Träumer

It was the only the second day Emma had been in Berlin. She'd somehow managed to get a spot in the summer abroad program. She had wanted to go to France or Spain, but had been put into the German program because she had taken a few years of it.

She supposed there must be something good here if they sent her there for the history and literature program.

She had moved into a neat little apartment the day before - the dorms that were provided for the students at a very low rent were comparable to hostels - and was anxious to explore the city. She really didn't know much about it besides whatever simple things she'd learned in her German classes in high school.

It was a chilly January afternoon when Emma set out on the grey streets of Berlin, dressed in a mustard yellow jacket. It didn't feel right, being there.

She thought of being in Paris as she walked alone. Images of cafes and people smoking elegantly and French guys with rough stumble and wine and museums floated in her head.

Why did I ever take German?

When she turned back to Berlin before her, she realized already she was in a much more cheery part of town. There were bright neon lights above clothing stores and there were music stores and restaurants and theaters. Suddenly, it seemed like her semester wouldn't be so boring after all, and this was only a tiny section of the great city.

After deciding whether to let her insane tourist insincts kick in or to try and fit in with the rest of the city, she entered the movie theater.

Inside the theater lobby were posters of the current movies being shown. Some movies were American ones, translated into German or with subtitles, and others were strictly German ones. She settled for Arthur und Die Minimoys 2. She scarely remembered the first movie coming out back home a few years before, but not a second one.

Wonder why they like it so much here, she thought as she entered the dark theater. It was almost all full, but she managed to find a seat in the back row.

Must be opening weekend.

A wave of excitement rushed through her. Emma was suddenly excited to catch up on what little German she had learned. She was excited to meet the people, know their culture. She realized the only thing she really knew about popular German culture was well.. nothing.

The trailers began and Emma tried her best to keep up with the German, but in a matter of moments she was nearly laughing over how rusty she was. She wished she could pause the movie and put on subtitles, but it wasn't that easy. So she just sat patiently and tried to make sense out of what was on the screen.

Just as the movie began, a guy clad in black asked if he could sit next to her. Emma, a bit skeptical, realized the only seat open was the one to the right of her, so she allowed him.

The movie began and Emma was getting a massive headache from trying to keep up, so she stopped trying and stopped caring about the movie completely.

I should have gone to the subtitled movie instead. Most of them were in English after all.

Deciding it would be dumb to walk out ten minutes into the movie and blow her six euros, she started to steal glances at the mysterious guy next to her. She could barely even see his face, save for some sort of metal piercing and a few dark braids that escaped his hood.

He seemed to know she was watching him and turned to her. "Was?" he said harshly.

Emma, feeling hot and embarrassed, glued her eyeballs to the screen, afraid he would beat her up for looking at her.

"Wieso hast du mich angeschaut?" he asked. Why were you looking at me? Emma understood that one.

"I.. well.. I didn't mean.." she spilled out the word vomit in English. Oh please don't beat me up.

"Englisch?" he said softly, almost apologetically. It was hard to comprehend if he was angry at her or understanding, they were in a dark theater after all.

She nodded.

The guy let out a cough, which seemed to automatically switch him from German to limited English. His lip ring was clearly visible now as Emma faced him. She kind of liked it. "I will speak English to you?"

Emma nodded again. She smiled at the way he pronounced his w's as v's. So very German.

"Do you know me?" he asked, an almost scared expression on his face.

"Um.. no.." why would I?

"Oh, danke gott," he muttered.

"Should I know you?"

"Nein, that's no good," he replied and smiled. Emma felt compelled to return the smile. Hm.. he couldn't be too much older than me.. The corn rows are making it hard to figure out though.

Emma looked around the theater, which was filled primarily with young kids and their parents and teenaged girls who wouldn't stop giggling.

"So.. what are you doing here?" she asked. He didn't fit in at all with this crowd.

"Mein bruder asked me to see this," he explained and let out a half-sigh, half-laugh.

He has a younger brother. How cute.

"Wie alt ist er?" Emma inquired. How old is he?

This time he full-out laughed. "Zwanzig.. er.. twenty."

Emma felt an awkwardness creep over the two of them. A kid with a weird appearance, weird brother, an even weirder movie. Arthur had the voice of a tween girl that put too much sugar in her Kool-Aid.

"Would you like to get a uh.. coffee..?" he asked, obviously as uninterested in the movie as Emma was.

"With you?"

He nodded and bit his lip. The lip ring had to be how he lured everyone in. She didn't even know him, not even his name, but she left with him anyway.