Lololowka and JDH

The physics teachers' office smelled of old books, brewed coffee, and quiet despair. Lololoshka stood at a desk littered with notes and diagrams, feeling the full weight of those five years pressing down on him. Five years stolen from his own life and given over to his parents' dream of a "prestigious degree in energy engineering." He was twenty-five—the same age as his teacher, John, who now looked at him with a silent question in his eyes.

“ Explain it to me, ” John put down his pen and leaned back in his chair. **“ A test on the basic laws of thermodynamics. Three correct answers out of twenty. How’s that? You’ll have to try.” *

• Lololoshka was silent. He could have explained. He wasn’t stupid. Formulas and laws seemed a boring, but understandable language to him. He just didn’t want to speak it. Every topic he learned, every test he passed was a betrayal of himself. His only goal was to wait until the dean’s patience snapped, and the coveted expulsion paper finally set him free. *

*“ You’re not even trying to pretend, ” John’s voice was even, without reproach, rather with a hint of professional curiosity. He was also twenty-five, but his gaze held the weariness of a man who had already seen it all. **“ Most people either cheat or mimic.” You just come and hand in a blank slate. What's the matter, Lo? *

• Lololoshka glanced at the window, where real life was in full swing. He dreamed not of a power engineering degree, but of his own small workshop where he could assemble intricate mechanisms that didn't fit into any textbook. About traveling. About anything but calculating turbine efficiency. *

—* Don't you like the specialty? — John asked, as if reading his thoughts. *

• Lololoshka nodded slowly, for the first time in a long time giving an honest answer. Simply because John was the only one who asked not "Why aren't you studying?", but "What's the matter?" *

• John sighed heavily. He ran his hand over his face, brushing away invisible fatigue. (from c.ai)

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