Summer break starts tomorrow. Today we wrote the last letter, the K, of the word BREAK on the blackboard.
We started writing the word exactly five days before the break. On the first day, only a B went up on the board.
As if that first day—seven days before the break—had meant: "Booooo, there are still days to go…"
Outside, the sun is blazing, while we're still wearing down the desks and cramming Latin instead of playing volleyball or swimming.
B
BR
BRE
BREA
BREAK
Finally, today at noon, after Latin class, this right-angled triangle said goodbye to us. We were free for three months.
Tomorrow there will be the end-of-year ceremony, where the students walk around the school in pairs, singing "Gaudeamus igitur."
The graduating students say a cheerful or tearful farewell to the school for good. Attendance at the ceremony is not mandatory.
We boarders pack our clothes in the afternoon and go home to our parents.
I'm glad Magda's father is driving us home, so we don't have to rattle along on the 5 p.m. bus.
Magda, my roommate, is one grade above me.
I looked at the board one last time. Maybe no one will erase the word BREAK from it even during the summer.
I was the one who introduced this tradition. At first, the teachers didn't understand why a chalk-white B was scribbled on one side of the board, but when I explained the tradition from my old school, they willingly left the right side of the board for waiting for the vacation.
I slowly packed my book and notebook into my bag.
There was this teacher who taught Latin. Even on this day, he tormented us with fables.
Lupus et canem.
Well, it's thought-provoking.
Chained and well-fed, or free but starving—which is better?
The thing is, I like dogs. In the fable, the dog is on a chain, which is why the free wolf despises the chained, well-fed dog. Our dogs are freer than the wolves wandering outside, starving.
Maybe when I'm older, I'll understand fables better.
I'm fifteen years old.
I like thinking about these things, but I feel that I still don't have enough knowledge to understand the deeper meaning of most of the material the way its creator intended, or the way adults do.
Recently, two university students were sitting in front of me on the bus, and I'll admit, I didn't understand much of their conversation.
I'm small and stupid. I've already made a list of my summer readings. I need to educate myself.
In the end, I fiddled around and thought for so long that I was left alone in the classroom.
"Are you coming already?" Magda called in through the open classroom door.
Then she walked over to me and looked at me with a laughing expression.
I was still fussing with my books. I even checked my desk drawer. There was only my half-eaten apple inside.
Magda grimaced, but she didn't scold me for storing food, stationery, and books in the same place.
I took out the half-eaten apple and threw it into the trash.
"We can go!" I said cheerfully.
I'm glad Magda goes to this school too and has taken me under her wing since the beginning of the year.
Magda stared for a long time after a group of boys walking away. I knew she had been hoping all year that Peter would finally notice her.
Maybe next school year.
As if Peter had sensed someone watching him, he turned around. He waved in our direction, then continued talking with his friends.
"It's such a shame the school year is over," Magda sighed.
I always listened to my friend's raving about Peter, but I couldn't give her any useful advice in matters of love. No one has ever flirted with me. Boys usually tease and annoy me.
"Because they like you," Magda's opinion was.
I don't think so.
There was a boy in eighth grade whom I liked too, but on the class trip it turned out he had long been secretly exchanging letters with another girl.
For a few days I stayed in my room reading alone; after that, the new couple didn't bother me anymore.
The romance lasted until the school carnival. The girl's friends didn't like Tom. They introduced her to another boy with whom she shared a hobby. The secret letters became less frequent. At the carnival, the girl talked with the other boy the entire time.
I wanted to know how Tom felt. He didn't glance toward the new couple very often. Maybe the feelings really faded as the letters dwindled, and the appearance of the other boy didn't cause him pain.
He paid even less attention to me. As always, he looked straight through me.
I admitted defeat and never talked about Tom to anyone. Not even to Magda.
He continued studying at the same school, but in a different class. Throughout the entire school year, I didn't see him get close to a single girl.
Maybe he really did get burned by that girl last year.
***
At the dorm, I was still able to say goodbye to my roommates. The four of us slept in bunk beds. Magda didn't like sleeping on the top bunk. I wasn't afraid the bed would break or that I'd fall off in my sleep. I don't toss and turn at night. I liked sleeping on the top.
When we talked about our summer plans, I showed them my reading list.
Evelin, my other roommate, turned the page over. She wrote a 20-point list for me.
"Your summer will be more fun if you complete these too."
After Magda and Vanda read it as well, phones came out to take pictures.
"We'll complete all of this too," they promised.
We also took a few photos for social media titled "Escape." We shared them quickly, all four of us.
"I can't believe it! The first like came from Peter!" Magda rejoiced.
Maybe Peter won't notice Magda only next school year after all. Summer is starting well for some people. I shared my friend's joy and sincerely wished that this like meant what Magda hoped it did.
Tom was connected to me on social media. There too, he looked straight through me, just like in real life. He never liked a single one of my photos.
Neither did I like his. His pictures were normal. Not like most boys'. I didn't dare follow him on other platforms. I watched his videos in secret.
"We should meet up during the summer too," Magda suggested.
I was a little jealous of her. She's already allowed to go to concerts with friends. I can only go under my brother's supervision. Next summer I'll be allowed too, when I'm sixteen.
We chose a place I'm already allowed to go to without supervision.
Vanda quickly scrolled through nearby summer events on her phone.
We chose the cosplay afternoon. It will be on July 17. It's not in our city, but for afternoon programs I'm already allowed to go with friends.
I could complain about how many times my parents call me in the meantime.
"By then, we have to complete ten points from the list," Evelin raised the stakes.
Doable.
We'll meet on July 17. That's how we said goodbye.