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A Peculiar Day Pt. 5 - Confession 6

2014.07.05 11:56:48
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Hearing the bell for the last time was a great relief for Monika. She could finally put school out of her mind for the day and head home to read some books. Immediately she got excited to continue reading “The Judge and His Hangman”, intrigued to find out how commissar Bärlach would continue his case against Gastmann. Eager to get home she quickly copied down the homework from the blackboard and packed her things.

Her mind filled with ideas and theories about the book she made her way back home without taking note of the cold slowly creeping through her clothes. In her excitement Monika almost forgot to brush the snow off her boots before entering. Her mother loathed having the entrance muddied, but while she and Florian would both have to clean up after themselves if they forgot even once, for some reason her father would always get away with it regardless. Monika scowled at how unfair it was for a bit, but dismissed it again because there wasn't much point trying to argue with Anja about things like that.

Escaping from the snowy streets into the warmth of the house made her realize how cold she had gotten while she had wandered home. She quickly took off her jacket, scarf, cap, boots and soaked socks and hurried through the kitchen to the fireplace to warm up. The heat of the fire felt comforting, but at the same time made the cold even more obvious. Monika sneezed and started to shudder. Only now she noticed her mother sitting at the kitchen table, sipping on a cup of coffee, silently watching her. “Oh, hi” Monika managed to blurt out, embarrassed that she had completely missed her sitting there. Anja took another sip of her coffee and calmly asked “How was school today?” “It was a bit strange,” Monika replied tilting her head “first Mr Denzler didn't give us any homework, which is good I guess, but it doesn't usually happen. Then Mr Joost didn't arrive on time and I don't think he was prepared for the class at all and then for Latin some strange, raggedy man came instead of Mr Zaugg but we never heard about any of that from Mr Zaugg.” Anja seemed to try to recall something for a second and went on to ask for his name. “I don't think I've ever heard of someone like that. How odd.” Anja shrugged and looked out of the window into the snowy streets.

Feeling that the conversation was over for now Monika returned her attention to the fire. The slow flickering of the flames and the cuddly warmth made her mind go blank for a while. Then suddenly she remembered what she had been so eager to get home to in the first place. She jumped up and hurried to fetch the book from her room. On the way she noticed that Florian hadn't come home yet as his boots were still missing from the wardrobe, even though he should only have had morning classes that day. With “The Judge and His Hangman” in her hand and a thicker sweater on Monika made herself comfortable in front of the fireplace.

Written by shinmera