The Duel Nick has a heart for the romantic, and for all of his fourteen years of life, he has been waiting for a turning point, a scandal, to really validate himself as a romantic being. The chance came unexpectedly one night. A twelve-year-old boy was flung headlong into a delicate dome of litres carefully piled up by Betty, the girl whom Nick cleans the classroom with after night class. Although our hero regards the homely Betty as a complete hag, he nevertheless feels compelled in this moment, in front of her, on behalf of the weak boy, to say something or act somehow. He thus winds up challenging the five-foot-ten perpetrator to a one-on-one brawling session in a tiny garden after class. With a sinewy fist thrashed up against his cheek, …show more content…
Before coming, he spent all of his money at the cigarette-and-porno smuggler, who rejected his advance to come along as the “second” with a grin. Remembering that grin again and again, our doleful hero stomps on the cigarette butt, with teeth clenched, and feels in his pockets nervously, as unintelligible chattering and laughing are heard approaching. It had rained earlier in the evening; the damp, fresh air now smells of herbal fragrance, and the nocturnal children of nature have come to rejoice in a fest of life: only if they knew of the anguish felt up there in that giant towering over them! He gazes into the saturated hue lazily emitted by some distant lamps, to try discerning the silhouettes of two approaching figures. As their chattering voices rise over the thumping of his heart, Nick discerns a lad and a lass. No sooner has he felt an immense relief than self-consciousness takes our hero in its grip and makes him cower into the darkest corner of the lushness surrounding the one tiny bench in the tiny garden. The young lovers arrive, finding themselves alone, veiled by shades and haze, as they fall into each other’s arms on the bench. The sounds of kisses and coy chuckles soon start to resonate with the surrounding nocturnal