As in a movie

AS IN A MOVIE 1. PSYCHE Gašper’s life was going very well. At least he thought so. His mom was saying to him to be patient to people with different opinions, but she definitely was not. One day Gašper wanted to watch a movie and he asked his mom for permission. Easily, without thinking, she said no. The movie had a +12 sign, which meant that he couldn’t watch it as he was 11 years old. That made him angry. His mom told him that these movies weren’t good for his psyche. Gašper didn’t know what this expression meant so he tried to find it on the Internet. He found out that psyche was something we had in our heads, but not as an organ.

It was something like a feeling and connected with nervousness.

His mom was nervous many times and that was probably why she liked the word so much.

2. FAMILY AND OTHER GROUPS Gašper was an only child and lived with his parents. His dad worked in an office and had a really incompetent boss. His mom was an accountant. She could also paint nicely. When she was in a good mood she baked pancakes but when she was sad she just sat by the window and looked outside. Lately, she was often sad. Dad watched a lot of TV. Life was miserable.

In Gašper’s class there were four groups. In the first group there were girls led by Marjana and in the second group Tina was the leader of girls. In the third group there were Žele, Pero and Jole and Gašper and his friend Marko formed the fourth group.

Gašper talked to Tina a lot but not at school. They often talked

over Skype, he liked her. He wanted to ask her if she was bored at home as he was but their talk went in another direction.

3. TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION Mom walked a lot to the bedroom on Sunday. Dad was not at home and Gašper caught her when she threw a pill into her mouth and swallowed it without water. He asked her if she was sick, but she just shook her head and went to the kitchen. He quickly went on the Internet, suspecting that his mother was on drugs. He asked her what transcendental meditation (which was one of the side effects) was, but she did not know. He happily established that his mom did not eat drugs.

4. DAD OUT OF MONEY Gašper finally calmed down when he found out that his mom didn't take drugs. But something still didn't feel right. He checked all sources to convince himself that his mom really wasn't a drug addict. Gašper went to bed though dad still wasn't at home. He couldn't sleep, so he was turning around in his bed. After a long time he heard his dad, who came home very late from a football match. First Gašper heard his dad and mom only talking, but then they started to fight about dad cheating on mom. Gašper listened very carefully. After a while he decided to fall asleep, but he still couldn't. Something didn't give him peace. Something was wrong. Gašper only had one grandpa and one grandma, who were now in an old people's home. They used to have an apartment, but Gašper's dad gambled it on cards with mafia.

When Gašper heard about mafia he thought that his dad might be one of them. He googled everything and checked all the

information. He concluded his parents were secret spies who lived "a double life".

5. VISIT WITH AN ANIMAL After a long day Gašper went to bed but again he couldn't sleep.

All of a sudden he heard a noise in the bathroom. His first thought was mafia and their meetings. He got up and saw a big fat bald man with a big fat dog by the window. A murderer! He was looking for Gašper's dad. Gašper thought only of saving his dad, so he lied about his dad's business trip. The man and the dog both started laughing. Out of nowhere the man pulled a gun from his pocket. Gašper ran into the living room like a real acrobat. He jumped over closets and caught on the chandelier. He swung and flew into the fat man's stomach. The man lost his balance and fell on the ground. As he was falling, he pulled off all the pictures from the wall. The loud noise woke up mom and dad. They were both very surprised about the night visitor. The man's dog ran into Gašper's foot and started biting. Gašper quickly got rid of it.

The fat man was then preparing to shoot with his gun. Gašper grabbed mom and dad and they jumped off the balcony. They fell into water. Gašper started to feel warm around his legs. He peed himself. Finally he woke up and realized it was all just a dream.

6. MY PARENTS ARE DEFINITELY SPIES Gašper peed in his bed. He waited for his mom to say something, but she didn't. She was talking to dad in the kitchen and Gašper was listening. His dad was just drinking coffee and trying to tie his tie, not successfully. Gašper knew he would spill the coffee, as this always happened. Mom asked him when he would come home but he only shrugged. She also asked why he was never

in the office and why the phone was off. And it happened: coffee dripped on his shirt and he angrily went into the bedroom. Mom followed. Now Gašper had time to carry the wet sheet to the bathroom. He had not even had breakfast but he had already accepted it, since mom had frequently forgotten. He again heard his mom and dad argue. They were talking about mom spying on his dad and that she had reasons for this. Dad said she was a real spy. Gašper became interested in these words, since they had used them many times before. They continued to say ugly words to each other, but Gašper went to school. For some time he stood in the hallway and listened to his parents' argument. He thought that they were genuinely spies because they had been spying on one another. Unnoticed he left home.

7. A DUEL ON THE SCHOOL PLAYGROUND Gašper was waiting for Marko at the traffic light opposite the school. They always went to school together because that way they were stronger, as they were always being harassed by Žele, Jole and Pero early in the morning. When they came to school, the three were waiting for them and making fun of them. Marko and Gašper tried to avoid them but failed. Pero stood in front of them and asked them if they knew what Gašper meant. Since he did not stop, Gašper went mad and shouted NO! Everyone, including Marjana's group of girls, was so surprised that their jaws almost fell to the ground. Then the leader of the group Žele stepped in front of them and showed them his fist. He did not hit them though. He tried to encourage Pero to say what Gašper meant, but Pero, in all his astonishment, could not. Gašper knew Tina was watching so he did not want to give in. The girls became bored and they were no longer watching. Then Žele, Pero and Jole voluntarily withdrew and Gašper, Marko and Tina were able

to go to school. Gašper thought to himself how cool it was to have spies for parents.

8. THE BAPTISM ON THE SAVICA Students were at one of the last Slovene lessons in the school year. The teacher said that they were all probably waiting for the new school year, but Žele only shook his head. The teacher didn´t mind what he was saying, so she just continued the lesson.

As always, she opened the book with Prešern´s poetry and picked out the poem Krst pri Savici, but nobody was listening. At the end, when she said that poems warmed up all of them, Pero said that the central heating was what usually warmed him up the most. Žele added that it wouldn't be so bad if they lit up Gašper and Marko. He also said that Marko was the son of an alcoholic and because of that Marko went out of the class crying.

9. GRIZLA REALLY BITES Grizla went mad. She threw Prešeren's poems on the table and started screaming, that Žele (something like Jello in English) was an idiot, stupid, insensitive liar and sadist. Class started to understand, why she was called Grizla (something like Biter in English). At the and she said, that she would be very happy because Žele was going to another school next year. Suddenly, the school bell rang and children ran out of classrooms like sand from a van.

10. POLDE AND MIROSLAV Gašper was going home from school and while passing by Marko he grabbed him by the sleeve, but the hall was crowded with students so it was harder for them to run out of school. Tina was

in front of the main school door so Gašper ran into her. He asked her if she wanted to go home with him but she sadly said no. She did say they were going to video chat on Skype later on in the day though. Gašper pulled Mark and they ran home. They thought that they were going to avoid the bullies but the fight just started. In front of Gašper’s block Žele, Pero and Jole were waiting for them and threw some fists at their faces, especially Gašper’s. They wanted to turn Marko against Gašper, but right before Marko would punch Gašper, Mr. Polde came from behind the cars and his dog Miroslav started growling and barking.

11. MOTHER HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED When Gašper came home he noticed destroyed things all over the floor. He searched for his mother, but he couldn’t find her anywhere. He suspected someone broke into their home and kidnapped his mom. Gašper didn’t know what to do, so he searched the Internet for how to recognize a burglary. He concluded that someone had kidnapped his mother. Later he got a call from Tina. He explained the whole situation to her and she told him to call the police.

12. DETECTIVES Detectives asked Gašper if he opened the front door alone.

Gašper thought the detectives looked like the ones in American movies. One was small and fat, and the other was tall and slim.

They came to save the crime of the disappearance of his parents.

The short detective was the boss, while the tall one was his assistant. Gašper told them that there were clothes missing from mom's closet. They also checked if there was something else missing. They found out that a suitcase was also missing. They

predicted that his parents went on holiday. At that moment Gašper saw his dad at the door. He cried from happiness.

13. PIZZA MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER When dad came in the room, he didn't want to look into Gašper's eyes. Like a traitor. He said that mom went on holidays. Gašper was offended and he asked if she broke all the porcelain. Dad started stuttering that adults had their own problems. Gašper asked where mom was again. Dad answered that she left them and she had to be alone for some time. He didn't know where she was, but she left a message. He said adults had to put some things in order and that in the meantime he would leave him with a friend. Dad also said mom wanted that. He clapped and said it was time for pizza. Like pizza could make everything okay again.

14. PIZZA FOR BREAKFAST TOO A lot of things happened to Gašper in one day. Almost as much as in a movie. He told this to his dad while they were eating pizza.

Gašper told him everything. But he didn’t tell him about Žele, Pero and Jole. He bragged about how good he was in the courtyard in the morning. But he didn’t mention that Žele punched him, he was ashamed since his dad had been a boxing club member when he was younger. In the evening Gašper was thinking about all of the things that happened to him. He concluded that his dad was not happy since his mom left.

When Gašper woke up the next day he heard his dad cleaning the house. When he came to the kitchen dad said that he would make breakfast, but since he was a bad cook Gašper asked him to order pizza.

15. THE JOURNEY BEGINS While waiting for his dad in the car, Gašper was thinking about dad’s friend. When dad came back he told Gašper that he was very happy with his grades in school, except for sports. Dad did not like Gašper’s sports grades. And then he told Gašper how good he had been at sports when he was his age. And they drove off. During the drive they stopped at McDonald’s for some hamburgers. They continued to drive until they turned to a dirty road and almost hit a cow. As they were driving the dirty road was becoming more and more narrow until they came to its end.

There was a fence and behind it a house surrounded by dark trees.

16. DAD IN THE TREE Gašper was sitting in the car, when he heard an awful squeak.

He saw his frightened dad and a monster with short legs and human skin behind him. It was going around very fast. When it got really close to dad, he jerkily jumped up in the tree. An animal was still trying to get his behind, when a very tall man came. He called the monster and she was actually a pig. Her name was Katarina Velika (Katherine the Great). She quickly came to the man and then she went in the house. When the situation calmed, dad climbed down the tree. Gašper was excited about everything that he was going to experience in the following days. He was thinking about everything he had talked about with Tina and Marko, when he remembered he wasn't his friend anymore.

Then he saw how dad and the man started to talk. Dad pulled out the note and gave it to the man. When he read it, he nodded and looked at Gašper. It was starting to get dark and Gašper got out of the car. Then he met the man, Maks. He was very tall and very old, but Gašper liked him. Dad took Gašper's things and then he

came back. Maks invited him to a cup of tea, but dad was in a hurry so he kissed Gašper on the head and left.

17. KATHERINE THE GREAT It was very dark, so Gašper and Maks went to the house. First they stepped into the hallway, where Katarina Velika had her place. Maks talked about how he saved her from a farm where they wanted to slaughter her and that she didn't bite nice people.

Gašper put his hand in front of her nose. She smelled it and contentedly oinked. Then they went to a big room, full of books.

Books were on cupboards, in bookcases, on the floor and everywhere else. Gašper was amazed at the amount of books and he asked Maks where he got all of them and if he had already read all of them. Maks taught him that books were best friends and were always there for you, even if you were not reading them. They also made a deal that Gašper should address Maks only with his first name. Soon they walked upstairs on big red stairs. They first entered a blue room and Gašper saw many things that weren't for adults. There was a mountain bike, a model of aircraft carrier, a toy box and other things. He asked Maks if his son lived here. Maks kept quiet for a moment and then said yes. Lastly they went to the yellow bathroom where Gašper saw books again. Then he unpacked his things and Maks went to the kitchen to cook dinner. After a while Gašper showed up in the kitchen and they ate delicious pancakes. After dinner Gašper went to bed, because it was very late.

18. MAKS’S MORNING LESSONS Gašper woke up in the blue room. He quickly washed in the yellow bathroom and rolled into the basement. Wherever he looked, there was green grass and trees. He looked at the house

and found out that it is wooden and purple. He found Maks behind the house with chickens. They went for a morning walk.

Katarina Velika and the chickens went too. First, they fed birds.

There were so many of them. Some birds sat on their shoulders.

Then they took same ingredients for breakfast. Maks thought of a new recipe for breakfast, but Gašper was sceptic about it. He figured out that all men were the same. They liked to think they could cook and they drank beer. Maks told him that after breakfast they would have an hour of reading and after that he would show him his workshop. And if he wanted, they would go for another walk in the evening.

19. A PEN On their return, they went into the room with books. The shelves were full of books. Maks told him that he didn't have the Internet, because he hadn't made his mind about it yet. Anyway, everything could be found in books. Gašper wanted to enthuse him with Internet. He told him that now he could video chat with Tina. Maks was surprised when Gašper told him that he talked with Tina only over the Internet. Maks thought that she wasn't a real friend. He gave him a diary and a pen. He told him to write important things in the diary. Gašper didn't know what to write in it. He put the pen away and opened a book about birds.

20. ATTEMPT WITH THE DIARY NO. 1 Gašper started writing into the diary. He found out that reading books was interesting and it gave you a great feeling. Just like stacking wood from the backyard into the basement. But he still missed the Internet and chatting over Skype with his friend Tina.

He missed his parents too.

21. A PAUSE As Gašper was staying at Maks’s place, he didn’t t have the Internet. He could learn about things only from books, which he didn’t like to read. Gašper found out that Maks wrote some books about colours. He also found out where Maks met his mom. After lunch they had a pause. Gašper just sat on the stairs, but Maks and his house pig Katarina Velika went for a walk around the house.

22. ATTEMPT WITH THE DIARY NO. 2 Gašper was sitting on the stairs and writing in his diary. Maks and Katarina Velika were watching him and suddenly Maks asked if he knew he was holding a bird. Gašper's first thought was he was joking, but Maks explained everything. He said that the pen was a bird catching words from the sky. Then he smiled, but Gašper still thought he was joking. He decided that he wouldn't believe everything Maks said.

23. ATTEMPT WITH THE DIARY NO.3 Gašper slept in a room called a »thinking closet«, which only had room for a bed and some books. Because he didn't know what »thinking closet« meant, Maks had to explain. He liked the word »thinking closet«.

Because they didn't know what they were going to eat, Gašper suggested McDonalds. Maks didn't know what that was so Gašper picturesquely explained and Maks then made delicious hamburgers.

24. BLUE, DUCKED INTO YELLOW When Gašper woke up the next morning, he saw Maks who said they were going cycling. While they were cycling, Gašper asked him whose the bike and the room he was sleeping in last night were but Maks didn't answer him so Gašper stopped the bike.

Then Maks couldn't ignore him and he confessed that the room and the bike were meant for his son but now they were for him.

25. HORROR Gašper and Maks were cycling along a narrow forest path.

Gašper was pleased that Maks woke him up so early. He could see the beauty of the morning . Max cycled fast and Gašper followed him. The morning air whistled around his ears and he felt as if he were in such television show where they were filming commercials for mountain bike rides. During the journey, Gašper thought about Maks keeping a secret from him. He remembered the room in which he was staying and how Max always withdrew his eyes when he was asked about everything... he thought it all seemed suspicious. He was surprised that Maks never talked about his wife.

The morning sun was shining more and more, they cycled across the brook and watched the deer. They went deeper into the forest. Gašper began to imagine cycling through the deep forest of great secrets. Maks urged him to step off the bicycle and quietly climb between the spruces where they could see some deer. Gašper liked what he saw. Maks took a moment and started telling Gašper how two people could live together and how they break apart if they do not like each other. Gašper felt uncomfortable and Maks sat down beside him, and for some time

they were silent. After a while, Maks embraced him and laid his other hand on his knee. The horror began.

26. ATTEMPT WITH THE DIARY NO. 4 The worst thing happened to Gašper. Why did his dad bring him here? Why did he always allow people to treat him as they liked?

Because he was a child? He had no clue how he would survive this. He felt like all the shelves in a store full of bean cans and spaghetti boxes fell on him and people just laughed. Why was this happening to him?

27. ALMOST AS IN A MOVIE He met his real dad. When his dad - Maks told him the truth Gašper became terribly angry. Maks tried to comfort him, telling him that he had been waiting for him for 13 years, that the room was for him, that the bike was his, but Gašper was unable to hear all that. He felt betrayed, so he ran off with the bicycle. He fell and Maks took him to the house. He felt like in a movie.

28. SAVING PUMPKINS When Gašper woke up he saw a silhouette with a dog. He ran away from the silhouette. He was looking for Maks and realised that Maks had turned into a pumpkin. Katarina Velika had also turned into a pumpkin. He ran down the meadow and finally hid in a boat. Suddenly he realised that all this was just a dream and he felt embarrassed that he peed into his bed. He thought of Maks but he was too tired. After a while he lay back into bed and fell asleep.

29. DAD AND DAD Even though Gašper discovered the truth about his dad yesterday, he and Maks talked like usually. After breakfast they waited for Katarina Velika to speak. While waiting, Max started to feel bad because he missed Gašper's first words. They spent the day cleaning around the house and in the evening mom came.

When Gašper saw her, he remembered everything and he did not want to see her. He ran into the forest. Mom came after him and apologized for everything. They went back to the house.

Gašper was very confused because he had to figure out who he would call dad from now on. Really funny. They went home by taxi, his mom and him.

30. DIARY In this adventure, Gašper learnt a lot of new things. He became more self-confident and invited Tina to the cinema. She said yes.

He stayed in touch with Maks, they were friends. He also found some things that were worth writing down in his diary. He turned 12 and they were now a great big family. To tell it briefly - he was no longer 11 and he would never be watching this movie again.