we lost an elephant,’ Tanya heard Katya’s response as the latter couldn’t stop her sarcastic flow.
‘How funny,’ said Tanya with a corresponding sarcasm tune and went on normally, ‘Well, we’re going to play Truth or Dare, are you in?’ wondered Tanya opening her palm to get a reply.
‘Why not?’ replied Katya in agreement and glanced at Filip.
‘Sure, I wonder whose idea it was… I’ll just watch you play,’ answered he concerned.
‘Ha, foxy, you can’t watch others get embarrassed without embarrassing yourself!’ stated Tanya, ‘Come on.’
‘Alright, let the show begin,’ said Filip and headed to another room.
‘Good boy!’ commented Tanya and followed him smiling.
Everyone sat down on the floor in a circle. Tanya volunteered to be the first one. She chose dare and the rest of the crew made her drink half a cup of Jägermeister, the only booze they’d found in Sven’s kitchen. The next turn belonged to Yulya. Having chosen truth, she just had to answer if she had ever eaten boogers.
‘Of course, I’ve eaten boogers. Everyone eats their boogers as a kid!’ was Yulya’s answer with no hint of embarrassment. At the beginning of the answer, everyone started giggling but in the end, they sat remembering their childhood poking their noses.
Valuing his privacy, Filip undoubtedly chose dare and had to photograph his naked butt in another room and then show the picture to everyone and only after that, he was allowed to delete it. At the sight of the naked ass, Tanya began laughing loudly as a horse, resting on Yulya’s shoulder. No doubt Jägermeister had gotten to her alright.
Sven chose truth and was naming all the drugs he’d tried. Katya was dared to dance a sexy dance with a chair, which she managed to do quite well as the guys started to howl like wolves.
The second round began and Tanya chose truth this time.
‘You will not get me this time, sweeties,’ said Tanya laughing like a mad woman.
The cruel Sven wanted to know if she had a secret she had never told to a soul, and everyone agreed to this one.
Tanya stopped laughing, everyone saw her eyes go up reminiscing something, she shivered in disgust and sat silent, then she looked Sven in the eye and said, ‘I was raped by my Dad’s friend when I was twelve,’ tears began to roll down her cheeks. Her distorted lips managed to voice in a long sob, ‘THIS I’ve never told to anyone.’
Silence. Everyone froze. Yulya moved towards Tanya with her arms stretched out. Now that she was holding Tanya tight, she said, ‘You should have told it to your Dad. He would just cut his penis off right away.’
No one produced a sound. Instantly upset and deeply thinking pairs of eyes were observing the embracing ladies. Filip moved to join the union atop. Sven came up above to touch Tanya with his pitying arms. Katya managed to squeeze in and put her face against Tanya’s ear. Everyone went still. The song Losing my religion filled up the room.
‘I was afraid then and now it’s no point. The man was killed in a motorbike accident,’ Tanya responded quietly, she calmed herself down, brushed off her tears, and produced in a louder voice, ‘I think it’s time to go home. Fil, can you check the timetable, when is the next tram coming?’
Filip began checking the timetable. Sven thought out loud, ‘Males can be creepy creatures sometimes. I’m sorry you had to experience that.’
‘That’s the past. I’m fine now. No need to pity me,’ reassured Tanya everyone, regaining her composure.
‘The last tram has already left. I guess we’re destined to stay here,’ informed Filip.
Sven got up, poured a cup of water, placed it in Tanya’s hands inviting her for a dance. The latter drank some and put it on the floor. As Fringe got up, the floor seemed to whirl under her feet, but still, she offered herself to dance the dark memory away and feel the music and her partner.
‘Fil, you’ve come by bike, right? Can you take me with you? Though it would be a bit peinlich, but I’ll manage,’ ventured Katya.
‘Peinlich? why would it be peinlich?’ wondered Filip raising his eyebrows.
‘You know, sitting on an iron thingy behind you may be hurting, may it not? Peinlich same as painful in English,’ Katya was finding the right words.
Filip chuckled and explained that peinlich actually meant embarrassing.
Meanwhile, Yulya lay herself down on the bed to watch the dancing pair thinking how creepy it must be to be raped and what one needed to forget it and carry on living normally. If the recollection of the past made Fringe so emotional, she was not all fine and it was not just past. She was crying a few minutes ago. The memory still tortured her. Yulya wanted to help but she did not know how, perhaps she should study psychology instead of languages.
Katya joined Red-haired to tell she was leaving with Filip by bike. They cheek kissed. Then Blondie approached the couple and embraced Tanya from behind and kept dancing with the two whispering into her ear that she loved her. She let them know she was leaving with Fil and thanked Sven for the lovely Eintopf. They rode off.
In the morning the curious girls had to ask whether there was anything between her and Filip.
‘Sure, the most intimate moment was embracing him from behind on his bike. He just brought me home and we parted. It was neither painful nor embarrassing, girls,’ reassured Katya.
In their turn, they informed Blondie that Sven fell asleep on the floor listening to Depeche Mode. So Yulya was obliged to take drunk Fringe to bed, clean the table, wash up and finally turn in. When in the morning they left for their German classes, Sven was still asleep.
Their three weeks of freedom flew by sexlessly but full of interesting events to remember – the game Bottle, Amsterdam trip, once being caught in dodging a bus fare, sightseeing, hanging out with internationals. There approached the time to leave. Katya planned to stay in Germany. Yulya had to go to Paris to learn French. Tanya, in her turn, was to visit her beloved cousin, Anya, whom she hadn’t seen for a long time as the latter had moved to London when Anya’s mother married an Englishman. The three girls parted stating that it was damn fun traveling together.
Chapter 7
Girls Meet on the 1st of September
September the 1st. Knowledge Day in Russia. Kids go to school. Students go to university.
‘Hel-lo, my lovely beauties! How come you aren’t running to hug me too, little bitches?’ yelled Yulya when she saw Katya and Tanya hugging each other and had to try and hug them both with her miniature body.
‘Hi, sweetheart. Can’t wait to tell ya about London. I bet you have something interesting to share with me too,’ sang Tanya happily as an opera singer.
‘Oh my, is that you, Tanya? You-Singing? Looks like someone is head over
