Intertwined Fates. Ariana Bazhenova

dodgy, disguising his emotions and feelings with jokes, was unlike himself: he showed interest, attention and even care. And these changes happened so unexpectedly and abruptly…

      But what will come of this? Will we regret it? Now I am happier than I have been in twenty-two years of my life. And I stubbornly did not want to look at the possible dismal future of our relationship.

      ***

      Two days later, a new task came down to all the speakers of the event – to record a short video explaining the homework for their block.

      – Are we filming this somehow centrally? – I immediately received a message from Leo.

      – Probably not, each in his own block. We can meet in the conference room at one o’clock and record, – I typed.

      My heart warmed. Instead of contacting the organizer directly, he preferred to write to me. On the outside, he was brave, he was a star, he could find a common language with anyone, but in reality, he preferred to turn to a reserved, reasonable girl ten years younger than him, who allowed him to get used to her slowly and patiently.

      Before leaving for filming, I immersed myself in work in order to have time to finish the report. In my gut, I felt some unspoken question hanging in the air, but I decided not to be distracted by it. Nevertheless, it still caught up with me.

      – And you and Leo looked so good yesterday! – Angela’s words burst out in the silence of the office like a bolt from the blue.

      I raised my head sharply and saw that my colleague, with whom I had confidentially shared the secret in the fall, was looking at me with a sly smile. This phrase sounded unexpected, but I felt that it had been brewing in her all morning. It was a statement that implied a question – «What is going on between you?»

      I remembered how many of the participants had glanced at us in surprise that day – there were thirty witnesses to the unusual scene. Was it really that obvious? Many people understood the situation without words. Perhaps someone even saw our escape into the depths of Petrogradsky Island through the window.

      – Oh, thank you! We somehow dressed up in business suits then without saying a word. This is an important event, after all, – I playfully redirected the conversation, realizing that we «looked good» clearly not only in terms of appearance. – Sorry, I have to run.

      Anyway, we have witnesses. The situation is gaining momentum. It’s very strange that this doesn’t scare me at all – I’m not afraid of gossip or condemnation.

      Of course! After all, I can judge myself more harshly than anyone else. But when I thought about Leo, only the determination to be with him was born inside. Remorse strangely retreated.

      I grabbed a notebook and flew out of the office to meet the hero of my dreams. My heart was beating unevenly. We entered a deserted conference room. The spacious room was plunged into darkness, only the dim light of the lamps near the stage illuminated the first rows of chairs upholstered in blue fabric. Having sat down on the chairs next to the stage, we laid out our notebooks on the table next to us and set up the camera on the phone to record an explanation of the task for the program participants.

      – And what are we going to tell them? – Leo asked, puzzled.

      – I don’t know, I haven’t come up with anything yet. Any ideas?

      We started throwing out sentences together, making up tasks on the fly. Finally, Leo confidently grabbed my notebook and began summarizing our thoughts in his sweeping handwriting. I watched with warmth as he left marks on my paper – I would later look at his uneven lines with bated breath and a smile, a small trace of his presence in my life.

      – What handwriting do you have! I just don’t understand anything.

      – Initially, I wanted to study to be a pharmacist. And my handwriting is appropriate! But somehow it didn’t work out.

      We quickly repeated the speech and sat down in front of the camera. Leo turned around with displeasure at the lectern standing on the stage and climbing into the frame. We could have simply moved to the neighboring seats, but he jumped up and began to lift it and drag it to the other end of the stage. I watched with a smile as he demonstratively tried to show off his physical strength.

      Finally, they started recording videos for the participants. How harmoniously we looked together in the frame! He tried hard to remember the words he had written down in his notebook on the fly, and I couldn’t help but laugh lightly and smile broadly.

      – Are you going to watch it again before sending it? – I turned to him.

      – No, send it like this, I don’t care. I trust you completely, you can show the video with me to anyone you want. And do whatever you want, I don’t mind, – he blurted out quickly, and I noticed a hint of fervor in his voice.

      Suddenly I moved closer, barely touching his shoulder with my head, and smiled shyly.

      – Okay, thank you, I’ll take that into account, – I said softly.

      He gave me a warm look, in which silent agreement flashed, and in front of me he opened the messenger on his phone. My chat caught my eye – but only a photo was smiling on the screen, and instead of a name there was a phone number.

      – Oh, so that’s how it is? – My usual mask of restraint had already fallen off, and I decided to either be frank or fool around. – And you know, I’m offended! It’s a shame that you didn’t write me down in any way, and I’m just a number to you, I don’t even have a name! After everything that happened between us.

      Leo laughed and, having confusedly explained why he almost never writes down numbers in his phone book, began to get ready.

      – Okay, as you wish, – I shrugged my shoulders and returned to work.

      The day was drawing to a close, and a holiday weekend was ahead. After work, I went to a cozy coffee shop and started editing the video we had shot. Accidentally mixing up the settings, I turned our voices into the voices of cartoon characters, and while watching the video, I couldn’t hold back my tears of laughter.

      I opened the messenger and was surprised to find that now, instead of an empty avatar, Leo’s photo was flaunting next to his contact. My quick thought process figured out that this meant only one thing. «His photo is only available to those he added to his contacts. He finally heard me today, he cares that I was offended as a joke! How cute,» I smiled and I exhaled happily.

      – Look, look! It turned out cool, – I sent him a funny video.

      – Great, leave it like that! – I received a reply with laughing emoticons, and he found an excuse to continue the conversation. – Are you still at work?

      – Oh, no, I went home, I’m just editing the video. By the way, I forgot to congratulate you on the upcoming holiday – February 23.