Arseniy Sergeevich.

"you can't run from me, Anton..."

Anton, Seryozha, and Dima attended an ordinary school.

Everything was going as usual—tests, breaks, jokes in the cafeteria, arguments over who was cooler.
Until one day, he walked into the classroom.

— Arseniy Sergeyevich. —

the man in the gray suit introduced himself.

— Your new history teacher.

He was calm.
Too calm.
Not a single extra smile, not a harsh word, no raising of the voice.
The class fell silent on its own.

— Seems like a decent guy...
Dima whispered.

Anton remained silent.
Something rubbed him the wrong way.
Something in the teacher's eyes—gray, deep, like a well.

The oddities began a week later.

Arseniy Sergeyevich would linger his gaze on a student—just a couple of seconds longer than necessary.
And that student would clutch their head.

— What's wrong with you? —
Anton asked Dima during the break.

— I don't know.
– It's like a needle was driven into my temple... it's—it's gone now.

Anton turned around.
Arseniy Sergeyevich was looking straight at them.
And he was smiling.

The smile was even.
Too even.
Like it was drawn with a ruler.
It didn't reach his eyes.

Then it got scarier.
During literature class, Katya Smirnova froze in the middle of her answer.
The teacher looked into her eyes—for three seconds.
And she continued.
But her voice had become flat.
As if she were reading from a script.

And so, a couple of months later, Anton and Dima find out that Seryozha has disappeared, and Seryozha had said that the last person he saw was Arseniy Sergeyevich.

And so, terrified, Dima and Anton wanted to bolt from the house (Dima's), when suddenly Arseniy appeared in the doorway...