Chapter 16: Weird thoughts

Stefan looked at the dining table in the kitchen of Vasil's house and asked, "What's this about?"

Vasil replied with a smile, "This is where we study."

Stefan said, "I know that, but this..."

"I just want to make sure you don't forget to eat anything anymore."

Stefan looked at him, then at the table full of snacks: "And where are we supposed to put our books?"

Vasil glanced at the completely crowded table: "Oh! I didn't think about that!"

Stefan sighed, grabbed a bowl full of chocolates, and placed it on the kitchen counter: "I didn't come here for a party! I came here to study!"

Vasil said, "Yeah, I know, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't eat anything!"

"You don't need to worry about me."

Vasil, now with a fallen expression, began clearing the snacks off the table, and Stefan placed his books on it.

He searched through his bag for a moment until he finally found and pulled out a small red timer: "Here we go!"

As Vasil brought his books from his room, he looked at the timer: "Looks like a metronome."

Stefan said, "I don't know what that is, but this is a timer! I've set it to ring after two hours. Then we can take a 15-minute break!"

Vasil, who had just sat down, stood up straight: "After a full two hours??? Don't you think that's a bit much? Make it 45 minutes!"

"An hour and a half!"

"One hour! And that's my final offer!"

Stefan stared at Vasil for a moment. Finally, he sighed and said, "Fine."

---

Stefan knew he could handle these questions. He had solved them a thousand times before. His main worry was whether he could do the same in the actual exam.

The second problem, which was even worse, was his brain. Sometimes, Stefan would stare at his book for two full hours, only to realize when the timer rang that he had wasted all that time.

And sometimes, the entire day.

Stefan didn't lack motivation. He knew what he wanted and what he had to do to achieve it. So why couldn't he? Was it that he didn't have enough perseverance? Or had he already used up his brain's full capacity?

He lifted his head slightly and glanced at Vasil, who seemed completely absorbed in his math homework. He envied him—how easily he could focus on anything. If only he wanted to.

If Vasil wanted, he could become a violinist in a year and a half, and if he wanted, he could get higher grades. Stefan had seen it himself. All he needed to do was decide to do something.

Stefan looked at him. At his large, shining gray eyes, hidden beneath his long lashes, following the lines of what was probably the math problem. How had Stefan never noticed such beautiful eyes before...

Wait a minute... Since when had Stefan become poetic?

And why was he even thinking about such things? And in such a dramatic way?

Stefan was horrified by his own thoughts. Recently, a lot of strange things like this had been popping into his mind, but this one was the strangest.

This was just Vasil.

The same idiot as always, who most of the time deserved a punch.

So why did he recently seem so different in Stefan's eyes?

The ding of the timer startled Stefan, pulling him out of his crazy thoughts. Vasil looked up and said with a broad smile, "Time to eat!"

He got up from his chair and, without paying attention to Stefan, who was sitting silently, went to the fridge. Moments later, he returned with two slices of cake and placed one in front of Stefan.

Stefan looked at the cake in front of him, then at Vasil, who had already started eating before even sitting down. Stefan pulled the cake toward himself.

When he tasted it, he quietly said, "It's delicious."

Vasil confirmed, "Lance made it."

Stefan asked, "Lance? The chef at the restaurant where your mom works?"

"Yep, he's also the owner. Usually, the extra food is shared among the restaurant staff at night."

"So he does this with everyone who works at his restaurant?"

"That's what my mom says."

Vasil waved his fork in the air, pointing toward the fridge: "Most of the snacks in our house are Lance's cooking. I don't think it's economical for a restaurant owner to make that much extra food to share with all his staff!"

Stefan shrugged: "Makes sense."

Vasil continued, "And I've seen the way he looks at my mom."

Stefan asked, "And you're okay with that?"

Vasil swallowed the last piece of his cake and said, "Lance is a good man, and he loves my mom. I think that's enough."

Stefan said, "But still, she's your mom..."

Vasil leaned back in his chair and said casually, "Yeah, I call her Mom, and she really is like a mom to me. But none of that changes the fact that Irina is my aunt—the one who, since she was 16, dedicated her life to raising me. I can't remember ever seeing her in a relationship, and I think she, more than anyone, deserves to be happy and live her life."

He stared at Stefan: "Do you think she should stay single for the rest of her life just because she decided to raise her dead sister's son?"

Stefan said hastily, "No, I... I hadn't thought about it that way."

Vasil stared at him for a moment: "I know, it's okay."

He smiled at him, and the thought crossed Stefan's mind of how beautiful Vasil's smile was...

Stefan slapped his hands hard against his cheeks. Vasil looked at him in surprise, thinking his best friend had finally lost his mind from too much studying: "Why are you hitting yourself??"

"I... um... it helps me focus!"

Vasil raised an eyebrow: "And does it work?"

"Yeah, especially when you've been distracted for a while and want to get back to studying..."

Before Stefan could finish his sentence, Vasil also slapped his hands against his cheeks the same way.

Stefan stared at him, dumbfounded. Vasil removed his hands from his now red cheeks and said, "You're right, it really cleared my mind!"

Stefan sighed and restarted the timer.

All of this was because of too much studying. Probably after the exams, everything would return to normal—at least, Stefan hoped so.

Three months. He just had to endure three more months.