Pedals

Paul Dârvariu
I don't like Old Luigi. First, because he ruffles my hair and calls me Piccione, not Dănuț, like everyone else. Second, because he is getting freaky with Mommy when they lock themselves in the bedroom. Mommy says he waxes her, but I don't think he's a real waxer, because his business card says - Luigi Bronzetti, trucker. Now I'm hiding under the bedroom window; I want to know if Mommy is moaning again. If so, I swear I'll push Old Luigi's damn bike into the brook.
 
 Ligia Dumitrescu
I dream I boarded the train of life. I had arrived on the platform, almost out of breath, after a race through obstacles set in my path by life itself. Just as the engineer's whistle announced the train's departure, I grabbed hold of the stairs of the last compartment and jumped inside. I caught it, I shouted happily, but no one turned their head in surprise at the sound of my victory. In the train of my life, there was only me. Fasten your seatbelt, the brakes are gone, someone said. Yes, indeed. But the train of life doesn't have a seatbelt.
 
 Cecilia Fofiu
In principle, on the small chainring you can use all the pins except the small one, on the large one all the pins except the large one, and on the medium one you can use them all. However, the precaution is not to use the smallest two pins on the small chainring, the largest two pins on the larger one, and on the medium one not to use the small and the large. And concludes the lesson on how to maneuver the shifter of the bike rented for a little ride. I smile ravishingly and whisper sweetly in her ear, love of my life, I'll pull it off.

 
(Translated by Darius Baciu / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year I / Corrected by Silvia Petrescu, coordinator of the translations)