In the morning went to dad's butcher, his son is a gastarbajter somewhere in Rudolf's area, so they're sending something. We all drank a couple there. Then walked downtown, they bought yet another dictionary - sixth, I'd say. Walking home met a neighbor, he just got a daughter and treats anyone he meets. Had another drink with the lunch, then Beate washed their stuff. Took a bus before evening, downtown.
There I bought cigs for her, wrapped them in a 450mm zipper, the strongest I could find. At Tekstil Dženk was waiting for his new girl, whom he lifted while someone else was simmering her. We got there, and the host says right from the door "wait, isn't she with you?" "she didn't come? Dženk, let's go to her, it's 100m" "but who'll translate for me while you're away?" "they speak serbian". Dženk points to his girl, who speaks some english, and then we go. She was home alone, so he took the hint and went back to Mariška. I entered and handed her the gift. I got a smile and a vinjak.
- where are yours?
- in Čurda, returning on first bus tomorrow, 13:00.
- and Arpi?
- in the neighborhood, with his gang. I'm waiting for a pal of his to give him something. If he's not here by eight, we go. Seen my prom dress?
- no, put it on.
Looks fairytale, but it's a summer dress so she quickly returned into trousers and sweater. (... 25 words...)
Dženk mostly sat with Rudolf, Hitler Kid played moronic music, the tapedeck pulled the tape badly, the party gained momentum slowly... until the wine started working. We actually drank beer (I got a čvrga again... not sure what we did that for, I guess who drinks up first hits it to the other). Then Beate asked for some prošek, which we also took, drinking with hands hooked while she was smoking so some of it ended on her sweater. Then she disappeared for a while, found her outside by the door where the barbecue was, dipping bread into the big plate with ražnjići. First she refused onion, then we vaccinated each other with it. (this became a habit of ours, if one eats onion, the other one eats at least a bit to neutralize)
Then we were alone in the bathroom for a while, while she was fixing up her makeup, and at five to midnight we came back to the main room. The firecrackers thundered, the fruškogorac was being cork-popped... Dženk had hard time opening it, even started shaking it but I stopped him on time, I opened it and luckily it didn't go to foam. Someone else (perhaps G. from radio club) wasn't so lucky, the cork hit his two artificial teeth, middle up, and kicked them out, carrier and all. So the crackers go on, we cough like horses, there's pieces of paper and glass everywhere on the floor, and go now search for the tooth. We asked Rudolf whether he saw it, as he was sitting with Beate on a sofa in a corner, and he asked "what color is it?". Some time before half one, she managed to find the both teeth together. Cramming it back didn't work, either too drunk or it cracked, who would know.
Then someone from Arpi's gang appeared, asking for the house key. She gave it and went mad, "now he screwed us well, they'll make a mess over there". We decide to go there, it's still better to at least... limit their territory. Yours to here, ours from here. We put on what we grabbed - she Beate's coat, me Mariška's dress belt, as my jeans were coming down. We got there and they took the farthest room - all other rooms are transient. The kids full of stupid tricks, tried to get me drunk. Gidoff...
- hey look at this coat, how the lining is badly sewn, by hand and all wrong.
And she sits to the sewing machine to fix it. Wish I saw her face when she notices.
- and what's this
- rum punch
- thanks nicely, after all this... (... 24 words...) This is Arpi's residence.
- what's he doing here?
- you see for yourself, in the summer drags himself in and reads comics.
(... 19 words...) Arpi dropped by to leave the key to the outer door, told him to leave it on the treshhold (yup, double aitch again, you won't fool me).
Afterwards we returned to doček. A part from a wedding in the neigborhood spilled over here, someone was already getting drunk with Rudolf and I just heard "šrajben obavezno!" (schreiben - write, in german; obavezno - obliged to, in serbian). Mariška was blabbering en large, part english part wine. Great fun but my legs aren't holding, so I complain to her and we went back to her place to take a nap. The two took for home - just asked for minimal directions to the nearest main street. Beate was completely confused, first thought she took someone else's coat, and then thanked sky high. I told her to wind the clock for four, and we lied under a dunja*, and agreed to really sleep this time. (... 7 words...)
The clock rang on time, I got up and sat down right away. Brow hot, head heavy as anvil. I sit. She looks for an aspirin. My tonsils like eight banks coin.
We go back to doček, not to be found with her in bed, there I lie on a couch and fall into a slight delirium, dreaming of her in infinite rows... at seven my head is already lighter, I am more rested, not quite to walk 5km, so I borrow Mariška's bicycle with almost flat tires. Meet Jozda downtown. I get home and hear weird sounds from the bathroom - Beate got the runs. She says they arrived at four and there was still someting on TV. In Germany it ends at 2:00. It goes until 9:00 here and then it switches into the next day's programme. That's doček.
After lunch, he and I go to Dženk, drank cezar and discussed what's the progressive now and how to fight. Rudolf says the long hair is now okayed over there, institutionalized, he'll cut his like a hedgehog just to counter it. True, later in the afternoon we saw "Chicago" with "If you leave me now" - all neat and shiny and made up to look nice and cuddly. Nobody said sellout, but we thought it.
Beate stayed at home... When we returned, found Veca and Sneca. In the evening went to concert of Vlada and Bajka on the higher. Filled in by Pa šta onda and Gile. Gile shat some about Omege, though he was right there... Of course, someone (from ruža) had to wask "whichisVladaandwhichisBajka", to which one of them answered. Rudolf asked the same of me, and I didn't know then, still don't know (I'd say the curly bighead should be Bajka, but not quite sure).
- did you notice I was drunk?
- yes but you looked normal
- have you ever seen me normal?
On wednesday, 2nd of january, mostly lazied around the house. Beate arrested from me the album by Melanie, I went and bought it again later. They packed and then feathered away in the morning.
Third, school gray and boring. In the evening, by car and right on time, got to the movies to watch "What's up, doc" by Piter Bogdanović. Some gang from kinta were behind us, among them some guy who claims to be born in Solingen. The movie is a live pee (in our slang terms, extremely funny), both belly and neck hurt me afterwards, we sat in the first row. Tried to roll my coat as a pillow, only got ass gone asleep.
On saturday (5th) some rush at school, I think it was two days in a row that I played a dactilographer in the staff room, retyping some texts for the "cultural-arty society" aka folklore sekcija, so didn't have time for many things, including a shave. So I had to promise this was the last time... or, better, went my place and I shaved. She kept me company, and said it doesn't look that difficult to do... except it was so funny to see her imitate my chin moves, lucky to have not cut myself while laughing. Spent the evening in my room, showing slides (mentioned which ones - don't have those anymore).
On sunday no see, she had some rush and I was cramming for the next week. I finished physic on saturday, Marko Bozon asked me about Fresnel's mirrors and when will I cut my hair. The first got me a five, the other got us a deaf conversation, we were both speaking our own texts and ignoring what the other said.
I wrote to her on wednesday (diary says 10th but calendar says wednesday is 9th). Mess hall in the school again (didn't write who and what we ate - we almost never did, so this is an event). Bilja fucked up, said she'll be late because there's a party meeting, electoral conference, after school. Except the school director was having a paprikaš in the school in her village that evening, hosted by the school director, her father. Ouch.
She wrote to me, [it] arrived on thursday, in my memoirs style, about dentists, colloquiums and some professor who by some accident appeared to turn out male. Rudolf also reports arriving home fine.
Wrote her back same evening, how I got problems with granma. She's stuck in what she remembers of my behavior of 5-6 years ago and keeps repeating her tricks of then. Her room is behind mine, my room is passthrough, so we meet often, she brings out my linnen in the evening, as my bed is a couch during the day. Well, she's a woman of age (well she was 61 then, and I'm 65 as I write this and I don't think I became that set in my ways). Also, my right thumb is a bit stiff, what should I do, is that normal, I'm thinking of the worst**. (I got that thumb squeezed into a door, between the pane and the jamb, in fourth grade elementary, eight years ago)
Bilja drove her sister, Zova and Bajče (all from same village). She created a 15 car queue on main street, waiting for pedestrians to pass. Few more pearls - cut a curve over the curb etc etc.
Zova came by on saturday evening. Comes across as qute confused, almost felt sorry for him. Or was he just gaping at my room.
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* a comforter sized bag full of feathers. That's what we used to cover ourselves. Granma had one or two. It's perfect, you don't need any heating. Perhaps one warm brick under it, to just start the heat, your body then provides the rest.
** the whole sentence is styled after the intimate advice column which was frequent in the lighter magazines - from womens', fashion, youth to Čik, which was bordering on soft porn. "Thinking of the worst" was a code sentence when contemplating suicide.