When she woke up next morning, her first thought was that she was late to school. It seemed to her that she has been sleeping for at least a week and that she has forgotten what it"s like to keep her eyes open. But when she looked at the big clock that was ticking on the wall, she saw that it was only six-thirty - she woke up exactly in the right time. As always, it was grey and gloomy outside, and almost dark, and although it didn"t rain it seemed that the rain could begin the next moment.
After getting dressed, Maija went down to the kitchen to eat the usual delicious breakfast with her father. The day started nicely. Maija was smiling to her own thoughts, and Vlad was smiling at her under his big mustache. After putting on their raincoats and picking up their umbrellas - just in case - they went outside to the cold grey street.
"You know something, dear." - said Vlad. - "I think that Tommy didn"t wait for us today and rode away to school on his motorbike."
"Well, more space for us, then." - Maija replied, fastening her safety belt as she sat in the seat by her father.
"Oh, don"t say that, Mai." - the professor frowned slightly. - "I don"t know exactly what happened, but it seems that the boy feels rather hurt. Hush, dear, you know I"m right. Promise me that you will make peace with him. You don"t have to play best buddies with him if you don"t want to, but we are neighbours and we should try to maintain a good relationship at least."
After making a slight effort, Maija found the way to her class. It seemed to be a bit better today - at least the big-boned girls didn"t give her so many mean stares anymore, and the giggling didn’t become too loud when she came into the class either. Even the lessons went better. The homework was almost done, the teacher seemed kind and understanding - that old lady didn"t even ask Maija for her name. She was allowed to sit in peace behind the desk at the end of the class, and to take her notes quietly.
When the bell rang to the break and everyone left to enjoy the awful coffee and three-days-old sandwiches at the cafeteria, Maija decided to stay at the class. She decided she wouldn’t lose anything - she wouldn"t dare to start talking to Martin there in front of everyone anyway, and besides she didn"t want to sit there alone. So she just sat and smiled to herself just like she did at breakfast.
"He lives across the road," - she was thinking, - "and I don"t think that the road is over two meters of width. If he opens the window, and I do the same thing, we can pretend that we share our living rooms. Isn"t it lovely, to pretend such a thing? I hope we do that someday. I will invite him to have tea with us. Every single afternoon. Papa can stay downstairs with Tommy, and we will sit in my room and talk about something. Or even not talk at all. And when the weather gets better we can walk in the park and sit on our stone. I don"t mind sharing it at all. What is the point of having something anyway, if you can"t share it?"
Carried away by her thoughts, she put her head on the table and almost fell asleep for a couple of minutes. It was very cold. Because of the cold, the tips of her fingers became red and insensitive. She tried to think of something warm, like a hot cup of tea on a rainy evening, or deep, wide-open, glowing eyes - like two peaceful lakes of warmth and kindness.
"Maija," - she heard a voice behind her back. She turned around. Tommy was standing at the door, smiling, holding two steaming cups of coffee in his hands.
"Oh, Tommy," - she said, lifting her head up from the unpleasant wooden desk, - "It"s you. Why aren"t you in the cafeteria?"
"I was in the cafeteria." - he replied. - "But I didn"t find you there. I thought that you might have gotten lost on your way."
"You worried for nothing." - said Maija. - "I"m fine, and I didn"t get lost. I just didn"t feel like going there, that"s all."
"I thought of it all." - he smiled. - "I thought that you were sitting here alone. I didn"t want to leave you alone, I hope you won"t get mad at me for that, at least. Look, I"ve brought you a cup of that awful coffee that they serve at the cafeteria. Tell me, is there something wrong? You know that I will help you if I only can."
"Thank you, Tommy." - Maija smiled back at him, taking the cup of coffee out of his hand. She sipped the dirty-looking, brown liquid slowly. It tasted just as awful as yesterday. - "No, I"m not in any trouble, thank you. I was just sitting here quietly, thinking to myself."
"What were you thinking about?" - he asked, sitting down on a chair next to her.
"Well -", she paused for a moment - "All sort of things, you know."
"I know," - he said. - "Why do you think that I don"t understand? I might be just a Ripper who hangs out in the old park at night - I might be not as classy as your father and you, but I can still understand simple things.You feel lonely. You miss the land where you came from. You still feel that your home is there and not here. Isn"t it so?"
"Well - sort of," - Maija nodded carefully.
"You see," - he continued. - "It"s going to be difficult for a while. You can never get used to a new situation in an instance, especially not to a major change like this. But there is something important that I want you to know - you can count on me. Look, Maija, I"m two years older than you and two grades above you, but I still can"t help you do your homework. What I can do, is give you help at getting along with everyone. Nobody knows you in the school and the neighbourhood yet, but everyone knows me. And if I"m your friend, then you aren"t a stranger to everyone anymore. I want to give you a helping hand, to support you - I don"t believe that you don"t need it!"
"Tommy," - she felt the words stuck in her throat. - "Thank you, that"s very kind of you. Please don"t think that I don"t appreciate it, I really do, but - "
"Ah, no." - he stopped her with a raise of his upper hand. - "I won"t let you say that you don"t need any help. I know you do. Is it so hard to admit it? I look in your eyes and I see that you are very independent. You probably never asked anyone for help. But hey, it"s a friendly offer. It won"t hurt your pride if you accept it."
"I guess," - she smiled. - "I leave myself in your hands, then. Thank you for everything, Tommy. I"m sorry for getting so cranky yesterday."
"Hey, there"s no problem." - the boy blushed slightly. - "It"s alright, really. I"ll try my best to make you feel better."
The bell rang - the break was over. Boys and girls started coming through the door. Many of them were looking at Tommy and Maija with curiosity. Some of them, the rougher-looking ones, came over to greet him. The ones whose hand he shook seemed to be rather pleased with themselves and went to their places with a look of pride on their faces.
"Well," - said Tommy, getting up. - "it seems that the lesson is starting soon. See you after school!"
"Yeah, see you." - Maija replied, taking her books and pencils out of her schoolbag and placing them carfully on the table.
The teacher entered the class. She was looking rather annoyed - probably had a meal at the cafeteria. After making some angry remarks about the behavior of the class, she picked up a piece of chalk and started writing on the blackboard.
"It"s not my best day," - she said. - "and I"m certainly not going to waste my time trying to make you quiet. I"m giving you an assignment, to check what you have learned during the last couple of lessons. Before you leave the class at the end of the lesson, I will check your work. The ones whose work won"t be appropriate, will stay after the class and do it anew, until it fits the necessary level. Don"t waste your time, get to work!"
Maija was staring at the blackboard with blank eyes. She had absolutely no idea how to complete that assignment. It looked as though she was going to stay at school for a couple of extra hours before going home, and that perspective didn"t seem appealing at all.
"Hey," - she heard a voice calling her from the desk to her right. - "Do you need help with this?"
Maija looked at the girl who just spoke to her. She was blonde, well-dressed and extremely good-looking, and this morning passed by Maija"s face without even giving her a second glance.
"Yeah, I could use some help, in fact." - Maija admitted. - "I have absolutely no idea how to start."
"It"s very easy, you see." - The girl said. - "All you need is having an example in front of your eyes, and you"ll do it just fine." - saying that, she stepped over to Maija"s desk and let her look at the perfectly done and neatly written work. - "See? It"s not something that will be hard for you."
"Yeah, it doesn"t seem so hard now, after all." - Maija agreed. - "Thanks a bunch." After looking at her classmate"s work, she didn"t understand how it could seem impossible to her. She started writing, and very soon the assignment was done. The teacher was satisfied with it completely, and Maija was told that she"s allowed to leave the class at the minute when the bell rings. She went back to her desk, to sit quietly and wait until the end of the lesson.
"Tell me, you"re new, aren"t you?" - the blonde girl turned to her again. - "You"ve only been here for a couple of days now, right? What is your name? I"m Helena."
"I"m Maija." - she answered. - "Nice to meet you. I"m new here, I"ve lived at the South before. My father lives here, and now I came to live with him."
"Say," - Helena"s voice was quite uncertain. - "Where do you know Tommy from? I saw you sitting together and talking before the class began."
"Well, we"re neighbours." - Maija explained. - "And my father knows him quite well. Tommy saw that I wasn"t at the cafeteria and though that I might have lost my way, so he came to look for me."
"And he even brought you some coffee." - said Helena, looking enviously at the empty plastic cup that was still standing on Maija"s desk. - "He"s being extremely nice to you, isn"t he?"
"Yes, I guess so." - Maija admitted, - "Tommy is being really nice and friendly."
"For him that is very rare." - told Helena. - "he usually doesn"t give a damn about anyone who doesn"t hang out with him and with the Rippers. Sometimes he"s just being indefferent. Mostly, he"s annoyed by people who don"t belong to his loyal gang of roughnecks."
Maija looked at her, surprised.
"I couldn"t imagine that," - she said. - "You sound rather bitter - did he insult you?"
"Not really." - Helena shrugged. - "He"s being like that to everyone. Most of the teachers are afraid of him. I"m just making a point - you should understand that he treats you like he doesn"t treat anyone. I"d appreciate that if I were you."
"Oh, I do appreciate that." - said Maija. - "I"m all alone here, and Tommy has been very kind to me and all. But something still remains a mystery to me. Tell me, who are the Rippers? I hear about them and see their names written on the benches at the old park, but I never saw them with my own eyes. Do you know them? Are they in our school too?"
"The Rippers? At school?" - Helena laughed. - "They all dropped out. Tommy says that he"s still in school only to show that he despises the educational system. Although I think that deep inside of him, he wants a highschool diploma. He sure has more brains than all of the Rippers put together. The three of them and Tommy started a rock band together not long ago and are sure that they have a great future ahead of them. Actually, if you want to have a look at them, we can go to their rehearsal this afternoon. They play in an old garage not far away from Tommy"s house."
"Sure," - Maija agreed. - "Would be interesting."