Between Us (EN)

2.

The clock had already struck ten in the morning. I was bustling around my small kitchen with a cup of coffee in one hand and a sandwich in the other. I had to hurry if I didn't want to be late for my lectures. My gaze caught on the greenish cabinet hanging on the wall, or more precisely, on the door, as it was crooked. I sighed nervously; the hinges had probably loosened again. So, I jumped up and tried to set the door back in its rightful place. After fiddling with it a bit with a knife, I tightened the screw, and the furniture looked almost as it should.

Waving my hand, I marched to the bathroom, but just as I started brushing my teeth, I heard a rapid knocking on the door. The doorbell in my apartment had been broken for a while; I kept forgetting to buy batteries and replace them. When the knocking repeated, I quickly rinsed my mouth and headed for the hallway. I recognized the furious knocking; only Maria knocked that abnormally, so when I opened the door, I wasn't surprised at all when Mari and Don burst inside.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," shouted my friend as she headed straight for the kitchen, "is the water still warm?" she asked, referring to the kettle.

"Yeah..." I dragged out, "but you only have half an hour because I'm leaving soon."

"Sorry, Ele," Don shrugged, "she's having hormone storms now," he whispered quite loudly, putting his hand to his mouth, "you wouldn't even imagine how she tortured me all night," he grinned foolishly.

"Shut up, Don," Mari's scream echoed.

I nudged my friend in the shoulder and shoved my towel into his hands, telling him to toss it in the laundry basket. It was normal for Mari and Doni to barge into my home and wreak havoc, but they were forgiven because they were the rare people I could tolerate.

I had known them for almost three years; we met when I entered university. I had recently moved to Klaipėda and didn't know anyone here. I wasn't trying to make friends, but as soon as they appeared on my radar, they stuck to me like a wet leaf to a bottom. It was as if they had always known me, and we were finally reunited after years of not seeing each other. That's how they became my friends against my will.

I remembered sitting in the legal history lecture when these weirdos burst into the auditorium quite loudly, being significantly late. They giggled quietly as they pushed their way through the rows looking for a place to sit. I immediately thought they must be high on weed. As it turned out later, that was their natural state.

I was tapping my pen on my notebook, wanting the noisy couple to sit down quickly so I could hear what the lecturer was saying. I was surprised that he didn't scold them and just continued teaching. To my dismay, the girl and the guy were almost to me. Finally, the guy pushed his red-haired friend into an empty seat and sat down himself. The whispering didn't stop; the girl couldn't find her notebook in her bag, so she spilled almost the entire contents onto the chair next to her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a pile of makeup products, a wallet, three types of combs, at least a dozen pens, a juice box, a crumpled book, and who knows what else.

"For God's sake," I muttered under my breath. "Will you stop rummaging already?" I hissed.

I tore a few pages out of my notebook and handed them to the girl, who was staring at me with her big eyes wide open. She thanked me, then smiled as if nothing had happened and, sweeping all her belongings back into her bag, slid over the few empty seats next to me.

"Hi, I'm Maria," she introduced herself in a whisper. "And Don," she nodded her head towards him.

"Mm..." I mumbled, showing that I had no desire to get acquainted, especially during a lecture.

"Can you show me your notes?"

I pushed my notebook towards her nonchalantly. The redhead quickly snapped a few photos of the pages. I probably made a mistake by giving her those pages; I should have simply stood up and moved elsewhere. I could still do that now, but to my surprise, the noisy couple actually quieted down and continued to sit quietly. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as the girl used the borrowed pages not to take notes but to doodle something. I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore them.