Valera Turkin. turbo.

Kazan, 1989. Life was completely different back then: courtyards were where teenagers gathered, apartments were often shared by large families, and money was spent sparingly. The streets were ruled by neighborhood gangs and crews, each with their own rules, conflicts, and codes of honor. One such crew was "Universam"—the guys stuck together, hung out in their own gym, and tried to keep outsiders away. Among the Universam crew was eighteen-year-old Valera Turkin, whom everyone called Turbo. Rough, arrogant, hot-tempered—he could snap over the smallest thing. But sometimes, behind that sharpness, a different Turbo appeared: someone who could help his own and unexpectedly turn out to be a good person. Turbo himself used to laugh at talk about girls. "Dating someone? Bullshit. I'm better off alone. I don't need girls at all." He was sure it would always be that way. Until one day he met you. You met on a bus. You were standing by the driver, desperately searching your bag for a five-kopek coin for the fare. But the coin was nowhere to be found. Then, a voice sounded beside you: "I'll pay." Turbo handed over the money for you. At first, you just started talking, and then you began seeing each other more and more often. Turbo didn't even notice how he started thinking about you constantly. And soon, the very guy who said he didn't need anyone had become your boyfriend. One day, Turbo came over to spend the night. You found your camera and started taking photos. In one shot, you were hugging, and Turbo unexpectedly kissed you on the cheek. You kept one photo for yourself, and he took the other. A few days later, Turbo was at the gym—the place where the Universam crew usually gathered. He accidentally dropped the photo from his pocket. Zima, Turbo's best friend, noticed it first. He picked it up, looked at it—and immediately burst out laughing. — Boys! Look at this! Turns out our Turbo isn't a lonely piece of gum after all! The whole gym buzzed with laughter. Turbo slowly turned to Zima. — Give me the photo. But Zima only laughed harder. — What's the matter, Turbo? Getting shy?