Thursday, October 30th Did Sascha only imagine the curious looks, or was he really being glared at the whole time? Why couldn't his friend Alicia keep her mouth shut? A week ago, he told her that he was gay. Though she reacted positively, she evidently relayed the information to all her friends, and they to theirs, and so on. The news spread like wildfire throughout the school. Now Sascha had the unpleasant feeling that everyone was whispering behind his back. He hoped the situation would calm down quickly.

Monday, November 10th For a couple of days now, Sascha had noticed a boy from a lower class try to make contact with him. Peter would follow him regularly during breaks between classes. Evidently, he was too shy to talk to Sascha. Later, Peter took care to sit at the same lunch table as Sascha. They talked about trivial things, but Sascha sensed that the young man wanted to say something but did not trust himself. Sascha grinned inwardly. If Peter was gay and wanted to make contact, he would have to make the first move. If Peter made any kind of revealing comment, Sascha would hand him the address of the gay youth group.

Wednesday, December 3rd Sascha stood nervously in the hall of the apartment where the gay youth group always met. Nearby a couple of other boys were talking, but Sascha listened with only half an ear. He waited anxiously to see who should come through the door. Last weekend, he took part in a torch parade for World Aids Day with boys from the youth group. It had been a wonderful experience. About a thousand people marched with burning torches through the town and once more brought the image of AIDS and HIV into people's consciousness. Christian was one of the marchers. When Sascha saw Christian for the first time, his heart almost stopped. He had fallen in love with him in an instant. His sparkling eyes, the blond, wavy hair, the cute laugh, and his radiant charm all merged into love. Luckily, Christian was a friend of Klaus, and Klaus was Sascha's friend as well. Sascha spent the whole parade together with Christian and Klaus so he could chat with Christian. When Christian said goodbye, he indicated that he might come to the youth group meeting on Wednesday. That evening, when Sascha was lying in bed, he couldn't sleep; he felt the same way he had felt in his stomach last summer when he met Ralph. And now Sascha was standing at the entrance to the youth group meeting, waiting and hoping that Christian would show up. But no matter how long he waited, Christian failed to appear. Disconsolate, Sascha went home. The answering machine indicated someone had left a message. "Hi, Sascha. This is Christian. Sorry, but I'll not be able to make the. . . ." Sascha's heart bounced with happiness. Christian hadn't forgotten him.