In the 1980s, things were different from today. There were no cell phones or social media. But one thing was, is, and always will be the same: making fun of others and all the possible consequences of doing so.
Daniel 1.1—1.4
1 In a town not much bigger than a village, fourteen-year-old Daniel lives. His father is a sergeant in the Army, and his mother takes care of the household. Daniel has no friends; first, he has to move every two years because of his father's profession, and second, he is a loner. He looks just like his father; from his mother, he inherited only her schizoid personality, and he is on medication for it. He reads a lot of comic books, likes to listen to metal, and dresses accordingly with a denim jacket, ripped jeans, and sneakers. He has long, greasy hair down to his shoulders and a pack of Marlboro in his pocket by default.
2 Summer vacation is over again. Daniel is a sophomore in high school and has no idea yet what he wants to become. His mother is shouting at the bottom of the stairs, "Are you out of bed? Otherwise, you'll be late for your new school, honey!"
He hates it when his mother calls him honey, but he doesn’t have the heart to tell her. He would prefer to stay in bed, but knowing his mother, she would chase him out of the bed with a cold, wet washcloth. His father, now on a mission, doesn't need washcloths to get his son out of bed; the prospect of a merciless beating is enough.
3 Daniel slowly puts on his clothes, brushes his teeth, and goes downstairs. His mother sees her son come downstairs in the same clothes as yesterday. "Hey honey, that denim jacket again; won’t you try on something else?"
"Leave me alone," mumbles Daniel. "Besides, you always say it's about the inner, right?"
With a pedantic smile on his face, he walks out the door and heads for school. His mother still calls after him, "Don’t you want to eat something first?"
"Yes!" exclaims Daniel obstinately, lighting a cigarette and cycling out of the garden.
In the ally, he pauses for a moment to be alone and to quietly smoke his cigarette because, according to Daniel, when you cycle, your cigarette burns up faster.
4 It irritates him that there is no graffiti sprayed on the walls anywhere. "Hypocritical pussy village," he mutters as he continues his way to school. With invisible blinders on, Daniel drives through the park. It is well maintained; trees, woods, and shortened lawns randomly alternate. In the middle is a large pond with a beautiful fountain; the spouting water, together with the soft morning sun, makes countless rainbows appear. But everyday beauty completely eludes him.
Daniel 2.1—2.6
1 When he arrives at school, he gets off his bike and walks into the schoolyard. The school is in an old building with tall windows and a wide staircase outside that leads to the entrance.
A group of young people, seemingly together for years, watch him closely as he puts a lock on his bicycle and sits down on a random bench.
2 Daniel looks across the schoolyard at a group of girls, and his eyes linger on one girl in particular. She looks like she just walked out of a fashion magazine. Alice is the daughter of a wealthy businessman and a former fashion model. She has a Northern-European appearance, and Daniel instantly falls in love.
3 In class, he behaves the way his father prefers him: hardworking and obedient. He addresses teachers with respect, pays close attention during lessons, and completes his tasks properly.
Daniel does not talk to anyone, which would turn many others into easy prey, but because of his stature, the other boys leave him alone. After a few weeks, he begins to feel comfortable and occasionally talks to other students about military things and girls, but he doesn't tell anyone how he feels about Alice.
4 Wendy is Alice's best friend and secretly has a crush on Daniel. His long, dark blond hair and blue eyes make her weak in the knees. Sometimes she makes eye contact with Daniel from across the schoolyard. She then smiles while quickly looking down. Daniel soon gets bored of this and just hopes Wendy makes a comment about him to Alice. Daniel doesn't dare to go after Alice himself. He’s seen more of the world than most of the boys here, but he’s still only fourteen and in love for the very first time.
5 After a few weeks, Daniel takes action. As he walks down the schoolyard after school to go home, he sees Alice standing just outside the gate—Oh, great, there are no boys around her; this is the moment!
Alice is chatting with Wendy. Daniel gathers up all his courage and walks straight up to her. "Hi, Alice, would you like to..."
Alice cuts him off mid-sentence: "Hey, loser, you think you have a chance with me or something? You've been staring at me for weeks; it ain’t happening, okay?"
And Alice abruptly turns her head away from Daniel, as if he doesn’t even exist.
6 Daniel turns away, and with a red face, he gets out of there. Wendy would kill for a date with Daniel, and she almost betrays her feelings by standing up for him. "Alice, was that really necessary?"
Alice puts Wendy in her place right away: "Well, then you go have fun with him!"
Wendy is shocked—does Alice really know that I like Daniel?
Alice continues: "And if you do go with him, you better stay away from me!"
Wendy laughs nervously and is relieved that Alice doesn't know about her true feelings for Daniel. "Do you really think I would fall for that loser, Alice?"
Alice looks at Wendy and says, "No, of course not, but because you were just defending him."
Daniel overhears Wendy calling him a loser as he cycles past them as he heads home as fast as he can.
Daniel 3.1—3.8
1 In the evening, Daniel sits alone in his room. He puts on his favorite cassette tape. In My Darkest Hour by Megadeth blares through the speakers of the teenager's room. Daniel screams along with the song. When he goes to bed at night, he feels himself getting sick. It storms inside his head—stupid bitches! I hope they don’t tell anyone about it. Maybe she was just shocked, and she will want me later? Bunch of cunts! No, Alice wants me. I know she does. Wendy called me a loser, goddamn it! Calm down, Daniel. Calm down.
It goes on like this for a while until he falls asleep, totally exhausted.
2 Daniel rides to school the next morning. As he comes past the schoolyard gate, he sees that all the students start pointing at him, and everyone starts laughing loudly. Alice has told everyone that Daniel wanted to kiss her against her will, and she asked all the students to start yelling loser when Daniel comes to school. Daniel also gets verbal threats thrown at him, but the laughter hurts him the most. He rides past the gate and goes straight home. Tears trickle down his cheeks—how could she do this to me?
3 Once home, his mother is worried to see her son come home so early. "Hey, honey, shouldn't you be at school?"
Daniel is afraid to tell his mother that the entire school humiliated him and replies that he suddenly fell ill.
"Oh, honey,” replies his mother as she inspects him closely, “your eyes are all red too; just go right back into your bed and I'll call the school."
All day, Daniel lies in bed, mulling over how he will handle this problem. Later, he strolls up and down the hall of his home, and suddenly he finds his answer. It's the biggest surprise he can think of—she will never see this coming; she'll love it.
Tomorrow, to escape the ridicule, Daniel will first make sure everyone is out of the schoolyard before he goes in himself. Then he will go inside, and he'll make it clear to Alice how he truly feels about her, and the whole school will know that she is his—Alice will not escape my love.
4 The next morning, Daniel grabs his bicycle and rides quietly to school. He rides up to the tall hedge across from the school and lays his bike on the ground. He looks through the hedge at the boys and girls in the square. A little further down the road is a phone booth. Daniel walks in and makes a phone call. A moment later, the school bell rings, and everyone walks in, chatting. Then Daniel walks quietly into the schoolyard. He can't remember ever being so sure of anything, and Daniel feels free and fantastic. He opens the school door and calmly walks in.
5 A van from the local news crew arrives at the school. An absolutely gorgeous journalist gets out and gets in front of the camera: "Are we rolling?"
"One moment," says the cameraman, raising his hand, "three, two, one..."
"Hello everyone! My name is Suzy Boss from News-Fact, and I'm here in front of a high school where there has just been a terrible shooting."
A crew member of the news team drags a crying girl in front of the camera.
Suzy Boss puts her hand on the girl’s shoulder and asks, "Can you tell us what just happened here?"
6 The girl replies with the panic still in her voice, "Class had just started, and we heard loud bangs, and it was getting closer and closer. Some said they were gunshots, and then the teacher said we all had to get under our tables."
Suzy looks at the girl with a curious look: "Were you able to see the shooter?"
The girl begins to cry and stutters, "It was Daniel, a boy from school. He was shooting around at everything, and there are students lying everywhere."
The journalist urges the girl, "Go on!"
"He continuously called Alice's name. Daniel is in love with her, but she rejected him."
7 "How awful, darling. Can you tell us more?" responds Suzy.
"He wanted to know where Alice was, but Alice is not in my class, just her friend Wendy and... and... he." Again, the girl begins to weep.
Suzy encourages her: "Just breathe, darling; you’re doing great."
A moment later, the girl continues her story: "When he couldn't find Alice, he put his gun on Wendy's head and pulled the trigger, just like that! Then he left in the direction of the other classes, looking for Alice."
Suzy squeezes the girl's shoulder and says, "Thank you for responding. You’re very brave!"
The journalist looks into the camera. "You heard it! A terrible tragedy happened here. We know there are many victims, and—one moment, please?" Suzy holds her earpiece close to her ear and listens intensely. "I’ve just heard that the police killed the perpetrator. Yes! The shooter has been eliminated!"
8 A woman is in the kitchen squeezing oranges as she hears the news about the school shooting over the radio. She barely breathes while the news comes out. A minute later, she calmly walks upstairs with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and opens the door to her kid’s bedroom. "Are you feeling a little better, dear?"
The sound of a scratchy voice comes from the bed. "Yes, mom. I think that I can go back to school tomorrow."
The woman puts the glass on a small table and sits down on the edge of her daughter's bed. "Alice, I have to tell you something terrible."