Thursday 03^rd of November 2016, Headquarters of the International Police, Athens

This afternoon telephones all around the world are ringing. Not, like this isn’t what they are usually doing, but today the calls all come from the same building. Tobias, me, our communication specialists und even Dimitri and Phillipo, who’s teams’ number is 3, help us to find the owner of the fingerprints worldwide.

Numbers are noted and dictated, e-mails send and sentences in different languages are exchanged. It’s an enormous hassle and we are ensured plenty of times, that we should not hope for early results. The international police has better things to do than caring for simple burglars, except us, of course. 

Just as we discussed we informed all museums and reasonably important collectors in our country.

I realize soon enough that this is not my favorite part of the job, Tobias however seems to enjoy this work. Though, I am pleased that we can count on the help of every employee. We are working together in a big team, if the others don’t have anything more important to do at least. 

The time seems to be passing by in slow motion and the list of calls still to be done is nearly long enough to make a whole telephone directory. In a short break in which we treat ourselves to a coffee, I ask Tobias who he was talking to on the phone earlier today.

“It was a woman from the communication specialists on the 7^th floor. I only asked her to do me a favor.”, he says with an unblameable look on his face.

“I’ve hardly seen you being so outgoing like the last two days, if we make an exception for the mental blackout this morning.” I add.

“Oh… I’m in one of those new-beginning phases.” He is swaying his coffee mug around and anytime it comes close to the edge; I was afraid he would spill it.

“You mean those phases, that always fail, because eventually you get back into your old habits?” He starts thinking and looks at the ceiling. “I want to say, you try to change yourself, but within a few days you give up.”

“Well, maybe there isn’t anything about me that needs to change.”, he gives me a smug smile.

“You are just bad at accepting your flaws and what was that thing about Geography?”

He breathes in with a sizzling sound, as if he had already anticipated this question. “Possible that I didn’t tell her the whole truth.”

After the last sip of coffee, I put the mug down. “Not the whole truth? You might have been good in school, but Geography was one weak point of yours. Also, your sense of direction is miserable. Do you remember when they set us out in the woods for two days? If you were alone, you’d still be sitting there.”

He starts to look a little mad, stands up and says: “So what? I would have built myself a hut and started a nightclub there, somehow someone would have found this wonderful club and rescued me. I don’t need your help!”

“Of course, you would need my help, because your craftsmanship is just as bad!”, I return to him.

"So, what, at least I know the square root of 35!"

Stunned silence. He turns to leave.

"Wait a minute! Did we just have a fight?" I ask him.

Tobias shakes his head but averts his eyes. "No, would you like another one?" He points to my empty mug, and I notice that his is half full.

I know how he reacts when criticized, so I shouldn't have been so hard on him, even though I was being honest. I've probably pulled him out of his happy thoughts and poured a bucket of 'bad mood' over his head.

After all, time must go on and we continue to work determined to give everyone a pile of more work. At the end of the day, I feel like I've run a marathon without having moved a meter. Computer work is not really my thing. I rest my eyes for a moment when suddenly Tobias' digital watch beeps.

"You set an alarm clock for tclosing time?"

He shrugs his shoulders.

"Sure, I don't want to work overtime involuntarily. Besides, I’m tired of working, I want to go home." Today is Thursday and tomorrow will be Friday, followed by the weekend and a short week behind us.

We had Reformation Day and All Saints' Day off, which I found strange because I thought we would definitely have to go to work. On the other hand, it was good, because I had the opportunity to go to a Halloween party with my friends.

What happened is too much to tell on the way out. It was a really cool evening, though. We get on the elevator with Robert and Konstantinos and nod at them. 

They are the opposite of each other. Robert, who we got a glimpse of yesterday morning, is a bit short and chubby in the stomach. His face is centered around a big red nose and a permanent slight smirk.

Konstantinos, on the other hand, is taller than me, very thin and has curly dark blond hair. With his athletic legs, he can certainly run faster than anyone else. Robert says goodbye and goes to his car, his partner accompanies us to the bus station. I don't know where Konstantinos wants to go, but he looks nervous and embarrassed. Then the words come out of him: "It's nice to meet you. I hope we'll forget each other." Tobias, me, both of us, squint our eyes and look at him. "Sorry! I mean understand!" It's only after the blond curly-haired guy disappears into the metro entrance that I realize that adults can also be shy.

"What's wrong with him?" Tobias looks after him in confusion. He doesn't understand, of course. I get on my bike and turn him halfway around by his shoulder as his bus arrives at the stop.