3.1

“The main cultural center of our region,” Neil straightened up and placed a couple of cans of soda and a large bar of milk chocolate with berry crumbs on the tabletop. He looked at Leah and explained with a playful smile: “Roughly speaking, the first four floors are divided into two huge halls: on the right is the theater, on the left is the opera.” Are any of these things of interest?

- Not really. Have you worked here before?

- Yeah, I worked part-time in the summer.

- And no one cares that you steal from the local cafe? And anyway, no locks... You must have very lenient laws.

- How to say. Compared to other countries, our crime rate is much lower. Robberies are so rare that many people, especially in the provinces, don't even lock their front doors. Violence and murder are also infrequent phenomena. True, sometimes people go missing, but you saw it yourself - around the forest, the sea. Either they drowned or were chewed up by wild animals. Usually someone finds the remains of bodies.

Hearing about the animals, she perked up:

— What predators live in your forests?

- All sorts of things. From martens and foxes to lynxes and bears. But specifically in our region there are no such large predators as bears. Packs of wolves stay away from the city - do not approach. But lynxes sometimes wander in. There are even domesticated ones who regularly come for handouts from those who like to feed wild animals with fresh meat. There are also raccoons, for which we have a full-scale hunt - and their population does not even think of thinning.

- Poor raccoons. Why are you doing this to them?

— Raccoons are known pests. On top of everything else, there are some who are too smart at sneaking into other people's homes. Moreover, they are not afraid of anyone: neither people nor domestic animals. There was one incident in our city last year: the mother left the window in the nursery on the first floor open, and, as a result, a raccoon running past took it as an invitation. She did not immediately come running to the screams of the newborn child, but by the time his nose and upper lip had already been chewed off.

“This, of course, is completely rude,” Leah frowned and tapped her fingernail on the tabletop. “But I read that raccoons do not attack first, and in general they are quite harmless animals.” At one time I really wanted to get a striper... Maybe it had rabies? Then it is unfair to kill thousands of glorious animals because of single individuals.

— They are being hunted not because they are so evil - they attack people. You know that raccoons are omnivorous predators that adapt well to any living conditions? That is why an increase in their population, and they multiply at a frantic pace, threatens an ecological imbalance. They crowd out other animals. They are carriers of many diseases. They are also smart: their brains develop especially well in an urban environment.

“I know I’m biased, but I still feel sorry for them.”

“Their cute faces serve as one of the most important tools for survival as it is aimed at one of the most feared predators on our planet. — Having grabbed the supplies he had obtained, Neil came out from behind the bar. “Let’s go to a more secluded place where the local guard doesn’t look.”

He headed towards the stairs, but, noticing that Leah had not moved, he turned around and looked at her with intrigue. Something in his unabashedly searching gaze, friendly expression and relaxed shoulders alarmed her. And the longer she peered into the grinning face, the more convinced she became that it was the eyes that possessed some kind of animal magnetism, to which not a single girl was immune.

- Are you afraid of me?

- Should I? — Leah still got down from the chair and walked up to him. - You fell asleep? Take me where you were going. Let's look at your secluded place.

“I’ll turn on your emotions,” he promised meaningfully after a long pause, and a mischievous light flashed in his already mysterious eyes, anticipating a prank.

- This is much easier to do than you think.

Having reached the landing, they climbed a couple more flights and stopped at a nondescript door, the key to which was found in Neil's pocket.

The attic, the largest she had ever seen, was filled with theatrical props. Mountains of furniture rose to the ceiling, among which one could find everything: from outlandish chairs on three curved legs to massive double-leaf wardrobes of a magician-illusionist. There are separate shelves with a variety of porcelain vases, antique boxes and bronze figurines; mobile racks on wheels for clothes skillfully created by masters of their craft. Even the knight's armor took refuge in the corner in the company of real dull swords.

— Interesting place? — Neil asked in a low voice, moving his lips close to her ear. And before she could react in any way, he retreated to the opposite rack in the aisle, littered with masquerade masks. “I used to spend a lot of time here during breaks and after work, when I didn’t want to go home.

“Martisha looks like a peculiar woman,” Leah admitted thoughtfully, remembering his mother as a possible reason for his reluctance to be at home.

“My mother used to work here.” “The administrator in the opera hall,” he clarified with a detached look and casually sank onto a small sofa, scattering the stolen supplies around him.

She waited for the story to continue - and the narrator froze. He stopped moving, blinking, and, it seems, even breathing. Played dead? Or did you decide to play “time stood still”, suddenly falling into nostalgia for your kindergarten days?

Nevertheless, having decided to play along with him, Leah slowly approached the sofa, bent over Neil and looked closely at the face, frozen in a wax mask with empty eyes looking into nowhere, like those of a corpse. She tried to catch the most insignificant movement: be it a moving Adam's apple or a fluttering eyelash. And she was so carried away by what she was doing that she almost screamed when her eyes moved synchronously and fixed a gaze on her, which sent a chill down her spine.

Neil smiled as she recoiled, and said completely carefree, patting the free space to his right with his hand:

- Fall.

Ignoring the offer, Leah walked around the sofa and looked out the large round window. My heart didn’t jump out of my chest, but almost imperceptible echoes of fear were still felt in my body. And the sight of the narrow street, even if completely deserted due to the rain, gradually calmed her down.

There's something wrong with him. And with her too. But at least she has written in her medical report what exactly and how long ago.

- Do you ever feel ashamed of your parents? Neil spoke again.

- I don’t remember this. Rather, they are for me. And you... are you ashamed of her?

- I think yes. When I got a part-time job here, she was still working here. Third year. At first, they didn’t treat me very well, especially women, but I know how to win people over,” hearing her quiet laugh, he pretended to be indignant: “You will still know my charm!”

- Agreed. “She turned around and, leaning on the back of the sofa, extended her hand. — Can I have a piece of chocolate?

Neil quickly gutted the cardboard packaging and placed one third of the broken tile into his open palm. He threw his head back, touching the soft upholstery with the back of his head, and waited for Leah to take a small bite so that he could announce with a satisfied smile:

- Now you are an official accomplice in the crime.

“I’ll try to somehow get along with this shameful thought,” she grinned and, without expecting it from herself, looked at him playfully.

Neil wasn't smiling anymore. The impudent curiosity with which he tactlessly examined her from toe to top, eloquently declaring his passion, disappeared from his gaze. Frivolous, meaningless advances did not oblige anyone to anything, which is why they were perceived more simply. Now there was a deeper interest coming from him. And the serious expression on his face with a slight trail of mist in front of his eyes gave him a completely different kind of attractiveness.

Confused, Leah turned back to the window, coughed loudly and asked:

- So why did Martisha leave here?

- Did you quit? She was shamefully kicked out. First, another insulted wife came running, pulled her by the hair, and the bosses, no longer able to tolerate constant affairs with an enchanting ending, ordered her to write a letter of resignation. She, of course, threw a scandal at them too, after which I personally chose to leave voluntarily.

Running his fingers through the long brown strands, Neil tousled his already disheveled hairstyle. He jumped to his feet and walked around the sofa, standing next to Leah. Oddly enough, there was an extremely carefree expression on his face, as if it was not he who was now telling about his mother something that you cannot share with everyone.

- More chocolate? - Neil asked, holding out a strip of delicious milk bar. He, smiling sweetly, watched as she took the offered treat and spoke again: “Well, after we ate half of the stolen chocolate and became equal accomplices, maybe now you can tell me what your name is?”

- Leah.

- Is this your full name?

“I don’t like the full name, it sounds too... pompous,” Leah muttered through her teeth.

- But still? — Neil did not let up and gently pushed her with his shoulder. - I'm very curious.

— Annalia Lagwuri.

- It's not that bad. I knew one Emilian Crank-Nicholson - that's a pompous name, especially considering that he was a short, puny nerd with an overbite. But not only did he lisp and lisp, a dog scared him as a child, which is why he stuttered.

Leah couldn’t help but smile, which she hid behind her raised palm, supposedly scratching her nose. Looking out the window at the fading rain, she returned her face to a calm look and clarified in an affirmative rather than a questioning tone:

— Did you come up with it on the fly?

“It was worth a try,” Neil confirmed slyly, also looking out the window. — It seems the rain is stopping.