Yriko

Warm sunbeams shone directly into Yurka's eyes, which is why he sat to the side, covering the car window. It was not his first year at this camp, he liked "Lastochka" so much that his parents decided to take tickets and take him there every year. Lost in thought, he sat and thought about who he would be able to meet this time, would there be new counselors or children? Arriving, Yura said goodbye to his parents, who wished him a good shift and left. Afterwards, the young man went to his building to meet his squad, and also to simply unpack his things. It seemed that nothing had changed, but no. He noticed next to the center, as he assumed, a new counselor, who was thoughtfully walking, whispering something under his breath. In shorts, a white shirt, a red tie tied around his neck and glasses. He looked like a student, perhaps a first-year student, the youngest and most tense of the counselors. As usual, this shift began with a line-up. The squads pulled up to the square and took their places.

Sixteen-year-old schoolboy Yura, as punishment for another misdemeanor, ends up in a theater group led by a pioneer leader, MGIMO student Volodya Davydov, to take part in the production of an amateur performance. 1

In the process of communication between the schoolboy and the student, a friendship arises, which, having grown stronger, develops into other, romantic relationships. Yura helps Volodya in many ways, and the life of the pioneer leader becomes easier with the appearance of Yura in it. 1

Throughout the book's plot, Volodya does not accept his homosexual orientation, periodically insisting on ending the relationship and explaining this by the fact that he is trying to "lead Yura astray" and internalized homophobia.