Description:

Serge Battour is the son of a French viscount and a Romani prostitute, and despite his kind nature and academic talent, is shunned by his family and his peers due to the color of his skin. He begins to attend Lacombrade Academy, his father's alma mater, in the hopes that there he will find a place to belong. Gilbert Cocteau is, like Serge, the orphaned son of a wealthy family, and is infamous at Lacombrade for his beautiful and delicate appearance, lack of dedication to schoolwork, and habit of prostituting himself to other students. He has no intention to connect with any of his classmates, instead devoting himself to his uncle Auguste. Due to a shortage of living space, Serge and Gilbert become roommates even though Gilbert's antisocial nature has in the past made it impossible for him to room with anybody. Serge, being sociable and idealistic, is determined to be friends with Gilbert; Gilbert is only interested in either being able to manipulate Serge or push him away entirely. To the surprise of both of the boys, however, the two eventually form a deep, albeit generally dismal, bond that leads to a romantic connection. (Source: MAL)

Description:

As winter draws to a close, German boarding school student Thomas Werner dies one morning. He leaves behind a single letter addressed to his fellow student Juli that reads "Here is my love. Here is the sound of my heart." With his faith shaken to the core by the words, the scholarly Juli sinks to the depths of despair. His cynical roommate Oscar finds himself watching over Juli's fragile mental state while keeping his own feelings for Juli under wraps. Then new student Eric enters the school - and he has an uncanny resemblance to the deceased Thomas...