down on the wooden floor and fell asleep.
Do you speak English?
Matilda woke from the cold, she was trembling violently. It was already six in the morning. She got out of the hut and went back to her house. Usually at seven in the morning the neighbors were already awake. Matilda went into her porch, and without taking off her backpack, she began doing squats to keep warm. After a while, the chill went away. She no longer shook, but Matilda needed to keep warm.
“Yes,” she thought, “a cup of hot coffee would not hurt.” Continuing to do sit-ups, Matilda waited seven in the morning. She had no hours, and from time to time she left the entrance and looked at the neighbors’ windows. The light caught fire in the window of the old woman Zina. Matilda went up to her apartment and rang the doorbell.
“Oh!” exclaimed the old woman Zina, “Matilda, what’s the matter with you? Come on, come inn. My old man is still sleeping. Come into the kitchen, I’ll make you tea,” said Zina and led Matilda to the kitchen.
“You did not spend the night at home! Neighbors said you were taken by cops to the orphanage. Poor little soul! Did you escape? What happened with your arm?”
At tea Matilda told how she managed to escape from the orphanage and that there was only a small cut on her hand.
“Now I’ll prepare for you another sandwich. Do you want me to warm up the soup?”
“Thank you, Zina! I’m already full. And can I have some hot tea?”
“Tea is not food. Now I’ll warm up the soup on gas quickly. Hot bouillon is very salutary,” said Zina, took out of fridge the pan with soup and put it on the stove. “My old man still sleeping, yesterday watched football to midnight. If you want, stay with us. Only don’t show yourself to neighbors. Evil tongues can inform cops. You’d better not see cops. And my old man does not like these cops, he calls them garbage!”
The old woman Zina fed Matilda by hot soup. She spoke without stopping. It was her professional quality – in her younger years she worked as a teacher.
“Let me bring you a dressing gown, and I’ll wash the dress. The blood just can’t be washed.”
“Thank you, Zina, but I have to go.”
“Where will you go, my dear?”
“I’ll go look for work.”
“Where will you sleep? Come to us.”
“Thank you, Zina, but really I shouldn’t appearance here. Okay, shall I go? Is good?” said Matilda, got up and headed for the door, “thank you for not allowed me to freeze.”
“Wait, do not go away, I’m right now,” said Zina, and went out into the room. Matilda stood and waited for her at the front door.
“Here, take some money, you’ll need it. We’re old, and no need money,” said Zina, and slipped several bank notes into Matilda’s hand.
“But there are many, I would have enough only to travel around the city.”
“Take it, take it.”
“Thank you, Zina. I will refund the money when I will can. But when – I do not know.”
“Don’t worry. We have money with my old man. We wait for you in this evening, come to sleep here. Wait, I’ll bring a shawl now.”
“Why should I have a shawl?” Matilda asked, but Zina went out to the room again.
Returning, she brought a thin woolen beige scarf. He was with a fringe. Then Zina tied a scarf around Matilda’s waist. “So, the blood on dress will not be visible,” she said.
Matilda once again thanked, said goodbye and left. She ran down the stairs, came out from the entrance, and, trying not to meet with neighbors, headed towards the street.
After several hours of walking around the city and looking for work, she stopped at the building with the inscription “Business Center Lingua.” The lesson of English at school was Matilda’s favorite lesson. Her teacher – Fonarina Darya Antonovna, was delighted with Matilda’s successes and always gave her extra assignments and books in English. Matilda’s pronunciation was perfect. Sometimes after the lessons, Matilda stayed at school and came to the English class room. There she could talk with Darya Antonovna in English. They discussed Matilda’s books, sometimes Matilda retold them. Matilda felt confident in English and entered the building. In the front entrance hall towards Matilda came a guard. He was wearing a black suit and tie. An antique chair with bent legs stood behind him.
“Do you want something?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m translator and come to ask about job.”
The guard examined Matilda. She wore a cheap dress and a tied scarf around her waist. The dress did not hide the wide hips and her feminine figure. Proper facial features and too white skin gave out her aristocratic origin and young age. The guard noticed cheap shoes with low heels, and a cheap school backpack behind her back. Matilda looked around for some reason and looked up. The video surveillance camera was staring at her.
“Well, wait here, I’ll find out right now,” the guard said and left. After a while he returned and invited her to go into the office. Passing Matilda into the office of chief, the guard returned to the front entrance hall. A middle-aged man was sitting at the table. “35—40,” thought Matilda. At Matilda’s entrance, he stood up and greeted her in pure English, “hello! How do you do?”
“Fine, thanks!” answered Matilda, and smiled.
Then they acquaintance, and all their conversation continued in English. The head of the company was Arthur Khananovich. Convinced that Matilda speaks English fluently and competently, Arthur Khananovich suggested that she translate into Russian the text the contract that lies on his table. Matilda read the English text with ease and translated it into Russian aloud. Arthur Khananovich liked it very much.
“Now let’s try the synchronous translation,” he said, and turned on the television set in his office. On TV screen from the rostrum spoke Vladimir Wolfowicz, well-known for many, and he scolded the Communists.
“Begin please, we need a synchronous translation,” said Arthur Khananovich to Matilda.
Five minutes later Arthur Khananovich turned off the TV. He was amazed at the ease with which Matilda synchronously translated what she heard and with accuracy passed all the expressions of the speaker’s not normative vocabulary. Matilda’s thin voice did not drown out of speech Vladimir Wolfowicz. It was easy to listen to her and listen to the speaker’s speech at the same time.
“Well. We will formalize you to work. Do you have a passport?”
“Yes, certainly,” said Matilda, took off her backpack and handed the passport to Arthur Khananovich.
“But you’re not eighteen yet!” exclaimed Arthur Khananovich.
“Yes, but it will be soon.”
“You know what… I can take you to work, but not officially. Do you agree?”
“I think yes,” Matilda
