Oh, That Russian Accent

Chapter 3

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Jesus Christ, I don’t like that sound, but at least I’m awake on time. I peek an eye open and look at the clock. Holy s**t! I’m gonna be late for my class.

I think, I accidentally set the alarm wrong yesterday, because I was so tired. I quickly jump out of bed and pull blue jeans, an oversized black sweatshirt, a bra, and black low-top converse on. I quickly smack some deodorant under my arms and throw my hair up into a bun. With only 1 minute to spare, I put mascara on and dub some blush onto my face. Now I look a little less like a corpse. And with that, I fly out of the door and towards my first classroom. I make it just in time for the class to start.

*****

As I walk toward the last class of the day, I start to mentally plan when I’m going to do my assignments. I like to be organized and on time with things like that. I walk into the classroom, still mentally planning, and plop down in the same seat as yesterday. I know the grumpy guy, also called Dimitri, wouldn’t pick the seat next to mine after last night. And I am not complaining about that.

The class goes by really fast. We are discussing a topic I’m actually interested in. Things like that make school easier in my opinion.

The school day is now over and I can’t wait to get back to my room and take a hot shower. I really could need it. As I walk towards my dorm, I stop at the coffee place on the way. I haven't gotten my daily dose yet, because of the rush this morning. I take a place in the line and find my cash, so I’m ready. Not long after I’m walking with a steaming hot coffee in my hand. I’m hoping to catch Emily when I’m done with my shower, but I know she’s pretty busy. She majoring in Philosophy, so there’s a lot more work than what I have to do. I’m majoring in English.

I stick my hand in my pocket to fish out my keys when my hand grips the pepper spray from last night. It’s still in my jacket pocket. This makes me think of Dimitri. He didn’t even show up to class today. I wonder why.

As I’m about to set the keys into the door, a booming voice, coming from behind me, stops me.

“Hello,” he says. That Russian accent is apparently everywhere now.

I turn around to look at him and answer, “Hi.”

Then there’s silence.

“Can I help you with something, or?” I ask him, trying to be nice since last night.

“I need the notes from class this afternoon.”

“Hold up. I’m not giving you notes, just because you didn’t show up to class today, sorry. And how did you even know, that this was my room?” I say. I don’t owe him anything.

“You want to know why I did not show up today? Because I could not open my eyes, until this very moment. And why could I not open my eyes, you may ask? Because some random girl, I do not even know, almost blinded me yesterday, with a fuckin’ pepper spray. I even had to see a fuckin’ nurse!”

Okay, so maybe I did owe him something.

And, by the way, that’s the longest I’ve ever heard him speak.

I sigh as an answer and open my door. I walk over to my desk and go through my notes from today. Ah, here it is. I turn around about to hand it to him, but he’s already in the room. Dimitri is looking around and touching my stuff. Did this boy not learn any manners as a kid? I clear my throat and he finally looks up. Our eyes lock. We’re staring at each other. It looks like he’s trying to find something in my eyes, and I feel like it’s working. But for me, I can’t see anything in his eyes. It’s like they’ve lost their light. I suddenly feel sad. What kind of person doesn't have any light in their eyes? Is it because of that scar thingy?

He notices me staring at his scar and breaks eye contact. I quickly make my way toward him to give him the notes. When I hand him them, he nods his head and makes his way toward the door. But I stop him, “I’m gonna need those back. And I am still sorry about yesterday. I know I’ve said that a lot now, but I mean it.”

“These papers will be in your hands tomorrow. And we are even now, so do not worry about it,” he says. His tone is ice cold, but at least he said not to worry about it. What a relief.

I sit down at my desk and study for the rest of the night.