Class Trip

Nicolas and his father embark on the school ski trip with the father choosing to drive them to the resort rather than sending the group bus. Traffic slows as they pass the scene of a serious accident, heightening the tension between them. In the rush, Nicolas' travel bag is left behind in the car, a quiet sign of disruption already unfolding.

They reach the resort and Nicolas realizes his bag is still in the car, leaving him without spare clothes or toiletries. The absence of his belongings makes him feel exposed and unprepared in a place full of strangers. The quick departure of the bus earlier underscored a growing disconnect.

His father does not return to collect the bag, and Nicolas is left to navigate the first moments of the trip without his things. He begins to have disturbing daydreams in which his father has been involved in a car crash, amplifying his anxiety. These visions shadow every moment of the trip and his sense of safety erodes.

On the slopes, Nicolas is taken under the wing of Hodkann, who becomes a recent confidant. The new friendship gives Nicolas a fragile sense of protection, even as the unease inside him grows. He begins to lean on this bond to cope with the absence of his father.

To feel in control, Nicolas fabricates a story that his father is a secret agent and that dangerous people are after him. He persuades Hodkann to keep the claim secret, creating a fragile fiction that only he seems to believe. The lie becomes a counterpoint to his loneliness.

Night after night he worries about wetting the bed and ends up in a bed just above Hodkann, borrowing the other boy's pajamas. He fights sleep to stave off embarrassment and the fear becomes part of his routine. The thin line between dream and reality grows more fragile.

One night he wakes from a dream, fears he has wetted himself, and slips outside to clean up. In the freezing air he ends up seeking shelter in the ski instructor's car. By morning he is discovered there and taken inside for a feverish examination.

During a break in a café, Nicolas tries to catch his breath while the others keep skiing. News arrives that another boy, René, is missing, casting a heavier shadow over the trip. The sense of danger lingers, coloring Nicolas's already fragile experience.

That night his dreams grow darker, imagining a theme park ride with Hodkann and the instructor. In the dream his little brother is handed to a friendly stranger who lures him away toward a white van. The nightmare renews a memory of a boundary Nicolas was forbidden to cross and deepens his fear.

Flashbacks reveal that Nicolas' father is unstable and carries a wrist scar that hints at a previous suicide attempt. These fragments hint at a disturbing pattern that Nicolas could not fully understand at the time. The emotional weather behind the outward calm becomes clearer.

As inquiries proceed, Hodkann describes the father's car to the police during an investigation, breaking the supposed secret and tying the father to the disappearances. This misjudgment helps the authorities connect the father to the case and moves the investigation forward. The tension shifts from secrecy to pursuit.

Nicolas is driven home by Patrick, who has learned of the father's arrest. Patrick chooses not to reveal the full truth right away, telling Nicolas that something terrible has happened and that he will hear it from his family. Outside, newspapers and TV reports begin to fill the air as the family faces an uncertain, fragile future.