Before the Party
“This wonderful day has come at last…” It was the first thought
of the young man when he woke up at the usual time. But everything around him seemed even
more common and distasteful than on the most insignificant days: the crumpled map on the
wall and the table which swayed from side to side. But the thing that staggered him most
was the thick crust of ice in the upper corner near the window. It seemed to emphasize the
look of decay and hostility in his room.
The lad was in love. For an average lover this feeling is a mere
infatuation, a pleasant experience to be enjoyed and forgotten in a week’s time. But for
the hero of our story it was an unbearable torment, not because of passionate visions of
his goddess, but of her constant image that prevented him from working, studying, and
preparing for the future life. Elena haunted him, awoke him from sleep, made his heart
strike his chest like swords during ancient battles. The lad was literally head over heels
in love.
That day, after lessons, there was to be a New Year party at school,
and he gathered his courage and decided to address his sweetheart for the first time.
As to Elena, she was pretty, communicative and well-dressed. She was
neither shy, nor ostentatious. She was neither clever, nor stupid. The golden mean! The
dream of a modern man!
The classes began at 12:55. He came to school, hung up his shabby coat,
which should have been replaced by a new one long ago. The boy trembled with cold, not
with passion. His life was a constant compromise. That year he had to choose between a new
coat and a preparatory course at a university. He chose the course.
The last lesson was physics. Now only it separated the lad from the
party. The teacher was agitated. The whole class was about to do a difficult practical
task using new equipment. The bell rang, everybody took their seats, the lesson started.
The experiments were a perfect success. The calculations were unusually exact. The
teacher’s face was a mask of felicity. Presently he said: “Well, children, the
experiment is successful due to the noble efforts of a benefactor. Certainly all of you
know Elena. Her mother is the owner of a shop and she was so kind as to bestow upon our
school 50,000 roubles. We must thank Elena and her mother for this equipment”.
The words stabbed the lad with their sharp cruelty and reality. Oh,
Jesus! 50,000 roubles! In his whole life he’d never seen such a heap of money. His
feelings were in turmoil: love mixed with envy, hatred with regret.
He didn’t go to the party.
By Anton Zavialov
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