On 9th, Tejka and Dragana came to let me in on the news, but mom kept sitting with us, so it was a long chat about nothing. When she finally left, looked conspiratorily left and right and... what's new? The news was that Tejka had an anonymous phone call. Some deep male voice asked about her dad. Yes you got the right number, but he's not here, and who are you? Then nothing, just silence.
Next day, same, repeat call. And Tejka and I got into a dispute about music - me being all underground and rock, her being the sugarwater sentiš romance type (Mišo Kovač, Dragan Antić, Kićo Slabinac - though the latter was actually a rock singer first, in "Dinamiti" of Osijek). Same on female singers - Tereza Kesovija vs Josipa Lisac (me being on the side of the latter). Then she delivered the final insult, accusing me of listening to all that crap for pure fashion. Luckily, Dragana calmed us down.
On eleventh on ruža Tejka announced a birthday (fourteenth), tomorrow at 19. And the mysterious phone caller was Patak, just playing a prank. On 12th, got downtown and bought her "All together" by Dave Clark 5 (which was on top lists some five months ago, which means that the world hits, singles at least, made its way here at considerable speed). She appeared around 19:20, carrying some candy, which she distributed for a kiss each (as was the custom, even at school) and cash (given to Patak and one more guy, who went to supermarket and bought wine and beer). We sat somewhere and had fun. Dragana got a bit drunk, so the dialog
guy: say, Patak, is it true that the romanian girls wear three skirts and three panties?
Patak: dunno, ask Gradivoj, he's been to Romania.
Dragana: they wear three skirts and three panties and I have on me just one skirt
Patak: and no panties
For this he got a failed slap, she missed.
Patak: ok, we well know that you have panties
me: well you may have them or you may not, just show it for evidence.
And so on, it was fun all the way. Around nine I escorted Tejka and then came back, then some of the guys wanted to go to the little market (two blocks away) to steal some fruit (nothing came of it, too early, nobody there asleep on the sacks and crates), then both B. twins and I walked around, passed under her windows (and had a chat, now I don't remember whether we just stood there or did she show up on the window). Finally split around 22.
Weekend 14th to 16th went with parents to Divčibare for a weekend under the tent. Bored to death. Nothing there. Didn't even see any nice girls, except in Mladenovac, some in Belgrade, but that was along the way.
Seventeenth Tejka and Dragana came, both slightly ill (everything and just leg). My belly was also woozy, I felt some nausea. Bad day.
Nineteenth, on ruža, the gang had a plan to steal a watermelon from the little market. S. and Rencika would kind of stand under a tree and accidentally start kissing, the peasants would be distracted, and the gang would sneak behind their backs. But they returned in a few minutes, carrying one. Stolen? Bought? Nope, got it for free. Allegedly the guy liked them or just thought it be better to feed them than to be stolen from, less damage. But it was green, so they went back and got another one. We ate that (Rencika didn't so we said she'll be the only one who'll sleep in peace, the rest of us would have the runs), then got another one from the guy, that one was green too, so we got the fourth one.
Now we all had sticky hands. S. tried one door but the guy didn't have any water in the yard. The next guy wasn't in good mood, it was 20:30 and he thought we were some street thugs, so S. got slapped. Turns out the guy was already known to N. (who was there only that evening, I don't even remember there was a guy with that name) as bad temper. Then someone remembered K. who lived nearby, and we washed hands there. She's a good looking blonde, easy giver, famous around the guys around here. Story went that she liked to have two guys, one per tit, just no fuck, only grabs.
On 21st, S. had a birthday, again on ruža. Finally connected that those two blondes from the river end were sisters. Nice (specially legs) both. Gradivoj wanted to make amends with Dragana but didn't do anything, just took a bottle of wine and sat alone on the side. Pretty much the same scene as last time (or was it last year already). Tejka sent her to him and then squeezed my hand, wishing them luck. Then she told me a bunch of stuff about Dragana, which I'm happy I didn't write down, must be all blown out of proportion and half invented. Even if the other half happened, so what, we were all a bit crazy then.
On 22nd dad asked me to go with him to Belgrade, he's got some chore to do so just for company. OK why not. Then there we went straight to RKB on Terazije, to cash the loan he got from them. We waited a whole hour for the paperwork and the expert clerk to appear, and then I got the 2x8mm camera (Quartz, wind-up, fixed lens 1:1,9 (!) with 0,5x wide and 2x tele adapters, USSR), 8 and super 8 mm (Cabin, Japan) projector and an enlarger (UPA-8, compact, collapsible, served for nine years and then Veca's husband bought it for some small money). Wow. Turned out it was Lazar who talked them into buying this for me, as I was the federal champion in movie techniques, plus ranked in top ten in the generation otherwise etc etc so if not now, when? All the shit we did last year was somehow forgotten... and there it was, I had the equipment. It did cost some, the projector was 1640, camera 710, enlarger 400 plus some.
Now I had the equipment. Picturemaking can begin.