“Sokolova? Marina Sokolova?! Did you really come after all?” Igor Valentinov stretched his lips into a smile, but his eyes remained cold. “Guys, look who showed up!”
Marina stopped at the restaurant door. Fifteen years had passed, but his voice still carried the same mocking tone familiar from their student days. She took a deep breath and decisively stepped inside.
“Hi, Igor. Hello, everyone,” her voice sounded calm, although her heart was pounding as if trying to burst out.
The restaurant hall was softly lit by warm lamps. Almost their entire group had gathered at the long table — about fifteen people. Faces were familiar but distant, like old photographs, a little faded by time.
“Marinochka!” Anna Svetlova — the only friend from those years — rushed to her. “I’m so glad you came!”
“I couldn’t miss such an event,” Marina smiled, feeling some of the tension ease.
“Come, sit with us,” Anna pulled her toward the table. “We were just talking about how we took exams from Petrovich.”
Marina sat down, feeling curious eyes on her. Next to Igor sat Olga Beresneva — once the beauty of the course, now a well-groomed woman with perfect hair and a slightly tired look.
“Marina, you haven’t changed at all,” Olga said with polite friendliness. “Still the same… reserved.”
“You look great too, Olya.”
“What do you do now?” Sergey Volkov asked, pouring wine. “Still trying to change the world?”
She remembered that tone — once part of the student mockery about her ecological business project.
“Almost,” Marina answered, accepting the glass. “I have a small company.”
“I guess,” Igor leaned forward, “something to do with your ‘green’ ideas? Remember when she was all about those biodegradable bags?” He laughed, and a few people joined in.
“Yes, that’s exactly what we do,” she replied calmly.
“So, is saving the planet profitable?” Igor wouldn’t let up.
“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” Marina smiled evasively.
“Well, not everyone can be successful,” he shrugged. “I manage a department at TechnoProgress, Dima started his own company…”
“Remember how Marina failed her thesis defense?” Svetlana Krymova suddenly jumped in, Olga’s former friend. “She got mixed up in her calculations!”
“That’s not quite right,” Marina gently objected. “I got a B.”
“For a top student, that’s a failure,” Igor picked up. “Especially after all your speeches about innovation.”
An awkward silence hung over the table. Marina felt her cheeks flush — just like back in university.
“I remember how Marina solved that financial analysis problem even the professor got stuck on,” Nikolai Lebedev, sitting at the far end of the table, suddenly said.
Marina looked at him surprised. He was always quiet, and she hadn’t expected him to remember anything.
“That happened,” she thanked him with a smile.
“Alright, enough memories,” Igor raised his glass. “Let’s drink to our reunion! Fifteen years — like one day!”
Everyone nodded and raised their glasses. The conversation shifted to general topics: work, children, university anecdotes. Marina relaxed a little but still felt like an outsider among them. She knew she didn’t fit in with this circle, just like before.
“Are you married, Marina?” Olga asked when the conversation turned to football.
“No, not yet.”
“Any kids?”
“None either. Work takes all my time.”
“Poor thing,” Olga said with sincere sympathy. “I already have three. Igor works a lot, of course, but we manage.”
Marina nodded, finding no words. By most here, she was indeed a “loser” — no husband, no children, only a career.
“I’m going out for some air,” she said and got up from the table.
The terrace was quiet and fresh. Marina took a deep breath. Why did she even come? To feel again like that student who couldn’t find her place?
“May I?” Nikolai appeared nearby with two cups of coffee. “Thought you might want to warm up.”
“Thank you,” she gratefully took the cup. “It got a bit too hot inside.”
“Not just from the heat,” he smiled. “Igor is still the same… overwhelming.”
“Some things never change,” Marina shrugged.
“Others do,” Nikolai looked at her intently. “You’ve changed. Stronger. More confident.”
“Really?” she raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Yes. Not just outwardly. In many ways.”
“And you’re more observant than I thought,” she smiled. “Honestly, I barely remember you.”
“No wonder,” he smirked a little. “I tried to be invisible. Especially around Igor and his crew.”
“Everyone was a little afraid of him.”
“Except you,” he said unexpectedly. “You always stood by your ideas, even when they laughed in your face.”
Marina wanted to say something but then Anna came running onto the terrace, excited, holding a phone.
“Marina! Why were you silent?!” Anna handed her the phone. “It’s you!”
The screen was open to a business magazine page. On the cover of the new issue sat Marina herself in a formal suit. The headline read: “Green Billion: How Marina Sokolova Turned an Ecological Idea into a Business Worth 50 Million.”
“That… came out quite recently,” Marina replied embarrassed. “I didn’t want to make it public.”
“Didn’t want to make it public?!” Anna pulled her back into the hall. “Guys! Look here!”
A commotion began in the restaurant. The phone passed from hand to hand. Faces changed — from surprise to complete incomprehension.
“Is it true?” Igor looked as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. “Fifty million?”
“That’s the estimated company value,” Marina calmly explained. “Not my personal funds.”
“But you own it?” he pressed.
“I’m the majority shareholder, yes.”
A heavy silence fell over the table. Olga shifted her gaze between Marina and her husband, as if trying to comprehend what she heard. Someone quietly whistled.
“So all these years when we laughed at your ‘green’ projects…” Igor slowly said.
“I was just following my own path,” Marina finished calmly. “Like all of you.”
“Fifty million, though!” Svetlana exclaimed. “That’s huge money!”
“It’s the result of twelve years of hard work,” Marina said. “And many mistakes they don’t write about in magazines.”
The evening atmosphere changed sharply. Now everyone wanted to talk to Marina, learn details, say they had always believed in her. She answered politely but without much enthusiasm. This sudden sympathy irritated her more than pleased.
When most guests left, Igor sat down next to her with a glass of brandy.
“You know, I always said you’d achieve a lot,” he said with the same fake smile.
“Interesting,” Marina replied softly, looking him straight in the eyes. “I remember you saying I’d fail.”
“Oh, come on, those were just jokes,” he waved it off. “Okay, let’s talk about cooperation? I have connections at TechnoProgress, maybe we can work something out…”
“Sorry, Igor, I have to go,” Marina stood up. “Early start tomorrow.”
Leaving the restaurant, she bumped into Olga, who stood by the entrance smoking.
“I didn’t know,” Olga began without looking at Marina. “That you were so successful.”
“It’s just work, Olya.”
“No, it’s not just that,” Olga finally looked up. “The thing is, I dropped out of school for Igor back then. I thought he’d become someone important and I’d be by his side. And now…”
“You have three kids,” Marina gently reminded her. “That’s a big deal too.”
“Yes, but…” Olga hesitated. “Never mind. Just know I’m really happy for you.”
Marina nodded and headed for a taxi. Soon Nikolai came up to her.
“May I walk you?”
“Of course.”
They slowly walked down the evening street. Nikolai told her how he became a financial analyst, moved to St. Petersburg, went through a divorce. Marina listened and thought this quiet man had always made her feel sympathy — she just hadn’t noticed before.
“You know,” he suddenly said, “I kept your course paper on ecological management. The very one everyone laughed at.”
“What? Why?” she was surprised.
“It was brilliant. I always felt you were special,” he smiled. “I was just too cowardly to say it out loud.”
“And I was too insecure to notice those who supported me,” Marina lightly touched his hand. “Thank you for telling me.”
At the hotel, they exchanged numbers and agreed to meet for breakfast before departure.
The next morning, Marina went down to the restaurant. Several classmates were already sitting at a table, including Igor and Olga. Fresh magazines lay on the coffee table, including the one with her photo on the cover.
“Good morning,” Marina nodded to everyone and joined Nikolai.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked.
“Almost not,” she admitted. “Too much on my mind.”
“Good or bad?”
“Both,” she smiled. “But I’m glad I came yesterday. Like closing an old chapter.”
“And opening a new one?” he looked at her warmly.
“Maybe,” she smiled wider. “Time will tell.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Igor deliberately taking the magazine and showing her photo to someone at the next table. But now it didn’t matter.
Marina understood the main thing: true success is not about proving something to those who doubted. It’s about living your life, believing in your ideas, and finding those who stand by you. Even if it takes fifteen years.
