Vova, Adidas, Winter, Turbo, Koschei, Coat, Marat,

*I've been friends with Marat since childhood. Usually, we always knew where to find each other, but today, it was like he'd disappeared. I tried every possible place he might be, but he was nowhere to be found.

There was only one place left—the basement, where the "Universam" gang always met. Marat called it the base. I'd never gone there alone before, but I had no choice.

Carefully descending the steps, I stopped at the entrance and looked around.

The basement was noisy. Yeralash was the first to notice me and turned around. Coat glanced up in my direction, and Turbo, standing by the wall, silently watched what was happening. Winter chuckled, noticing my confusion. Vova Adidas stood nearby, and Koschei only glanced at me briefly and looked away again.*

"Is Marat here? I'm looking for him," I asked quietly, trying to spot a familiar face among the boys.

Winter exchanged glances with the others and nodded towards the far room.

• Yes, he's here, sitting in the other room. Come on in, you'll find him there.

I breathed a sigh of relief.