Jana's Summer (English)

Chapter 1: Our Last Class Trip

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in June 2011 when Jana and her best friend Julia were packing their bags for the class trip to Croatia. Suddenly, Max burst into the girls' room and politely asked if he could speak with Jana alone. The slightly startled Jana looked at Julia questioningly. When Julia smiled and said, "Go ahead, we still have time," the two of them left the room together and went to the seating area in the hallway where they could talk privately.

"Jana... I often think back to the time we've shared, and I don't know how things will go between us when you're back home in Stuttgart and I'm in Magdeburg," Max said, breaking the silence.

"You're really stressing about this, aren't you? But honestly, I think about what will happen to us when all this is over too. I mean, not just between you and me, but also what will happen to Julia, Medina, Emma, Juliane, and everyone else. I just can't believe our time together will be over soon," Jana replied.

Max realized that Jana was also overwhelmed by the whole situation. He gently rubbed her back and tried to comfort her with these words: "We'll manage somehow, and besides, we still have this class trip..."

"Speaking of which... I should get back to packing," Jana said as she left the seating area and returned to her room. Max stayed for a few more minutes in the seating area, reflecting on their conversation. He was certain: he still loved Jana and would definitely fight for her love!

When Jana returned to the room, Julia immediately noticed that something was troubling her. When she asked Jana about it, Jana replied, "Max just wanted to talk to me. He's really stressed about the whole situation."

"It seems he's not the only one feeling this way," Julia responded with a questioning tone.

"Yes, you're right, Julia. I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed too. I just can't believe that in a few weeks, all of this will only exist in our memories," Jana said, her voice tinged with sadness as she gazed out of the window.

Julia, who had been sitting on her bed packing her toiletry bag, stood up and comforted her best friend with a warm hug. She told Jana not to overthink things and to simply enjoy the remaining days.

After Jana calmed down a bit, the two girls began packing the last of their things into their suitcases. They had only three hours left before they needed to meet their classmates and teachers at the bus station.

The hours flew by quickly. Jana and Julia finished packing within an hour and made their way to the bus station. There, they had a quiet moment to talk about many important things to them, especially since Jana's mother and Julia's father had recently become a couple. The two friends hoped their parents would move in together, thus saving their friendship, as Jana lived with her mother in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, while Julia and her father lived in Gelsenkirchen, in the Ruhr area. But would it all be as easy as they hoped?

Time flew by, and by 6:30 PM, all the ninth-grade students arrived at the bus stop with their suitcases. The bus was already there, so the first students began loading their bags and boarding the bus. Jana and Julia chose seats towards the back, sitting next to each other, of course. In the row next to them sat Max and his best friend Jonas, while behind them were the cousins Medina and Juliane. Emma, the class wallflower, chose to sit alone in a row away from the others.

After about half an hour, all the students and teachers were settled in the bus. The driver gave a few final instructions, and then the bus set off, marking the beginning of their journey. Most of the students were in high spirits and eagerly anticipating the coming week. Jana, however, had mixed feelings and was struggling to cope with her emotional turmoil. She spent most of her time looking out the window while listening to her MP3 player. Over and over, she listened to the song "Can't Take It In" by Imogen Heap, which helped her navigate through her feelings.

Julia tried to strike up a conversation with Jana from time to time, but Jana was in no mood to talk. Knowing Jana well from years of friendship, Julia understood that her best friend needed some time alone to process her emotions. So, Julia let her be and chatted a bit with Max instead. Max, who still had feelings for Jana despite their breakup and now considered her his best friend, was concerned about her. He noticed something was off with Jana. However, Julia reassured him, explaining that Jana needed time to come to terms with the situation and that it was best to give her space, as she would eventually calm down on her own.

As it gradually grew darker, many of the students, including Julia, started to fall asleep. (After a brief stop at a highway rest area, Jana and Julia had swapped seats. Now Julia sat by the window, and Jana was on the aisle.) Eventually, only Jana, Max, Juliane, and Medina remained awake. The four of them chatted quietly about everyday topics.

Jana overheard Medina and Juliane making disparaging comments about Emma, the class wallflower. Jana found this rather unpleasant, as she felt sympathy for Emma, who often found herself alone. Jana had frequently defended Emma against some of the cruel bullying attacks from Juliane. Despite her efforts, it had been challenging for Jana to reach out to Emma and gain her trust. Fortunately, over time, Jana had managed to become Emma's only confidante in the entire boarding school. Jana suspected that Emma might have significant problems at home, which could explain her fearful and reserved nature. However, she wasn't entirely sure, as Emma never talked about her family.

As the bus approached the Austrian border, Jana and Max fell asleep for a few minutes. During this time, Max dreamt of their moments together. In his dream, the two of them were sitting on a picnic blanket in the woods on a beautiful spring afternoon. Jana's dreamy gaze, from her round green eyes, met Max's bright blue eyes. Just as they were leaning in closer, about to share their first kiss, Max was jolted awake by Jonas, who accidentally nudged him in his sleep. At first, Max was quite displeased, but then he noticed that Jana was also sleeping. He thought it was incredibly sweet how peacefully she slumbered. He leaned over, brushed a strand of her light brown hair from her face, and placed a tender kiss on her forehead. Julia, who was sitting next to Jana and had woken up by now, watched the scene and smiled contentedly at Max. She wished nothing but the best for her best friend and knew that Max would always make her happy and never disappoint her.

After a brief stop at a rest area, Julia fell back to sleep like a log. Upon arriving in Austria, many were amazed by the Alps, as they had never seen such enormous mountains before. Even the deeply sleeping Julia briefly woke up to take photos of the Alps with her phone. For Jana, however, this was nothing new, as she had grown up in southern Germany.

The remaining hours of the journey seemed to pass more and more quickly, and Jana's mood improved significantly. She cheerfully chatted with Julia and Max. The three of them looked forward to the upcoming days and made some plans for the things they wanted to do together during their free time.

After a 12-hour bus ride, they finally arrived at their destination, the Lanterna Apartments on the island of Istria in Croatia. Jana glanced at the clock at the front of the bus and saw that it was now 12:27. Two of the three class teachers gradually stood up and told the students they would need to be patient and wait on the bus. After this announcement, they left the bus. Jana and Julia had taken off their warm jackets, which they had worn overnight, and Juliane, who was sitting behind them, had beads of sweat on her face. It had become quite warm on the bus since there was no shaded parking spot.

Only after half an hour did the teachers return and started organizing the room assignments while still on the bus. Ms. König decided that Jana would share a triple room with Julia and Emma, while the cousins Medina and Juliane would be in a double room. Emma was very relieved that she wouldn't have to share a room with Juliane, as the two did not get along at all. Emma had often been insulted and mistreated by Juliane. Jana was also happy that not all the girls from her class would be in the same room. She herself hadn't had a particularly good relationship with Juliane and could clearly feel that Juliane disliked her. What Jana didn't know was that Juliane saw her as a secret rival! Jana was one of the few girls from 9c who, with her shoulder-length light brown hair and large green eyes, was quite pretty. Juliane, with her dark brown hair and blue eyes, was also attractive but constantly sought validation. Moreover, Juliane couldn't handle it at all if another girl was prettier than she was.