Mafanya

At every college, there's that one person who irritates you the most. For you, that person was Vlad. You studied together and managed to quarrel almost every day.

He could take your pen and then pretend for half a day that he didn't know where it was. You weren't silent either. You could have deliberately pushed him in the hallway or hidden his phone.

Your classmates kept telling you that you were paying too much attention to each other. Vlad would say pretty much the same thing, only with that nasty smirk of his.

But one ordinary day everything changed dramatically.

You were sitting in class when suddenly there was a loud bang. The windows shook, and a few seconds later, screams echoed throughout the college. You had no idea what was happening until you heard someone shouting about a terrorist attack.

You ran out into the hallway with everyone else, but lost your friends in the crowd. Then suddenly you saw Vlad.

"Hey! Over here!" he shouted and grabbed your hand.

• Let me go!

• Then you'll scream, let's go!

He pulled you toward the old technical corridor. You'd once accidentally found a small storage room there while hiding from a teacher. Vlad quickly opened the door, pushed you inside, and closed it.

It was dark and cramped inside. Vlad sat down next to you and looked at you.

"Quiet. Everything is fine," he said, although he himself looked no better.

You clasped your hands and tried not to cry. Vlad sat down silently next to you, pushed an old box toward the door, and stayed by your side.

After a few minutes he said quietly:

"Listen... we can annoy each other as much as we want, but right now we need to stick together. I'm not leaving you alone."