"HELSINKI-FILMI PRESENTS" "Are you okay?" "Ouch..." "Fuck!" "I just wrecked my car!" "I swallowed my tooth." "Chewing gum takes seven years to digest, - so a tooth will take at least as long." "Why were you smiling to yourself?" "It's distracting." "Can I call your mom or dad?" "Don't smile." "Life will hit you in the face if you're happy." "Fu..." "The bell rang." "Get inside." "Holy crap." " Give it to me." " What?" "Why should I?" "The choices you make now - will determine what kind of person you'll become." "Choose weed and you'll become dorks." "Choose booze and you'll become depressed dorks." "If you choose speed..." "That choice won't make you prime ministers." "Which is good because this country will be better off - if you don't become prime ministers." "Choose booze." "Suck your mom's dick." "Good answer." "Nice." "A HELPING HAND FOR A CHILD" "Thank you." "13 euros 70 cents." "It's for a good cause." "HEADFIRST" " Where's the kid?" " Don't you want to know what happened?" "Where's the kid?" "Open the fucking door!" "Shut up!" " What's that?" " A report to Child Protective Services." "No, no, no." "I'll take her to another school." " You'll be rid of her." " No." "I'm pressing "Send."" "No, I'll go to social services, sort everything out - and register her at another school." " No..." "Or I'll hang you from the flagpole by your necklace." "Dad." " What?" " So you managed to find your way here again." "Yeah." "We're moving." " Where?" " Away." " Will I see you again?" " No." "Here." "Call them." "They'll give you a job." " A junkyard?" " You always managed to turn shit into even more shit." "Use your talent." "Maybe you'll also get a couple of new stories for your collection." " You need money?" " No." "I've got 20 euros." "Right." "Bye." ""The rabbit gives the orders;" "Man obeys." "Don't abandon love - so it won't abandon you."" "Why don't you just screw off, tea bag." "I didn't smoke weed in the toilet." " Well, someone did and we need a scapegoat." " But it wasn't me." " Junkie." " Fuck!" " A swearing junkie." " Fucking hell!" "You're a junkie who swears a lot" "Just earned one more hour of detention" "Hell no!" "I can sell you speed." "Matikainen from 9B was sent to involuntary treatment last week." "His medication is still here." "Who are you?" "Can I have a piece of gum?" "If you do the assignment on the blackboard." ""Tell three things about yourself." "Remember to smile."" "Three things you've never told anyone." " One:" "My mom had me when she was fifteen." " Good." "Two:" "I don't know who my dad is - and my mom doesn't know who her dad is." "Mom only knows what my grandma told her:" "Her dad had an ugly tattoo on his left shoulder - and he got my grandma pregnant in the backseat of a Nissan." "Three:" "Some day I'm gonna get on a train - and get out of this place." "After years I'll bump into you, - and you'll see in me what you never had the guts to be." " How many times have you switched schools?" " Six." "I don't have to earn your gum." "I stole it when you weren't looking." " And your name is?" " Takku Kurhinen." "Clean the blackboard." " Tell me your story." " No." "C'mon." "I'll give you a ten-euro incentive bonus." "That's a fiver." "Whatever." "Everyone has the same story." "Everyone says they had bad luck." "I'm sure the bad luck ends at some point." "Have you heard of Tsutomu Yamaguchi?" " No." " He was a traveling salesman." "He was in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb exploded in 1945." "But he survived." " In a week he returned home." " His bad luck ended?" "He lived in Nagasaki." "Think about that." " Listen." " What?" "Don't tell anyone what you just told me." " Because teenagers are cruel?" " No, because people are cruel." " Your last name is Kurhinen." " Yup." " Your mom's name is Essi." " Yeah." "The board is clean." "No, it's not." "I can't hear you anymore." "I ripped my eardrums out." "What the hell?" "Fuck no!" "No!" "No." "Oh, look." "It's the Nuclear Bomb Man." " What's the story of this car?" " Isn't this a junkyard?" "There are no stories here." "They end here." " The backseat in this model is good." " Oh yeah?" "Yeah." "I once had a woman who drove a car like this." "She was a cleaner." "Her hair always smelled of detergent." "I really... have to... go." " Is it really that heavy?" " What the hell is that?" "It's a mask." "I found eight different kinds in the trash." "Check these out." "A bear, elk and an ostrich." "Or whatever this birdie is called..." "I could go and rob the convenience store next door eight times." "Or nine, if I decided to use my own face the last time." "Put your work clothes on and help me." " What are you so worked up about?" " I don't know..." "I might've found something I've been looking for for years, - but I don't have the guts to do anything about it." "I understand." "You should chill." " Nothing is black-and-white, you know?" " No." "Pandas are black-and-white." "That sucks." "Bye." " Who was that?" " My mom." "What did she have to say?" "All kinds of stuff." "We talk about everything." " Like what?" " About what sucks." "About my dreams." "About everything." " What's your dream?" " I want to buy my girlfriends chicken fillets." " What?" " Chicken fillet bras." "It's this rubber stick-on bra you glue to your tits." " They're so hot." " Go buy them." "I'm sure they're not that expensive." "I've always been so broke - that I never even dared to dream of chicken fillets for my tits." "What are you doing?" "I'm trying to Google if my teacher would grow tits - if I laced his coffee with estrogen." "But this shitty computer isn't working." "We don't have a computer." " If we did, it would be shitty." " C'mon." " Monkey." " Stop." " You're my monkey." " Stop!" "Let me go!" "You fuckin' maniac!" "I fixed it." " You don't have to hitchhike." " I wouldn't have hitchhiked." "I either walk or sit behind the wheel myself." "I've had my share of riding in the backseat of guys' cars." "It felt like a prison." "If you're who I think you are,   you have a granddaughter." "Want to see her?" " Maybe." " Your shoulder..." " What about it?" "Nothing." "How's your mom?" "You must've been close." " Flowers and everything." " Hell no." "She was allergic to carnations." "They made her choke." " What about that?" " She hated him." "She'd throw a radio at your head if they played one of his songs." "I understand you want to sort things out with your parents." "I managed to sort things out with my parents." "They're dead now." "There's nothing to sort out after that." "If you need anything, call me." "Okay, girls, go run with the others." " I'm a boy." " Running is for other people." "I don't run." "Get up now." "Run one lap and you'll get a reward." "Running is for other people." "For sitting, you get a urinary tract infection." "Are you doing homework?" "!" "Nerd." "What a nerd." "By the way, the right answer is 7." "Don't write "7" or the bridge in the exercise will collapse." "I can't run either." " Running is for other people, huh?" " Where's my reward?" "It'll be on your report card." "You'll get a B." "Are you serious?" "A freakin' grade!" "What the fuck do I need a grade for?" "I gotta go." "Someone's trying to take over my market." "Hi." "You want weed?" " How much?" " Make me an offer." "Let's talk." "Nice talking to you." "Douchebag!" "You're an asshole!" "Taneli!" "Taneli!" " They said I can let you out if you've calmed down." " I haven't." "I don't care." "Long time no see." "You still look like a dick with an angelic face." "I missed our conversations." "We had the best ones when you didn't say anything." " You liked my presence?" " I liked it when you kept your mouth shut." "Wait." "I'll take care of this." "What's up, kiddo?" "C'mon." "Let's talk like two adults." "Shut up, both of you!" "Get your ass in the car." "They replanted my tooth." "I just hope it was mine." "Matikainen from 9B hit himself with a shovel   and knocked his teeth out in the same spot." " Why?" "Because he's Matikainen from 9B." " But your daughter Tiina..." " My name is Takku." "Takku might benefit - from being in special education." " Special education?" "Code word for taking her into custody." " You don't have to be afraid of that." " You wouldn't do that?" "No." "Takku needs someone to keep an eye on her at school." "Get her someone." "There's no funding for that." "Only for custody cases." "If you don't find anyone by Monday morning, - the principal will put her in special education." "I was wrong." "You don't have an angelic face." "You're just a dick." "Stop." "In life they'll take your ass from you - if it isn't attached to your body." "Even if you haven't done anything, you'll lose everything." "Don't give them a reason." "The world will slap you in the face even without a reason." "It's okay." "I still got ten euros for gas." "You got twenty euros?" " For what?" " For gas." "I had ten euros but I lost it." "What took you so long?" "The religion teacher's jacket was the only one that had a wallet." "I want this back." " I don't steal anymore." " I do." " With this salary, I can't afford..." " Clock radios?" " New teeth." " Right." " One thing." " Yeah?" "I wonder how it would've been between us - if you hadn't disappeared." "Like that." "How did it feel?" "I think I could've learned to like it." "I need a favor." "Go away." "This won't end well." "My daughter needs someone to keep an eye on her at school." "You're her grandpa." "I got kicked out." "There's beer in my refrigerator." " Go get it and then I'll consider it." " Okay." " You got the keys?" " I don't." "The balcony door is open." " What the hell?" " Where's the refrigerator?" " See ya." " See ya." "Thanks a bunch." " What was the point of all this?" " To teach a lesson." "Go away." "Don't call." "I do shitty things to people." " Help me." " No." "It's not possible to help people." "What the hell?" "Non-alcoholic beer." "What kind of assholes drink non-alcoholic beer?" "Holy shit!" " Hello?" " It's Essi." "Who?" " It doesn't matter." "I dialed your number randomly." "Huh?" " Because I'm fed up with everything always being my fault." "I called to tell you that this is your fault." "What is?" " Everything." "Everything is your fault." "But I don't even know you." "Stop trying to avoid your responsibility!" "You can finish it." "I wonder where the fuck they think they're flying to?" "Somewhere pretty." " You have to dip the mop in water." " But then it'll get dirty." " Tell me your story." " I don't have one." "Everyone does." "We'll never win a singing contest - or graduate with a master's degree in economics." "The fact that we work here at this age means we're failures - and that we have to drink beer in the middle of a workday." "Oh." " You're wrong." " Explain." "If I do good things, good things will happen." "I feed a rabbit that lives near my dormitory." "I tell him about my dreams." " Does he tell you about his?" " Of course not." "He's a rabbit." "Rabbits don't talk about their dreams." "He just says I can tell him about mine." "The rabbits talked about you." "They wanted to tell you something." "Where are you going?" "I'll do it." "But only if you tell me your story." " Can you stop drinking?" " No." " Can you hide your drinking?" " Yeah." "Where did that scar come from?" "My stepbrother stabbed me with a math compass." "You'll hear the rest if you do your job." "You sound like a Finnish pop song." "He's your grandpa." " He's your dad and my grandpa?" " Yeah." "Serves you right." "But it's so damn unfair to me." "He'll keep an eye on you at school." "Fuck off." "I ripped my ear drums out." "Don't call me again." "I couldn't resist your mom's kindness." " Why are we walking?" " I don't have a bus card." "This is the first time in five years I've woken up before eight." "You want to hear words of wisdom or other grandpa stuff?" "No." "When I was a kid, I heard a story that explained everything." "After that I could understand life, and things got better." "Everything was alright." " What was the story about?" " I can't remember, dammit." " Maybe you'll remember it again." " I've tried to find it." "I'll go outside for a moment." "If I hear even the smallest noise, I'll wrap you all in a mattress." "What's my job?" "Sit next to her, count the days till the end of the ninth grade - and make sure she doesn't beat anyone up." "Just keep an eye on her, okay?" " Because of your teeth?" " Because of her mom." "Welcome." "You look like you like to glue things too." "Fuck da police!" "NON-ALCOHOLIC BEER" "Yes!" " Drugs make teenagers violent." " I'm not using anything." "I know what your problem is." "When I was a kid, I could throw a ball really far." "I thought I'd be the best ball thrower in the world." "Then I found out I had a congenital heart defect - and that I can't do sports or drink alcohol." "Imagine not being able to drink alcohol in Finland." "I still carry this ball with me, but it's wrong." "My dream is eating me alive, yet I cling to it." "Don't do the same." "Give up your dream before you start doing drugs." "Fuck off!" "I'll fuck your fucking car up!" " What are you doing?" " Imagining I'm a rock." "This is for you." "A memento for you." "I saw where Lasse's tooth fell." "I was bored in woodworking class, so I made that." "Thanks." "I disinfected it." " Why do you want to be a rock?" " Throw one." "Cool." "I buried them over there." "What are they going to do to you?" "They'll put me in an institution if I don't stop beating people up." " Sorry." " You killed it!" "It was an accident!" "Stop hitting me!" "Fine, go ahead and fucking hit me!" "Shit..." " You can hit me if you want." " I don't want to." "Hit me!" "So you hit girls." "These make orange smoke and smell more like shit than shit." " If I died, I'd curse my mom." " How?" "I'd give her gas." " What do you have against your mom?" " I pity her." "I'm smarter than her." "She's older than me, so she'll die before me." "I like my mom." "She's one of the few people who like me." " What about your dad?" " I know nothing about him." " What would you do if you ever met him?" " I don't know." " See you tomorrow." "I'll go order the chicken fillets." " Bye." "Your dad is one sharp gentleman." "You wanted someone to keep an eye on her;" "You got that." "How does the tattoo on his shoulder look?" "I gotta get a new beer keg." " I haven't checked his tattoo." " Why not?" "If he doesn't have one, " "I'll be without a dad and my kid without a supervisor." "So you prefer imagining he's your dad?" "I don't imagine anything." "Things are what they are." "I just don't check what they are." "Remember this?" "What story are you telling about that these days?" "Whatever I think people want to hear." " You always bullshit." " For some people bullshit is real." "Catch." "Wow, that thing is still running." "You hung out with guys who were five years older than you." "You seemed wild and free in the backseat." "You were cool." "Go out with me." "We don't go on dates here." "We get drunk and let nature take its course." "You know that." "I'll forget about the 20 euros if you go out with me." " I still won't." " I could help your daughter if..." "Don't blackmail me, - or I'll test how much you really like me beating you up." "I'm not blackmailing you." " I have a heart defect but I'm not heartless." " Fuck..." "It's a cold night." " Will you give me a ride home?" " Walk." "I'm colder." "Here." "I got you one too." "Take it with you." "I'd throw it away." "Where the fuck is my bus card?" "No more walking to school." "Of all the people I know, you're the second least annoying person." "You'll have to run if you want a grade." "If you don't, - you might as well sign up for unemployment benefits, - disability pensión or outpatient care." "But you're not running." "You're sitting there just like your mom used to." "Leave her the fuck alone!" "You don't have to run." "Let's go around the corner." "I'll teach you how to smoke." "You go first." "I'll be there in a minute." "You're gonna be in deep shit." " What if I hit another rabbit?" " C'mon." "Aim at the window." " Where are we going?" " I don't know." "Check the glove compartment for keys." "Just gloves." " You have a driver's license?" " No." "I'm underage, moron." "Are you a lesbian?" "If someone gets pissed off because I am, then I am." "If no one does, I'm one anyway." "Or not." "Depends on my mood." "If you get a girlfriend, can I touch her boob?" "Rain is so fucking cool." "Why did you run when you didn't have to?" " Running is the best way to get away." " An airplane is better." "I used to run away into the forest." "I'd do it pretty often." "Then I realized the forest isn't that different from other places." "It's the same in a different way." " Did you stop going there?" " No." "I had nowhere else to go." " We won't find her." " We can't stop." "We have to keep walking." "It doesn't matter how much you love your daughter - and how hard you look for her." "You and I won't find her." "You're wrong." "We can walk around all night long, but we won't find her." "I'm not looking for her because I like her." "When I found out I was pregnant with her, I was so mad - that I broke the windows of all the cars on my street." "Then I waited for the owners to show up." "I hated the guy who put her inside me so much." "I thought, what if she turns out to be an idiot." "What if she listens to shitty music?" "But then she was born." " And she melted your heart?" " No." "I looked at her and realized no one wanted her - and that pretty much everyone rejected her." "Even me." "She was lying there covered in blood and shit, - and I realized I have to be on her side." "I have to take care of her." "Is that a good enough story for you?" "Why didn't you leave me there?" "Because the world is shit." "We're not." " Goddammit." " Don't hit her." "I'm not going to hit her." "I can hit you." "I understand." "This is the magical empire of East Vantaa - where dreams don't come true." "They get run over by a car, - dragged down the street and slammed against the wall." " I always wanted to leave too." " Before you had me." "Before I realized I can't run away from me   even if I traveled to Mallorca." "I can't afford it." " Because of me." "Wait a couple of years." "Then you can do whatever you want." "Rip up bills, beat people up and throw rocks?" "Thanks a hell of a lot." "So you want to throw stuff at me?" "I'm in prison, but I can't stab my enemies with a toothbrush - and I don't have a computer." "I can't even Google "freedom."" " Stab whoever you like." "As long as you don't listen to Scooter." " Who?" "If you want to hate someone, hate me." "Don't hate yourself or others." " You can stab these." " I'm still in prison." " I'm the Papillon of East Vantaa." " The what?" "What kind of teen rebels steal beer and chips?" "What do they want?" "To reach middle age already?" " So you know about it." " I found out from social services." "I can help you with Takku." " Keep her from getting taken into custody?" " That too." "That's not enough." "The stain on her soul won't wash off." "I know the right detergent for the soul of a fatherless girl." " The date." " The date." "That's the price for the wash." "You're not interested in knowing where we're going?" "C'mon, don't be so serious." "Okay, who am I?" " You're like Markus the Retard." " Who?" "He was this retard." "He was in our class until the seventh grade." "He'd build castles in the sand." "The rain would wash them away, or someone would knock them down." "I made him eat sand - so that he'd stop and people would stop laughing at him." " That was the last time I cried." " Eccentric for a girl." "I am eccentric." "Can't you see it?" "You read the paper in braille?" "Sure, you're eccentric." "Or you're just afraid of being normal." "You're afraid of rowhouses, cashiers, - teachers and other boring people." "You're lonely." "Only lonely people check their phone that often." "Did Markus stop building sand castles?" "He started building them out of clay." "He just wanted some crazy goal." "Like you do." "I'm not like Markus the Retard." "Everyone is." "That's your dad." "Your mom hung out with him the most back then." "It's okay if you want to cry again." "Just let it all out." "What are you doing?" " I'm fixing this." " Why?" "So that it'll run better." " It's just gonna break again." " Then I can fix it again." "So you just waste your time working." "That's the point." "Time goes by faster when I'm working on this." "You look like you have something on the tip of your tongue." " Yeah, it's a piercing." " That's all?" "Yeah." "Where's the bus stop?" "See you around." "No, you'll never see me again." "The stars looked impressive on our way here." " Did you manage to wash the problem away?" " It'll wash away in time." "Like in commercials." "You put stain remover on a shirt and it slowly eats it away." "The stain or the whole shirt?" "Honestly, this is really good." " I'm too tired to eat." " You can't sleep at night?" " I have this same dream every night." " Oh yeah?" "What is it?" "I'm in an African village where there are only women." "I sow crops and then hippos eat them all." "Every time." " Pretty interesting." "What do you think it means?" " I don't know." "Well..." "Fucking hippos." "Right." "Fucking hippos." "I'm gonna eat so much ice cream for dessert." "There are the stars." "I've had this for fifteen years." "There are still four condoms left." "I don't know what you see when you look at me." "But it's not me." "People see each other as friggin' lifeboats they can just grab onto." "No, I want to help you." "Those are not stars." "They're the chimneys of the incineration plant." "What if your lifeboat sinks?" "Huh?" "What if your lifeboat sinks?" "They all have a stopper you can pull out." "Did Essi really rip her eardrums out, - or why doesn't she answer when her only blood relative calls?" " Has she started drinking?" " No." "This is my daily dose." "Who are you?" "Why do you take your daily dose here?" "I help her bring up Takku." "You're Essi's brother." "She said you stabbed her in the hand with a math compass." "It was the other way around." " Did she say that her mom threw a radio at her?" " Yeah." " She didn't." "She threw it at Mom." " Why?" "She's always been broken like that." " It's because of that rumor." " What rumor?" "When she was small, - people started saying that someone got Mom pregnant against her will." "They said that whoever her dad was, was a..." "You know what I mean." "Essi is like a broken Moomin mug." "You can't glue her together." "But you can glue Takku." "There's my contact info." "It's a small lifesaver that floats." "If something happens, you can bring Takku to me." "I can take care of her till she's eighteen - and then I can get her an apartment." "Remember:" "A small lifesaver." "How much is 1,800 plus 1,700 euros?" "I don't know." " 3,500." " Not 3,100?" " No." "Then the cash register is short 400 euros." "One of you took it." " Okay, it was you." " Bullshit." "You can't fire me without evidence." "That's right." "But if the stealing stops, it was you." "If it doesn't, it was Essi." "Out!" "What a dick." "How did you know I was here?" "Half of you is from me." "Like the side that likes to sulk in weird places." "Then I have the side that wants to deny - that she cares about someone or that she's not angry anymore." "You have a lot of crappy sides." "My mom used to say that love is like a child;" "You can always abandon it." "It's scary how well I understand her today." "Don't abandon love so it wouldn't abandon you." " You're smart." " Sakke told me that." " He's smart." " He read it on a tea bag." "I chose weed." "Hey." "That's what you hate, right?" "You envy those two." "That's your ball." "I'll go say hello to the coffee vending machine." "If you want to rip your ball to pieces, no one will stop you." " Shit!" " Who the hell do you think you are?" "Fuck!" "Stop!" "Let go!" "Hello?" "Have you heard this:" ""Don't abandon love so it won't abandon you"?" " That's from a refrigerator door magnet or something." " So?" "It doesn't mean it's not true." "I'm trying hard here." "Sure, I have a thick armor around me." " Let go of me!" " Stop!" "I said let go!" "You understand what I'm trying to say here?" " Huh?" "You understand?" " Yeah." "You called me five minutes too late." " Huh?" " I gotta get coffee." "Bye." "Sorry." "You see anything?" "No." "I see nothing." " It's pretty dark." " That's good." "My neighbors are ugly." "You can't see them when it's dark." "Why didn't you scratch those photos instead of that kid's face?" "I'm sorry." "I cut my fingernails, - but it still feels like there's skin under them." "They're dirty." "Are they going to take me away?" "Of course not." "Lasse just texted me, saying everything is okay." "She'll be taken into custody." "Call me." "Lasse." "If I knew how to love, I'd love you." "We won't take the bus to school today." " What's wrong with the bus?" " This is better." "Are we even going to school?" "Your mom might not know how to love, and I might not either, - but I'll take you somewhere where they do know how." " Calm down." " Let me go!" "Calm down." "Calm down." "I'm running away from myself to Mallorca." "Takku." " You have to take this to Mika." " Who's he?" "He's not hard to find." "He's got asthma, he likes to blow things up - and he looks like a moron." "Why are you taking it?" "The problem child doesn't need it anymore." " But her case isn't closed yet, is it?" " It's closed." "She died at the railway station." "A congenital heart defect." "Just like that." "I'm thinking about things after everything that's happened." "I'm not thinking about why she rushed to the train." "I'm not thinking about - why the cardboard on my car window is taped differently." "What are you thinking about?" "I'm thinking about what your left shoulder looks like." "What next?" "I know why she chose a train." "Trains never move backwards." "They always move forward." "It's cold." "Your daughter..." "Was she also my daughter?" "Push the button." "I can't." "DELETE ALL CONTACT DETAILS?" "TAKKU" "I'm sorry." "I'll give you a permanent black eye." " Are you okay?" " I'm dead." "I'm not okay." " You didn't go away?" " I'll be here as long as you are." "Or longer if you tell people vividly about me." "In that case I'm going to live really long." "Stop eating chips." "In 2036 a guy named Korhonen will tell you   that the electric wire is grounded." "Don't believe him." " Okay." "Promise me that you'll look after my mom." " Or she'll die alone from chain-smoking." " How?" " I don't know." "Hold her hand or something." " Okay." " The stars are twinkling." " Could be the incineration plant chimneys." "I couldn't help calling you." "I couldn't think of anything to say at your place." "When I was little, my dad told me a story that comforted me." "It made everything good." "But I forgot the story." "I've been trying to remember it all my life." "But maybe you'll find it for yourself some day." " What are you doing?" " Helping you by holding your hand." "My problems are so big you can't solve them by holding my hand." " Is the tooth you swallowed when you fell still inside you?" " Yeah." "You think it'll ever come out?" "I don't know." "My stomach doesn't hurt anymore." "Maybe it's digested." "Or it'll kill you one day." "Yeah." "Come." "You can do the dishes." " It's a good start." " For what?" "For me not having to do the dishes." "Translated by Aretta VÃ¤hÃ¤lÃ¤ Proofread by Rich Lyons"