«Do you remember that police officer who drove me home?» Vera asked casually.
«The black one?» specified Nina gazing at her friend.
«Yes.» Grach became ashamed. «His name is Jeff. He’s a good and kind man. Please, don’t make fun of that.»
«I never would,» Nina answered very seriously. «You are my best friend. But you know that people started to talk about Marina? Be careful, buddy, we are not in Moscow.»
Vera nodded thinking: «She’s right. I should avoid any communication with him. But how? Do I have to ask Jeff not to contact me, not to talk to me? He could take it as racism. Well, I will just be polite with him, that’s all.»
Vera was lying to herself, yet deep in her heart, she knew the real reason that she would still keep in touch with Jeff. But remembering her marital status, this honest woman was afraid to confess it even in her soul.
It was an ordinary demonstration. David VanStein explained the chemical reaction. Vlad and Marina assisted him.
The students, for the most part, watched very conscientiously, taking notes, but Lana Limpson did not pay attention. Absently looking around, she mechanically drew some pictures in her notebook.
She was thinking about Oleg, and erotic dreams gathered in her mind and drove her thoughts away from the demonstration. Lana had not been a virgin when she met Oleg, but only with him, for the first time in her life, had she reached the peak of enjoyment. Every time he showed her something new, discovering her body and feelings, and every ’session’ was a saturnalia.
Lana recalled Saint Valentine’s Day, when Oleg gave her the elegant bouquet of fourteen red roses. It did impress her. All her men had given her presents, some cards and candy, all of them did it… except Ruslan Grafinsky.
She caught up to him in the University the next day, and asked why.
«Your heart is busy,» he explained, not looking at her.
«My heart is big enough to respond to any true love,» Lana uttered passionately, watching his reaction. His skeptic grin hurt her.
«Girl, what do you know about real love?» He snorted. «Sorry, I have to go.» And he left her standing alone in the corridor. His words made her think about her relationships, and the girl tried to understand her feelings for Oleg.
«Real love,» Lana thought staring at David. «What should we call „real love“?»
She thought about the incident at the Christmas Party when the naive expression of Nina Lapina pointed out Marina’s crush on the professor. But, a short time ago, some students started claiming that he visited Marina, and often.