And the rest, is Johann

Chapter 5. In vino veritas (IV)

"Johann!" A voice whispered, a hand shaking his right arm, desperate for attention.

His eyes opened, his heart racing, to find the chaotic scribbling of Ms. Müller already filling two of the three blackboards of the class, and Anna looking at him with worried eyes.

Had he just blanked like that, in the middle of a Constitutional Law class, just a week before the exams?

"Are you ok?" Her hand still on his arm, now reassuring, while her eyes looked at him with the most analytic expression, like a detective searching for clues. "You might have a fever... I told you this morning, you should have stayed in bed." She smiled, so sweet, so concerned. "I can just bring you my class notes, so you won't miss anything... Just go home and rest..."

He looked at her twin sister with absolute disdain. He was in no way letting her in charge of his academic performance.

"You have an awful system to take notes, sister, not to mention all the colors..." he made a disgusted grimace at the overly cute notes in front of her. The pink pen in her hand.

She suddenly brandished it like a sword.

"I beg your pardon...!" The pen stabbed him between the ribs, so gently, as she leaned over his notes. "So elegant, so... oh, they can't be more boring, all black, and more black..." She finally rolled her eyes, to suddenly sit straight and focus on her work.

When Johann turned he found the professor looking at them. As usual, he offered his most charming smile before following her and going back to his notes.

"Can you give me a white paper, please?" She had forgotten to get more at home, for the third day in a row. Johann sighed, grabbing a couple of them from his backpack to handle them to her.

"Thanksss..." she sang, placing them in front of her to attack again with that neon pink pen.

He blinked a couple of times. She was right, he was exhausted, barely having slept at all last night, and now he was getting a headache, even when it was just the second class of the day.

Looking at his sister's handwriting he copied the missing paragraphs as fast as he could, to continue attending the class, which lasted for another hour and a half.

"Oh, boy... and we still have three classes left with this... monster?" Friedrich whispered the last words as the professor had just left the classroom, leaning backward in his seat, left of Johann, exasperated at the material for the exam that just kept growing and growing each day. "Johann, please, you are the student's representative, can't you... I don't know... convince her to stop? Pleaasee..."

Johann turned towards him with a serious expression, pondering the ways he could approach the professor. He was right, they couldn't be handled new material to study so close to the exam.

"Use that pretty face and convince her!" He insisted.

And then Johann arched an eyebrow, to finally offer a charming smile to his friend.

"Okay... I'll go to her tutoring hours, see what I can do..."

Suddenly a weight fell upon him, two arms surrounding his neck, almost choking him.

"I love you, big brother! Thanks for saving us once again from these merciless professors..." Anna's voice sounded overdramatic and theatrical but her hug was sincere. He could feel the weight of her head leaning over his.

Johann laughed, turning back enough to be able to face her.

"What would you do without me..." He teased, thinking already of how to get compensated in their already started break. "I need some coffee... you invite me, no, sis?"