"Yes. Very happy. It's been a long time since I heard you call my name. I even remembered the old days when we used to shout our names at each other from afar. Remember when we walked to meet each other, and we were separated by a long road? We used to shout so loudly then, as if we were afraid of losing each other."
"What are you talking about?"
Interrupting this sinking moment of former happiness, the eldest daughter, in a short black dress collapsed on a chair with a rumble, grabbed her father's sandwich and immediately took a bite of half of it.
"So, what were you talking about?"
"Your father reminisced about his youth."
"Nostalgia is a dangerous thing. You think about the past, and before you know it, you're depressed."
"Lily, would you mind waking up your sister?"
"I'm having breakfast."
"Go wake her up."
"I seem to have interrupted your beautiful moment," Lily said, tossing the sandwich back onto the plate.
"Lucy, get downstairs quickly and get ready for school! Lucy!"
"Darling, you don't have to shout like that."
"I just can't cope with these two girls. What's wrong with them? Sometimes I feel like I don't have two daughters, but two sons. They don't look like girls at all."
"Judging by how much they talk on the phone; I think they look like girls."
"Don't expect me for dinner tonight. I'm having dinner at Caroline's."
"She's back already?"
"Yes. She's been to five countries this year. She has a wonderful life. How has she kept her spirits up at such a difficult time?"
"She has no husband and no children."
"Are you saying I made a mistake marrying you?"
"What's that got to do with you? I wasn't talking about you at all. What I'm saying is that Caroline doesn't have anyone to worry about. She lives alone, so she has a lot of free time. How else is she supposed to live? Just sit at home?"
"Finish your breakfast and go to work."
"I'll be home early today. Is there anything I need to buy? Milk, maybe?"
"Yes. Get milk and vegetables. And some fish."
"Fish?"
"I've been wanting to eat fish lately."
"Okay."
Clumsily getting into the car, he looked at his house, which was the same as all the other houses on this street. Completely identical rows of houses that were even intimidating.
Turning on the music, he opened the window and with a feeling of warm wind on his face, he headed towards the university. A cheerful love song kept playing and he liked it so much that he turned the song louder.
As the song continued to play on the other side of the city, in a one-storey house that was not like other houses, the obnoxious sound of an alarm clock made a man fall off his bed. Throwing it with force so that it hit the wall and broke, he nervously looked at his phone and nervously threw it onto the bed. Landing on the stomach of a woman with very long hair, the phone fell to the floor and started ringing too.
"What is it? Turn it off," the woman muttered, covering herself head to toe with the blanket.
"Yes, I'm listening. Who is it? What? I don't know any George. No. Don't call me again."
"Who was that?"
"I don't know. Some guy named George."
"You don't know him?"
"No. Aren't you going to get up? I have to go now."
"I was up all night."
"Have you been watching that show again?"
"Yes."
"I'll be off. I have a lot to do today."
"What do you have to do today?"
"Teacher's meeting. A maths teacher punched a student in the face because he threw a rock at him. Now, he's in trouble and so am I. So, I have a teacher's meeting today and then with the parents."
"It's going to be a tough day for you."
"I know."
"I won't be able to have dinner with you tonight. I'm going to the movies with friends."
"Rebecca and Dorothy?"
"Yes."
"You haven't seen them in a while."
"Jasper."
"What?"
"I'm very sleepy. You can close the door and try not to make any noise."
"I'm leaving now."
Taking off his pyjamas and standing completely unclothed in front of the wardrobe, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. And what he saw made him happy. For even if he didn't like his job, his life and who he had become, he always liked the fact that his face had hardly changed in any way since he had turned 25. In his 40s he looked quite young and fresh, and still retained the beauty that had once made him the most popular guy in school.
Looking carefully at his face, a handsome face with regular features and graceful cheekbones, he tried to find a single wrinkle. But no matter how hard he tried to find them; it was all in vain.
"Dominique, did you know I was a vampire?" he asked, continuing to look at himself and at his trim and taut body, which too had not changed in any way, though he too had a sedentary lifestyle.
"Are you still here?"
"I am immortal."
"Because of that, a lot of people think I'm your mother."
"Don't talk nonsense. It's not like anyone ever told you that. You made it up. Everyone knows you're not my mother."
"You know I look like I'm your mother."
"Honey, you look the same as you did 13 years ago."
"You don't have to lie to me. I look like I'm 68 years old."
"Why 68?"
"How old would you say I am?"
"Only 65."
Catching the pillow Dominique threw at him, Jasper laughed.
"Just let me get some sleep. An old woman like me needs a lot of rest."
"I'm on my way out. Except I can't find my socks."
"They're in the kitchen."
"What are they doing there?"
"I must have forgotten to pick them up after I washed them."
"Do you want me to get you anything on the way home?"
"No. I don't want anything. Besides, I might spend the night at Rebecca's house."
"If you're not coming home, let me know in advance. I'll have Maxwell over for a beer and a movie."
"Okay."
"Goodbye," Jasper said, quickly putting on his shirt, tie, black jacket, trousers and picking up his shoes.
But Dominique was already snoring loudly. Quietly closing the door behind him, he ran into the kitchen, quickly put on his socks, and ran out of the old house.
"I guess it's time for me to look for a new house," he whispered before starting the engine and driving out of this street where there was only the elderly man who stood in front of his house every morning and waved to him. "Good morning, Mister!" he exclaimed as he drove past him. "How are you doing?"
"I'm going to fly to the moon soon!" the elderly man exclaimed, jumping up and down like a little child.
"Really? Send me a postcard from there!"
"Certainly!"
"Have a good day!"
And so, every morning. A short conversation with a future "astronaut" always brought a smile to his face, a smile that disappeared the moment he got caught up in traffic and wasted his time listening to the radio.
But today, things turned out to be better than the other days. All the cars were moving quickly and soon he was driving on the main road which always made him excited. The same enthusiasm he had felt as a child when he and his mother had first arrived in this city that had changed their lives completely, giving them freedom and a series of endlessly happy days.
He still clearly remembered that day as he stared out the window, holding onto the seat opposite with his little hands. He looked out at all those skyscrapers, the houses, the roads, the bridge, which had become a symbol of freedom and fresh air to him. The 6 -year-old Jasper breathed in that fresh air, leaving behind that series of miserable days when his father beat him almost every day. And even now, he remembered what he felt then. Only happiness, which increased every time he looked at his mother and her relaxed smile.
This whole city always brought a smile to his face. And every time he passed certain places, certain cafes, certain houses, he became that boy for a moment.
But all the magic of the past came to an end when his car stopped in front of the high school. Another high school, which had become for him the place where all his dreams simply vanished. The moment he stepped into that territory as a literature teacher and then as headmaster.
Clasping his backpack with both hands as if afraid of losing it, he got out of the car, sighed, looked around and only then headed towards the main entrance. Walking quickly down the stone path, he tried not to look around, hoping she wouldn't notice him. But the moment he almost reached the door, he was caught by a strong hand that squeezed his shoulder to a faint pain.
"Headmaster! I caught you. You were walking so fast, I thought you were running away from me," said a woman slightly younger than him. Staring at him with her small eyes, she stood in front of him, thus blocking his way. It wasn't enough to block his way with both outstretched arms to make him realise that now, this woman, the chemistry teacher just won't leave him.
"Good morning, Mrs. Anderson. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine. Headmaster, have you had breakfast yet? Would you like to keep me company? We still have ten minutes to eat something. I even made pancakes for you. Look."
"That's very kind of you, but I'm really in a hurry. There's a teacher's meeting this afternoon. And there's a parent-teacher conference in the evening."
"Yes, I know what that maths teacher did. I understand that maths is a difficult subject and not everyone understands it, but why hit a pupil. He could go to jail for that. Headmaster, you seem different today. What is it?" Mrs. Anderson asked, taking a few steps forward and thus getting too close to his face. She even stood on her toes to see him better.
"Look, they're about to kiss. Shame on him. He has a wife, after all."
Looking in the direction from where these words came, Jasper noticed several of the students, who immediately fell silent and quickly walked away.
"What did you say? How dare you say such a thing?! You! Stop it!" Mrs. Anderson shouted so loudly that Jasper nearly fainted at the shrill voice, which reminded him of an alarm clock ringing.
"Mrs Anderson, I've got to go," he said, managing to run away. It wasn't until he reached his office that he finally dropped that heavy backpack on his desk and collapsed into his chair. But he didn't get time to relax and maybe even sleep for at least five minutes, for the knock on the door was too loud to ignore. "What is it?" he asked in a whisper, clenching his fists, and glancing sadly at his watch. "Yes, come in!"
A guy in a leather jacket and dark grey jeans with chains dangling from his belt walked into his office as if it were commonplace. Without saying anything, he plopped down on a chair across from his desk, also carelessly tossed his backpack to the floor, even kicked it with his foot. Frowning his bushy eyebrows, he brushed his bright red hair back with his fingers and sighed.
"Nicholas, what's wrong?" Jasper asked no longer trying to teach this guy manners.