already standing in the corridor. Mother came out of the kitchen and handed Peter a hundred rubles.
– Here you go, there should be enough for a notebook. – she said.
Peter took the bill and put it in his pocket, after which he sat down on the bench and began to put on his sneakers.
Christina was already dressed.
When Peter put on his sneakers, he immediately went to the exit from the apartment.
– That’s it, we’re off. – said Christina.
– And don’t be late, dinner will be ready soon. – the mother said in response.
Peter and Christina left the apartment, and then from the front door to the street. It was already getting dark outside. Lanterns illuminated the road. Rare stars were visible in the sky. Peter and Christina walked along the road next to the house. It wasn’t very far to the shopping center, about ten minutes on foot.
First they walked through the park square, crossed the road, and walked along the sidewalk along another park. They lived in a residential area, and there were plenty of parks here.
Ten minutes later they reached the Mezhdunarodnaya metro station, where there was a shopping center. They went inside and took the escalator to the third floor, where the bookstore was located. In addition to books, the bookstore also sold notebooks. They went inside, and Christina rushed to the section with notebooks, and Peter stopped near the shelves with books. There were a lot of books, so many that if his book had suddenly appeared on the shelf, hardly anyone would have noticed it.
– There is a lot of competition. – Peter thought. – To make your way in literature, you need to have real talent, write beautifully, clearly, and about interesting events. It is unlikely that my book will succeed.
Walking past the shelves with books, he went to the section with notebooks, where Christina stood and chose a notebook for herself.
– Which one do you like better, this one or this one? – she asked, showing two notebooks, one had an owl on it, and the other had a panda on it.
– The one with the panda.
– Okay, then we’ll buy it.
Taking the notebook, Christina went to the cash register. Peter followed her. On the way, she also grabbed a pen. Approaching the cash register, she gave everything to the saleswoman, and Peter handed her a «one hundred ruble» bill.
The saleswoman took the bill and counted out the change. Christina took the notebook and pen and went to the exit.
– Are you satisfied? – asked Peter.
– Yes.
– Great.
Peter developed a feeling of worthlessness. He could afford absolutely nothing. He looked at people going shopping, buying something for themselves, choosing, but he didn’t even have the money to take his sister to a fast food restaurant and buy her a hamburger. Something in him shrank, so much so that he wanted to leave the shopping center as quickly as possible. All these people, with cars, cool phones, in expensive clothes, all this pressed on him from all sides, and it seemed that he was about to get dizzy and vomit right on them.
Together with Christina, they left the shopping center and went home. My sister was pleased. She didn’t care about what Peter did, because she was only eleven. She had different values, and she did not believe that at her age a person should already achieve something. The same could not be said about Peter. He understood that he was almost thirty years old, and he had not even earned enough money to buy a car. But he didn’t want a car, he didn’t want to be middle class, he wanted to be a millionaire, he wanted to have a lot of money, so much that he could afford not only a cheap car, but also a yacht and a private jet. He was sick before living a beautiful life, he believed that he should live in such a way that everything around him should bow before him and give him what he wants. However, nothing bowed before him except the branches of the bushes, swaying under the pressure of the cool wind.
Returning home, Christina went to draw in a new notebook, and Peter, pouring himself a mug of coffee, went to the computer to listen to music and relax.
Logging into his social network page, he saw that Sveta was online.
– Hello. – Peter wrote in a personal chat.
– Hello. How’s the book going? Have you written anything?
– Yes, I finished the fourth chapter. It was difficult, but I did it. I don’t even know how interesting everything I write about is. It would be frustrating to write a book and find out that it’s not worth printing. I was in a bookstore here, it was full of books. And how many more books have not been published? There are thousands of them.
– Yes, there is a lot of competition.
Mother entered the room.
– Dinner is ready, go eat.
– Yes, okay, now.
– I’ll go eat, I’ll come back later. – Peter wrote to Sveta, and got up from the table and went to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, on the table, there were plates containing boiled potatoes with fried liver.
Peter took ketchup out of the refrigerator, poured it into the potatoes, and sat down at the table. He quickly emptied the plate and, putting it in the sink, went back to the computer. Christina came into the kitchen.
– I’m here. – he wrote in the chat. – You’re from St. Petersburg, aren’t you?
– Yes, from my beloved St. Petersburg.
«We didn’t really get to know each other.»
«We can do it now if you want.»
– My name is Peter. – Peter wrote jokingly, because his names were already written opposite the messages.
– And I’m Sveta.
– Very nice.
– And me.
Communication began to gain momentum, although it was boring. Peter asked Sveta about her interests, while simultaneously talking about herself, and Sveta mostly answered questions and showed practically no initiative. The conversation ended when Sveta wrote that it was time for her to go to bed, since she had to get up early for work tomorrow. Peter felt a little awkward, because he didn’t have to get up for work. And he didn’t even tell Sveta that he was unemployed.
– If she finds out that I am unemployed and dreams of making money by writing books, she will immediately stop communicating with me. – Peter thought, and therefore did not say anything to Sveta, deciding to leave it until a more opportune moment.
CHAPTER 5. Cinema with my sister.
This morning was no different from previous ones and, perhaps, from future ones. Peter woke up when his mother was getting ready for work. The sound of bags rustling came from the kitchen. Opening the door, Motya entered the room and, jumping onto the sofa, lay down on Peter’s legs. He tried to move her, after which she moved higher and climbed under the blanket. Opening his eyes, Peter stared at the wall. The gray wallpaper did not evoke any emotions. Keys jingled in the hallway, the front door opened and then closed. Mother went to work.
– One more day. Another boring, tedious, and pointless day. – Peter thought.
It seemed like he needed to get up, but Peter really didn’t want to do anything. Perhaps it would be worth working on a book, but the mere thought of writing something, inventing something, was already giving him a headache. My temples began to pulsate, and my skull felt as if something was squeezing me. In addition, Peter doubted his literary abilities and the way he presented the material. There was no muse. There wasn’t that inspiring feeling that would lift me off the couch and lead me to the computer to create, to write new