Panorama (18 page)

At the end of the hall is a door that opens into the dining hall, which is very big, all of the two hundred and fifty pupils wolfing down the main meal here together, before which a loud bell sounds, electronic bells that ring at every occasion being everywhere in The Box, the pupils knowing already what each one means, since here they are so well trained that everything runs like clockwork. Before the meal they all gather in a long hallway, each pupil having his own place that is labeled with a number from 1 to 250, the same number appearing on his clothes and everything else, Josef’s number being 33. Then they all stand up, the lowest number near Classroom I and onward up to Classroom IX, the even numbers on the right and the uneven on the left, and once everything is in order the door to the dining hall is opened, at which the highest number enters, all of them taking a spot at the long tables on each side, a light-gray tablecloth spread out upon each table, and all the pupils having to remain standing until the hall is full, the door is closed, and a designated student from the highest class says the prayer:

Then the pupils shove back their chairs, causing a great scraping sound, as they all sit down, followed by the Sprites, which is what the servant girls at The Box are called who bring the grub, which is what the food is called, four pupils always forming a group around each bowl, the oldest of them designated as the commander of the bowl who orders the others around and takes the first helping for himself, the youngest taking the last, though all the portions are divided equally beforehand.

During the meal loud talking is forbidden, indeed anyone who jabbers away too loudly receives a smack on the head in order to get his attention, the pupils never allowed to be alone anywhere or at any time, even in the toilets, where one can see whatever they’re doing because of the peepholes, while in the dining hall there is always an inspector standing by. There are four inspectors, who are called Herr Inspector, one having recently died, the living ones being Schuster, who is the best and whose group Josef belongs to, followed by Bemmchen, the one who in fact is dead, and whose pupils have been divided among the remaining inspectors, followed by Faber and, last, Löschhorn, all of them older men, Faber the oldest, Löschhorn not so old, and Schuster in between the two. Two of them are always on duty, but since the death of Bemmchen there is often only one, though sometimes all of them show up together. There are supposed to be two in the dining hall, but now there is often only one, who walks between the tables in order to keep an eye on things, while at least for lunch some teachers sit at the end of the tables, eating the same grub as the pupils, though they get more, the Sprites bringing them their own bowls and utensils. Once the grub is finished, everyone has to stand up, the prayer of thanks is said, after which everyone leaves the hall again together, beginning with the lowest, followed by the higher numbers, though after the meal the pupils can scatter as they wish without having to march back down the hallway.

If you climb the main staircase to the second floor, you arrive in another hallway, but one that is shorter and ends abruptly to the right, while across from the stairs is a room called The Chapel, though there is no longer any chapel here, because it was dismantled after the war, not because of the revolution but because the space was needed, the stained-glass windows still reminding you that this once was a chapel, candles most often needed for
light, as otherwise it is too dark. There are wash tables in The Chapel, just like those in the real laundry, that are made out of long iron frames on which rest black marble tops with holes that drain into washbasins made of tin, each basin resting under its number, and each pupil having a basin and his own spot. After washing, you turn over your basin and set it on the tin grate beneath the wash table, while during the washing up each morning the odd-numbered pupils come first, followed by the even-numbered ones. In the corners of the room are little chests that are full of drawers, though they cannot be taken out but only opened up with a key that the pupils have to keep on a key chain in order not to lose it, though indeed it is often lost or even stolen, and should one be found you have to give it to the inspector, who collects objects in a little glass box near the main staircase. The key is to keep your things locked up, each pupil’s drawer and cabinet having a lock that the key fits, but many other keys fit as well, which is a problem, for then things get stolen from the cabinets all the time, though if you lose your key you go to the office, where the secretary gives you a new one and writes it down on your account.

From the numbered drawer you take your toiletry box, which is also numbered, and go to your spot at the wash table and lay it down on the marble shelf that is above the marble countertop, each spot having its own faucet. You then take off you shirt and wash yourself just down to your belt, for you don’t take off your pants, but instead brush your teeth and wet your hair so that you comb your hair into a coif, which is what the barber calls it, almost everyone having a coif and proud of it. If you’re in the odd-numbered group you have to hurry, for soon the inspector whistles and calls out “Second group!” so that you have to finish fast. Otherwise the washroom is open only before the noon meal and the evening meal in order to wash your hands, though not everyone does that, and if it’s found out they get a smack on the head and have to head to the washroom. When the first group is busy washing up, the second group has to shine their shoes, which is why next to The Chapel there is a room especially for this, the pupils placing one foot at a time on a low bench, the tools for polishing also contained in a box similar to that for toiletries, though this one can’t be locked, since no one ever steals such things, each pupil having his designated spot in the shoeshine room as well. Once the first group is done washing up, they
head off to shine their shoes, and it often happens that you get your hands dirty again with shoe polish, but by then there is no longer any more time to properly wash them, which is why you then quickly run into the toilet, where there are faucets attached to water lines. You can also get a drink of water there, otherwise water is available only in the dining hall in the evenings, the Sprites placing a bottle of water for each group on the table, though they place them along with the grub only for those eating, after which everything else must be set out.

Everything at The Box is handled very precisely, and that is done in order to get the pupils used to good breeding and order, there being many rules, and you have to obey all of them in order not to be scolded and get a smack on the head, which is also why the setup with the washing and the shoe shining was put in place. Because it can happen that during the day your shoes might need shining when the shoeshine room is closed, the little cabinets containing the polishing materials are located outside in the hall, though there are no comfortable benches on which to place your feet, and so you place your feet on the windowsill, where some also like to sit, though that is forbidden. If the washroom is open, then you can walk through it to the dressing room, which has an exit to the side stairwell, but for the most part you use this only on Saturday afternoons in order to get to the laundry. In the dressing room light-brown lockers stand in a row and are fastened to the floor and consist of two parts, their surface covered with holes like showerheads in order that good air circulation is maintained, they capable of being closed both above and below, the lower part wider and containing two compartments where the shoes are placed on top of the linens, while the top compartment is where you put your clothes on wooden hooks and those that need to be ironed on metal rods.

If on the second floor you head left to the end of the hallway, you come to a door that is open only during free periods and especially at night, this being the playroom, where there is a piano on which anyone can play, yet only the older pupils are allowed in, as they try to pick something out on the keys, mostly songs, usually popular ones, there always being a group of them standing around, singing the two most popular songs, the first beginning:

The other begins:

Others belt out patriotic songs, but that doesn’t happen so often, while to the melody of “Watch on the Rhine” some sing vulgar lyrics when there’s no grown-up around, which begin:

There are also four billiard tables in the playroom, one for children, two others that are somewhat better, while one is the right size for grown-ups, only the oldest of the pupils allowed to play on it, there also being two other tables with special games, around which the youngest pupils gather, since they’re meant for children, and in addition there’s a row of different game tables that are square and have four chairs around them with hooped backs.

The playroom has another small door through which at night The Bull sometimes enters, since this door leads directly to his apartment, and whenever The Bull arrives most everyone is afraid, as whoever is sitting stands up and bows to The Bull, who only says “Evening” and gives a sign for them to continue playing. At the tables the pupils play chess and checkers and Nine Men’s Morris and a fun new game called Don’t Lose Your Temper, though cards are not allowed, except for children’s card games. The Bull looks on, the pupils having to pretend as if he weren’t even there, but naturally they are uneasy, many of them nervous and turning red in the face. The Bull likes to be affable when he’s in the playroom, and as he chats with the pupils some of them want to suck up to him as they talk and smile at him, and if they feel comfortable enough they ask him questions and pretend they really want to hear the answers, and as The Bull explains something to them he sits down
at a table, a cluster of pupils gathering round him in order to listen to him like placid sheep, their mouths agape in their wonderment at everything he has to say. The Bull also knows who among the pupils are the best chess players, for the pupils have a chess club that is divided up like the classes, each with a master, as they play tournaments against one another, and so one knows exactly who is the best in The Box. The Bull asks who would like to play chess with him, but only the very best feel comfortable enough to do so, for they are proud when they can play a game or two with The Bull, one even having once beaten him. Years ago The Bull also played billiards with the pupils, but he no longer does so, for he has a heart condition, one of the pupils having heard from Inspector Schuster that The Bull is not at all healthy, which is why many worry about him, as it’s dangerous for him to yell loudly, though he still quietly bellows and gets red with anger. No one has a voice as powerful as The Bull’s, no inspector can yell as loud, only Faber coming close, Inspector Schuster also having told a pupil that The Bull would probably outlive them all, for he has a wife who works on him with magnetization, running her hands over his face when he has a spell with his heart, as he lies in bed and she says prayers until he recovers and is again healthy and can be seen throughout The Box.

If you take the main staircase to the third floor you’ll find the dormitory, which contains beds for all two hundred and fifty pupils, the toilets to the right and left, while the beds stand in long rows, all of them bolted together in pairs, a piece of black iron standing between so that none can move into the adjoining bed, though there is a bit of access between them, as holes are cut into the iron that create a pattern that reminds one of a four-leaf clover. And between each pair of iron double bedframes there is an open aisle with a stool at each end on which each evening the pupil lays his clothes and then takes his nightshirt out of the bed, his shoes placed on the shelf that is on each stool, where during the day he puts his house shoes, which is what slippers are called, though house shoes are worn only when you have to go to the toilet.

Eight-thirty is bedtime, a bell ringing just prior to it throughout The Box and the courtyard, at which everyone must head in, though in no particular order, many choosing to head to the toilets, though you hear “Hurry up!” because of the time, while near the main staircase, where you find the
glass box with the lost-and-found items, stands The Bull, gazing on at the pupils, and it’s normal, not required, that everyone go up to The Bull and give him his hand, which leads to a lot of shuffling feet as heels are clicked together and bows are made, and The Bull says good night to the pupils. The Bull doesn’t like it if someone passes by without saying good night, but since there are so many pupils it doesn’t really matter if one ignores him, Josef going up to him only now and then, and not liking to at all. The inspectors are also often there, and you can say good night to them as well, but that matters a lot less, and so only a few pupils go over to them. Above in the dorm you’re supposed to go straight to bed, and there it’s the opposite of how it is in the classrooms, for here the lowest numbers are to the right, instead of to the left below, though the bed wetters are placed right next to the entrance, the night monitor waking them up on a regular basis so that they can head straight to the toilet, himself sitting there throughout the night, except for when he makes his rounds. But when waking the bed wetters doesn’t work then their beds are lifted up onto two stakes at the base, so that they lie there on an incline and are ridiculed by everyone, though doing this doesn’t work, either, after which they are left alone.

In the dorm you have to undress quickly, for the inspectors walk through the room and make sure that everyone is soon done. Two inspectors spend the night, but since there are only three sometimes only one stays the night. A platform made of wood has been set up to the left and the right for them, a carpet leading up to it like a pulpit, though the bed cannot be seen, since curtains surround the platform which the inspector can pull open when he wants to look out into the room, while from below all that can be seen is his head. After the lights are turned off it’s not really dark, for throughout the night lights are left on that give off a weak, strange light, which causes many new pupils to be afraid, for it’s green, Josef thinking that in such a color is where one finds water spirits and mermen, if indeed they are not just fables in themselves. Once the big light is turned off, the inspectors make one or two more rounds, then climb up onto their platform and turn on their night light, which shines softly through the curtain, the night attendant also making a couple of rounds before retiring. In the morning everyone is up at five-thirty, the bells ringing again and for a good while, so that everyone wakes up, anyone who is not out of bed immediately being
helped out, it’s all done military style, though not quite, since all of that is forbidden following the war, although not entirely, in order that the young are not coddled too much. Only on Sunday is the wake-up call later, coming just past seven, though many are already awake, since they’re used to getting up early.