Friends Always Win in the End!
by Ruwen Rouhs
Chapter 10
Things click between Henner and Tanner
Martha, Lizz and Lily, Severin's classmates giggled as Arash held open the door to the terrace of the ice cream parlor for his friend and a strange, auburn-haired man of about 25 years. The giggling was followed by a long "OOOH!" from Lily, "Look, now they're dragging their chaperone along too. Mom must be afraid for her little Severin! He could be raped in the dark!" Basically, the three of them were just jealous, Martha of Severin and Arash and her friends of the young giant, with muscular upper arms. Henner looked clearly different from the two students, but strolling to a table at the other end of the terrace, they seemed to fit together perfectly.
Sticking their heads together, the three girls exchanged more gossip, not forgetting to throw curious looks at the three newcomers from time to time. Their curiosity increased even more when Tanner barged into the parlor and Severin immediately waved him over. Tanner, with his black mop of hair and ever-sprouting whiskers, said a short "Hello" to the three girls and then went straight to Severin's table. Slightly disappointed the three began to exchange everything they knew about Tanner, which was not much, as he attended another school. They made fun of Tanner because he had to leave school due to bad grades. But that didn't seem to have changed the friendship between Severin and Tanner, who greeted each other with a hug.
After a short, amusing banter, the conversation between the four soon turned to more serious topics. "Does your father still want you to either become a doctor or take over the kebab hang out?" Severin inquired.
"My grade point average is around 2.4. Do you think I can improve my GPA till the start of the entrance exams? The numerus clausus for medicine is ridiculous , it is 1.0. I can forget about becoming a doctor and start frying kebabs forever. I don't want that to do either!"
"But you told us about your dream, didn't you? Don't you think your dad would allow you to do that?" Arash probed.
"I don't think I'll pass the entrance exam to the police academy either. They also want an average grade of 2.0 and mine is above that." Tanner shrugged his shoulders in resignation. "Besides, father hates people in uniform, ever since his experiences with the Turkish police."
Now Henner became curious, "Do you mean police officers? Officers don't always wear uniforms." As Tanner continued to stare into the night, Henner grabbed him by the arm and turned him towards him, "Look, I'm a police officer too. Do I wear a uniform? Ask your friends, was I in uniform or plain clothes when I helped them to solve their problems?" When Tanner stared at him curiously, "Do you want to see my ID?"
"No, no I believe you, but with my grades?"
"Do you want me to help? I can help you pass the entrance exam. You don't just need good grades. You need to have brains and be athletic also." Henner felt Tanner's biceps, "That's enough to start with. Now it's time to train your head and not only your muscles! Let's meet and I'll help you!"
Seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, Tanner started to beam. "Do you really want to help me? Do you think you can convince my father that I can take the path?"
"Let's make a bet! I always win bets!"
As Tanner and Herr left the garden side by side, happily discussing when tutoring might begin, Martha hissed to her friends, "Do you also see what I see?" Doing so, she rolled her eyes.
Switching of the light and listening to the midnight sound coming through the wide-open window Arash reflected, "They hit off at first glance, right?" When Severin didn't immediately understand him, he added, "Henner and Tanner. Didn't they?"
"You may be right. Remember, we hit of at our first soccer game, also!"
"But we are still only best friends and not boyfriends, as Martha and the others suspect."
"Should we?" Severin asked spooning Arash tighter.
"If you keep spooning me like this, it's bound to happen soon!"
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