The Hidden Path (WINNER OF THE BEAUTY AWARD for Spiritual)

A Scare

You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing, no one to blame.
– Erica Jong

"Sorry I am late!" I exclaimed breathlessly, having barely opened the door to our classroom.

All heads swiveled into my direction and suddenly, all eyes were on me. Prof Gruber looked at me quizzically, raising one eyebrow.

Oh, no. Maths! I hated being late for school, especially for Maths, because it meant that I would struggle through the whole lesson, trying to catch up with what they had already done.

Understanding what the teachers were talking about made the time in school pass so much faster and saved me so much work at home!

"It's because of the snow." I offered as an excuse, shuffling my feet awkwardly under her scrutinizing gaze. Should I just go to my seat or did she want me to explain my odysseys consisting of heaps of snow and a traffic jam that had stretched from Henndorf all the way to Salzburg, in detail?

But that might take a while. . .

"The snow? Right. Sit down." Prof Gruber's voice held a slightly incredulous undertone. I could not really blame her, as the fact that she was already here in the classroom was a clear indication that she probably lived in the city. Whereas I came from the countryside.

The difference? About 50 meters in altitude. Meaning almost no snow in Salzburg, while we were literally drowning in about one meter of it!

The reason? Well, it had been raining in the city for most of the night, but it had been snowing vigorously on the countryside.

I quickly made my way to my seat, among soft sniggering from some of my classmates.

Mostly the boys.

I expressed my feelings by glaring at them as soon as I had settled down, which made them snigger even more.

Ha, ha. Very funny. Try being trapped in a traffic jam for three hours yourselves and then let's see if you still find it humorous!

With a bang, the door was suddenly wrenched open again, diverting everybody's attention away from me.

"Sorry, I am late!" A very breathless Soni slammed the door and rushed to her seat in the front, without even giving Prof Gruber a chance to react to the fact that her lesson had been disrupted for the second time within the span of five minutes.

"One moment!" She called after Soni, who had already taken her seat. "And your excuse. . .?"

"The snow,"  Soni said simply, shrugging. This time Prof Gruber raised both eyebrows, while the sound of sniggering filled the classroom once again.

After a moment's hesitation, our teacher sighed and turned to the blackboard to continue explaining some mathematical problem she had started to chalk down.

I took a closer look at the white numbers, trying to figure out the relation between them.

To be honest, I hardly ever listened to our Prof Gruber, anyway. Too confusing! For me, it was much easier to just try and figure out everything by myself.

Soon, I had immersed myself in the world of mathematical laws. That's why I was hardly batting an eyelid, when the door flew open again, revealing three rather disheveled looking figures.

Oliver, Jutta and Alex, our three classmates from Seekirchen, had finally arrived.

Prof Gruber barely turned her head to glance at the newcomers. "Let me guess. . ." She sighed, her hand poised in midair, ready to continue writing on the board as soon as the brief disturbance had been dealt with. "The snow?"