When Maija woke up, it was obviously too early. It was still dark outside and very, very cold. She looked at the watch that she hanged on the wall yesterday. It was five-thirty, and school couldn"t possibly start before eight. She sighed. The images that passed in her dreams at night were on her mind again. It was a mixture of Martin"s clear eyes, her mother"s smile and a gentle kiss of the sunshine. And it was time to get up - she could sense it in her muscles that were begging to be stretched. She smiled. Today, she was going to school. Yesterday, her new life had begun.
She went downstairs, to the kitchen. As she expected, Vlad was already there, frying eggs for breakfast.
"Good morning, Mai," - he said, kissing her on her forehead. - "I didn"t think you would get up so early to have breakfast with me. As for me, I get up together with my birds. I will take you to school a little bit before the classes start, otherwise I won"t be at work in time."
Maija was silent as she bit into her buttered toast. She looked away for a while, and then turned to her father again.
"Papa," - she said in a strange voice, - "what kind of neighbors do we have? Who lives in the house across the street?"
"Mmh." - Vlad was choking on his piece of toast with fried egg. - "The Costello. Nice people. Actually not so much the Costello, but what was left of them when they divorced four years ago. Stupid thing, it was. Personally, I believe that it was Erik"s fault - he and his drinking habits, and his army buddies that he used to bring home - horrible company he used to have. No wonder Elisa couldn"t tolerate it. And I feel sorry for the boy. Good boy, he is. A little bit strange. A little bit rusty. But it was all his parents" divorce that affected him. You might run into him or his mother anytime, so be sure to say hello, they are nice people."
Maija blushed. She buried her eyes in her cup of tea. She felt her cheeks burning up to bringing tears into her eyes. She tried to murmur a song under her nose but the uncomfortable feeling didn"t leave her. She was glad when the breakfast was over. Vlad was going the dishes and she sat there on the sofa and stared at the curtain that covered Martin"s living room. The window was dark. And then, someone turned the light on. The corners of her lips curved up against her will. She jumped on the floor energetically, set and ready to go. For some unknown reason, her blood was warm and she felt alive and happy more than ever before.
Vlad appeared in the living room, playing with the keys of the car. A broad smile was lightning his face and his blue eyes were sparkling.
"Ready, Mai?" - he asked, - "we should leave about now, it"s a bit early but it would be good to get there early enough so we won"t be stuck in traffic. You"ll get in time for your classes and I won"t be late for work."
"Alright, papa," - she said cheerfully, pulling on the coat that aunt Johanna had sent her from home.
Vlad opened the door, letting Maija go ahead of him. She stepped outside, and to her surprise saw no other than Tommy, standing by her door next to his motorbike.
"Good morning, professor," - he greeted Vlad, shaking his hand energetically. - "I didn"t think you"d get up so early. I just arrived here. That damn rain stopped today, thank heavens. Hi, Maija. Professor, can I take Maija to school?"
"Good morning, Tommy." - said Vlad severly. - "I don"t trust that thing that you"re riding." - he pointed at the motorbike - "Neither Maija or you should ride it when I can take you both to school. Why don"t you leave your motorbike here and jump into the car?"
"No problem," - smiled Tommy. - "it"s really getting a bit windy to ride my horse of fire."
He sat next to Vlad. Maija was sitting on the back seat. She was trying desperately to remember every word of the short conversation that she had with the mail delivery boy last afternoon, but as hard as she tried, she couldn"t remember anything such as setting an early morning date with Tommy or with any other Ripper. But did it really matter? She was all alone at the back seat. It was nice to be riding the chilly streets that slowly began to wake up. More cars were on the roads now than at the beginning of their way. But the road was still almost free and in quite a short time they reached school.
It was not at all like Maija"s old school. The school she used to study in was drowning in green trees. Its territory was huge and it consisted of several buildings. The new school was all built of grey stones and obviously consisted all of one block. There were hardly any trees around it, and the ones that stood there were lonely, defensless and bare.
"How many students are in it?" - she asked Tommy.
"Around two thousands," - he replied enthusiastically. - "that"s quite a big building. Try not to get lost. The most important thing is to know the way to the main entrance so you"ll know where to go when the classes are over."
"Let"s go to the school office, Mai," - said Vlad. - "so we"ll know what class you"re in and where we should go. You"ll get your schedule, I"ll walk you to the class and then go to work."
"Come on, I"ll show you the way to the school office. It"s over there." - said Tommy, waving his hand in an unclear direction.
The school secretary, a grey rat who was dressed in something that looked like a sack, gave them all the necessary information. After they left the office, Maija put the school schedule in her bag carefully.
"You can go in peace, professor," - said Tommy in his strange manner. - "I"ll walk Maija to her class. I know exactly where it is."
"Thank you, sonny." - said Vlad. - "Mai, the classes end at three in the afternoon, don"t they? I"ll take a break from work and come to pick you up. I might be a little bit late, though, if things get too busy. In case I"m late, wait for me at the cafй over there." - he pointed at the direction of a small, cosy-looking cafй across the street.
Maija kissed her father goodbye and he left, rushing. She stood there in the crowded hallway that was full of sleepy students of all ages from twelve to eighteen. Tommy was standing in front of her, looking suddenly confused.
"Tommy," - she tried not to sound too mean. - "Why where you waiting for us this morning? Does my father always drive you to school? It didn"t look like that, since you had your motorbike with you. You have been waiting for us since before sunrise. For what purpose?"
"I"m only trying to be nice." - he said uncertainly, blushing more and more with every moment. - "I"m only trying to be a friendly, welcoming person. You look at me from above because I ride a motorbike and play the guitar in a rock band, I can see it in your eyes. But I want to show that I can be something more. That I"m not just a tough mindless Ripper, like certain people might have told you."
"I can find my class on my own." - said Maija in a cold voice, turning away. She looked like a tomato that was close to the point of explosion. She could hear the blood pumping at her ears.
"No, you can"t." - the boy said bitterly. - "You"ll get lost. It"s 9-D. It"s over there, down that hall, third door from the left. There is a metallic sign on the door in case you"re not sure it"s the right class."
"Thank you very much." - her voice seemed to be full of tiny icicles. She walked away without turning around.