheerfully. “Didn’t you bring an umbrella?”

  Julia chuckled. “Yeah, while jogging? Not such a good idea.” Her eyes drifted to the guy standing next to Sabine, who was observing her with a slight smile. He caught her eye and extended his hand.

  “Thorsten Ebner,” he introduced himself. “I’m Sabine’s brother.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Julia Kandolf, Anne’s sister.” She smiled back. The boy had friendly, blue eyes and an eye-catching smile. His black hair curled out from underneath the hood of his rain jacket.

  “Wow, you’re one athletic girl to go out running in a downpour like this,” he commented.

  “Oh, it’s not that bad,” Julia replied as a blue lightning bolt split the sky in two and the thunder rumbled just above their heads. The next moment, the clouds seemed to burst, rain coming down like an impenetrable curtain pelting down on her drenched head.

  “What the…” She glared up at the clouds. Thorsten burst out laughing, and Julia continued mock-reproachfully: “You know, this is all your fault. You shouldn’t have used the word ‘downpour’. That’s where it all went wrong.”

  “Oh, really? You’re blaming me?
Not the best way to make friends. You know what, I’ll just be on my merry way without using the word ‘sunshine’.” He grinned mischievously.

  “Thor, can we please go to the bus stop?” Sabine asked plaintively, gripping her brother’s sleeve in white-knuckled fists. “I’m afraid of thunderstorms.”

  “Of course we will,” Thorsten said with a reassuring smile. He glanced back at Julia. “I don’t think that second word actually helped. You joining us under the umbrella?”

  Julia shook her head. “I’ll run back. It’ll be all right under the trees in the forest. Talk to you later!”

  “Are you sure?” Thorsten looked puzzled.

  “Yeah, absolutely! Don’t worry.” She quickly turned around and ran off in the direction of the woods, her socks making squishy sounds in her sneakers by now. She passed the bus stop, hesitated for a moment, then continued down the road. She’d rather walk. Of course she hadn’t brought her bus card, and she didn’t feel like borrowing money from a guy she’d just met one minute ago – not to mention sitting next to him looking all rained out and bedraggled. A hint of a smile crept onto her face when she re-entered the woods. Anne was actually right for once: Thorsten was a cute guy indeed. She’d wanted to make a good impression. Him being the boy next door really cheered her up.

  Under the trees, it was hot, dark and damp. The leaves swished in the wind as rain still pattered down, bolts of lightning lighting up the woods every now and then. Julia’s shoes left deep footprints in the muddy soil that made her slip and almost lose her balance twice.

  Julia came to a stop, panting for breath. Leaning against a thick chestnut tree, she spluttered a curse and rubbed her ankle. Damn – she’d almost twisted it due to the slippery mud. What a stupid idea it had been to go running in this dreadful weather. She should have just taken the bus. By now she could have been home sitting on the couch with dry clothes on, sipping hot cocoa from her favorite mug. Instead, here she was, soaking wet, half-shivering, and even somewhat afraid of the heavy thunderstorm. In the oppressive darkness of the storm, the trees seemed to surround her like a hostile army, their shadows towering over her. In fact, the forest looked like it was about to spit out an evil Krampus any moment. This would be a good time to bump into a mythical woodland creature waving a magic wand to transport her home, but alas – that wasn’t going to happen.