The answer came in the form of a choked wheeze that looked a lot like an "I'm fine" but indicated something else.
Helena lowered herself and grabbed Loki by the arms, helping him to rise. <<Come on, man, don't worry me. >>
He leaned his back against the wall while she held him by her arms. << Thank you! >> he murmured in a voice choked on the girl's ear.
<< You're welcome! >> Helena replied, moving a little further away, but keeping her arms outstretched forward in case the boy in front of her needed to hold on to something, and only at that moment did they look at each other in the face for the first time.
<< OH CRISTO! >> they both exclaimed quite loudly. What both she and he had found themselves observing was nothing more than the image they saw every day in the mirror, Helena and Loki were the spit copy of each other, to distinguish them were only small differences: the hint of beard on his face, the features just more feminine than her face. For the rest, they were the same: same black hair, same shape, and color of the eyes, same shape of the lips, same nose.
<< Who the hell are you? >> whispered her with inquiring gaze.
<< My name is Loki >> he answered almost without thinking about it, still stunned by the surprise << Loki Odinson. >>
The lessons had been going on for several days now, and they were undoubtedly very stimulating, different from the ones Helena was used to, and for this reason she felt proud of the choice she had made for college. It wasn't a walk to get her scholarship and pass the entrance test, but it wasn't as complicated or even impossible as her high school teachers told her, almost mocking her for her choice of college.
Sitting on a bench in the crowded courtyard, she pulled her Lucky Strike pack out of her bag and grabbed a cigarette between her lips, lighting it up with the old black Zippo on which stood out the image of a crow jealously holding a bleeding eyeball in its beak. That lighter was a gift Helena cared about, a reminder of what had been the only happy period of her life.
<< You shouldn't smoke, it's bad for your health. >> said a male voice next to the bench.
The girl didn't even turn around << Even giving requested opinions to a perfect stranger can hurt, especially if she decides to punch you in the face. >>
A short laugh echoed in the chest of the boy << I can't believe that after saving me from those two beasts you could hit me. >>
Finally, Helena turned around, finding herself looking at Loki's face and jerking once again at their inexplicable resemblance. << Damn it! What do you want, Odinson? >> said very little cordially.
Loki sat down next to her << I was looking for you, you know? The other day you ran away even if I had confessed to being a serial killer. >>
Helena took another deep breath of smoke. It was true, as soon as the boy had told her his name she had left without saying a single word, but she knew exactly who the boy in front of her was, her last name was not difficult to recognize, and she didn't want to find herself having to deal with one of those ignoble and rich, naughty people who crowded the college, she just wanted to finish her college years in peace and, if possible, in anonymity. << If you've come to make sure that you don't go around to tell that Senator Odinson's son got his ass saved by a girl, sleep soundly too, I don't go around putting up posters for everything I do, not like you spoiled kids who just crave to feel strong and acclaimed. >> said spacious.
The boy blinked a couple of times, trying to assimilate well the contemptuous words that she had addressed him, then sighed << Actually I just wanted to thank you, and repay me somehow. And believe me, I am not at all like you say, quite the contrary. >>
She looked him in the eyes in such an intense way that in Loki came the doubt that he could read his soul << You are an Odinson, you grew up in wealth and well-being, you are inevitably as I said. >> He threw the finished cigarette on the ground and beat it with his foot << And you don't have to pay for it in any way, I did what I did because I thought it was right, not because I wanted something in return. Hello Odinson. >> He did to get up, but Loki grabbed her hand and held it back.
<< My name is Loki, and I'm not an Odinson >> said distraught << I was adopted, and although no one knows I still consider myself a loser. I'm not like you think, I don't have friends and popularity, I don't put up posters for everything I do, so believe me when I tell you that mine is just sincere gratitude. Never before has anyone stood up for me. >>
to be continued https://zen.yandex.ru/media/id/5d95c339aad43600afc75fd8/the-time-to-grow-up-part-6-5d95e6223d873600af382470