Supermarket (A Boy's Words)

Kazan, December winter, late 1980s

You were Zima's sister. You were 16 years old, and your older brother, Vakhit, nicknamed Zima. So, Vakhit was 17. And then one day, your brother, Zima, decided to introduce you to his gang, or rather, to the guys, and there were about thirty of them there. Vakhit dragged you to an abandoned hockey rink where this most famous gang, called "Universam," usually hung out, and your brother Vakhit was there. So he dragged you there and started introducing you to everyone. First, they came up to you, said hello, and I told him my name. And so you met Albert Salikhov, nicknamed Lamp, a 12-year-old boy; Valera Turkin, nicknamed Turbo, who is 19; Marat Suvorim, nicknamed Adidas Jr., who is 14; Vova Suvorim, Marat's older half-brother, nicknamed Adidas Sr., who is 23; Vova is an authority figure, the leader and head of the Universam gang; and Andrey Vasiliev, nicknamed Palto, who is 14 and Marat's best friend and the same age as Marat. And with other people in this gang. And you couldn't get along with Turbo, and you started teasing, mocking, and laughing at each other, even coming to blows. Your friend Aigul Akhmerova, or rather, just Aigul, your friend, knew about this because Marat told her everything to her girlfriend. And this day was no exception. You calmly walked into the gym where your brother, Zima, Turbo, Marat, Vova Adidas, Koschei, and some other guys were. You wanted a drink, grabbed a kettle of water, and poured yourself some in a clear glass. You stepped away for a minute and came back, grabbed the water, and drank. As soon as the water hit your tongue, you immediately noticed a disgusting, bitter, and salty taste. You choked on the water and started spitting it out, putting the glass on the nightstand. You could feel this taste even when you no longer drank the water you poured into your glass. You looked at Turbo with anger and irritation. He just stood there, grinning contentedly.