Mary pulled out of the wardrobe a light green hoody with white inserts on the chest and back in the shape of teddies.

– How lovely! – I said, so as not to offend my neighbour: in fact, this hoody seemed silly and teenage.

«Yes, looking at this green wonder, it's clear why Mary liked the horrible pink bicycle!» – I thought involuntarily, giving the hoody an appraising look.

– 'Glad you like it! I bought it in London this summer, but I've put on a bit of weight since then . No, it's just that my breasts have grown. Well, Misha, a gift!

I looked at Mary perplexed: she gave me her thing? Me?

– You can run in it even in winter: it's very warm. – Mary put the hoody next to me on the bed.

– That's a great idea! I'll run in it tomorrow» I smiled, taking the hoody and holding it to my chest.

«Like hell I'm ever going to wear it again!» – I thought, but pretended to be grateful for this unexpected gift.

– This is cool! Maybe tomorrow I'll run with you. – Mary headed for the door. – Okay, see you tonight! I won't be too late. Bye!

– Bye! – I said.

Mary left, and I didn't believe her promise to go jogging with me for a second: she'd promised me a thousand times, but she couldn't bring herself to get out of bed at six in the morning.

Throwing the hoody into my cupboard, I went to the kitchen, drank some blood, then rang my mother and, having told her a stream of lies, I calmly took up Chateaubriand and continued reading. I was already reading the second volume, and the book was given to me unusually hard, but it presented such original ideas and views that I could not abandon it. I needed to learn new things and grow spiritually. Grow morally.

A ringing smartphone tore me away from the interesting Chapter, but I couldn't be angry for long: it was Mariszka calling!

– Hi, Mariszka! – I exclaimed happily, hastily slamming the book shut.

– Hello, darling! Will you be able to come to London tomorrow?

– Yes, of course, why?

– Markus and I are flying in tomorrow: he's meeting his best friend, and while he's with him, you and I will go for a walk and have a chat.

– Cool! What time should I be there? – I got excited. – And where?

– At ten o'clock in the morning we'll meet near Big Ben! – My sister sighed. – I miss you.

– I miss you too! But we'll talk tomorrow: I don't want to spill everything right now.

– Is there something to tell? That's great. – Mariszka's voice suddenly became sad.

– Hey, what's wrong with your voice? – I was worried.

– It's okay, you're imagining things. Okay, see you tomorrow, Misha.

– Bye! See you tomorrow!

The prospect of seeing Mariszka and Markus excited me to no end, and I wanted to know how Cedric was doing.

I jumped out of bed and started rummaging through my wardrobe for something to wear tomorrow, so I picked out black jeans, a long pale blue jumper, and brown boots for my feet. I liked choosing outfits, but I hadn't bought any new clothes when I moved to Oxford: I didn't see any point in it, as I'd never worn half my wardrobe, and I'd only brought a lot of clothes for nothing.

Mary got back around nine o'clock in the evening, and I immediately shared my happy news with her.

– Do you want me to ring Harry? He'll take you to London» Mary offered.

«No way!» – I thought with horror.

– Thanks for the offer, but I want to take the bus» I said, afraid that Harry would start flirting again.

Mary didn't persuade me, but suggested we watch another film, and I agreed, putting off reading Chateaubriand for a day or two. We watched the film until one o'clock in the morning, a snotty melodrama (surprisingly, for all my emotionalism, I didn't like to watch melodramas), and then Mary went to bed. I yawned too, said goodnight, and locked myself in my room, impatient for the morning to come.