Hello, Privet! #1: Hello/Привет

Chapter 20

NIKOLAI YERMAKOV'S BLOG

Yesterday morning I woke up, I was in Austria and the next time I woke up, I was in Canada. I flew to Toronto to watch the Rogers Cup and maybe play some tennis with my friends before going to Cincinnati.

I think it's a pretty good day and after I have rested, I called Anton, who is in this tournament and with any luck will not lose in his match with Jacco Valkenburg tomorrow.

I ask him to have lunch with me, and he says it's already past lunch, maybe dinner will be better. Before I met with him, I got a massage, and checked my email, then prepared for my date with Anton. It is very exciting as all the girls should know.

Anton and I are to meet at a Japanese restaurant. I was there very early and was drinking a caipirinha when Anton arrived. And he was not alone. There was a girl with him.

Now, I will not reveal the identity of this girl, but she seemed not to like me very much. How could she resist me, right? I am a handsome devil, if I do say so myself.

Anton told me the girl is his assistant.

When Anton excused himself for the restroom, when he walked of course, most of the girls in the restaurant were looking at him.

After he's gone, I turned to the girl, "Hey, I have a blog. I will write about you and Anton."

The girl said to me, "I read it. It's funny. And your English is pretty good."

Of course it is! I live in Miami and I told her this.

"I just thought that someone writes your blog for you. That's a compliment by the way."

Which is why I am writing about her in my blog, so if she reads this—hello! I will get even with you one day! You know why. :-)

But I said very politely, "Thank you for reading my blog."

Later, I asked Anton to go drinking with me, but he says he has to practice, and he looks at the girl to agree with him, because of course, she is the one who decides for him. Anton, is, as I say, whipped.

I don't believe him, when he says to me that he has to sleep early to practice.

SOPHIE

In the cab on the way back to the hotel, we're sitting silently for about ten minutes, when Anton says, "Kolya does not mean it."

"What?"

"At the restaurant, earlier this evening..." He shrugs.

I guess he's trying to apologize for his friend who was hitting on me a while ago. "It's okay. It was—interesting."

"You were very good." He doesn't sound angry, so that's a good sign, right?

"Yeah?" I ask cautiously, sneaking a look at him.

"The things you said to Kolya." He sounds amused more than anything.

"Yeah? Which part?" I ask. "The part where I called him an asshole or a douche?" I wait for how he would react. I mean, I was incredibly rude to Nikolai, and they are supposedly very good friends. I'm really pushing it here.

"John did not tell me you can speak Russian. Kirill said you studied our literature, but—"

"I had a Russian classmate," I interrupt. "I asked him to teach me some of the bad words."