Department of English Gymnasium Steglitz Berlin
English Major 2007/09
Welcome
to our homepage. Here we publish the results of our Short Story Project / 1st term
"The Insect in You".
Click on our faces to see what each of us has achieved.
by Julia Lutze
Being one of hundreds
of children of one mother was never easy for Lily. Especially because her mum was the
queen of their colony, so she never really got to see her or even talk to her. This is
kind of education was really formative for a growing-up: If you got born as a worker, you
were fed by older ones and after a couple of days you were switched to a diet compared to
the new born queens. Lily was one of those workers, but even though she was already an
adult, her duties weren’t centered around reproduction but to feed the larvae,
secrete the wax for build their colony hive, clean and maintain it and guard the hive and
not until later to forage the nectar and pollen.
Her whole life was
centered on her mum and her needs about keeping their colony alive. The workers
didn’t have any personal rights; all they worked for was for a bigger group of their
own, which they didn’t even know.
The days came when
the colony realized that their queen wouldn’t live much longer, so they prepared a
few larvae, so one of them could become a new queen.
Lily was guarding
outside their hive with three other workers, she had never talked to. While she was
walking up and down the entrance balcony she thought about her mother, how she got treated
by her and how she ruled over their colony. She didn’t like that everyone was so
subordinated; they never got treated well and their needs were never heard. All they lived
for was basically to produce delicious honey, made of different kind of flowers for the
humans, who collected their nectar in honeycombs. Only a small amount of the pollen they
were allowed to keep. Next to that, she was an infertile female, she couldn’t even
start a family of her own, which was one of her biggest dreams: to open up her own hive,
where everyone could do the job they wanted, every single member would have its own
rights.
She was now starring
at the darkened sky, a huge cloud was moving towards her. As it got closer, it got bigger
and she noticed a weird unknown noise, whirring. Hit by an adrenalin rush Lily screamed:
“DANGER!!! We are getting attacked! Close all the entrances and hide the queen!”
From one moment to
the other their hive was surrounded by hundreds of
bees, but they looked different. As Lily turned around she stumbled backwards, a big drone
was closing in on her; she was petrified with horror and at the same time amazed by his
big black eyes. He stood there, very majestically.
She tossed her body
to think straight again, clearing her throat she asked him: “Who are you and what do
you want, I don’t think you’re at the right place here with your whole
colony.”
The drone looked
around, smiled at her and took a bow. He started:” I’m sorry to overwhelm you
like this, but our colony got too big. We’re looking for a suitable spot to grow a
new one. The only problem is that we want to represent new interests and so far no other
colony wanted us to settle down near them.” Lily became clairaudient, this just
sounded like all her dreams would come true. More relaxed she asked:” What kind of
new interests are you thinking
of?” Being surprised by Lily acting like she was truly interested, he
answered:”Well, we are sick of being slaves. We want to have our own rights and live
with our own individual beliefs without being forced to serve one queen and those
humans.”
Lily knew she had to
act quickly. She could either raise an alarm again, so the drone and his colony had no
other choice except for fly or she could just go with them and finally live like she
always wanted to and dreamt of…
One year later. Lily
was sitting in front of her home, next to Paul. Both were happy to see all the young ones
playing around. They were hovering through the air, dancing with the warm spring breeze.
She knew she had everything she ever wanted. Her community was working as every other
community in their district except that all her members had their own lives. There
wasn’t one queen, who had control over everyone, they didn’t deliver nectar
anymore. One day her new friends came back from foragering nectar to report that they had
met other people who were really unhappy with their situation. After they got told about
the new style colony, they promised to try and change their own hive, to be not as
dependent on the humans...it had been the start of a revolution.
by Gabriel Richardz
Silence. Total
silence.
Suddenly he could
hear that high sound, that chirping sound. When he could see the fatal swarm, he already
knew it was too late. They were coming to destroy everything he lived for. They ate his
crop. At this moment he is aware of his hopeless situation. Out of desperation he ran into
the field trying to scare them away. Even after using his strongest poison only a small
number of them was dead. There was nothing he could do anymore. They were simply breeding
too rapidly. They didn‘t leave till they had grazed everything.
Numbed he was
standing in front of the stripped field after they are were gone. The hot summer sun was
burning on his forehead and he was realilizing that the foundation his life was built on
is gone. While raising his
head he saw the untouched sea.
In the dawn of the
next morning you could only hear the chippering sound of the few birds which had not left
after all trees were grazed. It was such a peaceful atmosphere in which the man pulled his
fishing boat out of the boat house. Suddenly the silence was interrupted by the deep sound
of his engine. He cast his dragnet in the deepness of the sea. It was silent on the
surface but he couldn't hear the scraping tone on the bottom of the ocean.
After taking down his net he was overwhelmed by the
plenty of fish species. Most of them were already dead or shredded by the dragnet. But he
didn't care. The most profitable one survived. The scampi. He didn't need the other fishes
anymore so he threw them back in the ocean.
Since that day he
went fishing every day. But the number of fishing boats increased and one day he couldn't
afford the expensive boat, because the number of caught scampi sank rapidly.
So he sat on the
beach looking on the ocean when he saw a tiny locust coming out of his egg.
by Fanny Tausendteufel
“Are they
noticing?“, she kept asking herself. “Are they noticing, that I am not, who I am
pretending to be? That I have been wearing a costume everyday I have lived?” Lindsey
nervously ran her limbs through her short, hirsute hair. She was still not sure, if dying
it, had been the right idea. Black and yellow was not her, but all the people in school
were wearing their hair like that and Lindsey did not want to stand out. She just wanted
to be like everybody else. The more she tried, though, the more she lost herself and now
she could not even look in the mirror anymore, because the reflection was not Lindsey, it
was something, that she had created over the years, and that she could not identify with.
It was made to meet her parents, her teachers, her societies expectations, maybe even the
ones of herself. They were hungry creatures, crawling on the ground, waiting for her to
fall down, and Lindsey, who managed hovering above them for a long time, was near to
collaps. Not even the sweet taste of the nectar of success and recognition could give her
enough strength to carry on pretending to be a bee. Because she was not a bee, and she
would never be one. Lindsey was a fly and she would have to start to accept that.
She slid off the
chair, this important exam, that meant her future, in her hand. She cried hard and it did
not seem like she would ever stop. Lindsey let herself go, she was not wearing that
costume anymore, she was truly herself. But what about the creatures? Was she able to
fight them? Were her parents still going to love her? Would she now be able to look in the
mirror? Would she be able to accept herself? These things were still on her mind, but they
did not scare her anymore. She did not feel as small and helpless as she did before.
Lindsey knew she had changed and she was ready and excited to know who this new Lindsey
was.
by Frederik Franz
It was a wonderful place to
live. We had everything. You can’t even imagine how beautiful it was. Lovely forests,
trees were standing side by side, and we always had more than enough to enjoy our lives in
every possible way. But then it has changed into a world I am not able to recognize
anymore. I still can’t believe what happened in such a short period of time.
But let me start all over again
to tell you the whole story.
My name is Etimret and I am a
termite. I’ve been a termite for my entire life and I don’t believe in Hinduism
that’s why I probably won’t be anything else after this. That’s nothing to
worry about because you have an easy life as a termite and you really get used to it once
you start liking the taste of a good pine tree or even an old oak with a tasty stem.
I used to live with my colony in
this beautiful place called Woods with some other species but we were the biggest and
strongest ones and so we kind of ruled over the others even though nobody ever actually
made us the kings of the world. We were just the most evolved and sophisticated ones.
And that
was also the way how we lived. We lived like kings. There were so many trees and we
couldn’t think about saving some for the future because there were just too many. In
the beginning it was just one or two per day but after some years it became slowly more.
The reason for that was probably that our colony grew bigger and bigger and we needed more
food. But that wasn’t the only reason. We also started to eat just the stem of the
tree or just a few branches. We didn’t care much for the rest of the tree or what
happened to it. Sometimes we even ate just the best part of the tree, which is of course
the delicious root, and then moved along to the next tree. Within some years you could
really tell the difference. Everywhere were lying half-eaten trees or
some rotten parts of an old plant. It was a disaster but even then just a very small part
of the colony cared about it. I was one of those who tried to convince the rest of us to
stop the insanity. We tried to explain to our fellows what damage we caused and what the
consequences would be if we did not change our attitude towards our beloved Woods. It was
pointless. They just laughed at us. They didn’t think about tomorrow. They had become
a throwaway society and there was nothing me and my friends could do about it.
Some more years passed and more
and more other termites realized the damage. They started to join in with our efforts to
save the Woods. The most popular termites suddenly identified themselves with our little
organization. It really helped a lot to warn more and more other termites. In the meantime
a large number of other species became extinct because we had destroyed their place to
live which had also been the Woods. There weren’t many trees left and it looked
really bleak and desert-like.
Even though we had almost the
whole colony on our side there were still a couple of termites that didn’t want to
hear anything about our “Global-Chopping” theory. They continued with their
extravagant lifestyles and kept eating and eating until the last tree was gone.
All efforts to save our Woods or
even our own lives had failed. I had tried so hard and nothing had worked.
Now I look around and see
millions of hungry termites that start to eat each other. If they are lucky they will get
one with a little wood left in its stomach. I’m right in the middle of them and write
all this down to send a warning to whoever will read this next. Do not make the same
mistake as I did. Don’t waste your time trying to make stupid termites smart. You
won’t change them.
Enjoy your life as long as you
can with all the pleasures the Woods (or whatever it is called in your society) can give
you because in the end you will die anyway, no
matter how hard you tried to stop this process.
by Francesca Poschen
The church bell
sounded clearly as every day. A female stalked through the porch – numb but elegant.
It was the same woman, the same sight of which he was amazed and immediately fascinated in
a way as he saw her several times when he positioned himself on the green next to the
church. She was a tall female – taller than him like every female of their kind, but
still there was something that made her unique in the proximity of the elemental
appearance of nature. No move, no emotion – her disguise was perfect. Mantises are
diurnal predators, so she probably was being on a hunt. She was just standing fixed with
her limbs in the usual position like she was praying; gazing to the sky as if she caught a
glimpse of something but there wasn’t anything special in his point of view. It
seemed like she was liberated of cures, like church gave her strength. He’d never
been a religious one, although his race used to hold up this call, but now as he saw the
female he begrudged her, because her religious conviction kept her grounded, made her
invincible, which sustained his inexplicable attraction to her. It seemed like she was
performing a hidden courtship that made him so staggered, even if she was not doing a
single move. His need to become acquainted to the one, which seemed to be from the same
breed because of the inner connection between them, made him crawl towards her guided by
his sensory nerves. He didn’t just want to meet her, but to know her, to mate her.
The days of summer
were over, the deadly cold wind let the leaves drop to the ground – it was time for
partnerships. When he broke her camouflage she still looked calm:
“Are you waiting
for something?”
Her head turned
slowly around and did almost half a rotation:
“Yes, for
food.”
“For how long do
you intend to wait here?”
“Hours….days?
But it looks like I already found something.”
He took this as an
invitation – they went to a restaurant. Her charm was so overwhelming that he could
simply enjoy his meal while she didn’t seem to be satisfied. After the dinner she
suddenly disappeared. Even so he wasn’t afraid of that because he knew where to find
her. And in fact a few days later she was again standing at the same place like the last
time.
“Do you still
wait for some food?”
“Yes, because
our last hunt didn’t satisfy my needs”, she said in a mysterious voice.
This time he took
this as a challenge, so he invited her to his place to have diner…
by Lerina Otto
Things happen…
Personally I would
describe my home as big, well actually it`s huge but I haven`t built it.
This is where my
operations are going on, when it`s dark I`m there.
This is what happend.
He layed still.
Covered between the soft and cosy sheets it gave him this haevenly feeling of being safe
and beloved. It had been a long working day, he had had some arguments with his boss and
now he was completely exhausted. His eyelids became heavier and heavier, his thoughts were
circling about whether to fall asleep or go to the toilet beforehand, he remembered later
that he had wondered why his bedroom had smelled a bit weired but in the end he had closed
his eyes.
I crept with all my
mates forward, centimeter per centimeter.
There he lay.
Just one more step
and my hunger would be satisfied. His skin was gleaming.
I was concentrating
intensely.
If I were just able
to reach him!
Suddenly he moved,
showing his profile he turned towards us, looked in fear,
We hushed behind a
corner, our black back being reflected by the moon light. We should have been able to
predict his reactions but during the preparation time just didn`t care about things like
that.
It was in fact some
sort of addiction, like a drug pulling us merciless towards it, up to the end. You can`t
do anything about it, it just happens.
Some minutes later we
tried again. Secretely listening to his deep breaths which had
My mates started to
laugh but soon realised they had to hurry to catch up. Although we didn`t have anything
else to do he was still able to wake up every next moment. We hit him some more times but
after a while stopped; being at the safe side.
He would have to deal
with the unpleasent consequences of our little invasion and he would have to answers all
those questions in the morning where he had been in the night and why he was looking like
hell.
But we ran home, back
to darkness, just to live an everyday-life again.
Does anybody know my
little secret?
Of course many know
what I´m frequently doing by night but they don`t care. They all need it, otherwise their
lives would have a soon end: either by starvation or by boredom and it`s not just me,
although I heard there are some others who don`t need it but I`m unsure if this is from a
reliable source.
Because after all,
I`m just a small part within a big world where nobody wants to know what his neighbour is
doing and so I can`t tell you if there are some others thinking differently but, you know,
I don`t care; I´m small.
by Laura Kilian
Once upon
a time, little Emily desired nothing more than to become a part of The Group. Everyone
called them the “Toffees”. Emily wanted to be just like them; with their
toffee-brown skin, their long, defined legs, and perfect curves. She herself was just
simply normal with her skinny legs, her tiny figure, and plain appearance.
So it came
that littly Emily started to observe every move and every behavior of the Toffee-Girls in
order to be able to imitate them. She watched them shaking their booties and especially
their way of walking when guys were around. How they worked out at noon and were occupied
with themselves and their beauty, polishing their skin and making it all shiny until
night. When it was time they put on the arrogant look letting everyone know they were
superior and above all.
But while
trying to adapt the characteristics of the Toffee-Girls, Emily became more and more aware
of the disgusted and bored looks the girls got instead of the loving and admiring ones she
had always wanted so much.
Then she
started to realize that her old friends were turning away from her and Emily felt alone.
She was no longer a part of her old group of friends nor had she been fully accepted by
the Toffee-Girls. By now doubt had crept up inside of her concerning the plans of becoming
a Toffee-Girl.
Since she
realized how being selfish and egocentric made her lose her only friends she ever had, the
ones she truly cared about, Emily went back to being her original self. Not once did Emily
look at the Toffee-Girls ever again. Instead she only concentraed on playing the role she
was supposed to play within her colony.
Today,
Emily does not want to change anything in her life. She is happy with what she has and
does not miss the things she has not. Finally she is happy being herself. Little ant
Emily.