Hello, Privet! #1: Hello/Привет

Chapter 53

ANTON

When I wake up, I cannot tell what time it is, only that the sun is bright in my window. I would sleep again, if not for the pain in my shoulder. I take two tablets and drink cold tea with them. Someone brought me breakfast. But it's already after noon. I find Liam and Shannon in the terrace having lunch. Liam is wearing sunglasses and is not smiling. It is too bright. No one is eating. Shannon is talking to someone on the phone. Liam is rolling and unrolling the sleeves of his shirt.

Shannon puts down her phone.

"Did you sleep well?" she asks.

I cannot think how to answer. "No..."

She nods.

"I think I should go back to sleep. I have a headache."

"Sit down, man," says Liam, getting up. He prepares a plate for me. Risotto and osso buco. "You have to eat. You have a headache because you haven't been eating."

"Are you all right?" Shannon asks.

"Yes."

"Are you really leaving tonight?" asks Shannon.

I drink some water before answering. "I have to go back. I have to play tennis."

SOPHIE

"Do you still want these?" Minju asks, holding up a pair of skis.

"No." I think they were a present from Uncle Stephen.

"Can I have them then?"

"Sure. They're really old though."

"That's okay."

"I didn't know you skied."

"I can learn," she says.

"Grisha skis," says Seth.

"Ah."

We are in my mother's apartment and Minju and Seth are helping me pack a few things to bring back to Aphro and Minju's place. The packing turned into spring cleaning and now we have piles of things I want to keep, and things I want to throw away. Sometimes Minju or Seth would ask for a few things in the "throw away" pile.

"What about this?" Minju asks. She shows me a dusty box and opens it. "It's only got papers." She takes out the first folder. "'Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Biomass for Methane Production,' by Sophie Rosenbaum, Ilya Gromov, and Ven—Venkatraman—"

"Venkatraman Pullammanappallil," I say.

"Fascinating," says Seth, somewhat impressed by my recitation of Venkat's full name.

"It's about converting sewage sludge and human and animal waste into methane," I inform him.

"Soph, I didn't ask," says Seth, looking somewhat disgusted.

"But it was really cool. It could potentially solve the energy crisis."

"Why did you drop out?" asks Minju, flipping through one of the papers. "This research looked like it had potential."

"It's complicated," I say vaguely.

"Was it really because of Elliot?" Minju asks.

Seth shakes his head at her, signaling her to shut up. Seth is Elliot's best friend and they obviously still confide in each other. Seth even visits Elliot's parents and has Shabbat dinner there occasionally. That's how close they were.