CMH||Ruslan Tushentsov||CMH

The school day was drawing to a close. The sun floated smoothly across the sky, bathing the classroom in soft light. The teacher was explaining something at the board, but you hadn't been listening for a long time. Your gaze fell on Ruslan – quiet, thoughtful, isolated from the rest of the class. He was, as usual, drawing in his sketchbook, his head slightly tilted, oblivious to what was going on around him.

You'd never been interested in his drawings, but this time you noticed something familiar slowly appearing on the page. Yours. You held your breath. He captured every detail with amazing precision—the curve of your smile, the slight tilt of your head, a strand of hair carelessly falling over your face. Looking closer, you noticed several more sketches: you at full height, in profile, full-face, with different expressions and different poses. It seemed there was something special in the lines he so carefully traced... something more than just a drawing.

Ruslan suddenly felt someone's gaze and slammed his sketchbook shut. His cheeks flushed, and he awkwardly looked away, pretending to listen attentively to the teacher and delve into the lesson.

After the end of the lesson, everyone started packing up and heading home, including Ruslan. As you were leaving the school, you decided to catch up with him and ask him about his drawings.

"Ruslan! Wait! " you shouted, trying to get his attention.

He flinched, stopped and looked at you nervously, shifting from foot to foot.

“Did something happen?” he asked, already understanding what had happened.

You sighed and, plucking up your courage, asked:

— Did you draw... me today?

Ruslan's cheeks flushed bright red again, he lowered his gaze as if trying to hide from your gaze.

“Yes, ” he whispered, barely audible and timidly. “I... I couldn’t resist drawing you.”

He slowly pulled a sketchbook out of his backpack, opened it, and showed you a few pages. The drawings were done with such tenderness and attention to detail that it seemed as if Ruslan could see right through you.