At the boarding school, Vasile was very happy, but when he would leave for the holidays, he forgets the school and integrates himself very easily into the household chores in his native village Secăreni. This summer, he was in the seventh grade and mother took him to make an array of tobacco, since she was hired. He was happy that he could be useful, and he tried very hard to make as many arrays as possible. That is how he thought time would pass faster. This year, he had the longest holiday because of thoughts that kept bothering him. He had a problem. He was in love with a girl from the boarding school, but she already had a boyfriend.
When he saw her after the holidays, she looked even more beautiful. And then he decided to seduce her so he wrote her a message in which he asked for her friendship, then sent it through her friend. At that place, everyone had health issues, but hers were not easily seen. Although Vasile had an advanced degree of handicap, he was confident in himself and all his peers respected him. The answer did not make itself be waited for, and by evening, he received a message back with only one word written on it: ”YES”.
Youthfulness 2003, watercolour, 49×60 cm
That is how their beautiful friendship started, with emotions, with mistakes and with butterflies in his stomach. We already know Vasile is a dreamer, but now he also became a romantic. He was imagining how he would take walks with his girlfriend when a huge dog would appear but would take the dog by his throat and tear it apart, which would make him be proud of the heroic way in which he protected his girlfriend.
They were at the age when everyone believed they were soma Dumas musketeer or a knight on a horse, who would save princesses or “cinderellas”, all of them in search for love – the most beautiful feeling in the world. All because novels were the main books of the young people at the boarding school.
He dreamt of as many private moments as he could. At one point, there was a time when they locked themselves in a classroom. They both wanted an intimate moment, only for them, so they can at least embrace each other. In the school, such gestures were banned, but Vasile didn’t like showing his love in public either. But someone saw them and told on them.
The school made it be a big deal. He was pulled outside in the front of the boarding school and he also risked being expelled. Then, a miracle happened. His classmate and friend saved him: she told the school that she was also in the classroom and they were just playing. That is how Vasile escaped expulsion, but he was punished nonetheless.
He had to peel potatoes for a week. In the beginning, he would try hard, but he soon got bored and to make it easier, together with a classmate who had to suffer the same punishment, they tried to see who can notice better through the almost-closed door of the attic. Soon enough, they had no more potatoes…
When the school saw his punishment became a game, they forgave him.
He continued to be friends with his classmate until they graduated and each of them followed their dreams. She was inspired by Indian films and wanted to be a lawyer to bring justice to all. He wanted to become a well-known painter.