Vasil walked slowly towards the school. Somehow, the path seemed longer than ever. It was so long that staying on the path frustrated him, even though he knew neither the route had become longer nor had he slowed his pace.
When he reached the school gate, he stopped. Stefan was waiting at the entrance. This gave Vasil a strange feeling, as he was usually the one waiting for Stefan, and he never thought that if their roles were reversed, Stefan would actually wait.
Stefan's gaze met his in the crowd, and his expression changed briefly before he quickly returned it to normal. He realized something was wrong. Vasil was sure of it. One look was enough; he knew he looked a mess.
But what if Stefan asked questions? What answer would Vasil give? Any lie he wanted to tell would be obvious, and he certainly didn't have the strength to tell the truth. If he even thought about it, he might start crying again, so for now, he hid it away in the back alleys of his mind, somewhere behind the kittens' shelter.
Silence and turning away, as always, seemed like the best solution.
But what if Stefan didn't give up? He was more determined than Vasil in everything, and sometimes this scared him. If Stefan decided to pry the truth from him, he would succeed.
Now, he didn't want to step inside the school at all. If he hadn't made eye contact with Stefan, he would probably have turned around and headed home.
But... did he even have a home to go back to?
The question struck a dark spark in his mind. Irina didn't love him, and she wasn't even his real mother. So why would she keep him now that Vasil knew the truth?
"Hey? Are you okay?"
A voice pulled Vasil out of the swamp of his thoughts. He looked up and met Stefan's eyes.
Stefan waited with a worried look for a moment, but when no answer came, his expression changed. He returned to being the Stefan whose thoughts were unreadable: "Class is starting soon. Hurry up a bit!"
Vasil blinked: "…Okay."
Stefan examined him keenly for a moment before heading into the school. Vasil followed him, relieved that Stefan hadn't asked anything more.
The school bell rang with a deafening sound.
***
That day, school felt as long as an eternity, yet it ended sooner than Vasil wanted. He had been reprimanded in all five classes for being distracted and unprepared. He wished all his teachers had gathered and decided to keep him at school for an entire week as punishment. Maybe, in that week, he could find a way out of this problem.
He rubbed Tik's tired, white-haired head. Tok, almost asleep with his head in a bowl of milk, usually managed to lift his spirits, at least a little. But today was no ordinary day.
Throughout school, one thought wouldn't leave him: his mother, no , Irina never wanted him. She had probably kept him out of pity or couldn't bring herself to tell him such a harsh truth—at least not while sober.
Whatever her reason, it didn't matter anymore. Now Vasil knew, and Irina was free to abandon him.
No one keeps what they don't love in their home.
So now, what was Vasil supposed to do? Where would he go? Where did he have to go? Sleeping on the street didn't seem appealing. Even if he found a place to sleep, what about food? Or the cold that was already gnawing at his bones?
Now, all the things his mother, no , Irina had done for him were glaringly obvious. She had kept him alive, warm, and fed. No one does that for someone they don't love.
The more Vasil thought about it, the more distressed he became. The more he tried, the less he reached a conclusion. He didn't know how he would keep himself alive from now on.
Why should he, anyway?
That question fanned the dark spark into a flame.
"Hey?!"
***
Stefan knew something was wrong. You didn't need perfect vision to see it. From Vasil's crumpled clothes, which looked like he hadn't changed them since yesterday, to his hollow eyes, and his efforts to avoid eye contact with Stefan so he wouldn't ask questions.
If he could, he would have run away the moment they locked eyes.
He had seen Vasil like this a few times before, but this time seemed more serious. Stefan didn't think it was related to school bullying—they had dealt with those troublemakers together before.
So, the problem was likely at home.
Stefan's mother had once explained to him about situations like this and what help he could offer, but how could he help someone who avoided even looking at him?
"Hey?!"
He approached and sat next to Vasil: "You left class early today."
He actually wanted to say: "You left me hanging today!"
But this probably wasn't the best time for that.
He looked at Vasil, who was staring blankly with his hand frozen mid-air above Tik, the kitten waiting for a pet.
It took several minutes for Vasil's mind and attention to return to the present. He blinked and lowered his hand to pet the kitten: "I just… was tired."
Stefan thought, *Tired! What an interesting word!*
But he stopped himself from speaking aloud; now wasn't the time for sarcasm.
He gently picked up Tok, who was almost asleep in the milk bowl, and put him in the shelter. The gray kitten licked its milk-dampened face in its sleep: "You know, today wasn't just your day."
Vasil picked up Tik and hugged him: "No, it wasn't."
He looked away from the kitten and directly into Stefan's eyes.
This made Stefan, who had been avoided all day, feel slightly anxious. How was it that this boy could avoid his gaze one moment and stare into his soul the next?
Without blinking, Vasil asked: "Are you more like your father or your mother?"
Stefan, no longer surprised by these questions, thought for a moment and said: "I'm not sure. They both have blond hair and blue eyes. But my mom always says I look like my dad when he was young, though my wavy hair comes from her."
Vasil looked away: "Makes sense. Kids resemble their parents."
Stefan sensed the bitterness in his voice and remembered Vasil's mother: "That's not always true. I have an uncle with brown hair and green eyes. He's the only non-blond in the family. Everyone says he takes after his great grandfather."
"But in the end, he's still like someone in the family! It doesn't make much difference."
Stefan stayed silent. He didn't think there was anything he could say that wouldn't make things worse. Vasil kept petting the kitten, which snuggled deeper into his embrace.
"Do you think if I was gone, the kittens would miss me?"
Stefan's whole body froze at that question. He turned his head so fast that he felt dizzy.
Why was Vasil asking this?
And why was he smiling as he did?
Stefan stared at the sad, smiling face for a moment before saying softly: "They're just kittens. If you don't bring them food one day, they'll probably forget you completely."
Vasil, still with that bitter smile, said: "I guess you're right."
"But I would miss you."
"Huh…?!"
Vasil's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected to hear that from Stefan, and his expression showed it.
A moment later, his lips curled into another smile, more genuine but sadder: "Me too, I mean it."
"Listen…"
"…."
"How about you come over to my place today?"
Vasil looked at him, surprised. Stefan continued: "I have a new video game, and the problem is, I didn't realize it's a two-player game when I bought it. We could try it together, and… if you want, you could even stay overnight!"
He forced a smile: "My mom always nags me for never inviting you over!"
Vasil looked away at the sleeping kitten in his arms. Gently, so as not to wake it, he placed it next to its sibling: "Thanks for inviting me, but I'm really tired today."
He stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder: "Maybe another day?"
"…Yeah, whenever you're ready."
Vasil smiled: "I'm going now. Goodbye, Stefan."
"Good… bye."
Stefan didn't know why, but he didn't like that goodbye at all. There was something in it that made his skin crawl. He watched as Vasil walked away.
He wondered if anything would change by tomorrow.
He had to wait and see.