Chapter 2. 6. Comfort

  “Client told me about you,” the girl said politely.

  I wonder what, I thought, keeping silent in response.

  “We need to drink a lot,” Client said a little feverishly.

  We sat down.

  “A good place,” one guy said. “Right, Accent?”

  “Yes, not bad,” agreed Accent.

  “In any case, we can spend time,” the guy said and looked closely at Client: “How are you feeling, friend?”

  “Excellent...” Client said.

  He was getting drunk little by little.

  “Do you know the news?” said the first guy. “A robot will replace a human.”

  No one will notice, I thought, looking at my stamped classmates.

  At school, the method encouraged everyone equally, inspired everyone with the average arithmetic hope.

  “What are you saying?” Accent was amazed and called out: “Pass! Your father works with robots, right?”

  “Yes,” said Pass, “please don't mention robots. I hate them. I dig around in their bellies every day like a butcher.”

  The careless successor of his respected father, a toy seller, fanatically strove for the utmost authenticity - demonstratively open fragments of toy bodies were found everywhere in his home, the insides obsequiously protruding, like in an anatomical atlas.

  Test: find the difference.

  Enterprising Pass assured his shocked guests that life is identically aesthetic both outside and inside, cut without gloss.

  No one will be able to hide.

  There is no vaccine against forced life.

  Life will find society everywhere and level it out, despite all the artificially created barriers, it is better to expose everyone at once.

  “It's strange,” said Problem, “why a butcher?”

  “Like a butcher,” corrected Pass. “Toys smell like the Philharmonic. No one can change nature. Man can only capture nature. And anyway, stop it.”

  He was also drunk.

  I was silent and in the meantime managed to get a good look at Gift.

  She seemed very beautiful to me, especially after the next cocktail.

  She had light hair and dark eyes, very attentive and mocking.

  When she looked, it seemed that she knew everything about you and something else...

  She was wearing tight trousers, and her hair was loose over her shoulders.

  I looked at the other end of the hall, where the stars were slowly floating in the darkness, and a lingering tune was playing, and said to the girl:

  “Gift, can I invite you?”

  She bowed her head and stood up, offering me her hand.

  Stopping among the swaying couples, we hugged.

  “It's nice here,” I said carefully.

  “Not bad,” said Gift.

  “You came from the capital?”

  “Yes.”

  “For long?”

  She slightly tilted her head back and looked into my eyes.

  “Why are you asking me?”

  “It's just...”

  “That's the wrong question, my dear friend,” Gift said, smiling.

  “Tell me, what should I ask you about?”

  She looked at me and said:

  “Give me a skillful compliment...” and her gaze became strange.

  I thought about it and, although no one forced me, I slowly said:

  “You have a nice figure, Gift...”

  The girl tilted her head back, and her gaze became intense, and I said just as slowly:

  “You are beautifully built.”

  Gift lowered her eyes, and when she raised them, her gaze was attentive and serious.

  “Why?” she said quietly. “No need.”

  “Sorry,” I said immediately and hugged her.

  I liked these dances, when you are like in a dream, and time ceases to exist, and deep, sonorous, drawn-out electronic impulses capture and envelop your consciousness.

  I like these dances because they are very long, and you can dive into them without fear of a quick end, like into an abyss, and even when they end, your gaze remains fixed for a long time.

  I was silent for a long time and inhaled the scent of close hair, and thought in passing that they were light and tender, and Gift's eyes were dark.

  I ran my hand through her hair.

  The hair was tender, like a child's.

  “What?” Gift responded quietly and comfortably, and I felt very good from this quiet “what”, and I wanted to go away with her somewhere far away, to swim into the dark ocean.

  But I didn't say anything, because I was afraid that Gift would refuse. For some reason, I really didn't want her to refuse.

  It would have been unpleasant for me.

  The dance was ending.

  I took my hands off the girl's shoulders, freeing Gift, she smiled at me and calmly walked away to the tables.

  I stood in place, watching her.

  The dance ended only now, and the couples paused their trance.

  Gift leaned toward the people sitting, asked them something, then straightened up and went to the exit of the hall.

  I went to my table.

  Client was no longer there.

  Only his friends, unfamiliar to me, were sitting at the table, and they were talking about my acquaintance - about companies.

  They said that they would wipe these companies into dust. That they would disperse them along the entire coast.

  They were saying something else, very concentratedly.

  They were drunk, and these were their drunken conversations.

  I thought that this was a hall where drunken conversations were held.

  A specially chosen hall where scumbags got drunk in an organized manner and held drunken conversations.

  And I also thought that the dancing here was not real.

  There should be a hall for real dancing.

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  I had to find a hall.

  I went to look for a hall for dancing.

  It seemed to me that it was very important to find a hall for dancing.

  I took a long glass, without looking at anyone, drank it, holding my breath, because it was broth.

  I was even surprised, took a random glass, and it turned out to be broth.

  One of the seated scumbags looked at me as I drank, and as I put the glass on the table.

  There were drunken conversations all around, only drunken conversations and nothing more.

  The talking bastards looked into the eyes, briefly waved their hands, made aimless head movements, looking in turn at the surface of the table, at their neighbors, at their hands.

  Everything was filled with meaning, and I left the hall.

  There were people standing and sitting at the counter, and Client with Gift too, and they were talking, I saw how Client was laughing, squinting his eyes and leaning close to Gift, touching her shoulder with his palm.

  I thought that they were talking, and that it would be possible to find a dance hall later, or better yet, to look for it with someone.

  For example, with Gift and Client.

  It is possible without Client.

  I went to them and, having almost reached them, I felt that I was drunk, and stood next to them silently, and Client looked at me and offered me a drink.

  He was glad to see me, because he had already been drinking with two men and a woman who had been standing there all this time, drinking very little, apparently in no hurry, and who could not support Client.

  I had drunk a full glass with Client, and now we were both drunk, and he was offended that Gift hadn't drunk with us.

  “What... does this... mean,” he said with difficulty. “Gift! This is wrong.”

  I looked at her silently.

  “I'm out,” Gift said quickly and decisively, and I began to sober up quickly, and immediately saw that Client was very drunk.

  He probably thought that this was real life.

  “Stamp!” I said.

  “Yes?”

  “Just don't lie to me.”

  “Of course!”

  “Tell me honestly.” I was silent. “Where is the dance hall?”

  “Of course!” Stamp said kindly. “The first door.”

  I didn't like it. As if I were asking for the toilet.

  “Stamp,” I said quietly, with tension in my voice. “I asked you honestly, the dance hall...”

  “Calm down,” said Gift and took my hand. I looked at the hand that took mine, and then Stamp said:

  “Yes, calm down, I beg you. Your time has passed.”

  “You're a mangy monkey,” I said and looked around. You...” I added one of Lagoon's pompous expressions, of which he had many.

  This was said very strongly, and Stamp turned pale, although his face, as has already been said, was not pale, and he straightened up.

  Gift also turned pale, and the two men and the woman turned around and began to look.

  This made me very angry.

  “What are you looking at? You should get bored! You should not take any risks!” I said to the men.

  The men turned away with a look of noble indignation on their faces.

  They decided not to interfere for now, and the woman felt an involuntary momentary contempt for them and hastened to drive it away.

  Gift took my hand and said:

  “Let's go.”

  I looked meaningfully at Stamp again.

  The impostor remained silent with an official expression on his face.

  He was hurt by what I said to him at the beginning.

  I followed Gift. She pulled me by the hand.

  Client also followed us. He went to his friends. I walked sluggishly and reluctantly.

  “Where are we going?” I asked and hesitated.

  I saw complete darkness, stars rapidly scattering in all directions, and heard strange sounds that were unlike anything else.

  “What is this?” I asked.

  “This is what you were looking for,” said Gift. “Wake up!”

  I heard the music Coordinate, viscous, exciting, I had never heard anything like it.

  Or I did.

  When Lagoon and I sat in the observatory at night, Lagoon was with Minimum, they took turns showing each other something among the stars, and I, comfortably settled near the telescope, searched the airwaves, and the powerful receiver crackled when I made it catch the weakest stations, and it was very similar to how the weakest stars are sought out in the telescope itself, blooming in the eyepiece, and it gave the same pleasure.

  And sometimes I found such music, and I tensely caught every sound of ringing music, similar to the murmur of water.

  Some new music, as if from outside.

  Such music is well heard muffled, in the dark.

  I was dancing with Gift, and my head was spinning.

  “My dear friend,” said Gift.

  I remained silent, and she called me again.

  “Yes, Gift.”

  She thought that I was not that drunk.

  “I need to talk to you seriously.”

  “Now?”

  “Anyway.”

  “You talk.”

  Gift was silent for a while, collecting her thoughts.

  “Client invited us to this bar.”

  “Yes?” I said.

  “Adventurers came to him. They were talking in the garden. I did not hear anything, but the adventurers left happy. Very happy. Smiling from ear to ear.”

  “What does this mean?”

  “I did not like all this.”

  “Why?”

  “It does not matter,” said Gift evasively. “What do you think?”

  “Nothing,” I said.

  “You don't care at all that nothing might happen to your friend?” Gift asked mockingly.

  “Are you serious?”

  “No.”

  “Right.”

  “It's all because of me,” Gift said suddenly, and I shuddered.

  “Because of you?”

  “Okay,” Gift said. “I know the event. I'm leaving for the capital immediately. Tomorrow. And I also told my friend that it's wonderful here and that she should come.”

  “Are you really leaving?” I asked.

  “You're a good boy, but you can't imagine how tired I am of this.”

  “Stop it, Gift,” I said. I didn't want Gift to leave at all. “Will you stay?”

  “I don't know,” Gift said.

  “You don't have to leave, Gift,” I said.

  “I'll think about it,” said Gift. “Why are you telling me this? I don't want nothing to happen because of me.”

  “Nonsense,” I said. “What should not happen because of you?”

  “Okay,” said Gift. “Nothing.”

  We danced a little more in the scattering stars, and then Pass pressed himself against us.

  To my surprise, he stood quite firmly on his feet.

  He was with a girl.

  “You should meet her. This is Inertia,” he said.

  We met. The girl’s head was made of vegetables.

  I couldn't make out the face of the girl Inertia in the darkness.

  “We're going to dance,” said Pass and, taking the girl by the shoulders, walked away.

  “Do you want a cocktail?” I asked Gift.

  She shook her head vaguely. I decided that she agreed.

  We left the room, and the harsh light hit my eyes.

  We drank a cocktail at the bar.

  At the far end stood Client and his friends.

  “Where did he find them?” I thought again. They were busy getting drunk.

  Client, seeing me, wrinkled his forehead.

  “Lagoon was here.”

  “Really?” I was happy. “When?”

  “Now,” said Client. He was very drunk, but he was tolerant. “He was passing by.”

  “He asked about me?”

  “No,” said Client.

  Strange, I thought. I silently cursed Lagoon. Muzzle.

  He walks somewhere when I need him.

  He is my friend.

  Gift tugged my hand. I had completely forgotten about her.

  “Young man!” she called tenderly in a thin voice. “What happened?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “Do you want to go for a walk?” Attention and interest appeared in my gaze.

  “Yes, we will go...” said Gift. “But I need...” She hesitated, remembering something.

  She looked away.

  I also looked away.

  I am an unobservant person, I thought.

  At one of the tables sat a third person from the Client's company.

  Three guys came from the capital with Gift.

  The guy looked at me. He didn't look good.

  I pulled Gift by the hand.

  The guy at the table stood up, slowly approached me and said:

  “Friend, can I talk to you?”

  “Anything is possible now,” I said.

  Gift looked at him, at me, said nothing and turned away.

  Then I said:

  “Gift!” And I looked at her questioningly.

  Gift took an impulsive step towards the guy and said:

  “Style, leave him alone. I beg you.”

  “Don't ask me,” said Style through clenched teeth. “You better shut up.”

  “Style, I repeat...”

  “Don't interfere,” snapped Style. “Are you coming?” he said to me.

  “Okay...” I said vaguely. “If you insist...”

  “I insist,” said Style. He was starting to get angry, turned around and walked away.

  I followed him. He had a broad back in a checkered shirt.

  Gift watched us go for a long time.

  “I'll be here,” she suddenly said loudly.

  Without turning around, I said:

  “Good.”

  It was dark outside.

  “I don't want to talk for long,” said Style, turning to me. “Either you leave Gift, or...”

  “Or?” I said mockingly.

  “Or you'll find out who I am.”

  I looked around absentmindedly.

  Dark. No one. Good.

  “Boy,” said Style. He was older than me. “You're a chick. I'll make a cutlet out of you. You're playing the wrong games.” He moved very close and breathed in my face.

  I looked around again.

  “What do you see?” Style got angry. “You're a zero on the coast. No one will help you, do you understand?”

  Finally, something moved in the ruins of the slums.