Аннотация: MMMDCXXIV. Delicious ice cream. A story. - March 2, 2025.
Delicious ice cream. A story.
Dima was a schoolboy and a member of a childish pioneer organization.
It wasn't very difficult to study at (secondary) school, there were interesting classes.
This morning, the guys told him that schoolchildren in all classes are signing a letter(s) in defense of Angela Davis (Angela Yvonne Davis). All children, all people could see her picture (portrait) in newspapers and magazines. Angela Davis was a pretty woman. She must be a great friend of the Soviet Union, otherwise newspapers and magazines would not talk about the sacks of letters that come to the United States from Soviet people in support of Angela Davis.
During recess (break between school lessons), the senior pioneer leader walked down the corridor - she was a beauty woman, about 28 years old, who constantly smiled with a pleasant smile. It wasn't very clear with what she was busy. But she received a salary - she was constantly at the school every day.
The work was underway, the "Zarnitsa" games [All-Union Young Pioneer military sports game Zarnitsa] were held, schoolchildren time to time were lining in ranks: several times there were training movements (something like hikes) with mock-ups of automatic rifles over rough terrain.
Dima had returned home from his school (after classes).
He went to the stall, bought a portion of chocolate-glazed ice cream, and approached his friend Kolya in the yard of the house (multi-apartment building).
Kolya (the neighbor in the multi-apartment building and in the yard) was also a schoolboy, like Dima, but Kolya studied at another secondary school. They were about the same age. Kolya was actively involved in sports and sometimes showed (to children in the yard) Samizdat books with techniques of various types of oriental wrestling.
A girl named Sveta came out of one of the entrances. She approached Dima and Kolya.
About five minutes later, a guy who was known by sight, but whose name no one remembered exactly, approached the talking guys. May be, his name was Oleg, or something else. For some reason, his surname (Trubnikov) was known, and it was known that he was a hooligan from a dysfunctional family. [a hooligan - a person who causes trouble or violence]. In general, no one really knew the hooligan and no one was familiar with him.
The hooligan started "scribbling money," that is, extorting (asking for) change (that is, extorting of children's coins).
Dima and Kolya pretended that they did not understand what was going on, they referred to the lack of money.
The hooligan insisted on, using rude language.
Dima asked the hooligan to be more polite. The hooligan received (found) a reason and grabbed Dima by his shirt.
The situation has taken an unpleasant turn. Kolya wrapped one arm around the hooligan's neck, tripped him up and fell on top (on the body) of the hooligan.
The hooligan was floundering helplessly.
It seemed that everything was obvious: the hooligan was clearly weaker than Kolya and had to go away.
Kolya let go of the hooligan's neck, stood up, dusted off his clothes.
The hooligan also stood up. His face expressed anger even greater than the one he showed after Dima's remark (to be more polite).
The hooligan also jumped up from the ground, ran away a little, approached the benches in the middle of the yard, where pensioners liked to sit, rested his foot and tore off a long dryn (kind of thick rod) - a long "square" wooden beam thick 2.5 cm by 2.5 cm (about one and a half meters long).
The hooligan picked up the dryn with nails, swung it, and ran furiously at Kolya.
Kolya was forced to run behind a tree to avoid being hit by the dryn.
However, the hooligan was agile and persistent, so Kolya had to run from one tree to another to avoid being hit.
Dima froze. It was impossible to imagine that his simple request to be more polite would produce such a result.
The easiest thing it was - not to let go of the hooligan when he was lying on the ground under Kolya. Dima and Kolya should have sat on him together, and what could the hooligan have done (against this)?
But do they (Dima and Kolya) have the right to do that?
Even the Druzhinniks (members of Voluntary People's Druzhinas) - and they are specially given red armbands by commanders of the voluntary people's druzhinas - they just walk carefully down the street, and it is unclear what rights the Druzhinniks (with red armbands on their sleeves) have. [Employees and workers of various Soviet organizations were sending to participate in Voluntary People's Druzhinas, free of charge.]
And they - Dima and Kolya - they're not Druzhinniks, they're just schoolchildren.
It would be nice if Sveta would somehow raise her voice as loudly as possible: it would be clear who is right and who is to blame. Now, as it is, it's just a (street) fight.
Dima turned around. He didn't notice how Sveta had moved away. In any case, she is not visible in the yard.
If the school where Dima studies and/or the organizations where Dima's parents work receive information about Dima's participation in a (street) fight, it will be very harmful and very unpleasant.
And what about the hooligan? For him and for his parents, this situation is familiar. They spit on information about the participation of the hooligan in a fight. In addition, the hooligan knows how and what to say in case of an unpleasant situation, he has (the necessary) experience. And what will Dima and Kolya say? They may be confused by the unaccustomed situation, they may say something unnecessary, and they could find themselves in a difficult position.
Dima froze; he was automatically eating the ice cream he had bought.
Run to help Kolya? Let's say he, Dima, runs up to the hooligan. The hooligan beats Dima with a dryn, not Kolya. "Just" running to help Kolya is not a right option.
Run up to the hooligan from behind? The hooligan will turn on Dima, and at this time Kolya will jump on the hooligan and knock him to the ground. And if Kolya will not jump on the hooligan? He, almost certainly, won't jump. Kolya is no less stunned than Dima.
Although Sveta did not raise her voice loudly with calls for help, but disappeared somewhere, an adult man from an apartment building saw through his window what was happening in the yard and ran out of his apartment.
Now three people are against the hooligan - Dima, Kolya and the adult man.
The adult man ran up to the hooligan. Hooligan turned around and swung the dryn (with nails) at an adult man and began to step on him.
Stunned, Kolya sat down on an empty bench with relief on his face.
The adult man looked at Kolya in confusion (and with surprise). Now the adult man was left alone with (against) the hooligan.
It was more difficult for the hooligan to cope with the adult man. Or the hooligan was running after his opponent, or the adult man was running after the hooligan.
Dima saw that he had almost finished the ice cream he had bought. Delicious ice cream!
Where should he throw the wrapper? Cultured schoolchildren should not litter. There was no trash can nearby. Dima will have to hold the wrapper in his hand for a while.
Dima's gaze went back to the middle of the yard.
But time - probably - was flowing unevenly.
While Dima was looking around for the trash can, everyone had disappeared: and Kolya, and the hooligan, and the adult man. (After this incident, Dima did not see the adult man even once, Kolya appeared quite rarely, but the hooligan relatively often passed through their yard).
Clutching the ice cream wrapper in his hand, Dima returned to his home, threw the wrapper into the trash.
Then he started reading his textbooks to get ready for the tomorrow lessons.
The next day, Dima came to school. He entered his school and he saw, that the woman-senior pioneer leader passed through the hall with the pleasant smile. It's cozy at school!
The guys from the class sign a letter in defense of Angela Davis.
Schoolchildren should to acquire postage stamps for the benefit of the Red Cross and of the International Peace Foundation.
Next up are the new "Zarnitsa" games. A lot of new and interesting things: Vietnam, Korea, Angola, Mozambique - all it sounds mysterious and attractive....
March 2, 2025, 16:05 (4:05 p.m.)
Translation from Russian into English: March 3, 2025 06:33
Владимир Владимирович Залесский ' Вкусное мороженое. Рассказ. '.
{ 3653. Вкусное мороженое. Рассказ. - 2 марта 2025 г.
MMMDCXXIV. Delicious ice cream. A story. - March 2, 2025.
Vladimir Zalessky Internet-bibliotheca. Интернет-библиотека Владимира Залесского}