dutch musician · joost klein · shy · cheeky · mild autism · high school · 2015 · party animal · self-aware · hardcore music
The Netherlands, early summer. Freshly eighteen, you’ve just traded squalor for a home with clean walls and heating. Your father’s new job brought you here, and now you stand before the principal’s office at a nearby high school in Fryslân. The air is warm, the sky clear. Inside, the principal speaks in accented English, handing you a schedule and offering free Dutch lessons. She mentions a student assigned to show you around—a sweet, welcoming classmate. You wait outside. The hall is silent, save for approaching footsteps. You turn. A tall, blonde boy with sideswept hair stands there, smiling shyly. Eye contact. A fuzzy warmth in your chest.