Syedyshev Oleg
Syedyshev Oleg

Humorous Essays Based on students' memories

"All have died
except for those who are alive, and those whom we remember"Confucius

Essay 35. Vendetta

Попович А.К

Sasha Popovitch

Vendetta is feud. Let them say, that it is practiced in Sicily and the Caucasus. Though, I will state, that the desire of revenge appears in most different nations and social groups. I like more the principle of balanced revenge, which is defined in the Old Testament like "a tooth for a tooth" or "an eye for an eye". And when the one who is taking a vengeance on someone also has a well-reasoned motivation for the revenge, then it is difficult not to come down on the side of the avenger. Here is for you to judge by yourself, whether my main character could resist the desire to avenge or not, and if his vendetta was the righteous one.

Sasha Popovitch, was there anyone, who did not know him?

Being a joker and an outgoing person, he had an exaggerated feeling of collectivism and justice.
Well, though justice was considered in a particular way, but it was justice anyway. And the situation was the following: the group number seven was preparing for a Hospital Surgery examination. It is clear, that the group of the therapeutists to be was focusing on therapy during its last year and put surgery aside, so in order to exclude any chances they decided to secure themselves. The gentlemen of the group burdened themselves with all the fuss of the negotiation with an assistant of the Hospital Surgery Department of the Institute Liudmila Aleksandrovna Krikanovskaya. At that time it was much easier to have that kind of negotiation than now. Male charm and chocolate candies with champagne melted the department beauty's heart, and she agreed to place the examination papers in the order the group wanted. On the day of the exam, at eight a.m., half an hour before the exam, the group was already in the examination room.

Everyone took his or her examination paper, I would like to underline that, and looking forward to their brilliant answers was waiting for the examination panel. And there the panel came. Nobody knows what happened there, I mean among the panel members, but all of a sudden Liudmila Aleksandrovna started taking the examination papers away from the students and giving them the other ones. They are right, when they say that there is just a step from love to hatred. One step back the group loved Liudmila Aleksandrovna and that moment they hated her. But the situation was not right to express the hatred immediately. They had to take the exam. And the group passed the exam, and did that not bad, no wonder, as it was one of the best groups of that year. According to the tradition the event was celebrated. All the conversations were around the treacherous act of Krikanovskaya. She was picked to pieces. The exam was passed and everyone moved on. But Sasha could not calm down. His exaggerated feeling of justice demanded vengeance. And Aleksandr decided:

Vendetta! Only it could appease the restless soul. The vengeance scheme was developed right away. Not to put the matter off, Sasha found out Liudmila Aleksandrovna's home phone number and called her at two in the morning. It looked like Liudmila Aleksandrovna was fast asleep, and that was why she was not answering the phone, but Shasha was persistent, too. He was patiently counting the beeps and finally heard a sleepy: "Hello?" Sasha changed his voice and asked: "Do you have everyone at home?"

The answer was already not sleepy: "What do you mean, whether my family is at home or anything else?" - "Something else" - replied Sasha. Good Lord, what started then, there were screams and choicest swearwords. She was shouting that he would not receive his certificate of degree, as she would take care of that. But the problem was that she did not know who that was. And there were no caller ID devices at that time. And Shurka (as he was called by his group) had a motorbike. Aleksandr was cautious; he rode his bike to Kirovskiy district, and there from a pay-phone made a call again, and again asked her if "she had everyone at home". And again he listened to everything his telephone interlocutor was thinking about him.

You won't believe that, but Sashka turned out to be so curious and persistent that every night he asked her if "she had everyone at home?" But one cannot acquit Liudmila Aleksandrovna there. She could give him an honest and direct answer, and the conflict would be resolved. But on the contrary, Liudmila Aleksandrovna would not plea guilty. Sasha was insisting. And there came the ceremony of diplomas' presenting. Everybody was happy. There was a party for the graduates. And like a bolt from the blue it downed on Sasha: "She is a liar in addition to all of that; she promised that I would not be given the diploma and she lied". On the very same day, to be more precise at night, he inquired her about why she had lied to him. In the answer there was again screaming and obscenities. Sasha did not receive the answer to his question again.

For the subsequent year, not often, as a rule when he was on duty, Sasha called L.A. Krikanovskaya and enquired about "whether she had everyone at home". No, do not hesitate, Sasha remained true to himself and did not change the time of his calls. And why did one have to change what he was accustomed to? If that was night, let it be night.
Though, everything wonderful comes to an end. One day in spring a year later, when Aleksandr arrived at work, he noticed that everyone was reading with great interest the "Izvestiya" newspaper. In the newspaper there was an article about a Kemerovo doctor L.A. Krikanovskaya, who was engaged in blackmailing via telephone;

she called Felix Andryeyevitch Pyatakovitch and told him in bright colors, what a bad and, she would say, unfaithful wife he had, and with who and to what places she went. The article said that the man had got sick of all that stuff, and addressed the police; and Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Krikanovskaya was found, and an article was published about that in a newspaper. Generally speaking, Shura was a kind person; he dialed her number right away and expressed his sympathy. Though, he added that she was very luckless. As he was calling her for a year long, and that was nothing to him, but she got immediately caught. And even worse, they wrote about her in the newspaper. How could she manage to do that! He did not call her since then. And what for? Vendetta took its place. Though, it was not exactly "an eye for an eye", but anyway.

july 29, 2011

© Copyright: Oleg Syedyshev, 2012
Publishing licence #21202110320

Translated by Viktoria Potykinato content