Back Time Is a Killer
Chapters (84)
  1. Dedication
  2. Time is a Killer
  3. Contents
  4. Map
  5. 1
  6. Twenty-seven years later …
  7. IRevellata
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. IISaint Rose’s Day
  44. 37
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. 50
  58. 51
  59. 52
  60. 53
  61. 54
  62. IIISempre giovanu
  63. 55
  64. 56
  65. 57
  66. 58
  67. 59
  68. 60
  69. 61
  70. 62
  71. 63
  72. 64
  73. 65
  74. 66
  75. 67
  76. Twenty-seven years later
  77. Acknowledgements
  78. AFTER THE CRASH
  79. BLACK WATER LILIES
  80. DON’T LET GO
  81. About the Author
  82. Also by Michel Bussi
  83. More on W&N
  84. Copyright

‘I use cunning, O sister of mine. You know, like in that book you’re pretending to read, Dangerous Liaisons. I plot, I come up with a plan, I have a diagram in my head, a simple diagram. It’s a circle, with the first names of the entire gang, one guy one girl, one guy one girl, one guy one girl, and arrows linking them up, like in that game where everyone has to kill someone while being killed by someone else. It’s crazy how easy it is, you just have to whisper to a girl that another guy is after her, or to a guy that a girl has noticed him, and bang, you’ve made your move. I’ve hooked up Aurélia, who would have liked to go out with me, with Hermann the cyclops, who would rather have gone out with Maria. And as Maria quite liked Cervone, even if I don’t get what she sees in Spinello junior, I’ve hooked up that daddy’s boy with a daddy’s girl, who’s fresher than you think: Aurélia. And there you have it, full circle.’

Aurélia! With her holier-than-thou attitude and those big eyebrows of hers, she’s ready to bang anything that moves? While with her fuck-me-now look, Maria-Chjara won’t sleep with anyone but my Nicolas? Isn’t he just putting on a film in his head, my campsite Valmont? In my opinion, his fairy fingers aren’t anywhere near plucking her string.

Even if he thinks they are.

‘So you promise? You’ll help me? You’ll cover for me?’

‘If it was the other way round, if I had a boyfriend, would you do that for me?’

‘I will do. As soon as you grow a pair of breasts.’

The total bastard!

I love throwing myself at him and pretending to punch him. Usually in my bedroom, I throw all my soft toys in his face, but here I haven’t got anything. So I have no choice but to jump on him for a play-fight.

OK, big brother. I’ll grant you your two days of freedom, until the twenty-third of August. Normally I would have promised all kinds of things and spied on you anyway, but this time I don’t care. I don’t care about your teenage circle in which everyone wants to go out with everyone else. And that’s the right word, by the way. Go out. It doesn’t really matter who goes out with who. What matters is getting right out of that circle. So I’ll leave you guys to sit playing postman’s knock.

One o’clock, the postman hasn’t been … Two o’clock, three o’clock …

I’ve got better things to do. I have a contract!

A kiss on the cheek.