To Butterfly: Thanks! I'm trying to do it intelligently and sensitively.
To Lyger 0: Good call. I'm not sure why I didn't do that to start…
To yellow 14: Based on my reading of the law (which could be wrong), the exceptions for "civil enlightenment," "promoting art and science," and "reporting about current historical events" would apply. The objective of the exhibit isn't to "praise" the Nazis… just wait until they actually get to the exhibit in chapter 5! It's not going to be entirely flipping between the two time periods; there are a couple more "flashbacks," but most of it is in present day.
Kim draped an arm over Ondine's shoulders as they stood just inside the security area, watching the rest of their classmates go through the body scanners. At the moment, Philippe and Nadine were waiting in line behind Alix, who was in the process of arguing with the security officer who had insisted on opening up her backpack. He pulled out a thin rod, pressed his finger to one end, and furrowed his brows in confusion. Alix said something else, and he shrugged, placing the rod back in the bag. At the next security line, Lila waved her hand dismissively, shaking her head as the security guard waved her through. Kim eyed her carefully but shrugged. Behind them, Mme Hartung and M. Kubdel waited impatiently near the hallway leading down to their gate, along with Aurore, Jean, and a few others of their classmates who had already made it through. Marc sat at one of the benches, retying his shoes, while Nath repacked his backpack.
Ondine leaned into Kim's side, her hand on his back. "This is going to be so much fun!" She blushed. "I… I'm glad we're going to Berlin together."
He grinned, pressing his lips to her hair. "Me, too!" he agreed. Leaning in closer he wagged his eyebrows and whispered, "But it would be even more awesome if it were just the two of us!"
Her cheeks turned pink. "Maybe next time it will be just the two of us," she whispered back, her voice taking on a sultry tone. She frowned. "At least then you wouldn't always be running off…"
Kim hummed in confusion. "'Running off'?"
She nodded. She held her fingers up. "The park? Back in the fall? Then there was that time you disappeared last week while we were walking by the river. You ran away for a few minutes, and when you came back your hair was wet."
Kim grimaced. Last week they had been on a walk along the Seine when he had noticed a kid playing too close to the river – the surface was partly frozen, and a group of children had been throwing pebbles onto it. The kid had fallen over the edge and broken through the ice; Kim had fished him out in a matter of moments, but the kid had almost gotten hypothermia all the same. For that matter, Kim had been afraid of getting hypothermia himself… until he had returned to Ondine and they had gotten hot chocolate and cuddled together on a bench. "It's not that often," he defended, dropping his free hand down to his hoodie pocket and placing it over Xuppu's napping form – it was a good thing Kwamis didn't appear in an x-ray… Ondine eyed him dubiously. "But I promise there won't be any of that on this trip," he assured her. "I'll be right next to you the whole time!"
"I'll hold you to that," she told him, leaning up and kissing his cheek.
"Ugh, you two are sickening," Alix drawled, walking up to them and rolling her eyes. "Why don't you get a room?"
Kim wagged his eyebrows. "Well, the two of you are the ones sharing a room on this trip, so…"
Alix gave him a deadpan look. "You can have it."
Ondine arched an eyebrow and stuck out her tongue in disgust. "You assume I would want to share a room with him…" she teased.
Alix snorted, holding her hand out for Ondine to fist-bump.
"Ouch!" Kim gasped, placing a hand over his heart. "How could you?" Ondine poked him in the side, and he flinched. She giggled. He fixed his eyes on Alix. "So what was the hold-up there?"
Alix scoffed. "Stupid security," she grumbled. "They were interested in a couple of the new toys I brought along. It's a good thing Max made them out of plastic instead of metal. Plus they look completely innocent." She pulled out the rod and hoop to demonstrate.
Ondine cocked her head, staring at the objects in confusion.
"What did you tell them they were?" asked Kim.
Alix smirked. "A knitting needle and an embroidery hoop."
"They actually bought that?" Kim wondered, shaking his head.
"You knit?" Ondine asked, raising an eyebrow dubiously.
"As far as they know, I do!"
Kim grinned. "I mean, you're pretty good at needling people! But anyways, what do you think we're going to be doing in Berlin?"
Alix shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to be prepared," she told him, eyeing his circlet meaningfully. The security guard had given it a strange look when he had forgotten to take it off. She smirked. "And I imagine we'll keep on doing more of the same." Kim furrowed his brows. "Speaking of… up for a race?"
"Hell, yeah!" Kim retorted, eyes lighting up in excitement. "Where?"
Alix hummed, examining the terminal around them. "Let's see… From here to any Starbucks, and then to the gate. And you have to prove you actually went to the Starbucks."
"You're on," Kim agreed, dropping into a sprinter's stance. Ondine gave him a look and pursed her lips. His eyes widened in realization. "Um… one condition: Ondine gets to be the judge?" he tried, wincing. She frowned at him but shrugged.
"Fine." Alix tensed her legs and leaned forward. "Ready… Go!"
Ten minutes later, Kim walked slowly across the terminal toward their crowded gate. He could already see Alix and Ondine sitting together and whispering quietly. Alix said something Kim couldn't hear, and Ondine giggled into her hand. Kim could hear cackling from his sweatshirt pouch.
"I thought you were the competitive one!" Xuppu taunted. "How did you manage to get this far behind?"
"I mean, I couldn't exactly help it," Kim groused. "I probably picked the busiest Starbucks in the airport, and I definitely picked the slowest line at that Starbucks!"
"Well, I guess we know who the winner was…" the Kwami observed. "And I'm pretty sure it wasn't you, nitwit!"
Kim pursed his lips in distaste and didn't answer the Kwami as he approached the two girls. They had somehow managed to cram all their bags under the two seats, and there wasn't another unoccupied seat in the entire waiting area.
"You're late," Ondine observed, looking up at him in amusement.
Alix smirked mischievously at him and leaned back in her seat, lacing her fingers behind her head and raising an eyebrow. "Do I even need to say it?"
Silently Kim handed his second cup to Ondine, who took a sip of the smoothie and hummed. Turning to Alix she announced, "I guess he won."
"What!?" Alix demanded, glaring at Ondine dumbfounded. "The judge is biased!" Ondine shrugged and held up the smoothie. Alix turned on Kim and folded her arms. "Oh, I see how it is: you know you can't actually beat me, so you resort to bribery!" she huffed.
"You agreed to let her judge it," he pointed out.
"I should've realized you would conspire against me…"
Kim rolled his eyes in amusement. "So where am I supposed to sit?" he asked, looking around the seating area and frowning. Marc and Nath sat against the wall on the far side of the gate area, near an electric outlet, their heads close together over Nath's tablet. Nadine and Philippe were sitting on the floor close to them; Lila had somehow found a seat nearby. Aurore and Mireille had found open seats at the next gate, though none of their other classmates were together.
Ondine stood up. "You can take my seat for now," she told him, handing him the smoothie before heading toward the restrooms. "I need to stretch my legs."
Kim dropped into the seat and folded his arms behind his head, the smoothie in his lap. Xuppu phased his head partway through Kim's sweatshirt and snuck a sip of smoothie. Making a face, he turned and glared up at Kim. "No banana? What's the deal with that?"
"You know Ondine doesn't like banana in her smoothies. And anyways, someone's going to see you!" he hissed, eyes darting around the crowded gate area nervously.
"Please," Xuppu scoffed dismissively. "You humans are so oblivious I could pretend to be a statue and sneeze, and you'd think you were hearing things."
Alix snorted. "Didn't Marinette say Tikki pretended to be a cat once? And a doll?"
Kim grinned. "Fine," he conceded. "I guess for now my sweatshirt just has a hood ornament – a moving, talking, smelly hood ornament." Xuppu blew a raspberry at him. "Just make sure you leave some for Ondine when she gets back."
Xuppu made a face. "Without the banana, she can keep it."
Kim rolled his eyes and scanned the area for M. Kubdel and Mme Hartung. They were standing near the desk, well out of earshot. "So, now that dear old dad isn't listening, what do you think of this trip?" he asked Alix. "Really?"
She shrugged, blowing out a bubble. "I mean, the whole 'Nazi propaganda' thing wasn't exactly my idea," she replied. "But a chance to visit some museums and tour Berlin with a group of my friends? That sounds pretty awesome to me."
Kim hummed. It wasn't that he didn't want to go – he hadn't just signed up because Ondine and Alix and Nath and the others were all going. But at the same time… "Do you remember me telling you about Somalia? That trip I took with Chloe last fall?" he asked finally, letting out a breath.
Alix nodded slowly. "What about it?"
"There was just so much horror there," he explained staring down at the ground. "I didn't see what they were really doing – but what I did see, and the effects of their actions… that was more than enough to last a lifetime. How could people do that kind of thing to one another? And that Popo, sure, he was some other kind of messed up… but the others were just regular people – and doing terrible things to other living things." His eyes drifted across to where Nath and Marc huddled over Nath's tablet. "And those Nazis were a special kind of evil. After all of that… I'd just as soon put all the terrible parts of history behind me and not have to think about them anymore."
"People always are doing terrible things to each other," Xuppu interjected. "These Nazis weren't the first, and there's no way they're the last."
"More the pity," Kim muttered.
Alix pursed her lips, following Kim's gaze. "You're not exactly wrong," she admitted. "Dad's pretty excited about this trip, especially getting to introduce us to the German students. But with everything that war represents…"
"Not much peace between our countries during those years," finished Kim.
"It's not so bad," Ondine interjected. Kim looked up to find her standing right in front of him. She slid closer to him and put her hand on his shoulder to lean on him. "We get along pretty well with them these days, don't we?"
Alix raised an eyebrow and hummed in acknowledgment. "And I suppose you could say some of the problems that caused the Second World War were France's own fault for how we ended the first one," she agreed. Kim gave her a confused look. "Dad's been on a World War II kick for the last year straight, and Jalil is never around to listen to him anymore… so, lucky me," she muttered.
Kim wrapped his arm around Ondine's waist and handed back her smoothie. "Sure, but with all that being said, should we really put so much focus on the evil things the Nazis did? Couldn't that just encourage others to do the same?"
Ondine eyed the smoothie level suspiciously. "How much did you drink?" He shrugged noncommittally.
Alix cleared her throat, and gave them a deadpan look. "Well, if the two of you are going to be making dewy eyes at each other, I'm going to… go… and let you have my seat."
Kim grinned mischievously. "No need." Ondine yelped as he pulled her into his lap.