Episode 2
Beach robbers and rednoses
“… suddenly they stood in the forest. It was so dark that they couldn’t see their hands in front of their eyes, nor did they find any trace of the thieves. But suddenly a noise: rustling and the breaking of twigs. They heard the sound of heavy steps approaching them. Tom and Bastian held their breath…”
“Oh, this is all bullshit that I am writing, I don’t have any good ideas,” shouts Max and throws his pen into the white sand of the French bay.
“Oh come on, it’s not so bad,” Paolo tries to console him, “I really like it.”
“No,” Max replies, “How in heaven can I write something really exciting if I never experience any adventures?”
Paolo frowns. “Everybody has some adventures from time to time.”
“You maybe,” Max says frustrated. “You seem to have the words “adventure” and “super hero” written right there on your forehead. But I never have any adventures!” Natalya and Thelma are lying in the sun next to the two boys, listening with broad grins to their discussion.
“Hey, super hero, would you put some sun-protection cream on my back?” Thelma asks Paolo who can never refuse this pretty-eyed girl anything. “Sun-protection factor 50 – isn’t that a bit excesssive?” he asks, looking at the bottle.
“Not everyone wants to have leathery skin like you,” Thelma hisses. “No?” Paolo replies and winks provocatively at her, “Tell the truth – you find it cool, don’t you?” Thelma snatches the bottle out of his hands and gives it to Natalya. “Could you please, Natalya? I think this guy is too busy with other things. And maybe you want to put some of it on, too? I think your nose is looking a bit red already.”
Natalya takes the bottle. “No, thanks”, she says. ”I have already put some on,” she declines because she is afraid that the greasy cream might worsen her acne.
“Mon Dieu! Mon argent, mon portemonnaie…” cries an elderly lady who has just come back to her towel from swimming in the sea. The four young people in the sun rise startled from their towels. “What’s the matter?” asks Paolo who doesn’t speak any French. “She says that her purse with all her money is gone,” explains Max, to the admiration of his companions who hadn’t understood a word. “She thinks she has been robbed. There appears to be a thief who has been stealing on this beach for months.”
“Is that really true?” Natalya asks Max mockingly. “Or have you invented this so as to have a fine horror story to tell?” The others are laughing. “No, I am serious,” Max replies. “Come on, guys, it’s not nice to lose your money, you can’t earn it so easily. Maybe we could do something to catch the thief? And help the lady get her money back?”
The others look at each other. “Not bad”, Paolo says. “Let’s hear your strategy! Go ahead, and we’ll follow you!” Max, who has been standing in the sun, staring up and down the beach, jumps back under the umbrella. “No”, he stammers, “and anyway, I haven’t put on enough sun-protection cream.” Paolo frowns. “Why are you always talking about this bloody sun-protection cream? You are sissies…” This is something Max cannot put up with. He thinks a while and then jumps out from under the umbrella. “I have an idea!”
Max draws his battle plan in the white sand. The others gather around him and listen to his explanations. It is noon. The sun is at the highest position of the day, and the bodies of our four friends barely cast any shadows on the sand. Max talks and gesticulates, the others listen and nod their heads. When they have all understood the plan, they go into action. The girls pick up their airbeds and walk into the water. They act as the lure. The boys hide behind a nearby sand dune . They are in an ideal position to observe the girls and their abandoned bags, and to catch the thief as soon he tries to attack. Thelma and Natalya paddle merrily in the sea. They look so distracted that a thief would have it very easy.
Max and Paolo are lying behind the dunes in the full sun, sweating. Nothing happens. It’s very quiet around them. They stare intensely towards the towels. The heat shimmers upon the hot sand. After a while Natalya and Thelma get tired and return to their towels. Paolo and Max give up. Max’s back burns and is red as fire. Totally absorbed in his role as detective, he has completely forgotten the strength of the sun. Disappointed, they gather at their place again.
“That was not exactly a success,” Max says, his face glowing red. “Maybe we should come back tomorrow morning and try again. The thief will almost certainly attack again very soon.” Paolo agrees. “Yes, let’s go back to the camp. I have had enough, and I have a bad headache”, he says, sounding rather exhausted, which is unusual for him. When the four friends have packed their belongings and pass by the elderly lady, they see her playing quietly and happily with her small dog.
She smiles at them. “This mischievous little devil,” she says, waving her hand in the dog’s direction. “He scared me so much. Didn’t he go and pick up my purse and bury it in the sand like a bone? He is supposed to protect me and find things for me, not pilfer and hide things. I thought a thief had robbed me. But thank God he was so proud he had to show me what he had buried, and so I have my purse back now… What a mischievous little creature!” The lady looks very relieved.
“Oh man,” Paolo and Max moan in one voice. “We lay there in the full sun and the heat for hours, to become the heroes of the camp, and now we find that the thief was a little dachshund, and what do we get?”
“Impressive sunburn,” says Natalya whose nose has become so red that it will glow in the dark. Thelma shrugs and smiles a bit. “Guys, you didn’t want to listen. Sun protection-cream isn’t such a bad idea after all – not just for sissies, but also for superheroes and detectives!”
“But it’s no cure-all either,” giggles Natalya and points to Thelma’s face and shoulders that are very red as well. “Tomorrow we’ll do T-shirt day”, the friends decide, and for a change they all agree with each other.
