‘No!’
She’d sighed again, and left muttering about being ganged up on… and needing a drink. ‘You two are worse than all my patients combined.’
Mutti was a head nurse at the University Hospital Eppendorf. She organised a team of over a hundred staff. Their father was an orthopaedic surgeon and he worked in the same building. He fixed people’s bones for a living.
The twins played cards until dawn that night, listening to the sound of their parents speaking in the front room and the noises they made when putting the kettle on for yet another cup of coffee.
As Jürgen uncovered a Jack and an ace, giving him the winning hand to Asta’s three, seven and two, he called, ‘Siebzehn und vier.’
As he looked up at her the dawn sun was painting the sky the colour of apricot. The wintry air was cold and crisp and the clock on the bedside table struck five thirty; they were already late for Polgo and the gorilla.
Asta looked at the clock too and frowned. Then she picked up the cards and shuffled them. ‘Another round?’
Jürgen nodded, feeling a deep ache inside for something he couldn’t put a name to. Something had shifted since they’d returned home the day before. It would only be many years later when he realised it was the moment they’d begun to put their childhood behind them.
They never did dress the gorilla mascot in Polgo Hausman’s water taxi again.
6
At school, the Jewish teachers were seen huddling together and speaking anxiously. There were a few children whose parents were in the Nazi Party, who had begun to walk around the place as if they owned it. Like Udo Van der Welt, who told his friends that the teachers would soon be out of a job.
The end of the school day couldn’t come fast enough for Jürgen. After he left the boys’ grammar school, he waited for Asta outside the girls’ secondary school, a five-minute walk away. They took the long route home, walking past the canals, their breath fogging the air in front of them. Neither of them noticed the cold as Jürgen told Asta all that had happened.
‘Of course, that wimp, Udo, never dared say that the Jewish teachers were out of a job to their faces. Just told a few of us at break – he was looking at me when he said it, though, like he was hoping for a fight.’ Jürgen balled his hands into fists. ‘I was close, I’m not going to lie – but I thought I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. So I just whistled, as if I knew something he didn’t, and said, “We’ll see,” like I knew better. I could tell it made him furious because he kicked over the rubbish bin. Luckily the biology teacher saw and he made him pick up all the rubbish by hand – and it was full of grotty things from lunch!’
‘Good,’ said Asta, shortly. But she had a faraway look, her face turning hard and cold. She crossed her arms, hunching over in the wind.
‘What’s with you?’ asked Jürgen.
She looked at her twin and her violet eyes glittered. ‘Karen told me that she can no longer be my friend. Apparently, her parents are friends with Udo’s and they were told that the time had come to choose a side.’
Jürgen’s eyes widened in shock. Karen had been her best friend since kindergarten – well, besides Jürgen.
Asta nodded, looking glum. ‘Her mother said continuing a friendship with “those twins” would be “unwise”.’
Jürgen grinned. ‘Well, it’s never exactly been wise to be our friend. Not unless you enjoy visiting the head teacher every few weeks.’
‘Yes,’ said Asta, who didn’t return his smile for once. ‘But this time it’s because of who we are – not for what we’ve done.’
‘That’s worse.’ Jürgen kicked a stray bottle out of their path; it rolled onto the street and made a satisfying crash. They couldn’t help who they’d been born.
At school, Udo had become insufferable. His smug face was there whenever Jürgen crossed the threshold, and he was always speaking of how things were about to change – how soon they wouldn’t be allowing Jews into ‘his’ school. Jürgen did his best to ignore him but it was hard.
He bided his time, then one day, during a biology lesson, he found his moment.
It had meant using the last of his savings but it was worth it to buy Hennie.
He hugged the glass jar to his side, as he unscrewed the lid, creeping softly from his seat, while the teacher’s back was turned. Then he upended the jar with Hennie inside straight onto Udo Van der Welt’s hair.
Jürgen was already back in his seat by the time Udo had begun to scream and claw at his hair, jumping off his chair so fast it crashed onto the floor.
‘Get it off, get it off!’ screamed Udo.
No one made a move. Not even the teacher.
When Udo started to cry, Jürgen finally stepped forward, to scoop up Hennie into his outstretched hands.
‘All that fuss over a spider,’ he tsked at Udo.
Udo’s fear-filled eyes flashed to hatred as realisation dawned.
‘They’ll expel you for this. I’ll make sure of it – I know it was you.’
‘They’ll have to prove it was me first,’ said Jürgen.
‘Who else would have brought a tarantula to school?’ he shot back.
Despite Udo’s threats, none of the other boys snitched on Jürgen, even though one of them must have seen him with the jar. There are few things worse in the schoolroom than a snitch.
Still, he was called into the head teacher’s office, and of course they found the jar which held the spider he’d recaptured. He wasn’t expelled, but he soon wished that he was.
The head teacher, Herr Weimar, closed the door, then leant against his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose.
‘I’ve just had a visit from Frau Van der Welt, who is most distressed about this stunt you played on Udo. She wants me to expel you… is that what you want?’
Jürgen shook his head. His school fees were expensive, and his parents made a lot of sacrifices to send him here. They would be livid.
The head teacher sighed, then took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes.
‘Then, I have to ask you, boy, are you stupid?’
Jürgen blinked.
‘It is not a rhetorical question.’
‘Um, I—’
‘I must surmise that you are indeed stupid or woefully naive,’ said the head. Then he picked up a file. Jürgen could just see his name on top. It was worryingly thick.
The head teacher opened it and sighed. ‘It’s full of pranks – mischief… dressing up the school cat.’ He gave a small snort. ‘I remember that. Stealing the janitor’s keys… ah, and yes, how could I forget the day your sister came disguised as the new pupil, “Anton”. It seems you had a few of the teachers fooled for most of the day…’
Then he slammed the file shut. ‘These things, Jürgen, these pranks, need to exist in the past, do you understand me?’
Jürgen shook his head.
‘You seem to not be getting something that is rather obvious.’
‘What?’ Jürgen asked.
‘Things are changing and I can tell you one thing,’ he said, touching the file, ‘time’s up.’