Аннотация: Charging. Games instead of a poker tournament. Bandbinton and Lena.
Day two. Bypass and game library
"Mish... Misha!.. Misha, wake up! Wash up, get on the ruler and have breakfast!"
I mumbled something unintelligible and covered myself with a pillow. At least you can get up here not like you're going to work?! Alas, it is impossible. With steely determination, Olga Dmitrievna snatched the pillow from me and shook the ringing alarm clock in my ear. Anyone like you and me is powerless against such a thing.
However, as soon as I went outside, I couldn't sleep. I'm in the Owl, I should be happy! Even the icy water didn't scare me: I only wash my face like this at home. And the powder didn't make it difficult: I just soaked the brush, rolled it in the powder and brushed my teeth - so to speak, I passed the first tests with flying colors! Slavya was running past.
"Fizkult-hello! Don't you want to run with me?"
"Hello, Slavya! I want to, but not far, to the house! I'll leave the package and go to the ruler."
She smiled back, and together we rushed to our house with Olga. Who would mind running in good weather? In the company of a beautiful girl, it's also a lot of benefits and pleasure.
I left a bag of soap and powder on the bedside table, put on a tie and went to the square. And it was a big surprise that they were... doing exercises there! A sturdy elderly man in a sports uniform came out to the monument and began doing simple exercises to the cheerful music from the loudspeakers. A little further on, the pioneers lined up and eagerly followed him. I joined my squad. After charging, people ran home to change clothes, and then everyone returned to the lineup. Camaraderie, mutual assistance, events! All this is great, but I confess - I dreamed more, and did not listen to Olga Dmitrievna. And I'm not the only one, it seems. But here...
"Guys, let me introduce you to the new guy! Misha Petrov..." I blinked and looked around, "... from the first squad, come out to me, please!" It dawned on me. I went up to the counselor and waved to the other pioneers. "He may have arrived just now, but I have no doubt that he will become a good friend and devoted companion to you! And now - everything for breakfast!"
I started to go into the dining room too....
"Mish, stay a minute, please!" Olga Dmitrievna called out to me and handed me a good old "runner." Here's a workaround sheet, take a walk around the camp and fill it out. We have a tradition here of doing this at the beginning of a shift, even if it only started for you now. You need to check in at the library, the medical center, the music club and community clubs, and at the same time you'll look somewhere else and recognize other guys. Be sure to sign up for some kind of club!
"Whatever you say! I've already met Sasha and Seryozha, and I'm going to join their cybernetics club."
"Well done! Well, go have breakfast then, and then go ahead and get to know the camp."
The pioneers did not come in such a powerful stream as for yesterday's dinner, so I calmly picked up a casserole with a sandwich and tea at the distribution and ate everything in a few minutes. After leaving the dining room, I stood on the porch for a while and admired the cloudless sky, and then finally went on a trip. I know, dear readers, I know this is the simplest and most boring way to get through the camp. But is it my fault that Slavya had other things to do yesterday, that redheads always want to eat, and that there are only four positions in the detour?
Do you expect anything new from Viola? The last thing I want to do is listen to her indiscreet jokes all week. But to be afraid of a nurse is to walk around injured, even if I'm not supposed to frolic on the playground. I knocked and, hearing "It's open!", entered the medical center.
"Hello!"
"Hello, pioneer! My name is Violetta Cernovna, or just Viola. What hurts?"
"My name is Mikhail. Nothing hurts, but I need to sign a workaround - I just arrived."
"Sit on the couch and strip down to the waist."
I did as I was told. Viola examined me, checked my temperature, blood pressure, and measured my height and weight.
"Do you have any complaints about your eyesight?" She bit the rim of her glasses.
"Oh yes... well, since middle school, from reading under the wrong light, it has dropped to the current minus three in both eyes..." I remembered the diagnosis. "There are no speakers. Active physical exercises are contraindicated."
"It doesn't hurt to double-check. Move to that couch, take a spatula, close her eyes one at a time."
I obeyed, glanced briefly at the table... a strange table, clearly not Sivtsev's, with SB and MNC, but with the devil...
But then there was a knock on the door. The nurse reluctantly replied:
"Come in!"
Instantly, the door flew open and an electronics technician with a black eye flew into the room.
"Violetta Cernovna, I fell on football, Olga Dmitrievna told me to come to you!"
"How did you manage that... Okay, come here. Misha, come back later so I can check your eyesight. Take the detour."
"Thank you, Viola!"
"And it's not even ten in the morning yet! I thought as I left. Is Al an avid soccer player? I'll wait and find out."
The Electronics, who was very red-faced but already unharmed, jumped out of the infirmary a few minutes later. Viola must have gone over him with her jokes, too.
"Why haven't you left yet?" He was surprised.
"Yes, they forced me to take a detour, but I also need to go to the clubs. I'll look for you all over the camp," I drawled.
"Shurik likes to sleep, I guessed it," the Electronics winked. "Then let's go to our den, write it down and sign it!"
He beckoned me to follow him, and we walked briskly to the clubs, where we arrived without incident. However, I couldn't stand it on the way:
"But still... where did you get the bruise? Are you an athlete?"
The Electronics looked at me intently, searchingly. He sighed.
"Won't you tell anyone?"
"no."
"You're not going to laugh?"
"No way!"
"Eh! Yes, Alice..." he said meaningfully.
"And you?" I gasped.
"Am I supposed to... you can't hit girls... and she doesn't really like me either..."
"But it had to be patched up, however. Or did you scare me so much that I woke up on my own?" I suggested timidly.
"Heck! You guessed right! What a shame..." Al sniffed and turned away.
"I can't believe she disliked you so much.... Are you still a man or what? Don't be a coward, and everything will be fine! Don't provoke - and it won't stick!" I tried to cheer him up.
"This is your second day with us, what can you know..." muttered Serega.
Shurik was waiting for us and sipping chicory, which was also offered in the dining room today.
"Hi guys. We missed each other..." he greeted us. Mish, how are things with the program?
"It's fine, the program is being written," I reported. "There are some details left, everything will be fine tomorrow! Sign a workaround, please! And put me in the circle, officially now."
"Come on. Now you're signed up, come visit us more often!"
"Absolutely!"
I said goodbye and walked towards the music club.
I was greeted by a real orchestra inside: drums, guitars, and even a grand piano. As usual, Miku was crawling under the piano, exposing her stripes for all to see. It's out of order! I crept up, knelt down, touched the back of her head with my hand so that she wouldn't bump her head against the bottom of the piano, and greeted her. Miku got out and started her hurdy-gurdy: Hi, are you probably new? And my name is Miku, although no one believes it, but that's really my name! It's just that my mother is Japanese, and my father is from the USSR, he worked as an electrician at the embassy....
"Hi, Miku, I believe that's your name, and my name is Mikhail."
"Don't you want to join my music club? I'm the only one here, even if Alice comes sometimes... but she just picks up the guitar and doesn't want to join!"
"You know, Miku, unfortunately, I can't play anything, but I want to learn the guitar. I could join your club, but I'm already a member of the cybernetics. I sighed with exaggerated sadness. - I don't know if you need a dead soul... but I promise to invite Alice and Ulyana. You know about Alice, but I've heard about Ulyana that she can bang the drums!"
"Oh, Mishenka, this is going to be wonderful! Maybe we can even assemble a group!.."
"I can't promise anything about the band," I waved my hands, "For now, just sign me a workaround."
"Yes, of course!"
I finally got to the library. When I went inside, my eyes were distracted by the abundance of Soviet flags and posters. Zhenya, as always, was sleeping soundly at her workplace. According to the clock in the hall, it was past eleven-thirty, so I gently but insistently patted the girl on the shoulder.
"Who is this?" she asked sternly.
I thought: in order to establish contact with Zhenya, I need to show that I also like to read, so I answered like this:
"I'm Mikhail, the new guy. Sign a workaround and give me a reader's ticket."
Zhenya grunted with satisfaction, scribbled her signature on the bypass and handed over the form:
"What will you take?"
"Do you have any popular math books here, or at least collections of puzzles? Yakov Perelman, for example, Martin Gardner, Sam Loyd or Henry Dudeney?"
Zhenya blinked in confusion. It seems she's a humanitarian after all.
"There is Levshin, the "Master of Scattered Sciences.""
"It was the absent-minded Master from this story that inspired me to study mathematics! Just think, it always confuses everything, but it's described great. And in a simple but interesting story about traveling around the world, there are challenges at every turn - this is all the more wonderful!"
"At least you know what you need! Seryozha seems to be a good guy too, but he's always asking for some obscure books that I don't have", Zhenya shared it. "Yesterday I asked about some theory of finite automata, can you imagine? How did I get books about guns here?"
"Zhen, no offense, but the theory of finite automata is really not about weapons, but about his favorite robots. I just know that because I'm a programmer myself."
"Oh, yeah? Well, okay, although I don't have that book anyway."
We exchanged a few more words, and I was already on my way out... but Lena showed up.
"Hi. Are you going to take the book?" Zhenya asked calmly.
"Yes. I want a novel like this."
"I recommend Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre," I said, slipping away.
"Thanks, I'll take a look."
I arrived at the square, where I met Olga Dmitrievna. Or rather, it was she who rushed towards me.
"The bypass is full!" I anticipated the questions. "Can I swim in the river before lunch?"
"Mm-hmm... There are other squads swimming there now... I signed up for cybernetics, in the library..." the counselor muttered, checking the paper. "Well done! You can go, but be in the dining room in an hour!"
"And the swimming trunks..."
"Not with you?" Olga Dmitrievna guessed. "Let's go home, I'll get it now. You'll post a book at the same time."
After that, I went back to the infirmary so that I wouldn't have to run again. Viola was convinced of my testimony, noted something about herself and mockingly warned:
"If you go to the beach, don't drown your glasses... pioneer." And she warned me for a reason!
A few minutes later, I was plowing the waters of the Mother Volga in the company of younger guys. Then I lay in the sun, then took another swim, and dried off again; one day he forgot where he had put his glasses, and on his return he spun on the towel as if he had been stung, almost brushing them into the sand. Then I took a shower, got dressed, and went to lunch.
Then he returned to the cabin. Now I have all day left on the program, but you can switch by flipping through the book. Olga Dmitrievna came in several times, sat for a while, read a book, then ran away again about her business. It's good that I came here! I can't even remember the last time I had such a rest....
***
After dinner, the Electronics guy rushed to the counselor to organize his own joker... but he was cruelly mistaken:
"How could you have the guts to suggest such a thing! It's a gamble! I forbid it!" Olga Dmitrievna was swearing. When I saw how Serega drooped with each exclamation, I gave out in support:
"Let's play some other board game together! A walker, at the very least!" I don't mind now. Slavia, look for a game library with the guys in the clubs, bring here what you have chosen. Any suggestions?
"Lotto! Dominoes! Chess!" it was rushing from all sides. Was it really that easy to switch from a boring tournament to a soulful game? I can't believe it...
"Well done, guys! We'll take all the squads!" Slavia praised us. "But you're carrying everything yourself!"
The electronics guy modestly kept silent while Slavya and I chatted casually. But the look in his eyes told him that he needed something. And indeed, as soon as we brought the boxes into the dining room and began to lay them out, he immediately disappeared somewhere.... Have you seen Zhenya? Is she in the library by any chance?" I winked at him.
"You're looking at the root! You definitely need to work in the police, as an investigator!" Slavya giggled.
Soon, a beaming Serega entered the dining room, followed by a bored Zhenya. Look at you, what a daredevil!..
It was fun and cool to play. The counselors did not stay away - all with their squads. Some were sitting in twos and threes, tapping dominoes or moving checkers and pieces, but most were huddled around tables that had been pushed together and were feverishly calculating which numbers were on the field.
"Stirlitz! Thirty-eight parrots! The stake! Perestroika! Geese are swans!" Olga Dmitrievna shouted loudest of all, snatching the barrels out of the bag. Slavya and I didn't move, waiting for the moment, Zhenya and Shurik covered the numbers slowly and confidently, Serega grabbed mugs in a race with Ulyana, Alice looked at other people's cards, calculating the chances, Lena shot her eyes at Alice's card. Only Miku blinked uncomprehendingly, but with a smile from ear to ear.
"Happy New Year! The satellite! Heroes! A gold piece! Chess!" Our counselor continued. Some younger pioneers sitting nearby looked up in surprise, but soon continued to play the opening of four horses. No one left offended, and everyone in our squad won once. But while there was still time before lights out, I decided to take a walk and chose... a sports ground.
At school, they didn't tease me about being a nerd or a nerd, although I didn't shine in physical education either - just like everyone else, I could jump two meters in length and one meter in height, pull myself up a dozen times and play soccer somewhere at the level of the yard national team. Over the years of sedentary work in the design bureau, I lost my eyesight even more, I got fat and hunched over from staying at home, and therefore it would be nice to get back into shape here ... and, with luck, meet Lena.
And so it turned out. On the horizontal bars, I practiced with my renewed body for pleasure and in proud solitude, until I heard the whistling of the air. In the distance, on a fenced-off court, a modest silhouette with a racket could be seen. Well, of course, I got down and came closer. Suddenly he stopped himself:
"What should I say? I'll say something immodest, and she'll run away!"
"What's the difference! Just spend time with her! You're young and normal! Why should she refuse all of a sudden?"
"Hi! Can I play badminton with you?" I asked, slipping onto the court.
Lena blushed and nodded faintly. Yeah, she pointed to the second racket, she's carrying it with her!
"I've been warming up, I can play, so don't spare me and enjoy!" I winked at him. "Is it a plastic shuttlecock or a feather shuttlecock? Up to twenty-one?"
"P-plastic, yes..."
I fell silent, ostentatiously relaxed, and waited for the pitch. Lena, despite her embarrassment, moved prudently and gracefully, threw a shuttlecock, hit!.. The projectile soared in a beautiful arc to the other side of the field, and three jumps were barely enough to somehow repel it. Lena countered just as technically. I jumped to the other end of the field, didn't have time to wave my racket... and the plug with the monograms of feathers hit me in the bridge of my nose. The metal frame bit painfully into the skin, and the shuttlecock fell off at his feet.
Lena prettily put her hands to her face and started running towards me, terrified, but I cheerfully waved my glasses in my hand:
"Safe and sound! And we've been through more than that!"
"Take it off!" She shouted in alarm. "I can't calculate the power!"
Don't cross a lady! I dutifully ran to the edge of the playground to lay out my glasses, and came back in a hazy haze. Well, then I'll try to give you a pleasant victory and get out of breath properly. See that shuttlecock again!..
I didn't lose dryly, but with a huge gap in points. Both parties. On the other hand, the way Lena was focused and enthusiastic, her joyful smile - not too clearly, but still clearly proved that I was doing everything right. And somewhere in the grove nearby, an owl, deprived of flounces and unnoticed by us, hooted softly.
***
In an empty house, while there was still time for lights out, I sat down to finish writing the program. But something didn't work out.
"I'm a human being too, I'm wrong too," I said out loud and rechecked my writings.
Inaccuracies were quickly found, but there were countless of them. It seems that there is no such thing as an infallible memory, and the comfort here has completely unsettled me. An absent-minded Master of Programming!
"What will happen next?" I asked myself. "We've been original once, but will everything go on as usual? Of course, it's easier to make friends with everyone, but am I really no different from Semyon and don't deserve better? Maybe I'm not here out of a big desire, but out of an unhealthy imagination? I wouldn't really raise my head in the pioneer camps!"
Flustered, I lay down and tried to get the obsessive thoughts out of my head - since nothing bad happened from such a schedule, then there was no need for hypocrisy. Then Olga Dmitrievna returned from the meeting, and immediately lights out came. I didn't like useless thoughts: I still have the program. And the morning of the evening is more complicated. I need to sleep it off.