As he stumbled down the road, he could not concentrate.
His vision blurred, his head swam. That dream kept haunting him. Elise's figure beckoning to him with a seductie smirk on her face. It was not the same girl he had met yesterday. That girl was sweet, full of innocence. His dreams. Were they trying to show him what he wanted? What his innermost desires were?
The day went by fairly quickly. He managed to stay conscious during mathematics and history. Gym was a different kind of battle. Moritz suddenly began to feel self-conscious as he dressed. He was thin, but not muscular like Melchior. His skin was pale, but a sickly sort of pale. Why would Elise fancy me when I look like this he asked himself. All during gymnastics, Moritz noticed things about himself that he hadn't realized before. He noticed that he was a decent runner and his legs were beginning to tone. His arms were also beginning to gain muscle. His confidence increased slightly before class ended. The boost in confidence could not help him stay focused in Greek. He found himself dozing off about three-quarters of the way through the lesson. His daydreams were filled with a certain girl in bright-blue stockings..
Moritz entered the Latin classroom five minutes early. He trudged to his chair and collapsed in it tiredly. His eyelids were heavy. All he wanted to do was sleep peacefully for just one night. He could not focus, even on the blank chalkboard at the front of the room. The sounds of chattering entered the classroom and wakened the sleepy teenager for a brief moment. Georg and Otto entered, followed by a pale Ernst. "I can't remember! I can't remember it," fretted Ernst as he took his seat behind Moritz.
The passage!
Moritz reached under his desk for the Latin text book. He clumsily flipped throught the pages. His lips repeated the words on the page. He heard Elise's encouraging words in his mind. "You know this already. Do not fret and you shall be fine," her voice whispered to him. His heart slowed and his eyes scanned the sentence a dozen times.
"Moritz? You're early!" He glanced up at Melchior's surprised remark. He smiled weakly. "Y-Yes." Melchior nodded slowly and went back to placing his things. Moritz's eyes drew his attention to the lecture podium.
He could see her there, her legs easily sliding around the podium. Her dress length so short he could just imagine the undergarments coming into vie-
STOP IT! Don't think like this, especially in class with the others around.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen."
Hanschen strode into the room. He greeted Otto and Georg before walking over to Melchior and Moritz. "Guten Tag, Melchior," Hanschen said cooly. Melchior straightened his posture and returned to greeting just as coldly. Moritz met Hanschen's glare. "G-Guten T-Tag, Hanschen," stuttered Moritz. He knew he was not Hanschen's favorite person at the moment. He took that back; he'd never been Hanschen's favorite.
"Stiefel," the blonde said simply. He bent down so they were at eye-level. "You had best keep your distance from my sister. Otherwise, you will regret ever speaking to her." "Hanschen, it was completely innocent! They merely had a conversation," argued Melchior. "And they ran off together! God knows what deeds Moritz was planning on committing!" Moritz grew bashful and could not look at Hanschen. He hadn't been planning to do anything distasteful with Elise! He would never shame her in such a way. Elise was his friend..right?
He blocked out Melchior and Hanschen's bickering. Herr Sonnenstitch entered, his loud voice ordering them to review the passage for five minutes. The six boys opened their books and began to read silently. Moritz's eyelids grew heavy once more and shut. All he saw was darkness.
He could see the clearing again. It was glowing as if Heaven's light were shining upon it. He was in his white shirt and dress pants. Pure joy filled his body. Laughter escaped from his lips. "Moritz! Moritz come on!"
The blonde haired angel beckoned him and dashed behind the trees. He chased after her, coming to the pond. The body of water rippled as an acorn was thrown into the cool water. Girlish laughter filled the silent air. Elise twirled into his arms. Her head nestled underneath his chin as Moritz laid them onto the ground. Her pale hand rested on his rising chest. His own hand took hold on her thigh, which rested comfortably on his hips.
Those sky blue stockings mesmorized him again. He ran his hand over them, causing Elise to shiver. His eyes met her blue ones. "Are you alright?" Her voice cracked from nervousness. "I think so.."
His nose touched the side of hers, catching the young man by surprise. He had never felt so in control. He had never felt so close to a person in his life thus far. "Are you okay with.." He trailed off anxiously.
She brought her lips closer to his.
"Yes."
Herr Stiefel
Their lips molded together. Her sweet fragrence engulfed him. The scent of soap floated through his nostrals.
Panic stuck through his being. He couldn't feel anything. His lips, his body. Everything was numb!
"HERR STIEFEL!"
Moritz broke out of his fantasy, standing up immediately. "Sir!" Continue please!" He snapped to attention at the teacher's glare. It wasn't the first time Herr Sonnenstitch had caught him sleeping in class, but the third. The previous times, though, nothing as important as reciting a passage had been occuring. "Herr Stiefel," growled the man. Moritz mentally said the passage from the beginning. He had no idea where the class had left off. Laviniaque seemed like a good place to pick up from.
"L-Laviniaque."
He cleared his throat in an attempt to stall for time. The silence from Herr Sonnenstitch told the student that he was correct so far. Thank God, he thanked. His memory was suddenly blank. Why wasn't the rest of the passage famillar to him? He shut his eyes. Oh God, he'd gone over this so many times with Elise yesterday. The next part of the phrase flowed from his mouth smoothly. "Venit litora, multum..."
What was next? What was next?
"Yes?"
"Er.. ille?"
"Hm?"
"Er...Olle."
"Olle?"
Cold sweat came over him. His breathing hitched as it normally did in an uncomfortable situation. Damn it, he thought bitterly as Herr Sonnenstitch tapped the switch threateningly on the ground. "So then somehow, the Pius Aeneus has suffered much in the days still to come?"
Otto, Georg, and Hanschen began to laugh lowly. Another slap of the switch on the ground silenced them. Moritz tensed up. His fingers curled into a fist. Short, jagged nails dug into his palms. He knew what was coming next.
"Herr Stiefel?"
Out of his periphral vision, he could see Melchior glance upwards at him. Moritz swallowed the lump in his throat. His heart was pounding like a drum. His palms sweat. Herr Sonnenstitch stalked closer. He shut his eyes in preparation.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU ARE SAYING, HERR STIEFEL?"
"If you please!"
Mortiz's eyes opened and head turned in shock. The left side of Melchior's face bore the tip of the switch. His old friend stared down the teacher defiantly. Moritz's jaw dropped. He could not believe Melchior would take this for him. He felt guilty. If he hadn't been such a failure at Latin and hadn't been plagued by these dreams, this would not be happening. He could hear Ernst shift in his chair uncertainly behind him. From his point of view, he could see Hanschen lightly drumming his fingers on his lap with a blank expression on his face as his attention was drawn to Melchior. In fact, the entire class had all eyes on the radical, waiting for what he would say next.
"Pardon," asked Herr Sonnenstitch incredulously. "If you please, Herr Sonnenstitch. Can't you at least consider multum olle as a plausable conjecture for how the text might read?" Hanschen's eyebrows raised while Melchior spoke. You idiot, he thought. Just let Stiefel get hit and be done with it! He made an error and he should pay for it! Moritz caught Hanschen's glare at him and Melchior. He held his breath then tuned back into Melchior's confrontation with Herr Sonnenstitch.
"Herr Gabor, we are hardly here to conjecture about textual conjecture." The old teacher shot a look over to Moritz, who neutralized his facial features. He couldn't show weakness. Not in this school and definately not with Herr Sonnenstitch.
"The boy," he directed to Moritz, "has made an error." "Yes," agreed Melchior. "Sir, indeed. An understandable error. But can only entertain the fitness of the conjecture... multum olle introducing multa quoque."
Moritz's mind raced as he attempted to keep up with Melchior's arguement. He was so tired, he kept missing out on bits of the statement. His eyelids lowered again. This time he fought to keep them open and won.
"Herr Gabor, since the days of Claudius Denotus, nay, since the moons after Virgil's death, our world has been littered with more than sufficient critical commentary on textual conjecture." The teacher's calm voice masked a growing irritation that threatened to boil over. To Moritz, Herr Sonnenstitch was like a volcano that had been inactive for thousands of years. Ready to explode and cover everything in its path with molten ash and destroy it.
That target had changed from Moritz to Melchior.
"With all respect, sir, are you then suggesting there is no more room for critical thought or interpretation?" Melchior turned his head to his teacher with passion ignited in his eyes. "Why then-!"
The loud slap of the switch colliding with Melchior's chest echoed across the room. Everyone jumped at the sound. Ernst let out a squeak of surprise. Moritz felt a fire consume his chest, as if he were to the one to be hit instead of Melchi.
"I am confirming that Herr Stiefel has made an error," Herr Sonnenstitch coldly told Melchior. "And I am asking, nay, demanding that you amend this faulty text and proceed from there, do I make myself clear?" Melchior could only breath heavily in an attempt to regain his breath. His own chest throbbed with pain. His mask of defiance broke and pain became visible on his features.
Melchior could not speak. He wanted to scream at the man, to denounce him and this conservative, God-fearing town he lived in. But he couldn't. Not now. "Herr Gabor?"
Another hit. This time, harder. His head bent down, fingers twitched upwards. Next to him, he heard a sharp intake of breath by Moritz. "Gott," Melchior breathed. "Herr Gabor, do I make myself clear?" Cystal, thought the Gabor boy bitterly.
He picked up his head, looking surprisingly calm. "Yes, Herr Sonnenstitch. Litora multum ille!" Moritz sat down and looked at his hands. "All of you together! With Melchior Gabor! Laviniaque venit!" Melchior sat back down in his seat as the boys began to recite the poem. His hands folded in his lap. Moritz could feel the anger and frustration radiating off his friend. He felt incredibly guilty. If only he'd known what came next!
"..multa quoque et bello passus dum conderet urbem."
"Thank you gentlemen. Now, if you please, the following lines of Pius Aeneus' journey. From memory."
Herr Sonnenstitch turned away and walked back to his desk. The six boys pulled out their boards from under their seats. All that could be heard was the sounds of chalk hitting the black board and furious scribbling. Moritz took a look at Melchior. The other boy was biting his lip out of frustration while easily writing down the lines. "Melchi, thank you," he said to his friend in a half-whispered tone. "It was nothing."
"Still, I'm so sorry." He gestured with his chalk to Melchior's chest. Melchi gave him a half-smile. "Think about what Aeneus suffered," replied the Gabor boy. Moritz looked back. Herr Sonnenstitch was writing on some papers, completely distracted. He went back to Melchior. "Still, I should have known it!" He gritted his teeth. "Multum ille!" Melchior saw Moritz give him a knowing look of shame. His friend and Elise had gone over that passage for what seemed like hours, furiously concentrating on getting the "Multum ille" bit right.
Moritz's foot tapped rapidly on the ground. His senses wanted to shut down. His mind needed to rest peacefully. Hang on. Just a few more minutes.
"Moritz?"
Melchior's voice was concerned. He mouthed to his friend, "Are you okay?" Moritz shook his head. "It's just.." He glanced around to Hanschen. The blonde was focused on his writing. Relief washed over him. "I didn't sleep." Melchior shrugged at Moritz's excuse. "All night. In fact, I suffered a visit from the most horrific, dark, phantasm!" This perked Melchior's interest. "You mean a dream," he asked his skittish friend, who was writing on the board furiously without looking.
"Nightmare, actually!"
Moritz shivered as he recalled the dream that transpired. His eyes shut trying to picture it. "Legs, in sky-blue stockings, climbing over the lecture podium!" Melchior didn't understand Moritz's panicked tone. His friend's skin grew pale with fright, his eyes widening. Chalk dropped from Melchior's hand as he realized why Moritz was so shocked. "Oh! Thatkind of dream!" He wanted to laugh out loud yet the situation and timing was innapropriate. He smiled, amused, as he picked up the chalk and resumed writing.
Moritz leaned over. "Have you ever suffered such moritfying visions?" "Moritz, of course I have! Remember, I told you yesterday. And the entire class has." He nodded his head backwards. "Otto dreamed about his mother," he gossiped. A horrible taste filled Moritz's mouth. He wanted to vomit. Having such disgusting dreams about the woman who brought you into the world! His stomach churned. "R-Really?" Melchior nodded, equally as disgusted. "And Georg dreamt he was seduced by Fraulein Grossenbustenhalter!"
This was too much! Moritz's childhood classmates had been overtaken by fantasies of elder woman seducing them? It was bad enough that Georg wished to..couple with his older teacher. But Otto fantasizing about his mother? It was immoral!
"H-His PIANO TEACHER?"
He'd spoken too loud. A hard yank on his hair pulled Moritz to a half-standing position. He didn't need to look to see who it was. "Moritz Stiefel! I need hardly remind you that of all our pupils, you are in no position to be taking liberties!" The hold on his head and harsh reminder pained him. How could he forget his failing grade? Herr Sonnenstitch and his father reminded him every waking moment. "I will not ask you again!"
Moritz felt the hold release. He rubbed his pounding head. Melchior could only give him an apologetic look before they were forced to return writing. Ten minutes crawled by like a slug. "Gentlemen! Turn in your verses and put away your personal effects! I will see you tomorrow at seven A.m.!" The boys lined up and returned their boards to Herr Sonnenstitch, who gave them each a paper with their homework assignments. Moritz read it carefully. His stomach fell.
Quadratic equations, Greek and Latin readings. He would be up all night. If not because of the homework, because of the dreams. He looked up to speak to Melchior, who was bidding Georg goodbye. "Oh, Melchi. Sixty-lines of Homer, all these quadratic equations, I'll be up all night again. I'll be plagued by these dreams!" "Ah yes, your dreams," remarked Melchor, who was gathering his books. "Melchi, why? Why am I haunted by the legs of a woman?" Melchior chuckled. "A woman? More like a girl." "Still, why am I haunted by her very form?"
Melchior gave his friend a knowing look. "You feel an attraction for her, my friend. I don't blame you. She is very pretty, though I wouldn't dare try to befriend her like you have. I can deal with Hanschen, but only so much." Moritz groaned. "Why do occurences such as this always happen to me? I try to do something right and it ends up harming me in the end." Melchior sat besides Moritz. "Well, the Hanschen issue is easy to fix." "Not just that, Melchi! My dreams! Why do I have such a firm conviction that some part of my destiny and future involves the legs of a woman?"
The Gabor boy laughed out loud before calming himself at the concerned look on Moritz's face. "Alright then. Look, I'll tell you everything Moritz." Moritz's face brightened for a moment before paling. Everything? What did everything exactly mean.
"I read it all out of books! But be warned," he told the Stiefel boy. "It has made an athiest out of me."
Melchior opened his lips to speak before Moritz jumped onto his feet. Was Melchior insane? He couldn't listen to the explanation of biology and...intercourse in this institution! "No! Not here! I can't bear it! Not right now!" Moritz grabbed his items and ran to the door. He stopped in his tracks before turning back to a bemused Melchior. Oh God, he wanted to know. He wanted complete understanding about what was going on with him. He desired it, he craved it now.
"Melchior, do me a favor."
The curly haired boy nodded. Moritz scanned the room, paranoid. Herr Sonnenstitch was nowhere to be seen. He beckoned Melchior over to him, which the teenager did. "Write it down. Write it all down!" "Moritz?" "Conceal it in my stachel after gymnastics tomorrow! It is safer than giving it to me directly after Sonnenstitch's class." His cheeks burnt as he went to whisper again in Melchior's ear. "If you want, you may add some illustrations in the margin."
Oh Moritz, Melchior mused. So naive to the world around you. He disliked that the adults of the town refused to tell the children what was going on with their maturing bodies. Melchior was more than glad to help his friends reach a point of understanding and calm their fears. "Top to bottom," asked Gabor. Moritz's body trembled. Top to bottom? Oh, he knew he would regret this later. "Everything!"
The next day after gymnastics, Mortiz was a trembling wreck. He reached into his satchel and felt four lined papers shoved in the pocket. His insides quivered.
At last, he thought. Understanding.
"Mama, Wendla and Thea are here!"
Elise giggled excitedly when she caught sight of her friends at the door. Thea and Anna were finally over their colds and Wendla was not needed to do chores today. They had been wanting to spend time with one another for weeks. Finally, the friends were back together.
Wendla ran into the house and caught Elise in an embrace. The black-haired girl laughed with delight at seeing her friend at long last. "Oh Elise, it is good to see you again! How is your stomach ache?" Elise waved Thea over and hugged her as well. The Rilow girl's bleeding had been getting lighter. Gretchen told her that meant the monthly bleed would stop in a few days time. The cramping had gone away and she only felt slight discomfort.
"It is better. And your cold?"
Wendla nodded, her curls bouncing up and down. "Gone. My nose is just stuffed." "You do sound a little funny," Thea giggled. The girls laughed together before going to bid Herr and Frau Rilow goodbye. "Mama, Papa, we are leaving now! I shall be back with Hanschen!" "You girls stay near the pond or near one of our houses! Do not go near the artist's colony, do you hear," called Frau Rilow. "Yes, Mama! Goodbye!"
Martha and Anna greeted them near the church. The girls hugged and began to chat as they made their way to the pond. "Did you hear that Greta is getting married," squealed Anna. Elise placed her hand over her mouth in shock. "Really? To whom?" "Hans Meier," gushed Anna dreamily. "The forest inspector? She could marry better," snorted Elise. The other girls gasped. "But he is quite handsome!" "Anna, he is about as handsome as Hanschen is kind."
Wendla skipped ahead, linking arms with Thea. "Where do they suppose they are going?" Martha stood on her toes and peered far away. She grinned and turned to her two other friends. "A few of the boys are walking this way!"
"Who? Who? Is it Melchi Gabor," asked Anna hurridly, fixing her dress. "I do not know! Come on, let's catch up to them!" Elise picked up her dark green dress daintily and ran ahead of Martha and Anna. "Wendla! Thea! Wait for us!"
She felt the wind gently spread across her cheeks as she sprinted down the road. Wendla and Thea had stopped and were fixing their hair. Elise skidded to a halt in front of them. The sudden stop threw her off balance and she tripped into the arms of the boys. "A-Are you alright, Elise?"
Elise glanced upwards at the soft voice. "Yes, Ernst. Thank you for catching me." Ernst blushed. Georg laughed at Ernst's expression. "Oh, hello Georg! School just got out?" "Yes. Your brother stayed to speak to Herr Sonnenstitch, so he couldn't walk with Ernst. Elise clapped her hands excitedly. Wendla walked up besides her, greeting a silent Otto. The other girls had caught up with them after seeing Elise trip. "Lise, are you okay?" "Yes, yes. Oh, hello Otto! I did not see you there!"
"G-Georg, wait!"
A fourth boy ran up to the group and handed Georg a book. "Y-You forgot the L-Latin book." Elise met Moritz's eyes. The boy turned pale and bowed his head in greeting. "Hello, Moritz! Nice to see you once more. How are you doing." Moritz cleared his throat. "Very well, t-thank you E-Elise," he stammered, not looking at her. An awkward silence followed. Moritz tried desparetely to keep his eyes from meeting Elise's.
That essay. It completely changed his dreams. No longer was Elise fully clothed, her legs taunting him. He saw everything. It made his dreams worse! He could barely look at a young girl he passed on the way to school this morning for fear of an unwanted occurance.
"So, we shall see you all at church Sunday," interrupted Thea. She put her hand on Wendla's shoulder. The four girls turned away and began to walk to the pond. "Lise? Aren't you coming?" Elise saw Anna wave to her. "Yes, I am coming!" She turned back to the boys. "Good afternoon Otto, Georg, Ernst." Morit felt her eyes on him. "Guten Tag, Fraulein Rilow," he said, still not meeting her gaze. He dug the toe of his shoe in the road, watching Lise's black shoes walk away.
Once the girls were out of earshot, Otto turned to Moritz. "What is the issue, Moritz?" "W-What do you m-mean?" "You didn't look at her. You know that means you direspect her." He didn't mean to do that at all! "I meant no direspect towards Elise," he argued. Ernst crossed his arms uncomfortably. "I fear you may have made her feel bad," he told Moritz. Moritz chewed on his chapped lips. "I-I'm sure she didn't take it that way."
"You do not know this. She is a girl after all," commented Georg. Otto gave his friend a look. "And that matters why?" "Well, girls are more emotional than we are. Their feelings are more easily hurt than ours," he replied sheepishly. "Y-Yes. My sister's feelings are so easily hurt. A boy said her dress was unattractive and she cried for hours," Ernst added.
Mortiz took a tentative step towards the direction of the pond. "You really think she took it to heart?" Georg nodded. "Just go make nice with Elise before she sics Hanschen on you. You know how he hates you now." "Don't remind me," he moaned. Moritz shoved his hands in his pockets as he followed the road down to the pond once more.
"And the bodice is laced with a satin bow in the back!"
"Oh it sounds so beautiful," exclaimed Elise. She clapped her hands excitedly. Thea giggled with her and knelt down. Elise shivered and grabbed blanket Martha had brought along. She wrapped it tightly around her body. "Are you okay, Lise?" Elise nodded and grabbed Thea's hands. "Yes. Oh Thea, Greta's dress sounds absolutely beautiful!" She stood up and wrapped the long blanket around her waist. Elise strolled down to the riverside and twirled around. "My wedding dress will be long and white. It will have a large skirt and lace veil."
"Yes, you will have that if you ever do get married," Anna said, throwing blades of grass into the pond. Wendla picked up a few rocks, throwing them into the pond. "What do you mean if she gets married, Anna? Of course Elise will get married!" "Not with Hanschen as a brother, she won't, Wendla," retorted Anna to Wendla. Martha gasped, running over to cover Anna's mouth with her hand. "Anna!" Elise frowned at her friend. It was one thing to say Hanschen was annoying and overprotective. It was another to say that he would ruined Elise's future because of his behavior.
Anna crossed her arms. "Sorry, Lise." Elise's cold blue eyes met Anna's. It scared the girl to see how similar Elise and Hanschen were when they were upset. "It does not matter any more." Elise grabbed Thea's arm and pulled her up to the hill. "Thea, can you walk with me?" Wendla tossed the last of the rocks in the water. "I'll come too!" The Bergman girl turned back to Martha and Anna. "Will you two be okay if we go for a short walk?" "Yes. Anna, let us go collect some acorns." Anna nodded and walked away from Martha who ran after her.
"You think she is alright, Elise?" Elise shook her head and continued up the hill hurridly. "She shouldn't have said that about my brother. That was very rude of her to say I will never be married because of Hanschen!" Wendla strayed behind the other two girls as they gathered leaves in their skirts. The blanket tied around Elise's waist served as an apron, holding a large amount of leaves. "I know my brother is a nusience, but he must have good intentions, right?"
Elise's voice cracked with emotion. "Aw, Lise." Thea wrapped one arm around her friend's neck in a half-hug.
"Thank you," she sniffed. The girls continued up the hill to the road in silence.
They reached the top of the hill at last. Elise sighed and sat down on her knees slowly. She untied the blanket from her waist, picked up an armful of leaves, and stood again. "Ready? One, two, three!"
The girls tossed the leaves up into the air above. They burst into laughter as the colored leaves rained down on them. Wendla jumped up and down, twirling in a circle like a dancer. Thea spread her arms out wide shrieking in delight. Elise twirled around and reached her arm up to the heavens. She jumped around.
Elise stepped on her own foot, tripping herself again. She yelled out in shock as she fell to the road.
An hand grabbed her arms tightly, breaking her fall. Elise gasped out in shock at the close prescence. The messy-haired Moritz Stiefel knelt down beside her holding her two shoulders. "E-Elise, are you okay?"