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I felt a prick of conscience. But when I noticed that our argument had attracted the attention of the students in the library, I became irritated and wanted to teach this stubborn mortal a lesson.
– We're drawing too much attention to ourselves. Let's talk calmly. I know you're angry at me for being late, but, believe me, I had my reasons for being late, and if I had known you before, I would have warned you. But I only knew your name. And I see you've already jumped to conclusions about me! – I did my best to shift the blame to her, but for some reason the knowledge that the stubborn girl was angry with me made me morally uncomfortable.
"What am I doing? What am I sinking to in order to calm her anger!" – I involuntarily thought, analysing my unworthy act.
Viper looked seriously into my face, as if checking whether I was lying, but I was so in control of myself that she did not find even a hint of a shadow on my face.
– Well, all right. And what was the big reason that made you late? – Finally, after a brief look at my face, she asked.
– I've had a few absences this month… Actually, I almost didn't attend lectures, and one of the teachers questioned me about how dare I not attend his classes. You know how pedantic old Marchek is," I lied without blinking. And because I lied so convincingly, Viper stopped frowning, and her face suddenly flushed.
I knew exactly what had caused that lovely blush: she was now blaming herself for her impatience and her unwillingness to listen to my explanations, embarrassing herself before me and her own conscience.
I felt sorry for her, but I couldn't confess my lie, because then Viper would be furious and send me away.
– I'm sorry I'm late. I really didn't mean to be. – I immediately saw the look in her eyes, as if asking: "Is he apologising?!"
– Okay… And you're sorry for yelling at you… I really thought you were late on purpose… Well, I was wrong. – The girl was embarrassed and seemed to be thinking about every word. – But I'll ask you not to be late again.
– You have my word," I said with a smile.
Viper smiled, too, and sat down at the table. I took a seat across from her.
– Let's get acquainted? – I asked casually, glancing at my companion. – I'll go first. Do you mind?
– No.
– My name is Cedric Morgan. I'm a fifth-year physics and maths student," I said. – Now it's your turn. I'm sorry to be so brief, but I'm afraid we don't have time to go over my CV.
Viper sat with her arms crossed over her chest. A few strands of her beautiful, long hair rested on her shoulders. I wondered again about her bright, dark eyes: they seemed to burn through me, though her gaze was neither contemptuous nor angry now.
– Even better. My name is Viper Vladinovich. I'm a third-year student of the same faculty," my ward said softly.
– You have an unusual name," I said.
– My father heard it somewhere and thought it would be nice to have a daughter with such a name. My mother resisted for a long time, though, and wanted to call me… Anyway, never mind. – Viper paused, as if afraid she'd said too much about herself.
– It's a beautiful name. I can't stand mine," I admitted. Of course, I was lying: I'd recently thought the name Viper was ridiculous, but strangely enough, it suited the girl sitting across from me, my stranger from the Nusle Bridge.
Viper raised her eyebrows in surprise.
– Cedric. Like the hero of a chivalric novel. Where are you from? – I changed the subject, trying to find out as much about my companion as possible.
– From Brno," she answered.
– As far as I know, Brno has many good universities. Why were you attracted to Prague?
– You are right, Brno has many universities, but it is Prague, the capital. If I hadn't applied here, thanks to the grant, I would never have been able to pay for my studies and would have stayed in Brno. But luckily everything went well. Where are you from?
– I was born in England, but ten years ago my family moved to Prague. When the question came up about which university I should go to, my parents insisted on Oxford, but I chose the University of Prague," I said, mentally adding to myself, "It's just that I've graduated from Oxford six times.
– So you're English?
– Not really – half Czech. Can I ask you a somewhat personal question? – I asked firmly.
– Yes?" the girl replied in surprise.
– How old are you? – I needed to know if I had made a mistake on the bridge.
– Twenty-two," Viper answered.
– And you're only in your third year? – I wondered.
– My family had financial problems, and I wasn't able to get in right away, but I guess there's nothing wrong with that," she said calmly. Viper lowered her gaze to her hands and leaned back in her chair. I instantly realised that questions like that discouraged her.
– What's your problem with your studies? – I asked delicately to dispel the awkwardness.
I enjoyed our conversation: it turned out that this mysterious and angry girl was quite intelligent, easy to talk to, not girlish, and not throwing languid glances at me to get my attention.
Viper just sat across from me and stared at me with her beautiful brown eyes.
– I'm failing physics. I hate physics. – She shrugged, as if shaking off the word she hated. – I got a four, but it was a stretch. The teacher took pity on me and gave me a four so I wouldn't lose my scholarship. But at first he wanted to give me a three.
– A "C" isn't such a bad grade. I think you've heard it before: "It's not the grade that counts, it's the knowledge," I tried to cheer her up.
– Are you on a grant? – she asked.
– Commerce," I gri
– You see, a C is okay for you because you spend a lot of money on your studies, but people like me fight for the right to study here for free and get a scholarship. A C is unacceptable. Plus, I'll be honest: physics isn't my thing.
– Okay, we'll deal with that. Any other subjects?
Viper smiled, and I suddenly thought she had a very beautiful smile. And then I realised that I was smiling too, but barely noticeably.
– All subjects except languages, literature and history. Numbers are not my thing either," said the girl.
– Then why did you choose this particular faculty? – The motives for her choice were unclear to me.
– Because of my parents. They are both maths teachers, and I have to continue their work. I had hoped that I would inherit an aptitude for the exact sciences, but as it turned out, my abilities were very modest.
– If they had been modest, you would have been expelled in your first year," I remarked. – It's not as bad as it looks at first glance.
– Maybe I'm exaggerating, but in any case, I don't have the same abilities as my parents. I didn't have any problems in this area until my third year, but now I realise that my knowledge has been exhausted. And-" She stopped talking and frowned.
– What?" I encouraged her.
– I'm more interested in humanities," Viper admitted, her eyes down on the table. It was as if she was ashamed of letting her parents' expectations down.
– Sometimes parents can be selfish," I said quietly. I felt sorry for her.
– You misunderstood me! – The girl exclaimed, looking at me again. – My parents are wonderful! It was my decision to come here, even though my parents gave me every right to choose, and even discouraged me when they found out that I had decided to go into physics and maths! It's not their selfishness. It's my mistake.
I have lived too long not to understand people and their true motives for doing this and that. Viper loved her parents very much, so she put all the blame on her shoulders. She was a victim of her parents' love, and no matter how much she assured me otherwise, it was her parents who made the choice for her. Implicitly, but explicitly. In front of me sat a simple, serious girl who had sacrificed her own for her parents' dream. She didn't realise it now, but she would surely realise it later, when she grew up and regretted her choice. No. She already does.