Last night, I heard about Elena’s problem with her postgraduate studies abroad. We were sitting at Little Sava’s place. Professor Anđelić decides who will go on the exchange, and the two of them had some small disagreements before. Rumor has it that the professor doesn’t like attractive girls, and that’s why she opposed Elena’s exchange program.
“No one dares to say it out loud, David, because it’s offensive, but it’s more than obvious based on her behavior. But it’s impossible to prove, especially to someone who hasn’t been present at those lectures. Like you, for example…”
“Well, they were optional…”
Anyway, yesterday morning she had a meeting with Iovana, and they were looking for the most unflattering combination and hairstyle for the committee decision regarding Elena’s complaint.
Elena briefly mentioned the struggles with Maxim again during the development of the game and the numerous revisions, and I could feel that I was barely sitting, that I had no energy.
“That ‘erase and rewind’ approach is unbearable. The basics have to be defined.”
I had the feeling that at that moment, Maxim’s speakers were blaring, “Every definition is a loss of freedom…”
“Elena, I feel drained.”
“From the game development with Max?”
“No, now I’m just suddenly drained. I’ll have to sleep. I suddenly have no energy. “
“You used to stay up even when you didn’t sleep all night.”
“I know, but now, really, suddenly I can’t. I must have gotten older.”
“You’re probably bored because I’m talking about problems.”
“I’m not bored, I’d sit here all night, but now that you mention it, lately, you’ve been complaining all the time. Work problems, university problems. You’re letting all these negative characters get into your head.”
“So it’s true that I’m boring you.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you meant it.”
“I’d still listen to it. Let’s meet tomorrow.”
“I’m working all day tomorrow. You know that. Will you walk me home?”
Now she’s asking on purpose because she knows I can’t, and then she’ll point out how I don’t want to walk her home anymore. It almost annoyed me.
“The only thing left for me is to hug you and go crawl under the blanket. My battery is critically low.”
I kissed her to remind her that she’s still e=c2m.
“Looks like we’re still the same, but if you come home now and turn on the game…”
“I won’t, I definitely don’t have the strength.”
She still had a sip of wine left and toasted before leaving for home.
“David, may rock ‘n’ roll pass us by, and may coffee never smell to us.”
“Cheers!”
I got home and barely managed to take a shower. My jaw was trembling like in a cartoon. A real fever. Looks like it’s some kind of virus. I shouldn’t have hugged Elena, but we had been sitting for two hours before that anyway.
Mirna sent a text:
“Let’s chat online for a bit…”
There was no way I could get out of bed. I turned on the IBC channel. I like this feeling of fever. The chill that comes with every movement, every slight uncovering, the entry of fresh air under the blanket. And the snug warmth that follows, the gentle shivering. It gives me a kind of pleasant unease. I was waiting for this to pass so I could carry on tomorrow.
Lying there, I remembered my uncle’s roof that he built on my grandfather’s land. During my last visit home, I helped him build it. It was a real tile roof, gabled, with a slight slope, almost flat. At its highest point, it was half a meter off the ground. We stacked the tiles on the slats he nailed himself, without any beams. Everything was done quickly and cheaply, using old tiles. I didn’t ask why we were doing it—I knew there must be some reason, and now I found myself curious. Max asked if it might be some kind of art, and Elena wondered if anything could be stored under that roof. I answered no to both questions; the roof was practically at ground level, too low. With that roof in mind, I fell asleep.
This morning, I woke up feeling much worse, with a headache, complete weakness, and a fever. I had a fever last night too, but I didn’t measure it. The worst part was standing up—that’s when my head hurt the most. There was no way I could go to the store or pharmacy. Elena was at work, Maxim wouldn’t be up for another three or four hours, and I rarely saw Yanko since classes ended, so I didn’t feel like calling him. I lay there, occasionally looking at my phone. There was Mirna’s unanswered message.
“Hey, I crashed into bed last night. I’m sick. Didn’t reply…”
She called immediately to check on me and asked if anyone was with me. She said she was coming right away. She stopped by the pharmacy and the store. She made vegetable soup. I told her it was my salvation right now.
“I’ll stay here today. I’ll drink coffee on the balcony. I’m going to call my friend now. Won’t you have coffee?”
“I can’t right now.”
She took the coffee out to the balcony and came back.
“Is Partizan’s jersey here?”
“It’s in the wardrobe. Why?”
“I’m curious how it looks on me. Can I try it on?”
“Sure, take it.”
It looked like a wide, short dress on her.
“Mirna, you look phenomenal.”
“I like it too. I’ll wear it for a while.”
Mirna called her friend and talked for half an hour about her cat. I didn’t know so much could be said about a kitten. Her friend has a kitten too, so she talked about hers as well. I knew that with these new phones with video, they exchange videos of kittens and get all sentimental while watching them.
Max called me. I explained that Mirna was taking care of me and that she was in Partizan’s jersey. She was facing the balcony doors, but her crossed legs were at an angle, so I could see all of them, except for what the jersey barely covered. I think she did it on purpose. She wants to get in my head. Max said that Mirna is a doctor without boundaries, and I replied that I already felt much better and that I justified all her methods.
