Friends Always Win in the End!
by Ruwen Rouhs
Chapter 14
Going to the Fair
Around midnight Severin's father Raimund came back from his business trip to England. On his way back, he had picked up Lisa, Severin's sister, at her exchange parents. Attending another school Lisa met Arash for the first time at the breakfast table. She only knew him from hearsay as Severin's teammate on the soccer team.
At fifteen, Lisa fell in love with almost every boy she came across, good looking or not. So, it was no wonder that she immediately developed a crush on Arash when he sat next to Severin at the breakfast table. She began to talk at length about her stay with her host family in England, especially About Joshua and Ben, their sons, who both went to a boarding school. "One is 16, the other 17. They look good!" then she shook her head and said to her mother, "They're not interested in girls, just rugby. They had friends over from their school once, but none of them were interested in me or Giselle, their sister." When her mother smiled curiously, Lisa added, "We could have danced naked in front of them and they wouldn't have been interested at all. They're all gay!"
Severin was about to make a snide remark when Lisa made puppy eyes at Arash, "The boys are completely different around here! Isn't it true Arash?" Then her cheeks turned pink, "I like your eyes, Arash. I like black eyes. I can't help falling for black eyes! And your eyelashes! Oh my god!" Lisa shook her head in admiration. Now, Severin couldn't stop himself "And Tommy? Didn't he have blue eyes? Weren't you in love with him because of his blue eyes! Blue as the Deep Sea, you raved over and over!"
Severin's father started to laugh. "Just fight you two, then at least Arash will have something to talk about when his parents return." Then he turned to his wife, "Severin and Arash are sharing a bed, so at least we won't have to worry about Lisa."
Now Lisa made a face, without pondering a moment she shot back to her father. "At least with those two you don't have to worry about becoming grandparents in 9 months!" Severin was about to give a snotty reply when Arash's right hand took his left. Hidden by the tablecloth Arash pressed his hand. Stuttering slightly, he tried to deflect, "D`…do`…don't we have a date with T`…Ta`….Tanner in the monkey cage? They're probably already waiting for us to come and play soccer."
Changing in their sports dress back in Severin's room, he suddenly asked, "What was this about, taking my hand. I…, I..! " Arash smiled sheepishly, "After the puppy eyes your sister gave me, I suddenly needed something to hold on to, however, no one was there but you!" after a short pause, "And you didn't pull your hand away either." Now Severin blushed even more than at the breakfast table. " "You're looking so cute when you blush, Sev-Baby! Shouldn't we be more than friends?"
Severin looked sheepishly at the tips of his shoes, especially while Arash had called him baby, "Aren't we already?" He asked blushing even more.
As they stood by their bikes and Arash was about to set off in the direction of the monkey cage in the park, Severin stopped him, "Not in that direction, I know something better! The fair on the Teltow canal opens at 10 a.m. Let's go there!"
The Summertime Fair stretched for about 1 kilometer along the Teltow Canal. Stalls and event tents were set up along the path in the shade of trees, a carousel, the high swing, the bumper cars, the octopus, the Ferris wheel and the tunnel of horror were on the green next to it. Most of the stalls were still closed. Only the one at the entrance was already open. It offered ice cream, baked apples, candy floss and gingerbread hearts with inscriptions. Arash wondered whether he should buy Severin a heart with the inscription "Boyfriend" or "My Baby". But he hadn't time, because Severin dragged him to the Ferris wheel at the other end of the market. When they got there, 16 middle grader and two young teachers were already waiting. The boys and girls chatted in a broad southern German dialect, so that Severin and Arash had problems understanding.
Severin and Arash joined the queue and were immediately greeted by a boy of Niam's age. "Are you going to ride the Ferris wheel with us? Are you from here? Can we see the Brandenburg Gate from above," and he pointed to the top gondola?"
"No, the Ferris wheel is not big enough. You might be able to see the TV tower, however. It should be in that direction." Severin pointed to the north-east.
Then a girl joined in, "We are visiting the Reichstag later and tomorrow the Zoo. Can we see these from up there?"
"No, but the Tiergarten, the large park in front of the Reichstag."
"Isn't the Tiergarten not the Zoo?"
Now the teacher intervened, "But I've explained everything to you. You must have been chatting to your girlfriend again, Mira!"
When the group wanted to get into the gondolas, the next problem arose. As each gondola only had eight seats and therefore only seven children and one of the teachers could ride in one. Two students were left and should wait at the foot of the Ferris wheel. Now a lengthy argument arose, who had to stay back.
Severin listened with amusement. As the discussion dragged on, he became impatient, "They can ride with us in a gondola, we'll keep an eye on them."
Teacher and students eyed them suspiciously. Then came the inevitable question, "Do you think you're up to it? You're not much older than our students."
"My name is Severin and I'm 18 and my friend's name is Arash and he's 19."
And Arash added, "We have sisters that age and are used to trouble."
That tipped the scales. "Who's volunteering?" Five hands raised hesitantly. "You Francis and..." after a slight pause, "And you Oke. But get along, no hassle!"
A red-haired, tall, big-boned boy grinned at an even taller, dark-skinned boy with a round face and frizzy hair. "We will, Mrs. Müller, I swear!" Francis promised.
A nd Oke added, "We are not afraid of these two." During the ride Arash took Severin's hand. Noting this with amazed Oke asked Severin, "Does your friend has a fear of heights or are you boyfriends?"
"Sure, I do. Sev forced me to!" and grinned.
"I believe you!" Francis grinned back. Then he took Oke's hand, "Don't tell the others, but we like holding hands also."
Finally, the gondola reached the highest point. Oke gave his friend a quick smack on the cheek, pointing to the city, "Look at the world lying at our feet!" Whereupon Severin said, "Arash, I think they're ahead of us. Aren't They! Shouldn't we also?" After the ride all were happy. Hugging each other Francis and exchanged numbers with Severin and Arash.
Strolling through the fair Severin and Arash ended up at the tunnel of horror. "I love spooky places, like ghost trains, cemeteries at midnight or lost places. Let's get the tickets, Sev."
"Please not! I always get goose bumps on ghost trains!" and he shook himself like he was freezing.
Arash laughed, "You forced me to ride the Ferris wheel despite my fear of heights. As revenge I'm giving you a ride on the roller coaster."
"Then you have to hold me tight all the time."
"It's me a pleasure, Sev-Baby!"
Leaving the ghost train both sported red cheeks despite the air inside was pretty fresh. Arash taunted Severin, "You really acted afraid, Sev-Baby!"
"Your fault, I hardly could breathe because you held me so tight."
"This is your fault. Why did you cling to me like that?"
"Sure, it's always me! But, didn't you enjoy it?"
Arash blushed, "Isn't that the benefit of having a friend?"
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