LAMIAE

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: LESSONS

The teacher finished reading out the list, going straight to dictating. Dagmara began meticulously transcribing the woman's words onto paper.

"Sorry, I'm in a bad mood," she muttered timidly, but he didn't seem angry.

Nikolai looked at her notebook, apparently concluding that he could copy something from her in case the teacher checked the notes. He picked up a pen, pushed her notebook closer, scribbling out of context sentences so badly as if he had developed dysgraphia.

As Dagmara's notes were beyond her reach, she could afford to silently observe the "Mrs. and Mr. A" - Arleta and Alan as she called them in her mind.

Arleta whispered to the boy, as if she was explaining something to him, or even describing someone, sometimes using gestures. Alan spoke as well, but he only asked questions, she could tell by the movement of his lips. He didn't care about the lesson at all, much more interested in what her friend was saying. Were it not for the fact that something made him sit in class, he would probably prefer to stay in the hallway.

She had to admit that their bench was of great interest. The only thing she wasn't sure was where it came from - the fact that two girls were sitting with two boys (because in this class such a set was rather rare), that they didn't listen to the chemist at all (although they only took an example from the whole class regarding this) or maybe it was more about who the girls were sitting with (she had already noticed yesterday that Alan was quite popular, especially among the female part of class, and Nikolai was also very interesting). She could understand the girls from her class who cast jealous glances at her and Arleta. Looking at the other boys in the room for a long time, it was immediately obvious that none of them was as handsome as them.

Nikolai looked like an urchin, with dark eyes, the same complexion and black hair. That's what was appealing about him, when he wasn't smiling, he looked like the personification of someone in the devil's service - handsome, tanned with the promise of trouble piling up. Loving him would always be irrational; he was irresponsible and acted like a big baby. Oddly enough, women unconsciously prefer such naughty boys to good ones with noble intentions.

Alan, on the other hand, as she had already established, represented innocence, and while this thesis could be built on foundations, only until his mouth was tightly closed, she seemed to be the only one who was put off by this fact. Most girls adored him for what he looked like, not for who he was or what he represented. He was mysterious, and after a few hours of communing with him, other adjectives to describe his character appeared - he was not only unpredictable, but also cunning.

Dagmara had to admit that Alan evoked conflicting emotions in her. Sometimes she was enchanted by him, sometimes – disappointed. Sometimes she wished that he would never have to say anything to her, a second later she wished she could talk to him as soon as possible. As if she craved his voice, as if she wanted to see if he would be as rude to her as he was to their teacher.

It's ridiculous, thought Dagmara. She was being poked by Nikolai, who was trying to pull her out of her lethargy.

"Ey, be careful, who's going to teach me for the test later?" he asked quite seriously.

"There's no test from safety regulations", she replied as if she was explaining two plus two.

"Seriously?" he muttered, although his expression clearly showed that he was joking about the supposed test from today's lesson.

Throughout the chemistry, nothing interesting really happened, except for the fact that Nikolai fell asleep, supporting his head with both hands, which made him look as if he was staring persistently at the short notes he had made. Thanks to the fact that the boy used the lessons to take the nap, Dagmara could enjoy loneliness, because even though she lived in the house with only two people, she still somehow couldn't find time just for herself. For four days, from Saturday to Tuesday, she preferred to sit with her grandmother or Casper rather than in the great room.

Even Alan and Arleta seemed to limit their conversation to nods and single words, which in Dagmara's opinion was a masterpiece in itself - they always stopped talking when the teacher took her eyes off the paper, pretending to listen to her passionately.

As soon as the bell rang, everyone felt relieved to take a break, which again only lasted five minutes.

"Chemistry is a strange subject," announced Arleta when they walked away from the laboratory. The next lesson, history, was one floor down, so they had to reach the stairs, which were now crowded with students.

"Strange? In what sense?" asked Dagmara, smiling at her.

"Because it's interesting and boring at the same time. It's interesting if you skip the boring first class, and listen to all those points that you should NOT do."

Arleta stopped after descending the wide, marble steps and pointed to the door, which looked ancient. The doorframe was barely hanging on its hinges, and the doorknob was rusty.

"Listen, I have to go home," she said suddenly, as if she'd just received a written note: Come immediately. Mom.

"What? So you're not staying for the rest of the lessons?" Dagmara didn't even try to hide her shock. All her acquaintances in Warsaw were exemplary students and none of them even thought of truancy.

"No, please say that I have a stomach ache or come up with something else," she smiled mischievously at Dagmara, then ran towards the stairs again, but this time to go downstairs.

Dagmara didn't even look back when Nikolai stopped next to her, and Alan a little further. She didn't know where the thought had come from, but she had the impression that Alan had deliberately stood in this particular place - not to participate in the discussion, but so that he could hear it perfectly.

"Arleta ran away?" asked Nikolai, grinning at her.

"She didn't run away, she just had to go home," she replied directly, feeling indignant at the second boy who was audaciously eavesdropping. "I suppose her mother wrote that something happened or something."

That's what mine would do if she wanted me to come home, she thought, adding only to herself.

She entered the room right behind the very old lady, who was their next teacher. Dagmara walked over to the teacher's desk, immediately explaining Arleta's absence.

"Excuse me, but I'd like to report something," she said a little louder than she should have, in case the teacher didn't hear well. There was a racket in the classroom as the students took their seats.

"Yes?" the woman seemed to have no hearing problems.

"Arleta Degler got a call from home to be there immediately, so she won't be in the class," Dagmara murmured more quietly than before. After saying it out loud, she assumed she had made up a stupid excuse and the teacher would laugh at her. So what if someone called a student? The woman sitting in the armchair in front of her must have remembered the Second World War, and maybe also the First World War, matters as petty and infantile as text messages from home probably didn't concern her at all.

"That's fine, I'll write her an exemption for the rest of the day," the woman said, and Dagmara felt relieved. Unfortunately, as soon as she turned around, she noticed that the placement of the benches was almost identical to the one she remembered from the first day. And as expected, Alan and Nikolai, just like on the day school started, sat in the left row, while most of the students occupied the right row. Dagmara took "her" seat in front of the boys when the teacher wrote the topic on the board: Summis desiderantes affectibus - 1484. Then she looked at the classroom, where one person was already getting up with a scroll of paper in her hand. The girl almost beamed with pride, holding up her notes high for everyone to see it.

"Oh, Miss Scott didn't waste her vacation," said the woman, surprised.

"I had a lot of time and a lot of material," said the girl, and it was at that moment that Dagmara realized that Miss Scott had a presentation prepared for today. She looked around the classroom, trying to catch the students' eyes. Probably each of them had already given their presentation before the holidays, and she was the only one interested in whether she would be forced to do it, or not. Of course, the same was for Alan and Nikolai, but they... well, they were them.