Scene 1
Julien Quentin moped around in the dormitory. A new boy entered the room. Who is he? he wondered, looking into Jean's dark eyes filled with the sorrows of the world. His hair... It's so dark and curly. Julien was awestruck. He wondered what it would feel like to run his hands through his luscious locks. His lips, so chapped and mysterious. This new boy, Jean Bonnet they called him, was clearly different. Different from every boy Julien had seen in his twelve years of existence. He was not a "chretien", he was more than that. He was ethereal and enticing. Maybe going back to the boarding school wouldn't be so bad after all...
Julien was nervous. He wanted to get closer to the new boy. But how, he pondered, could he do that? Jean began opening his suitcase on the bed next to Julien. He walked over to his new locker. Julien seized his chance. The only way to get to know someone is to rifle through their stuff and make sarcastic comments about it, he concluded.
Jean came back from his locker. He stared at Julien. Julien tried not to blush, but even if he did, he could just blame it on the coldness.
"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," he said, trying to look away from Jean's passionate gaze. Jean had such beautiful eyes. They bore into his soul.
"Yes," Jean responded, "It is a good book." He didn't seem to catch onto Julien's intense stare.
Julien was frustrated. This new boy obviously wasn't as committed to their relationship as he was. He wanted to know him. Know him like no one else. Know him better than anybody else. Know him to the point of no return.
He scoffed at Jean's books, and mentally prepared himself for their confrontation.
Scene 2
Julien turned around in his bed. He heard a chant; he recognized the voice. It could only be Jean. Only Jean had such a rich, velvety, French tone. Julien couldn't distinguish his accent. It certainly was not from Marseilles. Somewhere different. Somewhere exotic. But, he wondered, why was Jean chanting? He rolled around and faced him. Jean was upright, holding some candles, obviously deep in prayer. The candles illuminated the contours on his face, highlighted the glorious cheekbones of his, yet Julien failed to understand why Jean was doing this. Jean's beautifully-contoured lips moved nimbly and gracefully. Julien realised that Jean was different, in that he didn't practice the same religion as everyone else au collège.
Jean ceased chanting. Julien pretended to be asleep. He quickly drifted into a sleep filled with dark, curly-haired new boys, and their mysterious rituals.
Scene 3
The next day, Julien began following Jean around campus. He couldn't bear to be away from him for even a second. Jean had an aura about him that couldn't be compared to any other boy Julien had ever seen. But why wouldn't Jean love him back? No matter how hard Julien tried to get to know him, he always got pushed away. He knew nothing about Jean's family, his past life, nor did he know why he performed his nightly rituals.
He pattered about, thinking about Jean's chocolate curls, when he was intercepted by his jerk older brother. His jerk brother continued moving his mouth and saying stupid things about girls. Girls loved Francois, but Julien hated him. Julien only cared about one person. The mysterious Jean, who was best friends with Negus, not him. Julien wanted to smack Negus in the face. Jean looked at him in such an adoring manner. Only Julien was allowed to be looked at by him that way! How dare Negus steal his love away from him? Negus' face just angered him and he wished to rearrange his face.
Scene 4
Pushes him against the wall.
Scene 5
What was the deal with Negus and Jean? What were they? They seemed like best friends but who knew? There could be more. And Julien was determined to find out. He was reading a letter from his mother when he realized that this would be the perfect opportunity. He put his letter away, and grabbed a piece of sugar. He wondered if Jean liked sugar cubes. Possible conversation starter, perhaps. He could imagine it now.
Hey Jean, do you like sugar?
Yes, Julien.
Would you like a sugar cube?
Really? A gift for me?
He wondered if Jean would give him a hug to thank him.
Julien shook his head. He had to focus on the present. He quietly snuck over to Jean's locker and cracked it open. His eyes went straight to the books on the top shelf, which he grabbed. The first one opened to a photo of Jean and his family. Julien's first instinct was to take the photo so he'd have it to analyze, but he decided against it. He looked at the next book and flipped it open to the first page.
Oh mon Dieu, he thought as he tried to decipher the name written there, his handwriting is gorgeous: elegant and graceful, just like the person who wrote it. Jean… Kippelstein?
Even his name was enticing and mysterious. He liked knowing Jean's name; he felt like they were bound by a shared secret now. No one else in the college knew Jean's name, and now he knew Jean more intimately than anyone else. It was then that he decided that Jean Kippelstein would be his and no one else's.
Scene 5.9
The "boches" burst into the classroom claiming that the school was harboring illegal Jews. The whole class was silent but Julien just couldn't resist a quick glance at Jean's direction. Just to make sure Jean was safe. Just to make sure that they would not take Jean away. Jean... the boy who made this school year unforgettable. Apparently that was enough for the f*cking "boche" to notice. Whatever happened after that Julien didn't want to remember.
