Chapter 2
Marya did not know what was worse. Failing the test that accounted for 30% of her grade or her new next door neighbor sitting right next to her in class. She made a complete ass of herself last night when she saw her. So much for first impressions.
The red headed girl stared at the test before her, unsure of every answer she made. She might've been able to get some questions correct if her mind wasn't so swarmed with thoughts of Helene. Did she see Marya last night? And if she did, what does she think of her? Probably not good things.
Marya circled her answer on her test and moved on to the second page.
At that moment, the brunette girl sitting next to her, rose out of her seat - test in hand, and walked to the teachers desk.
“She's already done?!” Marya was amazed. How was she already done with the six page test? It's been only 20 minutes. And here Marya’s just gotten to the second page.
It seems the whole class was amazed as well because the minute Helene got up, many heads turned to follow the girl walking to the long desk at the back of the room.
Dolokhov watched as she walked to the desk, and then turned to Marya. The expression on his face was utter amazement. Marya nodded in amazement back at him.
Marya watched as the girl sat back down at her seat. She didn't seem to like the attention all that much as her eyes shifted from her classmates to her desk.
She must've caught Marya staring cause her eyes locked to Marya’s, and her mouth formed a closed but warm smile.
Marya began to feel her cheeks redden and averted her eyes back to her test. Even without looking at her, she could feel Helene’s eyes still on her, watching in amusement as she became visibly flustered.
Marya tried to pick her pencil from off her desk, but she fumbled thus causing the pencil to fall to the floor, breaking the silence and stillness of the room.
When she goes to reach for it, another pair of hands have already seem to have grabbed it.
“Here you go.” Helene whispered to the red faced, redhead girl.
Her voice alone was enough to make Marya melt. Marya never thought that the sound of someone's voice could make her flush but there she was, transfixed upon it.
Sitting upright again, her eyes met Helene’s once more as she gently handed Marya her pencil.
A lock of Marya’s hair fell in her face, as she accepted the pencil from her hand.
A simple, “T - thanks” is all she could muster out.
What happened next was something Marya could not have predicted.
The brunette, with such care and tenderness, took the fallen lock of hair and placed it behind Marya’s ear.
This left Marya completely and utterly speechless. Oh how fast was her heart beating!
The way her finger brushed against Marya’s ear made Marya feel warm and fuzzy in her stomach.
Marya had never felt this such way before. She’s had crushes before, but none of them ever made her feel like this. Granted, those crushes were all celebrities - they did not know of Marya’s existence. This was real - the tangibility of her feelings was sitting right in front of her.
“Woahh” was the only word Marya could use to describe the encounter that just took place.
“20 minutes left on your tests!!” a loud voice from the back of the room exclaimed.
The test! Snapping her back to reality, the test on her desk was not even halfway completed. Still on the second page, Marya did not know what to do. She could give up and mark random answers, but this test was important. She couldn't run the risk of failing the class despite how much she loathed it.
A small sigh of defeat escaped her mouth.
In the corner of her eye she could see Helene fidgeting with her phone underneath her desk.
Perhaps she’s texting a friend or her brother? Marya pressed some buttons on her calculator, hoping the result was at least somewhat close to the options on the paper.
‘Plunk’
A green mechanical pencil rolled over towards Marya’s desk. She didn’t need to wonder who the pencil belonged to, for it was quite obvious whose it was.
She picked up the pencil from the ground quickly but stopped short when she saw the glow of a phone with the letter ‘B’ in big bolded print, pointed towards her direction.
She glanced back up at Helene, who had her head down on the desk, inconspicuously revealing her the answer to the problem she was working on.
Smiling to herself, Marya circled the letter that the phone told her to.
Admittedly, Marya had never thought of cheating on a test before, and certainly she did not think today was going to be the day that she would do so. But she isn't going to fail this test, that's for damn sure.
Signaling she was ready to move to the next question, she sniffed a little, hoping her accomplice would hear.
This seemed to have worked. Helene then shifted her weight, taking her phone back underneath her desk.
Her fingers moved quickly to type the next answer, and Marya tried her best not to make herself look any more suspicious than she already was. Helene turned the phone towards her, and Marya shifted her eyes towards the screen.
This routine went on for the next 10 more questions. Occasionally, the phone screen would have text written underneath the letter, that read something like:
“Get this one wrong so it doesn't look like cheating”
Or
“Lol ur really bad at math”
Marya couldn't help but smile at that one.
When class was over, everyone who did not previously turn in their tests were instructed to leave them on their desks face down. Helene gathered her bag, and stood to exit the classroom.
Noticing this, Marya hurriedly flipped over her test, and stood to follow Helene out of the classroom.
“Marya, wait up!” Fedya called after her.
She glanced behind her to see Fedya approaching. She raised her finger to him, silently telling him “just a moment.”
Fedya gave her a small nod of the head, and leaned against the doorway of the classroom they just exited.
Half jogging up to Helene, Marya tapped her on the shoulder. The curly haired girl whipped her head back and slightly looked upwards, being as though Marya was quite some heads above her.
“I wanted to thank you for the help just now. I've never been good at math. Figuring out equations is not my strong suit.” She chuckled as a small smile arose upon Helene’s delicate face.
“Oh uh…” Marya extended out her hand to Helene.
“My name is Marya… I believe your name is Helene?” Marya asked her, a little hesitantly.
Helene shook her hand, gently. “Thats me. And up until this point I thought your name was ‘window girl’ but Marya sounds much better.” she chuckled at her own joke.
Marya chuckled nervously.
“Ahh, so you saw that huh? Well, so much for first impressions, am I right?” She scratched at the back of her neck - a nervous tendency.
“Yeah, but that's alright. I'll just pretend that it never happened. I'm hoping I can meet you again at my father's welcoming gala tonight?”
The brown haired girl flashed a smile at the other girl while asking her question.
Marya has never even been to a party before, let alone a gala. And she knew that gala’s were just fancy parties, but has Marya ever been the fancy type?! Her closet practically screamed homebody, and the last time she wore a dress was ages ago. It probably wouldn't even fit her now.
“Gala… your father hosts gala’s? Not to be rude, but you just moved here...why on earth would he host a gal-”
‘Ring!’
The loud bell sounded through the intercom, cutting Marya’s words off.
In the bustle of all the people, it was hard to not get jostled around.
“Gala’s at my house at 8 tonight!” Helene said in a slightly louder voice.
“O - Okay.” said Marya as she watched Helene fade into the crowd of students in the small school hallway.
“What was that all about?” A voice came up from behind her said, which she immediately recognized as Fedya.
She kind of forgot he was behind her, waiting for her.
“Huh? Oh nothing, I was just introducing myself to the new girl. Helene.” She briefly glanced over to the crowd, to see if she could spot her but to no avail she was gone. All she saw was a sea of students rushing to get to next class before the next bell rang.
Fedya was about to say something when Marya cut him short with her words.
“I should probably get to chem. Can’t keep Natasha waiting.”
And with that, she was off moving into the busy hallway.
“See you at lunch Dolokhov!” the girl cried out, as she disappeared into the sea.
Dolokhov sighed and turned to walk to his next class.
Having seen the entire encounter that happened during math class, Dolokhov sensed something new in Marya. He saw the way her face flushed when Helene made a move on her. He saw the way her smirk arose on her face when she complied with cheating on the test. Helene brought out the more reckless and smitten side of Marya. A side of her Dolokhov didn't even know she had.
Maybe it was best for him to keep quiet and watch how this played out.
He entered the chorus room to see an exceptionally handsome man sitting in a chair by himself.
A smile came over both of their faces once they saw each other from across the room. Dolokhov walked over to where the boy was sitting, and took his seat.
“Fedya, long time no see.” The blonde boy said through a smile. His eyes lit up at the sight of seeing his friend after two long months.
“I know you missed me, Anatole.” Dolokhov said, gazing into Anatole’s light blue eyes.
Breaking away from his enchanting beauty, Dolokhov came back to his senses.
“Hey, isn't the welcoming gala tonight?” He asks, remembering the text conversation he and Anatole had a few nights ago.
“Yup… everytime we move to a new house, Father always makes it a point to host his parties the day after.” He sighed remorsefully, slightly shaking his head.
Then a small smirk came over his face.
“Why? You coming?” Anatole already knew the answer to the question he just asked. It's almost as if he asked Dolokhov, ‘Is the sky blue?’
“If you don’t already have a date?”
Dolokhov enjoyed this playful, flirtatious banter he and Anatole were having. He could really tell Anatole missed him, and in all honesty, Dolokhov missed him as well.
Dolokhov first met Anatole when he worked in the local cafe last summer. Anatole was a regular customer. He came in every Tuesday at 6pm, just thirty minutes before closing time. Sometimes Dolokhov would make him an extra small coffee free of charge, which Anatole greatly appreciated by giving him large amounts of tips in the tipping jar. At some point in the relationship, Anatole stopped coming to the cafe for the coffee and Dolokhov stopped caring about the tips.
On the days Dolokhov’s boss left early, he and Anatole would stay in the cafe after closing time and read books together, being as though the cafe had a small library of classical literature. Anatole would then walk Dolokhov back home to make sure he was safe as the night grew dark.
He missed that very much, very much indeed.
Without confirming or denying Anatole simply said, “I'll see you at eight then?”
Dolokhov gave him a slight nod of the head and a small smile. After two months of not seeing his... friend? Boyfriend? (He didn't know what the two were to be quite honest.) it felt nice to see his face again.
As the teacher instructed everyone to sit in their respective vocal range groups, Dolokhov got up out of his seat, and moved to take his place with the other baritones.
====
“Look at her Marya, she's so in love.” Natasha said, gesturing over to Sonya and Mary’s lab table. The two girls were giggling while the blue flame of the bunsen burner added to the heat in the air.
“She's not our little Sonya anymore...” Marya said with a small pout on her face.
“But she better be careful with that flame. Mary’s got her distracted.” she added, with a stern look on her face.
As if Sonya had heard what Marya said, she immediately took notice of the flame and turned it off. Mary blushed, proud of the fact that she could make Sonya falter.
“So, I was wondering if you had any dresses I could borrow tonight? I don't have any that can actually fit me.” Marya said to Natasha, not bothering to look up from her periodic table worksheet.
“Dress?! Wait a second, you're going to the gala?! I thought you hated parties?” Natasha said full of glee. Out of all the people Natasha thought would attend a party, Marya was definitely last on the list.
“I never said I hated parties, I've just never been to one is all. And the only reason I am going is because the people hosting the party are my new neighbors.”
Marya located the element she has been searching for and wrote it down on her paper.
Marya also was hoping she could see more of the new girl who recently became the new proprietor of Marya’s thoughts, but she did not dare tell Natasha that.
“The Kuragins are your new neighbors!” Natasha was practically falling out of her seat when she heard Marya say that.
“Natasha, get a grip will you? And yes they are my new neighbors. It would be rude of me not to go. And can you please help me on this packet?”
Marya glanced over at the packet the two of them were supposed to be working on, but Natasha’s head’s been in the clouds and her mouth moved a mile a minute.
Natasha gave her a heavy sigh, and picked up her pencil.
“If I let you borrow a dress, can I also do your makeup?” Natasha pleaded with a grin on her face.
“No.” Is all Marya said in response.
“Fine.” Natasha rolled her eyes at the red head and focused her attention to the chemistry packet.
====
“Just a little bit of eyeshadow Marya, it'll really bring out your eyes! Just a tiny bit! Plea-” Natasha protested with a make-up brush in hand and palette in the other. Marya cut her off with her stern and stiff demeanor.
“I don't even know why you brought that stuff when I told you I did not want to be done up.”
Marya slipped on a pair of her best flats. She was already a taller woman, heels would have been too much.
“But what if you meet someone! Marya, you have to look your best at these things. You could meet your future love. You never know.” Natasha came from behind Marya and looked at her in the mirror.
Maybe Natasha was half right. One did need to look their best at a gala. Marya didn't know about the whole future love talk, but she was certain that there was going to be someone at the gala that she could possibly impress.
“I suppose a little eyeshadow won't hurt…”
Natasha’s smile grew wider and wider.
“Maybe a little lipstick as well, but that's it. Nothing more.”
Marya let Natasha make her up. Marya did not enjoy the feeling of the brush on her eyelid. It felt like she was being gently stabbed. But she did admit the final result looked nice.
The soft hue of red, really did bring out Marya’s eyes. This went well with the dark shade of red lipstick painted across her lips. And the dress really tied the look together. The long black gown, just barely touched Marya’s ankles - Natasha was considerably shorter than her.
She admired how she looked in the full length mirror on her closet door. The jewels that dangled from the gown reflected in the glass.
“You look beautiful Marya. Very stunning.” Natasha complimented from behind.
“Thank you, so do you.” She said, turning her head towards the young girl.
“Are we ready to go?” Marya asked, extending her hand towards Natasha.
Natasha smoothed her gown once she stood up off the bed.
“I think so!” She took Marya’s hand, and they both exited the bedroom.
Just then, there was a knock on the front door of the house.
Marya looked puzzled for she had no idea who the visitor could be.
“Were you expecting anyone?” Natasha asked as Marya made her way down the stairs and to the front door.
“No…”
She looked out the peephole of the door, and chuckled to herself opening the door.
There stood a wide eyed Dolokhov with disheveled hair and a black tie in hand.
“Marya, I need help tying my tie.” He said, holding up the long piece of fabric.
“Come in, Fedya.” Marya took the tie from his hand and let him into her home, closing the door behind him.