Scene 6 A la fin du debut
"Au revoir, Jean." The words never left Julien's mouth. He raised a hand as the dark haired beauty turned for one last glance at him. Then, the Kraut grabbed Jean by the scruff of his neck and dragged him away. Forever.
The Kraut addressing the boys looked none too pleased at the distraction.
"As I was saying, what you French lack is discipline." Julien was furious now. Had he not been disciplined in his pursuit of Jean Kippelstein? Had he not been disciplined enough in hiding their secret? As soon as Julien thought it, he knew. No, he had not. He had given away the beautiful, dark, and mysterious Jean Kippelstein with one undisciplined turn of his head. Julien knew he would pay for that mistake for the rest of his life. He looked at the Kraut again.
"You boys, you will go to the train station, and there, you will wait for your parents to come and get you. And then, you will atone for your sins in harbouring the Juifs." He said this last word with a sneer. Like being a Jew was something to be ashamed of, Julien thought. Jean is a hundred times the man that you are. The boys began to leave, trickling past motionless Julien Quentin. He was all alone in this world, again. When he had just found Jean…
"Not you, boys." The Kraut was barking again, this time at the boys lined up against the wall. "You're coming with us." Julien glared at the Kraut. This was it. This was all the rebellion he had in him. Julien was too crushed to muster any other kind of courage against les Allemands. He watched as the numbers around him dwindled, until he was the only one left in the courtyard.
An hour passed, then two. Julien was still in the courtyard when Pere Michel found him.
"Julien, you'll catch a cold!" He stayed very still. Maybe, if he could stay still enough, he could pause time, or even reverse it. This time around, he would not give Jean away.
"The cold in my limbs cannot surpass the cold in my heart." Pere Michel looked at him strangely.
"I understand you are upset, young Julien. But it mustn't do to mope around like that. You care about him, but you're not in love, right?"
Julien swallowed the bile rising in his throat. "Non." That word. That word felt like a betrayal of everything he was.
"Bon. Come, let's go to the train station."
They left through the same door that Jean had been dragged. Julien whispered to the walls "Au revoir, Jean Kippelstein."
A la gare
"Julien! Julien! Mon cher fils!" Mme Quentin burst through the doors of the train. Julien didn't bother to smile. "I heard about Jean Bonnet. I am so sorry." She wrapped him in her arms and kissed him on the top of his head. Francois came over.
"Negus didn't escape after all." He looked sad, but not nearly as crushed as Julien felt.
"Maman. His name is-" Julien hiccupped. "was Jean Kippelstein."