The new student ~ ZarryStylik

Chapter 10 - talking about the past

On the next morning just after sunrise is breakfast. In the kitchen tent is a long table with bread and buns. There is also cheese, sausage and jam, yoghurt, quark, fruit and various juices and cocoa. Zayn isn't really hungry this early. He sleepily nibbles on a plain roll and drinks his cocoa.

When his gaze wanders over the long rows of seats, he sees Louis, Liam and Niall having breakfast together. The three do not care about him in the slightest. Instead, they giggle and have a good time. Zayn feels a little stab and quickly turns away.

He hurries and walks from the kitchen tent directly to the boot dock. In ten minutes the course will be on and he don't want to be late.

Two supervisors already take care of the boats. They give Zayn a friendly nod. Zayn sits down on the jetty and puts his feet into the water. He is happy that he is on a canoe course with Jannik. At least he already know someone  of the group. Especially now, where he has an argument with Louis, Liam and Niall.

Bit by bit the others arrive. Jannik sits down next to him. "Shall we share a canoe?" he asks "they are made for two." "Yeah, sure." Zayn was aware that the boats are for two people. But now he see that a supervisor puts two paddles in every canoe. The other hand out life jackets. "Do we have to wear them?" asks Zayn. "We can all can swim, right?"
The supervisor replies, "Life jacket is duty."

Jannik climbs into the canoe first. "Take the paddles and try to keep the canoe in balance. One paddles on the left, the other on the right. Quite evenly and just not as cramped." He's a good talker. Zayn is sitting on the back row bench and has Jannik's back in front of his nose. Jannik turns to him. "Are you okay?" Zayn nods. "I am ready." he answers. "You on the left, me on the right, ok?" As he dips the paddle into the water, the canoe begins to sway. "We should paddle at the same time!" he calls to Jannik. Then he and Jannik find the right rhythm. The canoe begins to slide. Nothing wobbles. "This is great." calls Zayn. It really is an indescribable feeling to glide over the lake like this. Completely noiseless. Only the soft chuckle while paddling.

"Hey! There are Lia and Haz! Huhu!" Jannik calls suddenly. To Zayn's horror, Jannik raises a hand and waves wildly. The canoe is sloping seriously. Zayn supports himself on the edge. The paddle almost slipped out of his hand, but he got a grip on it again. Instead, another canoe is approaching them from the side pretty quickly. Zayn notices that it produces uncomfortable waves.

"This is my sister." says Jannik over his shoulder. "Lia." The waves doesn't seem to bother him at all. He waves again and shouts "Huhu!"

"Lia is your sister?" Jannik nods. "Yes. Do you know her? We are twins." Zayn's eyes widen. "But you don't look a bit alike at all." "We are non-identical." explains Jannik with a laugh. "Mixed pairs of twins are never identical. That's why they don't look alike."

"Hello you two." calls Lia. "Is it fun?" Harry's green eyes flash as he smiles at them. "Yes totally." Jannik calls back. Zayn doesn't say anything. He sits very still and waits for the other canoe to pull past them.

"Isn't Haz in your class?" Jannik takes his paddle out of the water and puts it across his knees. "Yes, right. Do you know him?" asks Zayn curiously. "Yeah, he's Lia's best friend, after all, and he's also tutoring her." Jannik holds his face in the sun. "She's gotten a lot better since Harry started helping her." The canoe drifts in the light current and rocks gently. "Our mothers work together." Jannik continues. "They've known each other since university."

"And Harry? How do you like him? " asks Zayn. "He is great." Says Jannik enthusiastically. "He's like a brother." He gives Zayn a meaningful look. "You can really feel sorry for him. After everything he's been through." "Why?" Zayn returned Jannik's gaze openly. Jannik briefly turns his face to the side but then he says "I know that Haz makes an arrogant impression. I found him obnoxious at first. But that's just his facade, you know. If you got to know him better, you'd know." "But why does he need a facade?" Zayn asks. "And what do you mean by what he's been through?" "His parents got divorced." says Jannik after a while. "Last year his mother wanted to go to Bradford because of her work and his grandparents who live here, but Harry's father was determined to stay in Manchester. Harry and Gemma were totally between them. There were only stress and arguments." Jannik dips a hand into the lake and lets the water slide through his fingers. "It must have been really bad for Harry. The pure horror. He started skipping school. He just stopped doing his homework and refused to write exams. And when he did go to school, he interrupted the class until the teachers kicked him out. No wonder he was kicked out of school."

Zayn swallows. "So that's the reason." he says softly. The two boys paddle back to the jetty in silence. His supervisor gave the signal for the lunch break. Zayn is amazed at how quickly the midmorning has passed. When they fasten the canoe to the jetty, he says to Jannik, "Thank you for telling me." "It's okay." says Jannik. "I feel like I can trust you. But please keep it to yourself, will you? " "Of course." assures Zayn.