Lessons

Lessons pt 01

It was late afternoon, the last lectures were finally over and the student residence was full of tired students going back to their rooms. A delighted smile was floating over student Landers' face while he was walking down the corridor. Today it was Friday and he planned to go home for the weekend as he usually did. But this time, he decided to spend the weekend here. Although he was quite exhausted from tiring week and although he had already spent his last money to buy his bus ticket, he decided to stay. And all that because of him. Because of Richard Kruspe, few years younger student, who happened to be the same academic year as him, and whom he stealthily had a serious crush on.

Paul Landers was a diligent student who had a huge amount of knowledge and whom everything was working out for, all these things making him one of the best students in his generation. However, he was quite self-effacing, he wasn't popular and had no many friends. On the contrary though, Richard was among one of the most popular guys in the faculty – he looked extraordinary handsome, he was repeatedly winning in wrestling tournaments and he perfectly played a guitar. He was aware of his qualities and he was using them very well, attracting attention of everyone around him but girls especially. Paul's entire senses were telling him that Kruspe was an arrogant and selfish bighead with a huge ego, but blinded part of his enamoured brain didn't care about it. Paul's crush on him was so huge that the younger student intensely wanted to draw his attention to him and therefore he was trying hard to stick close to him as much as he could. But Richard didn't seem to notice him at all, and even if he did still, didn't want him in his presence, moreover, Paul even thought the younger student was finding his company embarrassing for him... Until today's morning. For the first time in his life, Richard Kruspe approached him. And not only he spoke to him, moreover, he asked him for help with studying!

Yes, Kruspe was not a good student, actually it seemed he was just moving lazily and without any purpose here on the faculty – almost never attending his lectures, he was falling behind all the time, spending days in playing guitar and his trainings and nights in drunkenness and flirting. Now the payback time has come at last and the younger student finally realized he had to do something about his grades as the final exams were slowly approaching and so the threat of losing a semester as well.

And so, the older student was daydreaming about Richard all day long and thrilled as he finally noticed him in a mass of students. As he had expected, he found the younger student surrounded with his company, male friends laughing out loud at his statements and girls looking adoringly at him. Yes, there was always a bunch of girls hanging around him. Paul shyly approached the group. "Hi", he said with a huge smile on his face but nobody seemed to notice him. The others shut up and looked at him only when Richard slowly turned his head towards the older student.

"Wait me in my room, I'll be there right away", Richard expressionlessly uttered barely looking at him. Paul wanted to say to him something more, but the younger student just turned his head away from him, keeping ignoring him as before and continuing chatting with his friends. Few girls passed by and started giggling as he winked at them. Then he noticed the older student was still standing next to him. "Y'know where it is, right?" he raised his eyebrows, impatiently looking at Paul. Of course he did. Everybody knew where the room of famous Richard Kruspe was located. The older student slightly nodded as the obvious feeling of undesirability flooded his body. He turned and slowly walked away, feeling all his happiness that he had been glowing with after the morning's lecture now drowned into the deepest sea of disappointment. Kuspe likes women. He'll never like men, and especially not you, you idiot, a cruel voice said in his head as he was heading towards younger student's room. Why do you hope at all? Wake up, you stupid moron!

Finally the older student entered Kruspe's room and closed the door behind him. He laid his books and lecture notes on the desk and looked around. The first thing that he noticed was Kruspe's electric guitar that was leaned against the wall, under the shelves full of medals and trophies that the younger student won in wrestling tournaments. Paul approached the instrument and carefully started running fingers over its neck and strings. Yes, Kruspe was trying to found a band and only what he needed was another guitarist. A shred of melancholy flooded him as he remembered his vain attempts to approach Richard that way – he spent all his money to buy a guitar and spent a lot of his precious time to learn playing it, all that in hope the younger student would notice him and maybe take him into his band. Paul was good at it, more than that, but simply, Richard wasn't noticing him at all, as usual, not giving a fuck about his existence...