Аннотация: Programmer Mikhail gets into his favorite game and wants to get along with everyone.
The Prologue
New Year... People really love this holiday. As the chimes strike, it's nice to feel that all the hardships will be left behind very soon and in the coming year you can start living from scratch. However, a full year is not an integer: three hundred and sixty-five days and a stub of a little less than six hours. Neither the Romans nor the Catholic churchmen were able to count the time and correct the calendar.... However, this is also impossible: the Earth's rotation around the Sun does not fit into the whole number of revolutions around its axis. But I think you, dear readers, did not come for a lecture - forgive me for my absent-mindedness! The fact is that the journey I want to tell you about began on New Year's Eve.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Mikhail Petrov, I'm about forty years old, I'm a mathematician and a programmer. Life has not turned out as well as we would like. I did not reach any special heights in my career, I remained a simple engineer for a long time. I don't really have any hobbies: I disappear at work, and with poor eyesight, not everything is allowed - sports, for example. He got married unsuccessfully and divorced a year later, left no children, and didn't have much money either. However, my ex-wife and I remained friends, we often talked and helped each other. She invited me to come on December twenty-sixth to celebrate the New Year. It's already the evening of the twenty-fifth, there are no other plans. So why not?
After the divorce, I was in no hurry to start a new relationship. The computer and the excellent game "Endless Summer" helped me to drown out the loneliness and relax my soul. I came across it by chance and first read it from my phone during lunch breaks at work, and then installed it on a pet monster, from where I got to fan creativity. I myself managed to be a Soviet pioneer, and therefore I was especially inspired by the game, despite all the historical inaccuracies. I dreamed about the Owl more than once, and I even got to see Yulia. The night before the trip, she asked me:
"Will you come with me?"
It was a day off. I couldn't find anything to do around the house, so I went online in the morning and came across an interesting topic: is it possible to find an "Owl" in our reality? However, as expected, I did not find any specific answers. Then, as usual, I read another fanfiction on the "Summer" and finally stuck in the game for a few hours, getting acquainted with a large and complex mod.
In the evening, I looked up from my computer, quickly packed up and went outside. It is very inconvenient to go from my Klin to Krasnogorsk for a visit: there are no direct routes either by bus or by train, so you will have to take a transfer route through Moscow. I came to a suitable bus stop number 437. It was empty, although there were plenty of people who wanted to go to the capital on weekdays. People can't sit in the suburbs, although there are museums nearby, wonderful parks ... but there's not enough work, so they go back and forth.
Loneliness is extremely conducive to reflection, and therefore, looking at the sparsely populated streets, I began to think. It's probably not good that apart from my ex-wife, friends and colleagues, a computer and an "Endless Summer", I still have nothing in my life. At school, they taught me that a person is a social being with unlimited needs, and I... no, of course, not a classic Semyon without a last name and interests, but eventually I will become one, because I am also content with little. This prospect did not appeal. With the classic "house-tree-son" formula, it's even sadder- with my parents' apartment, rare clean-up days that I usually didn't go to, and a divorce. Admittedly, sometimes I was even overcome by nostalgia for the Soviet Union, and no, no, but sometimes I wanted to return to my youth, where there were no "adult" questions and problems yet....
Of course, hanging up on New Year's Eve is the last thing. I still have all the opportunities to change, but I will have a chance, like Semyon, to experience an exciting adventure - so great! Who wouldn't want to spend a week in a little summer paradise: get to know themselves, understand others, stay put, and live like a human being? Perhaps getting into the "Owl" is my real wish, which I would like to make with all possible sincerity....
A few minutes passed. A few more. And more. For twenty minutes I walked around the bus stop and hid my cold hands in my jacket pockets. Any buses except the right one passed by, although I looked at the timetable on the Internet before leaving and would have been on my way to Moscow long ago. Do I really have to order a taxi...
But as soon as I looked at my phone, it was not the modern blue LiAZ of route No. 437 that stopped at the bus stop... but the yellow LiAZ-677. My eyes fell on the route number, and then it hit me like an electric shock. !410! Immediately, I realized that my dream was about to come true... so, without hesitation, I boarded the bus. They write on the Internet that such a person walks somewhere in the Southeastern Administrative District of Moscow, in Yulia's small homeland, but does it matter how this one came here? Coincidence and self-deception - so what?! On New Year's Eve, everyone dreams, but not everyone will get a lucky ticket! Maybe the power of thought and willpower pulled up the bus for me, as if to order?
First of all, I figured out who in the camp I should start a relationship with. A sincere Slavya? The sensual but shy Lena? A clockwork Alice? The most talented Miku? Is Ulyana childishly direct?
But a year of marriage has taught me something. Everyone is good in their own way, but not perfect. The girls are all cool, but I don't need a harem or mistresses: I'm not a ladies' man. In the game, Semyon constantly faces a choice, often preferring one girl to another. And I don't want to choose, I want to be friends with them all equally!
That's why I decided to try something that many people have never been able to do: make friends with all the girls without singling out any of them. The memories of a failed marriage haven't gone away, and who wants to fall into the same trap a second time? We were driving to vaguely familiar old music, and my eyes were already starting to close. Well, it's a long way to Moscow, and even more so to the "Owl"... it's a pity that I didn't warn my ex-wife. Although it's possible that the bus number just matched.
The first day. Hello, Little Owl!
As I wanted, I woke up in Ikarus 256 from the unbearable heat. The unforgettable scent of SUMMER filled the stuffy cabin! Nature was rampant outside the windows: birds were singing, pine trees in the distant forest stretched to the dazzling blue sky.
Glasses on his nose, phone in place, his favorite game also hasn't gone away and started. Recursion of a kind! The calendar on the phone miraculously did not reset and showed Sunday, July tenth, 1988. Then I walked around the cabin, looking at it, and in the cabin I found Cosmos cigarettes... but I didn't take them because I quit smoking a year ago. And I'm not a kleptomaniac, unlike an unscrupulous Pioneer. What if he's the only one who's not destined to see the driver? I finally got off the bus. Fields spread out in front of me, a road ran through them into the distance, a power line ran across it, and a slightly bluish forest wall could be seen on the horizon. Everything is exactly the same as in the game and how I fell in love.
I walked around the bus and found myself face to face with a brick fence. It was to be expected that the camp started from the gate, like a theater from a hanger. Just the sight of them made me remember my childhood, my initiation into the pioneers, and my trip to the camp!.. And how many wonderful stories began in this place! A warm lump seemed to form in my chest - a kind memory of a carefree past and the expectation of a bright future ... even anticipation, although spoiled by the fact that I did not come to visit. But where did he end up instead!
I smiled stupidly, stretched out my hand and felt the cold metal under my fingers. He pointedly felt the relief inscriptions "Pioneer" and "camp". I looked into the carved star (although it's not good to peek!). The name of the camp with magic dots above the "e" on the spot! And the plaster statues of the bugler pioneers stood at attention where they should have been. Dreams come true, and how is that...
"...good!.." I whispered, taking a deep breath of clean air into my chest.
A beautiful girl with magnificent wheat-colored braids slipped out from behind the gate. Of course, in a pioneer form.
"Hi! You're new, aren't you?" Slavya asked.
Of course, I shouldn't have talked about being a guest from the future, so I played along:
"Yes, I'm Misha, I just arrived, and who are you?"
"I'm a Slavyana, but everyone calls me Slavya, and you call me! Glad to meet you!"
"I'm glad to meet you too!" I replied in the same tone. Everything came out simply to the point of outrage, no effort was needed to respond. Is it the same at home...
"You need to see the counselor, Olga Dmitrievna. Can I tell you how to go?"
"Thanks, I'll find it myself."
"Okay, but I have to go to the beach to look after the kids. Bye!"
"Bye, Slavia, see you later!"
You might think that I've already softened up, and my credo for the week is not to interfere in anything.... But do not rush to accuse laziness and unwillingness to change anything! I walked into the camp with my back straight and a confident smile and almost immediately saw a building with the inscription "Clubs". The abode of cybernetics is what you need! But as soon as I got closer, Lena slipped out. I wonder why she was there.
"Hi," I nodded modestly and went into the clubs. Inside, I was greeted by two blond guys who looked like hell like famous movie characters.... However, they didn't quite meet. The guys were so busy fiddling with some kind of mechanism that they didn't even hear me enter. And here young minds can be understood: he is just as absent-minded. I had to cough delicately.
"Hello. What's your name? We don't seem to know each other," Shurik said seriously.
"Hi, I just got here. My name is Mikhail, but it can be simpler - Misha."
"Alexander, but you can just be a Shurik," the cyberneticist smiled gently, giving a handshake.
"And I'm Sergey, you can just call me Seryozha. Also known as an Electronica Player or a Cheesy Tooth," the second guy winked conspiratorially, also extending his hand.
"What are you doing here, huh?"
"Oh, we have a very interesting project!" Shurik answered proudly. "But for the uninitiated- it's a secret!"
"Don't tease, I can see that it's a robot," I grinned. "What processor, what element base?"
"The processor is KR580VM80A, the RAM is K565RU1, and the ROM is K573RF4,- Shurik rattled out, as if testing me."
"Yes, this is the best processor in the USSR today! Yes, it's almost a complete analogue of the American Z80... however, congratulations, guys! RAM, however, is only four kilobits, it takes eight chips to get four kilobytes. But you won't be lost with a reprogrammable ROM with UV erasure! It's a great thing, and most importantly, it's reusable! I said confidently.
"Our man!" Shurik approved. "Maybe you should join the club, since you're such an expert?"
"Of course, I will join! I know the assembler for this processor and I can write you a program to control this robot. I stayed true to my profession, knowing that you definitely won't get bored. In my memory, few of the local guests were friends with cybernetics, and therefore I now faced an equally important sub-task. You're a godsend! We just needed a programmer! - The Electronics engineer was delighted.
"But I'm asking for this..." I smiled slyly, grabbing the bull by the horns. "Teach me how to solder circuits."
"No question, of course, we'll teach you!"
"Also, can I ask you a question? The girl has left your place now, why did she come? If it's not a secret, of course."
"No secrets! This is Lena, she took a whetstone, said that she needed to sharpen a penknife, fix pencils. She's an artist!"
"Lena's an artist, of course, but she doesn't have a penknife at all," I thought, and said out loud:
"Oh, I see, well, bye then. I have to see the counselor now, but I'll come by tonight."
We said goodbye warmly, and soon I wandered across the square to the alleys, wondering where Olga Dmitrievna lived. The scorching sun and the equally hot jacket, which I had absent-mindedly not taken off, made me relax... so I gaped and received a decent slap on the shoulder. Of course, from the militant Alice: with a shirt tied in a knot on her chest, revealing her abs, and with a tie tied on her arm like a wristband. She looks like a rebel, don't you think?
"Hey, what are you doing, beautiful?" I greeted him fearlessly.
"Nothing," she frowned, "and who are you? Is he new?"
"Yes, I'm Misha."
"And I'm Alice." A menacing look, which I easily withstood. "I'll see you later."
"Nice to meet you, Alice!"
Alice blushed for some reason and ran away. I didn't think she'd be so easily embarrassed!
I wasn't in a hurry, so I was walking rather than looking for the right house. Although it was hard not to notice the counselor's palace. And how about without educational conversations:
"And stop bullying Lena! Have respect for your comrades!"
Ulyana jumped out of the house and ran away laughing. Lena, who was embarrassed at the sight of me, didn't linger either. Now I had to be an exemplary pioneer for a while... very much of the Komsomol, if not the party age. But since no one shied away from an adult man, it means that I am young and do not arouse suspicion. He knocked politely and entered. The counselor was as majestic and formidable as she should be-she definitely wouldn't dismiss the children!
"Hello, my name is Misha Petrov."
"Hello, Misha! I am Olga Dmitrievna, the leader of the first squad. We've been waiting for you for a long time! I spoke to your parents recently, and they sent their regards."
"Can I call them? I asked, expecting a refusal...."
"No. The phone is in the administration, you can't call the pioneers on it."
Look at you! But it's logical. I've been looking for a year, but it's useless to ask about the exact location of the camp. However, even a three-year-old will understand that he is in the Volga region: the mighty river and the local forests speak for themselves.
"And what is our daily routine?"
"The daily schedule can be viewed at the booth at the entrance to the dining room."
"Got it, thanks! And where will I live?"
"I'll check with the administration, we'll decide by the evening. You can leave your things here, and take a walk around the camp before dinner."
Olga hurried about her counselor's business and left me alone. I made sure that no Seeds were expected, and therefore I could safely settle down and take off only my jacket. In the mirror on the closet, I saw my seventeen-year-old self, grinned and went for a walk, as ordered.
The Electronics guy was already trampling on the street, realizing that I wouldn't have had time to run far. And, of course, a new friend wanted to show me the local beauties and sights. The first thing we did was go to the square. Here, this is the square, the center of our camp! This is a monument to Genda, an outstanding figure and scientist! The Electronics were singing like a nightingale. I held my tongue - there were so many versions about this friend on the Internet....
We saw Lena on the bench with a book. "And this is Lena! Hi, Lena, this is Misha!"
"Hello, Len!"
"Hello," Lena whispered, blushing and burying her face back in her book. I even feel sorry for her, they pull so much.... So we reached the dining room.
"Do you eat organic food in this building?" I was joking about the classics.
"Yes, that's about it...."
Alice stood on the porch of the dining room and looked at us unkindly.
"And this is Alice Dvachevskaya, the thunderstorm of our camp! Never call..."
His language will bring him to Kiev, although he seems to be a smart guy! We must save them.
"Wait, I've already met Alice! Let's see the daily routine?"
"It's taking a long time, but I have to go to the club!" Sergei drawled uncertainly.
I realized that he was just afraid to approach Dvachevskaya, so I answered:
"I see, then I'll see for myself. Can you tell me finally where the warehouse is located?"
"He's right around the corner."
"Bye then, see you soon!" I replied, and the Electronics guy ran away, and I went to the booth at the entrance to the dining room.
"Alice, hello again! Well, see you again!" I gave it out and started studying the daily routine. However, we have an interesting schedule!
"Well, hello again, Mish," Alice replied in the same tone. After reviewing the regime, I went where it was indicated and saw some kind of inconspicuous barn.
"This seems to be the warehouse," I thought, and went to the door. It was open. It was expected that Slavyana was working there: rearranging laundry, rummaging through some drawers...
"Slavia, will you give me a uniform?"
"It's strange that you don't have anything with you. Did you come from the north too?" She asked.
"It's a medium streak, but I'm very absent-minded," I smiled. It's true that I didn't know how to do everyday life very well and didn't like it. Working with your head is much more interesting!
Slava was quite satisfied with my answer, so she soon found a pioneer uniform and gave it to me.
"You're not going to watch me change, are you?" I teased.
She giggled and went somewhere into the depths of the warehouse, and I quickly put on my uniform. Wow, that's it! It's like it was specially made for me. Due to my inexperience, I couldn't properly tie a tie around my neck.
"Slavya, come here, please! I need help."
"Yes, Mish, what happened?"
"Teach me how to tie a tie, please!"
"Oh, you onion mountain! Look, it's just being done."
And she showed me how to tie it.
"Thank you, Slavya, and goodbye!"
Goodbye, Misha!
As if on cue, the bugle sounded for dinner, and I hurried home to throw off my things, and then to the dining room. And from the square, I saw a crowd grow outside the door! I only joined the tail of the queue, and the traffic jam was dissipating for so long that Olga Dmitrievna only had to sit me down next to Ulyana.
I picked at my plate listlessly, and when I turned my head to see Olga Dmitrievna chastising Alice for her uniform, some of the neighbors robbed me.
"Ulyan, did you steal the cutlet?" I narrowed my eyes. "Don't anger the hungry pioneer."
"You don't click your beak in a big family! I gaped and there was no cutlet!" The girl giggled, pulling the plate away from me as well. "Be patient, starving Volga region."
Amazing audacity! But I just shook my head - there was no escape, since the depressing nonsense from the game's script remained. Yes, Ulya is just a child, but such permissiveness...
Meanwhile, the girl ran to get a new cutlet and, as expected, put some kind of insect in the plate. As soon as I glared at her, she burst out laughing and ran away. I didn't pretend to be an omnivorous survivalist, or even a sprinter now, so I just took the cold food back to the distribution.
Of course, I was more interested in going to the clubs than running around the camp, so I hurried there. Shurik and the Electronics guy had already eaten and were just waiting for me. They provided all the necessary information on how to control the robot and explained what they wanted to achieve from it. Nothing complicated - the robot should be able to move its arms and legs, turn its head.
I asked for a notebook and sat down to write down the program, as taught at the institute. I knew my job, the process was easy, but there was no fresh air.
"Guys, it's stuffy here. Can you air it out?"
"What's the use? The workers have overlooked it, poor ventilation," Shurik complained.
"It's an outrage! Then get some air yourself." I took a notebook with a pen with me and went outside.
Since I hadn't really eaten, I decided to go to the bus stop, where I would wait for Glory and admire the sunset. Judging by the daily routine that coincided with the game, it was not worth waiting for the evening lineup, and there was free time before lights out. Well, then you can work on the program. How would it be more convenient to sit down...
The outdoor work was just as good, but the sun went down behind the forest pretty quickly. Writing code in the dark is a dubious pleasure, so I wanted to walk along the endless road and relax. The same picturesque view in all directions, from which you can not take your eyes off, the same magnificent air, full of aromas of herbs....
And there were no less interesting things underfoot: beetles furrowed the moss along the road, hardworking ants hurried somewhere down the slope... and how could there be no concert of crickets!
"Do you like it?" Slavya asked me softly from behind my back.
"Unbelievable!" I confessed. "What, you're going around the camp, it's time to close?"
"How do you know? A real detective!" She giggled sheepishly.
"I'm a mathematician and I'm just learning! And we have nowhere without logic."
We were silent, enjoying the view and the moment. The first stars were appearing in the sky.
"Listen, since we've met, can I ask you something?"
"Of course, Mish!"
"I didn't really eat because of Ulyana.... Can I get something in the dining room?"
So you went hungry and didn't tell anyone?! Of course, let's go quickly! But we broke up on the square - Slavya ran away to warn her punctual Zhenya. It's kind of predictable.... So I'll also have to save the young burglars!
And indeed, Alice was rummaging through the lock of the dining room. I wish I could ask for food in a human way.... I crept up to the bully and told her:
"How's it going?"
She jumped back in horror, but a second later her face changed and she almost poked the bent wire into my glasses. I barely staggered back, otherwise I'd have to go blind for the whole shift!
"Ugh, damn, I scared you! I'd rather help!"
"Why are you breaking into the dining room?"
"I want rolls, with kefir, I'm not full!"
"I'm hungry myself, Ulyana ruined my dinner," I confided. "Slavya will come over and open it now."
"what?!" Alice rushed past me, but I held her by the elbow.
"Just wait, I won't turn you in. I'll tell you what I met on the way - Slavya will understand!.. Just throw away your wire, you burglar. And then suddenly in the dining room, following the example of Carlson, traps are collected from chairs!"
Alice pulled her elbow out, but she didn't run away and, crossing her arms over her chest, leaned against the door with an independent look, as if she ignored all my chatter. But the wire was gone from her hands. Slavya, having discovered Dvachevskaya with me, of course, became gloomy.
"Don't worry, she wants to eat too. I met you right after you arrived at the square." I gave it to Alice's defense in absentia.
"What a do-gooder you've found..." Slavya muttered incredulously. But soon her face smoothed out - she didn't start arguing in front of me. "Then let's go."
"Great buns!" I praised after a few minutes. "And what a genius came up with the idea to combine them with kefir! Thank you, it's delicious!"
"Have you ever tried this? Where did you fall from?" Slavya smiled with such a flattered look, as if I was eating her own pastries.
"I told you that the middle lane! I'm a mathematician, not a geographer, don't force me to show you on a physical map."
"Won't you see?" Alice quipped, looking at me with undisguised interest.
And I, inspired by the attention, talked about everything that came to mind, because I had lived in the USSR and knew the local customs well. The neighbors laughed, didn't hesitate to keep up the conversation, and soon stopped looking askance at each other. Who knows- maybe even they'll become friends. I remembered well what numbers Slavya could do, which Alice was too far away from.
"...Olga asked me to do some exercise the other day. She went to the regional center with a physical education teacher," Slavya said. "I got up by myself, I'm waiting. They don't go. I went to the cabins, but there was no one there. I run to the dining room - it's empty too. I'm standing there like a fool, it's a shame: I wanted to, but I didn't organize anyone! I figured out how to get to the clubs, how to get to the radio room... then it's a dead end again. What should I say, who should I appeal to? And then I realized: the beach! That's how I announce: exercises and morning treatments will be held by the river! She promised sports games. There is no hope, but in the end the beach is full of people, and Alice is in charge of the execution!"
"So the younger ones figured out that it was free in the morning, and they persuaded everyone to hide!" Alice replied fervently. "They don't understand what kind of sabotage they're going to get! While I was trying to convince you, you were blaring from the speakers. Well, ours took it, the culprits were tied up and bathed in the river! And you're running and yelling, which is not pedagogical."
"Then why didn't you explain everything to me there? In general, lynching is not only not pedagogical, but also socially dangerous!"
"Don't drive your horses, Slavya," I intervened with a disarming smile: "Suddenly they had a jury and a bar there!"
"Some more!" Alice happily confirmed. "And do you think those blockheads weren't happy about the punishment?.."
The three of us laughed-some out of awkwardness, some relieved, some pleased-and began to clean up after ourselves.
"Alice, of course, you pleasantly surprised me", Slavya casually said goodbye. "Thank you both for the evening!"
We parted on the square, but I lingered. Lena didn't seem to have moved all day, just sat with a book on her bench under the meager light of a lantern.
"And for the third time, hello. What are you reading?"
Lena jumped up in fright and covered herself with a book. Yeah, Gone with the Wind... but I'm being a little too cocky.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I haven't read this book, but they made a very good movie based on it."
"Is there a movie?!" fascinated, the girl asked.
"Yes, and very old, American. 1939, I think... A masterpiece for all time, he won eight Oscars!"
"Wow... then I'll definitely take a look at home!.." Lena smiled meekly.
I didn't bother her any more, said goodbye, and a few minutes later I was at Olga Dmitrievna's.
"Have you been out? You're going to live in a cabin with me."
I didn't mind, sat down at the table and spent about half an hour on the program before lights out. I wrote the whole main part that day, and left some details for tomorrow. Maybe in some places you won't have to remember, but improvise.... Now it was possible to sleep. It was even sad that I arrived only in the middle of the shift. With these thoughts, I blacked out.
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!..