Between Lust & Love

Chapter Five

After the math class and the subsequent advanced German course, which almost made my head explode from all the thinking, it was finally time for lunch break. The middle school students, those who either didn't have anything to eat at home or were nearly starving, headed to the large cafeteria where there was always something fresh to eat. Just from the smell, I knew I'd rather starve than touch that food. While it might have been warm, according to friends, it was an absolute disgrace. Besides, it was way too expensive for middle schoolers to afford on their own. But luckily, I was no longer among those people and was old enough to earn money (even though nowadays, few understand how to make money from social media) and could cook something for myself.

Thankfully, Jana and I had chosen a spot far from the entrance of the cafeteria, so I wouldn't have to endure that smell today. We settled on a wooden bench; she was eating her fresh salad, something she prepared almost every morning, and I scanned the schoolyard, hoping to catch something interesting. Most of my classmates were either playing soccer during the break or chatting away. Others were heading to the kiosk down the street, and then there were the diligent ones from my year, preparing for upcoming classes or finishing homework. I usually didn't belong to any of those groups. Even though I sometimes joined my friends on the soccer field, even though I didn't particularly like soccer (yes, believe it or not, that's a thing nowadays), or chatted away, I loved just sitting there, mostly in the company of my best friend, who had just enthusiastically opened her salad container, and observing. Somehow, being informed about everything and everyone seemed important to me because, as the saying goes, knowledge is power. Nowadays, many think that such sayings only come from adults or that they're outdated, but as you grow older, you realize how true all these wise words are. (So don't judge adults' opinions too quickly; give it some thought – trust me, I speak from experience.)

"Does it taste good?" I asked Jana, who looked at me like a startled donkey, her mouth full of iceberg lettuce.

"Mhm," she answered, laughing, which almost made her choke. She took a sip of water and wiped her mouth with a tissue. "So, did you see anything interesting?"

I was about to shake my head when something caught my eye. Actually, it was someone. A few benches away, Alexandra Stoben had taken a seat. She sat all alone, AirPods in her ears and a pen in her hand. I felt a bit sorry for her, but not enough to go sit with her. Jana had noticed her too and was staring conspicuously in her direction. I pressed my index finger against her chin, turning her head in a different direction.

"It's crazy that she was at Carlo's party," she muttered. "It's like she's two different people. One totally lively and a dancing queen, the other a nerd who can't get enough good grades and praise from teachers."

Indeed, people like Alexandra Stoben fascinated me. Not as much as you might expect from a romance novel, but interesting in the sense that I knew almost every person in our year inside out, and yet I knew nothing about her. All I knew about her was that she was the principal's daughter, an A student in every subject, including PE, and didn't have many friends. I did know more about her friend, though. Her best friend, at least I assumed she was because they spent a lot of time together in school, was named Luisa. Luisa Knallherz (yes, a strange last name) used to date Marvin, one of my best friends. So I knew a lot about her, like the fact that she was good in bed. Technically, that was information I could verify firsthand, but in this case, there was an exception. Let's see, what else was there to say...

Luisa was in almost every class that Alexandra Stoben attended; their parents had been good friends for many years. In her free time, she studied with Alexandra, but they also spent some vacations together. Luisa was a world-class swimmer and had won first place in several competitions. She also loved jogging; she went every morning at six. These were the things that came to mind about her, but of course, there was more. At this moment, I rummaged through my memory for information about Stoben, about whom I knew next to nothing, which annoyed me a bit. Probably, she knew a lot about me.