Gaby Book 26 On The Edge by Maddy Bell Copyright© 2021 Madeline Bell Seventeen - it's a birthday overshadowed by its predecessor and successor and Gaby's looks set to follow that pattern. There are however big decisions to be made, should she grab life by the horns and experience everything it has to offer or take the more conservative, safer route through life. This volume, the 26th in the Gaby series has all the elements of classic Gaby, bike riding, teenage angst, developing relationships, grist to the mill for our heroine as life in the Ahrtal ticks on.

 
I pulled my jacket a bit tighter, whilst its not frosty or snowing or anything like that, after a week of wall to wall sunshine on Tenerife even the light breeze blowing up the Ahrtal felt like an Arctic gale. I was just starting to rue my wardrobe choice, denim miniskirt and fifteen dee hose, when a car horn sounded, disrupting my thoughts. A quick glance up the road confirmed my expectation, Olaf's Polo, sounding a little cholicky this morning, was making its final approach to my kerbside location.

"Morning guys,” I greeted once I had the door open, "Bit parky this morning.”
"Mornin',” our chauffeur allowed.
"Didn't think it was bad,” Max opined.
I pushed my bag into his arms, "Here, do something useful.”
"Thats telling you Strech,” Freddy smirked.
"Ready?” Olaf enquired over his shoulder.
The door was shut and i'd found the end of the seatbelt, "Yep,” I confirmed, clicking the buckle closed.

 
Olaf put the car in gear and we were on our way, the familiar roads of the valley taking us through a landscape muted to shades of grey under overcast skies, a far cry from the last week on an Atlantic island. The lads picked up their conversation, something about kickball, which left me to my own thoughts broken only by the chirping of my Handy.

"Bond.”
"Erdbeere?”
"Stefan, everything okay?”
"Fine, fine, look, me an' the guys, we've put together a play list, you know for the Tour, and we thought we ought to get your input.”
"Er sure.”
“'kay, I'll send an SMS.”
"You could email it, I could add notes and send it back then,” I suggested.
"Computers, not my strong point, I'll talk to Animal, he's into all that stuff.”
"I'll send you my email then.”
"Okay, so you looking forward to it?”
"Not quite sure I describe it that way, petrified more like.”
"You survived Moselfest and the Bonn showcase.”
"I guess but people were there to see other bands too, not just us, this tour, its all on us, well you guys really, I'm just decoration.”

His sharp reply caught me off guard, "You are not 'just' anything, I'll admit it doesn't do the band any harm having a pretty girl up front, our rep soared when you joined us, we wouldn't've got this tour without you, like they say, sex sells and the promoters know that. But its not just that, you've brought something to BlauHase that we didn't have before, I dunno, a vitality that we were lacking before, don't put your contribution down, you are integral to the bands success. Have to go, the boss is looking for me, tschuss.”
"Tschuss.”

"That sounded a bit involved?” Max suggested when I ended the call.
"Not really, just some stuff for the tour, the lads have put together a play list, they want my input.”

Von Strechau had a look that screamed 'i don't believe that' but said nothing, Freddy dragging him back into the sport conversation, now apparently moved from kickball to tennis.

My mind drifted back to the conversation, the music business really is dominated by men – oh I know there are lots of women singers out there, some very successful, but away from the mainstream pop and country stuff, the fairer sex become increasingly rarer, in the more rocky genres there is virtually a complete manoculture, women at best getting bit parts, I couldn't think of a single female led band competing in 'our' genre – well Nena is sort of on the poppy edge and Nina is more on the punk side of things.
 
"You'd think they'd get this sorted,” Freddy complained from his shotgun seat.

His exclamation broke my musing, a glance beyond the glass revealed we were on the 'old' road that will, roadworks and traffic lights allowing, take us over the Mosel and into central Koblenz. The reason for the roadworks? Well they are upgrading the road with a new junction to serve the big box estate being built, Koblenz will soon have a new out of town shopping park complete with an IKEA store which is due to open in the spring – lets hope they finish the roads by then.

"Isn't this your department Olaf?” I queried.
"No, this comes under the City Roads thankfully.”
"Maybe they should've built the IKEA in Altenahr,” Freddy chuckled.
"Pur-lease,” Olaf groaned.
"I don't get what all the fuss is about, its only a furniture store,” Max stated.

To be honest, the couple of times i've been to one i've thought they were a bit of a pain, making everyone go through all the departments like they do. On the other hand some of the stuff is quite nice and the meatballs – well what can I say? Maybe I should ask Lisbet if there's some recipe for success hidden inside the blue and yellow boxes.

We shuffled along in the queue of commuters, the half kilometre through the construction site increasing our journey time by over ten minutes. The traffic was no better once we were through, a breakdown on the Europabrück adding to the frayed tempers of Monday morning. It was actually a relief to get into the city streets, at least its only traffic lights on a fixed sequence interfering with progress.

"See you tomorrow Olaf,” I called into the car before closing the door a couple of minutes later.
"Have a good day guys,” he offered in return through his brothers still open door.
"You too.”
 
"We meeting for the train back?” I enquired as we headed away from the government buildings.
"Hopefully,” Max replied before adding in a whisper, "We've got some catching up to do.”
"Have we indeed?”

I had a flash of dream memory, "Max, Max....Maax, a little lower Max.”, hmm, I think I could live with a bit of 'catching up' myself.

"Usual place?” I enquired turning to look up at him as we walked.
"Yeah, I'll call if not.”
"You'd better.”
"Geez guys, you are like an old Mama und Papa,” Freddy told us.

Of course, even seventeen year old lads who are supposed to be mature see such statements as a red rag to a bull, all thoughts of actually smearing my lip gloss were forgotten as Max took off in pursuit of his friend. Oh well, later maybe, bye Max.

 
"Well I hope you all had a good break,” Lisbet greeted, perching herself on the edge of a table. "We'll have a general discussion re your placement experiences then after coffee we'll talk about whats happening in the coming semester. So, Heidi, how did it go at Der Anker?”

I won't bore you with too much detail, each of my fellow students gave a synopsis of their work placements, when it came to my turn, they got an over view of what was going on with Connie's Kabin. Not very exciting I'm afraid.

"So you adjusted your staffing and opening in line with perceived demand?”
I shrugged, "We don't have much reserve, paying out wages with no income would eat through what we have in a couple of weeks.”
"What do your staff think of that?”

Good question, Kristen is our only 'full time' employee, the slack being taken up by Mrs T, Nena and part timers from the bakery doing a few shifts. Kris hasn't really said much about our 'winter' opening strategy and Nena does a bit of 'office work' for her Papa so she's not reliant on the reduced Kabin income.

"They haven't said specifically, but we've not been secretive about the finances so they know why we cut the opening.”
"You mentioned your reserve, without getting too specific can you explain how that works?”
"I'll try, so the owners, the Thesings, have a successful business, the Kabin is run on the same principals, after all the overheads and wages are paid out, any trading surplus goes fifty fifty towards repaying the startup costs and into the reserve fund.”
"You have a timetable for the repayments?”
"Its not fixed, its a percentage of the income.”
"Okay, but you have expectations of when the loan will be paid off?”
"Like I said, its a moving target but hopefully we should be clear early summer.”
"So you'll be potentially in profit then?”
"Potentially, its only a snack cabin so any profits will be small.”
"And the reserve, what is that for?” Lisbet queried.
"Well at the moment, all our equipment is new and under warranties, there's the odd broken plate and we lose a bit of cutlery but nothing major. The reserve is there so we can buy replacement equipment down the line, cover any 'unusual' expenses, without having to borrow.”
"So its a long term strategy?”
"It should give us a firm financial footing going forward.”

"Okay, anyone have any questions from what Gaby has just told us?”
"Are there plans for expansion?” Hermann asked.
"Er not directly, if an opportunity came up we might consider it but at the moment we just want to consolidate Connie's Kabin into a solid business.”
"You could start a chain of Imbiss,” Heidi suggested.
"Maybe in the future I guess, when we've got a bit more experience.”

"Any more?” our tutor asked, "No, okay, thank you Gaby, sorry for putting you on the spot like that. So, some interesting points there but of course thats just one business model, it wouldn't neccesarily work in all situations or be appropriate for some businesses. We'll take a break now, when we come back I'll explain how your placement experiences slot into the next module. Back here at, lets see, ten fifty.”

 
I don't want to get a reputation as 'teachers pet' but given a choice between vending machine coffee and the decent stuff in Fr. Olafsdottir's office, well its no contest.

"Sorry for dropping that on you back there, I didn't mean to embarrass you but you've got hands on experience that the others don't.”
"Thats okay, we probably should think about the implications of stuff on the staff more.”
"Good communication is always an asset in business Gaby, you don't need to divulge exact finances but keeping the staff inside the loop makes them feel a part of the business rather than just an accesory. If they are involved they are much more likely to get behind your decisions.”
"I guess,” I agreed.
"They should be an asset to the business, not an after thought, perhaps use some of that reserve on training, qualifications, make working for your business a career move. But enough of my pontificating, so how was your training, you've certainly caught the sun.”
I shrugged, "Okay I guess, certainly warmer than here.”
"All ready to defend your titles then?”
I handed Lisbet the fresh coffee, "Its a long season.”
"Do I note some hesitancy there?”
"Lets just say there are expectations, its my last year as a junior, if I want to progress I need to be on top of my game.”
"But there are other distractions?”
"Well yeah,” I admitted.
"And you are torn over what to do?”
"Its like the singing, i've commited to doing this tour thing in a couple of weeks, what if its really succesful?”
"You're afraid things could snowball?”
"Yeah.”

She took a draught of her coffee, "I've not known you that long Gaby but you've always come across as level headed with a determination to succeed whether in your sport, the Kabin or your singing career. I'm sure that you'll succeed in whatever career path you decide to follow, I won't try to advise you on that, its not my place, I'm not even sure what I would do in your place, thats for you to decide.

Some people have one set career goal, to be a fireman, drive the Zug, take over the family business. Others go through life with no set plan, maybe circumstances affect things, family perhaps, maybe they grab what opportunity throws their way. Then there are the lucky few who get multiple bites of the apple, everything they do turns to gold, maybe they are just born lucky, who knows.

What you make of this life is largely down to you though, the fixed career person may fail in its pursuit, just because you want to do something doesn't mean its the right career for you, similarly the opportunist may inadvertently miss their perfect job through lack of focus.

You, Fraulein Bond, are in that tiny percentage of multi achievers, if you took up hairdressing you'd be at the top of the field, you excel because thats who you are. Life is rarely black and white, nor should your choice of career be this or that. Your parents, are they doing their dream jobs? what they trained for? what they thought they'd be doing with their lives?”

"I guess not.”

I've no idea what Dad's career plans were, I mean he's got a degree in Archaeology but I can only remember him working at the timber yard before taking on the Apollinaris DS job when we moved to Germany. And Mum, well she's a geography teacher, or was before swapping the classroom for the tarmac, so I guess she's grabbed her chance to do what she always hoped for.

"So what did you want to do at my age?”
"Me, this doesn't leave the room okay?”
"Er sure, my lips are sealed.”
"I always dreamt of being a professional skater, from maybe ten years it was my whole life, I was at the rink every day practicing, nothing else mattered.”
"I've a friend like that, Jess she skates for GB. So what happened?”
"Well training will take you so far, I was a good skater, top ten in the German championships, what I didn't have was the extra something, the flair that lifts you from journeyman to master craftsman. I kept at it, always not quite good enough, until I was twenty.”
"What changed?”
"Fate, I was trying for a triple salco, you know the spins? I landed badly, broke my leg and that was that, ten years of my life, my dreams over just like that. Afterwards I tried coaching but as a frustrated skater I was a terrible teacher, I ended up in a lot of dead end jobs.”
"But you're here now,” I pointed out.
"Indeed, well one of those dead end jobs turned out to be not so dead end, I started as a sort of general office secretary but I moved up to office manager then a department head, eventually on to the board.”
"So how come you are teaching us rabble?”
"Good question, i'd like to say it was a calling but the truth is my company was taken over, there was no place for me in the new set up so I was let go. A friend was on the faculty here, got me a gig as a part time lecturer and here we are.”

"Well I'm a terrible skater, just ask Jess!”
"It wasn't intended as career advice. Come on, you can bring your coffee, don't want to be late back to class.”
 

"So, split yourselves into four groups of four, Gaby you'll be floating so if you can come up to the front for now. Once you're settled I'll come round with the profiles.”

Oh joy is me. So the project is a sort of competition, each 'team' will be setting up and running a virtual business, each week there will be a new challenge, at the end of the semester the 'winners' will be decided not neccesarily on any profits but by how they reached that point. Apparently, due to my 'experience', the teams can call on me for advice, sort of bought in expertise, thanks Lisbet.

 
My stomach had a bit of a rumble, i've only had a cup of coffee since breakfast and its nearly one o'clock now. Normally we'd be finished with Lisbet about twelve but sorting out the 'businesses' for the semester project ran over somewhat – I could hardly walk out just because I was hungry, could I? There's no afternoon session on Mondays for our course, the rest were going to hash out their business plans but being supranumerical I was able to escape that.

No messages from Max so I guess we're riding home together but that leaves me with time to kill. The earlier greyness had been replaced by weak sunshine whilst i'd been in the college building, not Canaries warm but I wasn't freezing so rather than going into town I headed towards the river. Its only a couple of minutes down to the Rhein promenade and being before Easter it was pretty deserted, the pollarded Linden trees still bereft of leaves only the main KD office showing any signs of life.

Across the swirling brown waters Ehrenbreitstein Fortress almost glowed above the village, dominating the views of the far bank. I turned towards the Deutches Eck, the huge monument at the Mosel / Rhein confluence just visible through the bare trees. There's talk of building a Seilbahn, you know, cable car, from over here to the fortress which would be pretty cool but whether it'll ever happen, goodness knows.

Its not a long way from Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer along to the Eck and the smells wafting from the takeaways prompted another gastric growl. Okay, so i've been heading that way for that purpose all the time, Kat would have a hairy fit but one Bratwürst isn't gonna make any odds is it? There were a few people sat about enjoying the weak sunshine with their lunch but there were empty tables...

"Eine Bratwürst mit pommes bitte.”
"Sose?”
"Mayo danke”
"Getränke?”
"Er, heisse shokolade...mit crème.”
"Sechts dreizehn.”

Its lunch okay, I bet you'd have the same, at least its not schnitzel or pizza – tempting though they were. I made myself comfortable, well as comfortable as a folding wooden seat gets, with my chocolate, the food arriving a couple of minutes after. It may not be the African heat of Tenerife but sat watching the sparrows fighting over crumbs, picking at my frites I was at one with the world.

Yeah, back to life, back to reality, despite the chat with Lisbet earlier I'm still no closer to a solution to my career, no life map. Some of my friends have everything neatly planned from family planning to grave, others will have life dictated by family obligations as much as their own choices. But little ol' me, I have choices, I just don't have any clue as to which are the 'right' choices – or even if there are any right choices.

 
Maddy Bell © 29.04.2021