Volodya

Early autumn had arrived, summer break had already passed, and a new school year lay ahead, eagerly awaited and dreaded by everyone. Although it had only just begun, students were already beginning to reflect on their past learnings and accomplishments.

Yura, a solid B student, struggled with Russian. He studied until late at night, but despite his best efforts, his grades never rose above a C. The teacher tried to impart to him all the necessary grammar rules, but the boy's memory refused to yield to his efforts.

Midway through the school year, Yura decided to seek help from a Russian tutor. He chose Volodya Davydov, a young man of about twenty-three who looked good and competent. The lessons took place in Volodya's office, which was clean and comfortable.

After a few lessons, Yura's understanding of Russian really improved. He and Volodya became friends and began corresponding. Davydov helped him with his homework and explained everything in great detail.

When the last month of school before summer break arrived, the students were preparing for a slew of exams. That evening, Yura arranged for Volodya to help him prepare for his Russian language exam. He arrived at the tutor's office a little early and, after closing the door behind him, immediately met Volodya's dog, Gerda, with whom he had hit it off from the very first day.

Entering the office, Yura saw that Volodya wasn't there. He tensed a little, thinking that his tutor hadn't expected him so early. Yura sat down on a chair and crossed his arms, but unfortunately, he began to nod off from the exhaustion of studying for exams and slowly drifted off. A couple of minutes later, he didn't even notice he'd fallen asleep. Just then, Volodya returned to the apartment. Seeing familiar sneakers by the door, he realized Yura had arrived a little early. Entering the office, he saw his student asleep, his head resting sweetly on his hand, his curls softly covering his sleeping face.