"WILD REEDS" "She's a great actress." "Her character is half-way between madness and reality." "Having to decide exhausts her." "The helicopter comes like a spider in the sky." "We know it's the doctor." "It's scary, but a relief." "You have to see this movie." "It's incredible." "If we take the train at 3, we'll make it home tonight." "We have time, Maïté." "And weddings are a pain." "Come on, François." "I have to go." "I can't let down my mother." "He was her student." "Hello, François." "You're the only one without a tie." "Lay off him." "He didn't want to come." "That's not true." "I don't know anyone." "I wasn't invited." "Don't make a fuss." "You're Maïté's guest." "And her pretty little pucker Makes her one helluva sucker," "Suzanne!" "Her fingers scratch my buns As I mount to have some fun," "Suzanne..." "How long are you on leave?" "Three long nights." "What's your name?" "Serge, you know any songs?" "No, don't." "It's good wine." "Did you have fun with the pigs?" "Same stupid kids..." "Do you want to dance?" "No, I don't waltz." "It doesn't matter." "You know him?" "He's in my class." "He's really dumb." "He's the groom's brother." "He doesn't like me." "He's wondering why you are here." "So am I." "I'm glad to meet your family." "Thanks for the invitation." "It's only normal." "I meant to ask you..." "Is it true that communists can help soldiers to desert?" "Sometimes." "But Algeria is going to be independent." "I don't care." "I just don't want to go back." "That's why I got married." "It was the only way to go on leave." "You know what I did?" "I wrote to three girls." "Fortunately one said yes." "Do you know a hide-out?" "No, Pierre, I don't." "You'd be asking for trouble." "Believe me." "Why won't you help me?" "I can't help you." "You did it for others." "That was different." "Forget it, Pierre." "I thought I could count on you." "We've already fooled around together." "What are you talking about?" "You must be drunk." "Once when I was at the blackboard," "I dropped the chalk to look under your dress." "You noticed but you kept quiet." "Stop, Pierre." "Don't worry." "I won't rape you." "But I'm not a kid anymore." "I said to stop!" "Serge, thank your parents." "I don't want to bother them." "I have papers to grade." "I have to go." "Could you help my brother?" "He needed to see you." "I saw him all right." "I'm sorry, I'm plastered." "Forget about it." "I can't go back." "I have to find a way." "You really can't help?" "I can't do a thing." "Do you mind if we go now?" "So... could she help?" "I asked each of you to discuss one of your favourite poems." "I insisted on "your"" "to see your individual tastes, not to see you repeat exactly what I'd taught you in an impersonal, academic way." "As a result, the grades are all mediocre." "There are two exceptions, though." "The first is Forestier." "To stand out, Forestier chose Rimbaud." "A difficult poem, to flaunt his mastery of arcane poetic realms." "It's affected and as cultivated as usual." "You're too smug, Forestier." "I gave you a 14." "14?" "Am I being unfair?" "A little." "You hold yourself in high esteem." "Elitists like you call it narcissism." "Let's get on to the new boy." "Mariani, Henri." "Strangely, he too chose Rimbaud." "You are far from Forestier's abstruseness." "Your paper is lucid, very lucid," "but what you say is totally wrong." "You compare the bourgeoisie Rimbaud hated to French citizens of today who are... indifferent to the French in Algeria, fighting to defend their land, blood and dignity." "The French may be bourgeois," "French Algerians may feel divided, but do the Algerians exist for you?" "We gave them everything." "They'd starve without us." "Slaves are always fed." "That's called exploitation." "We discuss literature here, not politics." "That's why I gave you no grade." "I deserve one like everyone else." "Teachers should get more involved." "Will this get me a diploma?" "It depends who reads it." "If it were you?" "I'd be merciless." "I'd give you a zero." "That's all I wanted to know." "Thank you." "Let's smoke a cigarette." "I know a place." " What time is it?" " Midnight." "Everyone's asleep." "I don't smoke." "What place?" "Come on, you'll see." "Are you chicken?" "You're no fun." "You never talk." "You're always alone." "You're all closed up." "Where were you before?" "Catholic school in Lyon." "Now I get it." "What do your parents do?" "They're farmers." "Why all these questions?" "For no reason." "Just to talk." "And you can cut the crap." "You're no farm boy." "I swear I am." "How many acres?" "I have no idea." "I never asked." "I don't care." "You don't care?" "You're sick!" "I am." "So go to bed and stop pissing me off." "Calm the fuck down." "You don't want a cigarette?" "Sometimes at night I go smoke on the roof." "It's easy." "You go by the showers." "You want to try?" "No thanks." "I'm not into acrobatics." "I may fall flat on my face." "And catch cold too." "You're really fragile." "Alvarez' daughter must like that." "Anyway, she sure is pretty." "You're lucky." "You sleep with her?" "That's none of your business." "A typical virgin answer." "Are you one?" "I don't know any girls." "Introduce me to some." "What are you talking about?" "There are girls all over." "I bet they scare you." "Are you dumb or what?" "You saw where I live." "And I never go to the city." "If we were friends, we'd get them all." "I doubt we can be friends." "Our taste is too different." "That's what's so great." "For an egghead, you're pretty dumb." "We'd complement each other." "Like in Math, I'm better." "Aren't I?" "French is the opposite." "It balances out." "We can teach each other, can't we?" "Same thing with girls." "The same thing?" "They like either your type or mine." "We're opposites, so they just choose." "Great idea, isn't it?" "You want a drag?" "Alvarez' daughter would like you if you were older." "Did she mention me?" "She mentioned your brother." "She says he's handsome." "Since you look alike," "In five years you'll have no problem." "But she hates boys." "So she hates you?" "No, she says I'm old." "Can I go to the john?" "Can I go to the lavatory?" "Why are you busting my balls?" "Beat it!" "You know I'm waiting for someone." "What are you up to?" "I'm listening to my radio." "Leave me alone." "You leave me alone!" "Why did you follow me?" "For the fun of it." "This town bores me." "You can't understand." "It's all you've ever seen." "He's getting on my nerves." "He's nosy and conceited." "Being 21 doesn't make him special." "Here's tomorrow's math." "There are no mistakes." "Relax." "You know, I'm not sure I can accept this." "I try never to cheat." ""Cheat"." "Always your big words." "Straight from Catholic school." "I always try to get by as best I can." "When you're poor, if you're not on the ball, you get screwed." "When I dropped my brother off at the station, he said: "Greatness disgusts me."" "Anyway, it's a shame." "Why did I want to help you?" "I'm dumb that way." "Wait." "I'll write you an essay in exchange, but I'll need a few days." "If I don't change my style, Mrs. Alvarez..." "What an idiot." "Where's he from?" "Italy." "His parents are sharecroppers." "I don't care if you fuck in the toilets." "Really." "Are you crazy?" "Cut it out!" "Relax..." "I'll keep quiet." "I see everything." "I never sleep." "The other night, didn't he get into your bed?" "I understand." "At your age, I was the same way." "Why deprive yourself of life's pleasures?" "Don't just stand there." "Wake him up." "We are crouching on the balcony of the Albert Hotel." "For the moment, we can't see a thing." "Rioters fired at French police, who shot back," "No police were wounded." "Ambulances are taking victims to the Mustapha Hospital." "And removing the dead." "The official count is 28 dead and 130 wounded." "Today, I have a great surprise for you." "The essay by your classmate Bartolo." "No more spelling mistakes, a new, brilliant style..." "sometimes a bit gaudy..." "Ideas that aim high..." "It's a miracle." "Thank you, ma'am." "Don't thank me." "I gave you a 16." "You deserve it." "Be proud." "Still," "I have one small question." "It's about the quotation from Faulkner." "Remember it?" "It's beautiful." "Can you tell me what book you found it in?" "Forestier lent it to me." "It was... in Absalom, Absalom!" "That's what I thought." "Let's leave the world of miracles for the sad reality of real life:" "Meaning the other papers." "They are less glorious, but at least they're honest." "Are you asleep?" "I'm really happy." "It worked." "She didn't make a big deal of it." "Move over." "My parents will be happy." "That's why I did it." "Their French is bad." "They want me to be able to write letters." "For Welfare, taxes, to the landowner who's upset with our output." "With my brother away, it's not easy." " You have a cigarette?" " I'll get one." "Forget it." "Why are you always half-naked?" "I hate pyjamas." "They itch." "I never button them." "How many layers are you wearing?" "Two." "I hate to show my skin." "I'd like to be invisible." " Your skin?" "You have acne?" " Stop it!" "Take it off." "I bet you sleep in your underwear." "Stop!" "We'll wake the others." "Do you jerk off a lot?" "Yeah, I guess..." "And you?" "Every night, at least once." "It's weird." "Now when I do it," "I think of Alvarez' daughter." "Are you angry?" "Not at all." "But how do you think of her?" "We do stuff together." "What kind of stuff?" "Tell me." "I asked her to suck me and she did." "I already have a hard-on." "I swear to God." "Let's jerk off." "If you want to." "But not like this." "Let's ask for the poster." "Forget it." "I have no room for it." "What's wrong?" "You've wanted to come for months and now you sulk." "I'm just disappointed." "I don't like the end." "Really?" "The reconciliation with the father?" "It's very moving." "No, it's bullshit!" "It ruins everything." "I hate fathers with big houses open to everyone." "Priests say you find that stuff after you die, if you are religious." "I don't want to be with fathers." "What a scary prospect!" "You're not religious." "You are risking nothing." "Why is it called "Through A Glass Darkly"?" "Who cares, Maïté?" "I don't!" "I don't know you any more." "I've changed." "I smoke now." "Shit!" "It's Colette." "I forgot about her party." "Come on, you're late." " I'll be going." " Come on!" "Maïté's my friend." "You can't leave her." "Come meet Patrick." "What about..." "Michel?" "He's history." "You want to dance?" "No." "Thank you." "Don't worry." "We'll leave soon." "We have to talk." "This time it's not about movies or books." "Something happened." "I mean... there's someone I like." "I need to know how you like me." "Is it serious, with a future, or not?" "We get along well." "We can talk." "I know exactly why I need you." "You reassure me." "Is it the same for you?" "It's strange." "Physically, nothing's ever happened." "That doesn't bother me." "Does it bother you?" "You have to answer me." "You had sex and now you're confused Was it good at least?" "Please, don't be cynical." "I'm not being cynical." "I expected as much..." "I was with you because I felt protected too." "I hate great passions." "When my father left my mother, I learned something." "Women branded by men are like cattle waiting to be slaughtered." "Before you, I kept wondering:" "do I sleep with everyone or no one at all?" "It's the same thing." "Fortunately, you came along." "I love you because you'll never be my enemy, whatever you do." "I slept with a boy." "Say something." "What can I say?" "There's nothing to say." "There's no reason to sulk." "It changes nothing for me." "I don't care what you do with others." "What's between us counts much more." "...in Oran, where a curfew is now in effect." "In Algiers, though, the French ambassador has just arrived, and the situation seems to be more stable." "You don't take gym?" "With those asses?" "No thanks." "Why don't you?" "I can't run." "I have heart trouble." "My heart beats fast, as if I'm going to die." "That can't kill you." "Cut the crap." "I know about dying." "I watched someone die, and I was helpless." "Near Constantine, where I was born." "You know it?" "Sort of." "It's strange you're from Algeria." "Why don't you have an accent?" "I got expelled from different schools." "I got sent to France." "For 3 years, I went to private school in Paris." "I flunked 3 times." "I'm an old hand." "I don't get it." "If you don't try, you'll never graduate." "And you laugh!" "I hate failing." "It makes me sick." "During last years' finals, I panicked." "I passed them, but I still dream I failed." "Who cares?" "There's more to life than exams." "I don't believe guys who are never scared." "Who said I'm never scared?" "What scares you?" "I'd like to know." "If you trust me." "I'm scared of death." "Not like you..." "not disease and heart trouble." "I'm scared of real death." "Sometimes I want to shoot myself to stop thinking about it." "Really?" "Did you ever try to kill yourself?" "Once." "After my father died." "At his funeral." "He was in his coffin." "It was uncovered." "Everyone was in the kitchen eating and drinking." "It was hot." "Flies were buzzing around him." "White cloth covered his face." "The bomb blew part of it away." "All around his mouth." "His lower jaw." "Despite al the flowers, the smell of rotting flesh drove people away." "I stayed." "I forced myself to stay." "I took off the cloth and stared, so I'd never forget." "I don't know how long I stood there, suffocating." "Then I saw him move." "I swear." "He grabbed me." "The coffin fell." "Everyone ran in." "I forget what happened next." "I had a fever for a week." "I was hospitalised." "I never knew what happened, but I'm sure he moved." "Positive." "I told everyone." "No one believed me." "I didn't know what to do." "I needed to escape." "I took every pill I could find." "I swallowed them all." "Would you please come with me?" "It has to do with Bartolo." "His brother has been killed." "Sit down." "Serge, stand up." "The principal wants a word with you." "You have to be strong." "Come on..." "Bartolo, please come into my office." "Private Second Class Bartolo, Pierre of the 34th infantry, was an exceptional soldier." "He never disappointed his superiors." "Always volunteering for difficult missions, both in the swarming mountains and the maze-like Casbah, he was, and a ways will be, an example for everyone who ever met him." "We mustn't consider him a victim of the seditious O.A.S." "Bartolo, Pierre must remain, for his comrades and ourselves, what he is: a hero." "I'd better go." "No, not you." "You go." "Go on." "I don't know him." "Only you can help him." "Really." "Believe me." "Go now!" "Why did you leave?" "That asshole said he was a hero." "Perrot was no hero." "He wanted to desert." "Ask your mother." "They need heroes so bad." "It stinks." "You want to be alone?" "Who told you to come?" "Your mother?" "No, François." "Why are you with him?" "He doesn't like girls." "I should know." "He likes them, but not the way you do." "Yeah, right..." "I'll go back." "No." "Stay." "I don't want your pity." "Do you feel pity for me?" "I don't know." "I really don't know." "What can I say?" "The truth." "The truth is my mother said to come to the funeral." " François sent me..." " To console me." "You obey everyone." "You want to go swimming?" "You've been in there an hour." "You'll catch cold." "I'm waiting to feel cold." "You want to get sick?" "It's my underwear..." "I don't want you to see my hard-on." "Don't worry." "Cold water does the trick." "I'm not worried." "I'm flattered." "Come on." "You'll wet your shirt." "It'll dry fast." "Tell me..." "Have you known a lot of guys?" "Boys don't interest me." "Not yet." "Guess what I'd like." "You're going to laugh." "It's to be 10 years older." "I hate being young." "It's a huge burden." "I want to shut my eyes and wake up much later, with a life of my own, that I'd choose." "Without my mother or François." "And yet I love them both." "What will that life be like?" "I don't know." "I'm waiting..." "All I do is wait." "It's long." "What will you do later on?" "I want to buy our farm from the owner." "And take care of my family." "They need me now." "You cut your hair?" "I've always had it this way." "You don't like it?" "Sure I do." "It reminds me of Françoise Hardy." "What do you mean?" "It's not even the same colour." "Hair-colour with pop stars... you can never tell." "Get dressed." "They'll be waiting." "I want to stay here." "Go back, if you want to." "Don't be stupid." "They'll come looking for you." "I have a hide-out." "Stay with me." "Come on, Serge." "What will I tell them?" "Who cares?" "Let's look at the last stanza." "I am haunted." "Azure..." "Azure..." "I'm sorry." "What's wrong?" "Just after the bombing," "FLN barricades were set up to maintain peace in Muslim areas." "Why are you here?" "You're not with Bartolo?" "It's strange he's not here." "Where is he?" "Maybe he found someone else." "You think you're funny?" "I was just kidding." "The guys like you in Paris were less uptight." "We joked around." "They knew what they wanted." " They weren't ashamed." " I'm not." "Sex is what's most real." "There's nothing better." "So relax." "Whatever you say." "What are you doing?" "I'm controlling myself." "Or else I'll kill Mariani." "Murderers deserve to be murdered." "You can't stay here." "I'm not sleeping near a murderer." "Come on, he didn't kill your brother." "You're defending him?" "No, I'm not." "No one person killed my brother." "Anyone did." "Guys like him are all the same." "Serge, get some sleep." "Stop brooding." "I'm fine during the day." "I can stop thinking about it." "At night I don't know what to do." "My brother..." "It's as if it was me." "See?" "I'm cold like you." "You may have a fever." "It's normal..." "Maïté said you went swimming." "It's not summer yet." "Did she say I touched her?" "Her hair and her shoulders?" "I know she likes you a lot." "A lot?" "That's not enough." "Did you two ever touch?" "Not really." "Why did you send her?" "Because I love you..." "I want her to too." "Beat it!" "Fast!" "Get lost, asshole!" "Stop fighting!" " Calm down!" " Get lost." "It's nothing." "Just my forehead." "I'll have a bump, that's all." "Go to the infirmary." "I said I'll be fine." "Jesus..." "I saw stars." "You're both assholes." "Now I'm the one who gives orders." "I'll use your bed." "You take mine." "Okay." "Why did you come to bother us?" "I swear I didn't intend to." "With his brother dead, Bartolo understands war, like me." "Have some more, or everyone will steal them." "Every time my parents send a package," "I have to finish it fast." "They're really good." "What's inside?" "Plum jam." " Are you ready?" " I'm coming." "I used to find him fascist and pretentious." "His Paris suits seemed to declare:" ""Exiled to Hicksville."" "Now he fascinates me." "You should meet him." "No way." "I don't want to." "You can keep your O.A.S. pig." "Why are you hostile?" "Because you have to choose sides in life." "Did you flip your lid?" "He's not the devil." "The devil doesn't exist." "Fascists do." "They don't fascinate me." "You're as sectarian as your mother." "You can't understand." "I understand perfectly." "You're hiding the truth." "Be honest for once." "Don't you like him physically?" "Why do you ask?" "I never thought about it." "It's time you did." "Why is everything sex for you?" "Yesterday it was Serge." "Now it's him." "If you can't admit it, you're pathetic." "What's wrong?" "I think you're right." "Don't make a big deal of it." "Calm down." "I am calm." "Very calm." "I admit it." "I want to sleep with Serge... with Henri..." "What if another comes along next week?" "It's awful." "What will become of me?" "Don't go overboard." "I'm not." "It's a curse." "Really." "Stop." "Look at Cassagne." "He's not cursed." "He lives with his friend." "They are happy." "Who is Cassagne?" "He lives nearby." "The one with the shoe store?" "We are going to be late." "Let's go." "I can't." "Are you sure?" "Yeah." "We might as well go." "Are you asleep?" "Go for it!" "If you want to suck me, I'm game." "I'm sorry." "I'm a faggot." "I'm a faggot." "May I help you?" "Can I talk to Mr. Cassagne?" "It's personal." "I'll get him." "My name is Morelli." "Madame Alvarez is ill." "I'm replacing her." "Analyse this fable by La Fontaine." "You have exactly one hour." "Like for the baccalaureate, you won't have a second more." "I'm interested in organization, structure, and clarity." "I want a good argument." "We'll worry about style later." "We'll start from square 1." "Show me how you reason." "Do you understand?" "Who would like to read it?" "Go ahead." "Teacher's pet." "The Oak and the Reed." "The oak said to the reed:" "Nature did you wrong." "To you, a tiny wren is burden" "A mild puff of wind forces your head low." "I, a huge Caucasian peak, defy the sun's rays and raging storms." "A gale for you is a breeze for me." "If you let me shelter you," "You would suffer less." "I would defend you." "But you are born on the edges of the kingdom of storms." "Nature was unfair to you." "Your pity, answered the reed, is kind, but unnecessary." "I fear not the wind." "I bend without breaking." "You have borne its gusts without flexing your spine." "But wait and see." "As he spoke, from the raving horizon came the worst storm the North has ever known." "The oak was firm, the reed bent." "Harder, the wind uprooted him whose head touched the sky and whose feet, the empire of the dead." "Mariani," "I'd like a word with you." "Are you deaf?" "Come here." "What about?" "Your insolence and its repercussions." "And your possible expulsion." "Are you interested?" "You were 21 last week, weren't you?" "What will you do?" "Now that you're of age, you are free to go." "If you don't care about graduating, leave." "You 're a coward, Mariani." "How dare you judge me?" "Your morality sucks!" "You know what I think of teachers?" "I don't care what you think." "You despise everyone." "I know your file by heart." "What you think of yourself interests me." "Why are you interested?" "I taught in Algiers for 15 years." "I knew many students like you." "You're from there?" "No, I got married there." "I understand what you feel." "Understanding disgusts me." "If you are with them, you're a traitor." "Unless you're masochist." "It's too soon to tell." "You're the masochist." "You refuse reality." "You have to live, to go through mourning." "It's the only way." "I'll never give up everything." "That's disgusting." "Mourning isn't giving up." "It's the opposite." "Listen, Mariani, let's try something." "Give yourself a chance." "I'll help you catch up." "Three hours a night." "I know it's a lot." "We'll start from scratch and plow ahead." "Think it over." "Tell me tomorrow." "I have." "The answer's no." "You're too weak to work, and too weak to leave." "What's left?" "No need to answer." "Tell me tomorrow." "You're like the oak in the fable." "Be careful." "Your parents said you'd be here." "Have you studied?" "What's in the bag?" "The cat had kittens." "I have to drown them." "Can I help?" "Are you kidding?" "You couldn't." "Why not?" "You're too sensitive." "You're an intellectual." "Go back to your books and stop pretending you want to help." "Why did you come?" "To talk to you." "You're always sulking." "Everyone at school says so." "Who cares?" "I doubt I'll take baccalaureate." "I doubt I'll even go back." "Are you serious?" "I'm not like you." "I don't use highfalutin' words." "You were right about one thing." "You said we had nothing in common... that we couldn't get along." "It's true." "Can I take you back?" " Some more?" " Please." "Thanks." "I'll leave you." "You can drink all that?" "I like the taste." "The rain stopped, so I'll go." "You know..." "I'm getting married." "You can't understand." "I've finally found my place." "Really?" "Where's your place?" "It's here." "It's my home." "I'm not going to move." "You'll spend your life here?" "The last lilacs." "Take them to Pierrot." "You never go." "You can go too." "It's not far." "Irene, my brother's wife... one night, she came into my room." "I woke up." "She had on a nightgown." "She was staring at me." "I was naked." "Guess what she did." "She started crying." "She said I was handsome, that she wanted to..." "And then she asked my forgiveness." "She said she was a whore and was ashamed for my brother." "She asked me to hit her." "So what did you do?" "I fucked her all night to calm her down." "I wanted to too." "You're marrying her?" "Do you love her?" "Forget your books." "Even my brother didn't love her." "If there was no war." "He'd never have married her." "The war is over." "If you don't love her, don't marry her." "I want a wife and children." "It's normal." "She'll save me from looking." "I'm not sure to find one." "Living here doesn't appeal to everyone." "I'll go by foot." "It's only 10 minutes." "No, don't do that." "You need a change of scenery." "Let's go to Toulouse." "You know Toulouse?" "Really well." "You'll see." "We'll have a ball!" "He'd never been in a big city." "He stared at everything." "He was funny." "At the nightclub, he couldn't dance, so he drank." "He wouldn't leave." "We left at closing-time." "He was dead drunk." "He couldn't even get on my bike." "I had money for a hotel, but the reception still said we were under age." "I'd never slept outdoors before." "Have you?" "Sleep isn't the word." "I was up all night." "But I felt good." "Really good." "We sleep too much." "I'm serious." "I figured it out." "Eight hours a night adds up to 46,120 hours of sleep since I was born." "That's six years." "Imagine all that lost time." "You really exhaust me, François." "I'm sorry." "I'm just trying to cheer you up." "That's not true." "It's because it interests you." "You and you alone." "You don't care about anyone else." "You're lucky to live here." "My parents said you can stay." "Until your mother..." "I refuse to act the poor little orphan." "I'll get by alone." "I'm big enough." "And I hate the way you all stare at me." "I'm not asking for anything." "First of all, I'm not unhappy." "I don't buy it." "You're wrong." "I'm better off alone." "My mother suffocated me." "I mentioned it to a doctor." "You don't seem better off." "I am better off." "I'm just fine." "You seem surprised." "You understand nothing." "You're an immature, bourgeois faggot." "That's all." "Stop, Maïté..." "Stop, I said." "You know I can't run." "I get palpitations." "You want to kill me?" "Shit!" "You're crazy." "You really are." "It runs in the family." "How is life, kids?" "Isn't love wonderful?" " Your father is clueless." " That I'm an immature faggot?" "You made me angry, that's all." "Your adventure with Serge:" "I felt good." "Really good." "You hate boys so much you're becoming stupid and nasty." "I don't care about boys." "I have bigger problems." "I think about my mother." "That takes up my days." "My days and my nights." "And It pisses me off you've never mentioned her." "I didn't know what to say." "I mean it." "Especially a woman like her." "She seemed so strong." "I still don't get it." "It happened so fast." "She started blaming herself for everything." "That she was too harsh, so my father left." "That she got everything wrong." "Even the war in Algeria." "That it's her fault Serge's brother died." "I didn't know what to do." "Luckily, the doctors say it's not serious." "It often happens to teachers." "It's time to eat." "Mashed vegetables and apple sauce." "I want to sleep." "Yes, but first the vegetables." "Then we'll take a sleeping pill." "You should walk some." "It's important." "Try to talk a little." "What were your dreams?" "How are the vegetables?" "My mouth is dry." "Do you know what today is?" "Tuesday." "I'll put on some music." "I'll be right back." "It's time to eat." "Mashed vegetables and apple sauce." "I want to sleep." "Yes, but first the vegetables." "Then we'll take a sleeping pill." "You should walk some." "From Algiers, Oran and Constantine, from Salem and the countryside..." "they are leaving." "They are fleeing a country which the O.A.S." "has rendered uninhabitable." "But before leaving, they wait." "One day, two days, sometimes three." "They wait to get on boats or planes, with destination France." "The O.A.S. is still acting out its absurd logic." "Using terrorism and threats, it has stopped all airport and shipyard employees from working." "Soldiers must now ensure all departures, in addition to their other duties." "Unwitting victims of this madness they sometimes encouraged, which has turned against them." "They are leaving." "Repatriates, expatriates, refugees... what best describes them?" "The second paragraph is no good." "You're beating around the bush." "You missed the main point." "Remember Rabelais' "The Very Substance"?" "That's what you have to get at." "You stopped mid-way." "What is Ronsard getting at here?" "He wants a girl." "If she says no, she'll be sorry." "He says life will pass her by." "For him, life and eroticism are the same." "Do you understand?" "Tonight I'm talking into thin air." "You're not listening." "Let's just stop." "I'm sorry." "It's this morning's news." "They gave Salan life imprisonment." "You don't care?" "He wanted to save us, and he was crushed and humiliated." "Get some sleep, Mariani." "You need it." "We'll try again tomorrow." "Tell me what you think." "I need to know." "I don't know what I think." "But I understand your anger." "I'll see you tomorrow." "What's all this noise?" "What's going on?" "I'm leaving." "You're crazy." "You can't." "You're not allowed to." "I'm of age now." "I can do whatever I want." "Give my keys to Morelli." "Thank him." "He's a real hypocrite." "He trusted you." "You're betraying him." "Give blow-jobs instead of sermons." "You'd be more honest and useful." "You're a coward, and you dare talk about betrayal." "I know about betrayal." "I was betrayed by cowards like you." "You're an ass." "You mix everything up." "I'm no coward." "No more than you." "Really?" "When you eyed me that night... you didn't back off?" "Yes." "Sometimes I see you as an enemy." "Sometimes I want us to be friends." "It's not about blow-jobs." "Understand?" "I understand." "You don't know what you want." "You know what you want?" "Running away is no answer." "What the hell?" "It's none of your business!" "You're so thick!" "People like you." "Morelli wants to help." "You've made progress." "It's that you can't trust anyone." "When you trust someone, you get fucked." "On TV, you saw where trust gets you." "I understand you!" "What bullshit!" "Wait." " Where are you going?" " I'll see." "I can't stay here." "Here's my address." "If you want..." "I'd like to hear from you." "Don't forget to lock the door." "What do you want?" " A place to sleep." " This isn't a hotel." "I can't afford one." "I saw your light on." "You live here?" "Mind your own business!" "Don't be so rude." "Why are you in a meeting hall?" "What about you?" "I decided to leave my boarding school." "There are no more trains." " Where are your parents?" " Far away." "Where?" "In Algeria." "For a coffee, I'll tell you my life." "I don't trust French Algerians." "Is your name Henri Mariani?" "Am I that famous?" "My mother mentioned you." "Mrs. Alvarez." "My friend too." "François Forestier." "He's a big softie." "He wants me to write to him." "That's his address." "Will you write?" "I'm not much of a writer." "Maybe I'll give it a try." "You know him well?" "He's like a brother..." "He wanted us to meet." "Really?" "Well, we have." "Why are you studying here?" "With my mother away, the apartment oppresses me." "Where is she?" "She's doing sleep therapy." "It lasts 3 weeks." "It's almost over." " What's so funny?" " You are." "Drinking coffee in Communist headquarters, like a perfect commie." "It's true it's pretty funny." "Who'd have thought?" "Not me." "I thought I could kill guys like you." "You want to kill me?" "You intrigue me." "Being too curious is my biggest problem." "Do I scare you?" "Yes." "That's a shame." "That's the way it is." "Thanks for the coffee." "It wasn't great." "What will you do now?" "I'll bum around until tomorrow." "Then I'll go to Marseille." "So long." "Yeah, so long." "Wait." "Come here." "This is your room?" "I'll sleep in my mother's room." " Who is he?" " My father." "He's in New Caledonia." "I never see him." "Hand me the blanket." "Do you know him?" "Just what my mother told me." "Between politics and school, he never saw her." "He left with his mistress." "What does your father do?" "He had a bakery." "I don't want to talk about him." "Does your mother work?" "She used to." "But now..." "Now?" "She's in Marseille." "I don't know." "She sent me a letter." "I could never read it." "Can you read it?" "Me?" "Why me?" "If you don't, I never will." "I almost ripped it up." "Dear son," "When I got here, I went to see the Boissieres, from Constantine." "They've done well in Marseille." "They were busy, but they agreed to see me." "They said they'd think about my situation." "I'll start by cleaning houses, but only good houses." "The Boissieres have friends." "The mayor is helping repatriated Algerians." "There are so many of us." "Did you see on TV?" "Like sardines in a tin!" "We were a seasick." "I'm sharing an apartment with a family from Oran." "Don't lose the address." "I wrote it twice." "On the page and the envelope." "I have to go." "I hope you'll pass your baccalaureate this time." "Your loving mother." "When do you wake up?" "I wake up at 7." "That's fine." "I didn't eat today." "At night I'm starved." "I have to tell you..." "I didn't come by accident." "I saw the address of the Party headquarters on a poster." "I came to set it on fire." "You'd never have done it, though." "Now, of course not." "But before..." "I think I could have." "Get out!" "I said to get out!" "His classmates didn't ask." "I didn't bring it up." "I'm shocked by their indifference." "And the Board?" "They expelled him." "In less than 10 minutes." "In fact, he expelled himself." "His mother has already left Algeria." "They sent a letter to a wrong address." "Isn't that ridiculous?" "The principal couldn't help?" "He kept on repeating:" "After all, he's 21 years old." "I don't get it." "We were making progress." "I even felt a kind of... trust." "We spoke about Salan..." "Mariani doesn't interest me." "You can't care about everyone." "For me, he's wrong about everything." "You're lucky to know who's wrong and right, what's good and bad..." "I'm incapable of that." "I'm sorry." "I feel dizzy." "The wine was a mistake my first time out." "I'm very happy to have met you." " Let me take you back." " No, don't bother..." "I'd like to walk." "Thank you." " It's my treat." " I'm embarrassed." "I insist." "Come meet my wife." "She's here?" "Why didn't she come up?" "She's rather shy," "Come out." "Aicha." "I'm cold." "Get back in." "Did you find out?" "No one knows anything." "I'm sick of waiting." "We'll find out sooner or later." "If you want to leave, just go." "What the hell?" "Why are you rude to him?" "Your boyfriend's a pain!" "He's not my boyfriend." "He's a friend." "Where are you going?" "I'm leaving." "She treats me like shit." "You're too sensitive." "Learn to toughen up." "You're too fragile." "I'm sorry." "I'm nervous." "It's awful." "Just waiting to find out whether we passed." "We should all leave." " Where?" " I don't know." "I know a place." "It's not too far." "We can go by foot." "We can swim there." "Great idea!" "You want to go swimming?" "I need a bathing suit." "Come on, you don't need one." "Everyone naked!" "Here it is." "They have such ugly stuff." " Help me choose." " No, I'll be right back." "I'll explain later." "Don't be a pain!" "I can help you decide." "No, I'll do it myself." "You've made a very nice choice." "We just got in this model." "It's fashionable, supple, and snug-fitting." "Look how fine your foot looks." " It's stunning." " Yes, it is." " The heel is the perfect height, isn't it?" " Very comfortable." "Try on the other one and you'll see." "Excuse me." "Are you Mr. Cassagne?" "I am." "I need some advice." "Very well." "What is your size?" "No, it's not about shoes." "It's about my destiny." "May I talk to you?" "Of course." "What is this about?" "I'm like you, I'm queer, but I haven't met my soul-mate yet." "I met someone who doesn't want me." "I should give up." "That would be smarter." "But I'm not smart." "I have no chance, but I can't give up." "I don't get discouraged." "We made love once." "Just once." "In the beginning." "He doesn't want to anymore." "Since then." "I'm like a thief." "I steal brief moments..." "Once I held him tight on my bike." "Another time, I slept near him." "You have experience." "Only you can help me." "At my age, did this happen to you?" "When you liked a boy, what did you do?" "How did it work?" "Listen... it's so long ago..." "I don't want to disappoint you, but I've forgotten." "I'm sorry." "I have a client waiting." "I have to go." "They seem just fine." "Very good." "I bought this." "I prefer bikinis." "No kidding!" "What's François doing?" "You never stay alone with me." "You scare me, Serge." "How come?" "I'm scared you'll ask for things I can't give." "What things?" "Physical things." "When you look at me, I feel my face is between my legs." "You can't change that." "But I don't like guys who look at girls just as "girls"." "It's human nature." "Then I don't like human nature." " Let's go." " We've been waiting." "Just a second." "This is incredible." "He keeps running around." "Him and his heart trouble!" "I thought you'd left." "I was at a hotel." "I keep missing my train." "Why at a hotel?" "I was depressed." "Really?" "Why?" "I'm trying to figure myself out." "Did you pass?" "We'll have the results tonight." "But it's been a tough day." "You didn't lose my address?" "Relax." "I'll send you a postcard of nice cocks." "Coxswains from Marseille!" "Asshole!" "Come meet a friend of mine." "If he didn't have a train, he could have come." "There's another one at 6." "Help me." "These pebbles hurt." "This place is pretty." "It's better over there." "Isn't it great here?" "Then put on your bathing suit." "I don't want to." "Don't start acting up." " Let's go." " I'm coming." "How do you know it?" "My brother." "He brought his girlfriends here." "Hotels are expensive." "He couldn't take them home." "They loved the scenery, so they loosened up." "Where's Maïté?" "She is changing." "There's not enough water to swim." "My pants are soaked." "Mine too." "I'll go get them." "Don't stay here." "Won't you swim?" "No thanks." "Splashing around in a river isn't my thing." "I prefer the ocean." "Philippeville was on the sea?" "It wasn't far from it." "Maïté seems cold with you." "But she's a communist, a feminist, an idealist and materialist, so it's normal you don't get on." "But I'm here." "There won't be any trouble." "Come on!" "The water is great!" "I'm coming!" " You're sure you can swim?" " Of course." "I even got a certificate in Biarritz, when I was a kid." "Why do you ask?" "Because you don't take gym." "I know, it's strange." "Swimming is fine." "I just can't run." "I must have been a fish in another life." "A fish or a swish?" "You can be such an ass." "Come help me." "Hurry!" "Look!" "It's awful." "I look like a canary." "Next time try red, like the Party." "Your humour is getting really pathetic." "You're going downhill." "I'm kidding." "This yellow is pretty." "Like Van Gogh's sunflowers." "A sunflower?" "That's worse than a canary!" "I'm frantic." "What is it?" "The baccalaureate." "Aren't you nervous?" "No, I'm with people I like." "I'm happy." " Let's go." " Don't make me!" "You can't stay here all day." "Why not?" "Isn't it pretty here?" "Have you gone crazy?" "I'm scared, François." "I really am." "Don't get al worked up over your bathing suit." "You don't have to swim." "But you won't be able to bear the heat." "Is Henri swimming?" "No, only Serge." "I'm going." "I have to cool off." "I'll see you soon." "The water is ice-cold!" "Cut it out." "It's great." " Come on in!" " Stop!" "Screaming won't help." "You're not cold?" "You're a real he-man." "Watch out for the rocks." "Come here." " Stop." " I said to come." " Stop." " Let yourself go." "Let me go, I said." " It's nice." " You'll kill me." "My heart!" "The rocks will hurt." "You are a real ass." "It's great." "You'll see." "You think you're smart." "You're just a tacky Tarzan." "I'll race you to the mill!" "Beat it!" "I look ridiculous." "I keep thinking of you." "You know what?" "I sold my watch." "Even though it was my father's." "I needed money for the hotel." "I had to see you." "Quiet!" "Wait." "Let me take it off." "Don't hurt me." "You cheated." "You knew they way." "It doesn't count." "We'll race back again." "No thanks." "I'm not big on sports." "You should be." "You're thin like a cherry stem." "There's more to life than sports." "How about Irene?" "Is the marriage still on?" "I broke it off." "I talked to her." "She agreed." "It wouldn't work." "And I want to be free." "We need to talk seriously." "Will we ever start over again?" "Not now... but..." "What we did in the dormitory..." "will we do it again?" "The two of us?" "I need to know." "Should I keep my hopes up or not?" "Listen, François... just forget it." "It's best to forget all that." "What is it?" "Forget it?" "It's terrible to forget it." "I never will." "That's for sure." "You can't say that." "Like with my brother... some days I don't think of him." "It bothers me a lot." "The death of a brother is tough." "I thought I'd die." "But there's something even tougher." "Tougher than war." "It's that life goes on." "When is your train?" "Six o'clock." "But without a watch..." "You have to hurry." "I'll take the next one." "Tomorrow morning." "That will give us some time." "Unless... you came with me." "That's impossible." "Why is it impossible?" "I love you." "I'm sure." "I love you too, but that's no reason to live together." "What was the reason we met?" "Why must there be a reason?" "Does life have a reason?" "If I didn't give you any force, any hope, then I was wrong." "Because you gave me some." "I want to stay with you." "No, you have to go." "She could have waited." "We swam too far away." "Wasn't she acting strange?" "It's the baccalaureate." "You don't care about it?" "We'll see." " What's wrong?" " Run!" "I thought you'd disappeared." "You disappeared." "We looked everywhere." "Where is Henri?" "He left." "He had a train to catch at 6." "What's wrong?" "Source translation unknown" "Technical and linguistic corrections:" "SmallBrother"