The last year turned out to be the most difficult for Nina during her entire time at school. Previously, some people still cared about studying, but in their senior year, it seemed everyone had forgotten why they were there. Relationships were forming, and there were discussions about future plans, money, clothes. Nina felt as though she was on the outside, her future not looking bright.
Despite being a good student, her family had no money. She always wore hand-me-downs. Nina wondered if she had ever had a new dress? She barely remembered getting all new clothes for her first day of school. How long ago that was, back when her dad wasn’t like this, and mom…
Nina didn’t really mingle with her classmates, or rather, they didn’t with her. But this year, she felt like a true outcast. They were almost adults, but the mockery directed at her was becoming more frequent. Today, it all went too far.
The day started as usual. Everyone took their seats, and the first lesson began. Nina hated being the center of attention, so she asked:
— Galina Andreevna, may I answer from here?
Immediately, someone jeered:
— Novikova is afraid that at the board everyone will see how many patches she has on her dress.
— No, she’s afraid the dress won’t handle the strain and will just fall apart.
Both girls and boys participated in the teasing. The class laughed, and Galina Andreevna couldn’t calm them down.
— Novikova, how will you go to graduation? We don’t have stores that sell dresses from under the fence.
Nina grabbed her bag and bolted from the class. She heard Galina Andreevna shouting:
— Svetlova, be quiet! Novikova, come back!
But who would listen to her when everyone already thought they were grown-up and wise?
At home, everything was as usual. Her father was already asleep, apparently drunk. He lay across the sofa, couldn’t even lift his legs, and reeked of alcohol. The kitchen was a mess of dirty dishes, mostly with extinguished cigarettes, several empty bottles, and a sticky-smeared table.
Nina flung open the window, and a fresh breeze blew in. April was quite warm this year, but it was still early spring. For nearly an hour, Nina cleaned, scraped, cleared the remnants of her father’s revelry, and thought that things could have been different if her mom were alive.
Nina knew her father had loved her mother deeply. Perhaps that’s why he couldn’t cope with the loss. It had been 10 years of odd jobs and drinking away most of his money.
At first, it wasn’t so noticeable. He went to work and only drank when Nina was asleep. Then he started drinking in the evenings when Nina could see. And then it became increasingly difficult for him to find time for work. He liked to repeat:
— Don’t worry, Nina, dad will stop this last time, and then we’ll live well.
But that «well» never came. Nina cried, pleaded with her father to stop, waited for him to get tired of drinking, but nothing changed, it only got worse.
Nina heard a rustle and turned sharply. Her father stood in the kitchen doorway. Her heart clenched. At 45, he looked 60 or even 70 years old.
— Daughter, why are you home so early today?
And then she lost it. She began speaking quietly, then escalated to yelling.
— Early?! I have nothing in common with normal people at school, do you understand?
Nina threw her jacket on a chair and stormed past her stunned father. A loud bang echoed in the hallway as she slammed the door. He heavily sat down and muttered:
— Well, do you feel better now?
— What happened? — next to Nina stood a woman who had worked for many years at the pharmacy located right in their building. Everyone knew Inna Romanovna.
— No, everything’s fine with dad, — Nina replied, — if it’s okay, I just want to sit quietly for a while.
— No problem was ever solved by silence.
Stuttering and sniffling, Nina recounted everything that happened today.
— You need to go to the principal. What is this? Who gave them the right? — suggested Inna Romanovna.
Nina shook her head negatively:
— It won’t help. Tell me, Inna Romanovna, do you know where I can get a part-time job so I don’t have to quit school and can see my father as little as possible?
— A job? You’re a bit young. Though, if it’s unofficial… Here’s what, come to me tomorrow after lunch, I’ll try to help.
Nina wiped her tears and smiled:
— Thank you very much, I’ll definitely come.
Thus, Nina got a job at a hospital where there was an acute shortage of night sanitarians.
She wasn’t planning to tell anyone where she worked, but she signed up in the journal that she would attend graduation. Of course, the mockery began again, but Nina tried to ignore it. Everyone else’s parents would buy their outfits. But no one would buy hers, so she would buy it herself.
Nina wanted to shut everyone up, she didn’t know why, but she knew for sure that she was no worse than anyone else, and better than some.
Yes, she had no money, but she could earn enough for one evening.
— Novikova, they say the bums rummaged through the dump and found you an outfit. Is that true or not? — Svetlova couldn’t calm down.
Those who always hung on her every word surrounded her. Svetlova had long been called the queen of the class, and no one doubted that this reputation would stay with her forever.
Nina silently looked at her textbook. The main thing — do not respond, and then, maybe, Svetlova would lose interest and leave her alone. But it wasn’t to be.
— Nina, maybe you’ll come with a date? Is there anyone suitable at the dump?
Nina couldn’t take it:
— Suitable for you?
Laughter echoed around. Svetlova blushed with anger:
— Exactly, dug up a dress from the trash, started feeling more confident. What, Novikova, can’t stand to become the prom queen?
Nina stood up, smirked:
— You’re used to playing by your own rules. But it could have been a fair fight.
Nina left, and Svetlova stood there with her mouth open.
— Did you see that?
About a week before graduation, the hospital became hectic.
A five-year-old boy was brought in who had fallen off his scooter and sustained a head injury. His nanny was with him, only adding to the situation by constantly calling someone and apologizing. The night was ordinary, and only the duty doctor was on shift.
— Nina, calm this hysterical woman down! — The doctor continued yelling into the phone. — Understand, I can’t keep him here, I have an adult department… No, it’s not dangerous, but it’s better for a pediatric surgeon to examine him.
He hung up the phone bewildered:
— Please, do something so this woman finally calms down.
Nina smiled, nodded, and led the nanny to the lobby where she offered her tea, and the woman was able to explain calmly:
— You see, Igor, the boy’s father — is a wonderful person, though young. He became a father at 19. The baby’s mother didn’t want him, but Igor is raising his son alone. When Igor turned 20, the mother started trying to take the son away. She doesn’t want the child, she wants Igor’s money. She monitors every step he takes, has already filed several complaints that Igor doesn’t spend enough time with the child, that it’s dangerous and wrong. And if she finds out about this…
— You haven’t told the father? — Nina asked in surprise.
— I’m afraid. Igor can be very strict, — replied the nanny.
Nina resolutely extended her hand:
— Let me try to explain everything to him.
The conversation was difficult. As soon as Igor understood what had happened, he immediately started yelling that he would sue everyone. It even required raising voices:
— Can you calm down and listen to me? Nothing terrible happened. All children fall. It’s just that your son was very scared, and that’s your fault and your nanny’s, who is in a panic because she’s afraid of you. You behave like a tyrant!
There was silence on the other end of the line, then Igor calmly said:
— Can I ask you to take them somewhere to your place, so they aren’t in the hospital, and don’t appear at home with bandages on their heads? I’ll pay well. I’ll be there by lunch, send the address via SMS.
Nina wanted to say that they couldn’t come to her place, but Igor had already hung up. She relayed the conversation to the nanny, who nodded:
— Yes, in this situation, it would be best to leave here.
— But at my place… My dad might be drunk, — Nina said.
The nanny frowned:
— Going to a hotel is risky, we might be seen by someone familiar…
Half an hour later, she was opening the door to her apartment and couldn’t understand why she was doing all this. To endure another disgrace?
Her father wasn’t asleep. Nina was surprised to see the apartment spotlessly clean, and it even smelled of food.
— Nina, you have guests? Great! I cooked, and there’s so much we couldn’t eat it all in a week.
The evening felt wrong, unfamiliar. Nina hadn’t felt so strangely in a long time, when you want to believe but are afraid…
— Nina. — Her father called her to the kitchen. — I need to ask your forgiveness. I’m so ashamed. I don’t even know what to say. Here, take this, buy something for your graduation. I went to my old job, made arrangements, and told everything openly. I start work tomorrow, and the guys chipped in to buy you some treats.
No, she couldn’t describe how happy she was. She was even more delighted when Polina, Vanya’s nanny, sent her to a salon, helped her choose a dress, and taught her to dance the waltz.
Igor… Nina tried not to think about him, as it caused tension. He turned out not to be a monster, but a man with a tough character, authoritative, yet fair. She tried to get him out of her head.
The taxi driver looked surprised in the mirror:
— What the hell? Miss, are you being followed?
Nina turned around, and a rush of heat went through her. A car was following them, Igor’s, and behind it — his security. He had hired guards right after the start of the legal battle.
The teacher sternly looked at Svetlova, who looked like a model from a glossy magazine.
— Are we soon going to wait for Novikova? — came a sneering comment.
Galina Andreevna shook her head:
— I never thought I’d say this, but I really hope, Svetlova, that someone finally puts you in your place. — Galina Andreevna squinted, then her face lit up with a smile. — Well, your crown will definitely fall off. Even sooner than I expected.
Svetlova was silent, watching as Igor Lebedev himself, the dream of all the girls in town, helped Novikova out of the car. She wore a stunning dress, perhaps not as expensive as Svetlova’s, but it certainly looked better. And the hairstyle, and the makeup…
Svetlova noticed that everyone was crowding around Ninka, and no one stood next to her. She tore off her graduation ribbon and ran to the gates — she definitely did not want to be at such a graduation.
Igor was having fun with everyone. In the midst of the evening, they went outside to cool down a bit. Adjusting the prom queen crown on Nina’s head, he said:
— Nin, I feel like I’ve returned to my school days. It turns out this is quite pleasant.
She smiled:
— Yes, I don’t even want all this to end.
He gently asked:
— Why? There’s so much interesting ahead.
Nina shook her head:
— I don’t think that’s about me.
— You’re wrong, Nin.
Three years later. Nina fluttered around the wedding salon, choosing a dress. They had agreed that she would study at the institute for at least 3 years, so there wouldn’t be a temptation to quit. That’s what Igor had told her. Her favorite men sat on the couch as experts: Vanya, dad, and her future husband.
— Tell me, what style are you interested in? — a consultant approached her.
Nina looked up. Svetlova… So many thoughts raced through both their heads. Nina, smiling, asked:
— Any dresses from the trash? Well, if not, then we’ll go to another salon
