Jumping into the car with a sandwich in his teeth, Voldery settled into the back seat and buckled up. Quickly finishing it, he waved to his mom, and he and his father set off — to school.

—  «Nervous?» — asked his father.

— «Not at all,» — replied the boy.

— «At your age, I was nervous too. That's normal.» — said his father with a grin.

  Ten minutes later, they pulled up to the school.

— «Here we are, kiddo. Good luck.» — the man ruffled Voldery's hair and drove away.

***

  Voldery opened his eyes and breathed out happily when he saw the majestic school. His heart was pounding as he clutched his brand-new red backpack — the reddest one in the store. Standing in front of the massive oak door, he felt like a tiny ant before a mountain.

— «Okay,» — he said to himself, adjusting his tie. — «First: I'm not scared. Second: if I am scared, I'll still go in. Third: there's probably someone here who loves strawberries and car books.»

  He pushed the door open. The hallway was long, bright, and smelled of wood, chalk, and apples — not like the orphanage. That was a good sign.

  The classroom was easy to find. Voldery peeked inside and froze. By the window stood a tall man with a neat beard and a cozy vest, flipping through a thick book.

— «Hello!» — Voldery burst in. — «I'm Voldery! Your new student! Do you have spiders in the closet? And do you like cars?»

  Mr. Dorin looked up with a kind, surprised smile.

— «Greetings, Voldery. No spiders — I checked. And I do like cars, especially old ones with history.»

— «Wow! Can I sit by the window? I won't fall asleep, I promise!»

  He plopped down just as two other boys entered. One was plump, like a teddy bear, clutching a dragon pencil case. The other was thin as a reed, with huge glasses, muttering formulas.

— «Take your seats, gentlemen,» — nodded Mr. Dorin.

  Voldery immediately turned to the plump boy:

— «Hi! I'm Voldery! You look like you know where the cafeteria is! Do you like strawberries?»

— «I... Rusian,» — he said shyly. — «I like strawberry jam. My grandmother makes it.»

— «Awesome! We'll eat jam and discuss dragons!»

  Then Voldery leaned to the boy in glasses:

— «What are you reading? About stars?»

— «It's 'A Treatise on the Fundamentals of Mechanics.' About levers and pulleys.»

— «Levers! Could you explain how a gearshift works? I'll treat you to strawberries!»

  Ilyun blinked in surprise. A faint blush appeared on his pale cheeks.

  Mr. Dorin smiled quietly.

— «Welcome to our class, young explorers.»

***

Second grade, autumn

   The conflict arose suddenly at recess.

— «Listen!» — Voldery jumped onto a chair. — «We need to build a fort in the old shed! Pillows, flashlights, books! Ilyun — blueprints, Rusian — jam!»

— «But it's cold and damp there,» — Rusian hesitated.

— «Classroom is boring! It's an adventure!»

— «I like warmth and a place to sit,» — Rusian turned away.

  Voldery switched to Ilyun:

— «You're with me? We'll reinforce the roof!»

  Ilyun looked up coldly:

— «That's irrational. The roof could collapse. I won't risk my life for your escapade.»

— «We're friends! We should do things together!»

— «You always drop ideas when you get bored. I'm not joining a project that won't last till tomorrow.»

  The words stung. Voldery ran out and pressed his face to the wall, tears welling up.

  Ten minutes later, Rusian and Ilyun found him on the windowsill. Rusian held out a pie.

— «Mom baked it with apples. You like sweets.»

  Ilyun looked away:

— «I was too harsh. You don't abandon ideas — you just see them all at once. But the shed is stupid. Let's build a fort from chairs instead. I calculated the stability. It'll hold three.»

  Voldery's face lit up. He stuffed the pie in his mouth and mumbled: «You're the best friends ever.»

  They walked back together, and Voldery was already planning the new fortress. «They're my bright little snails,» — he thought. — «I'll never leave them.»

***

Third grade, New Year's

    The hall sparkled with garlands. Voldery's red cardboard car costume kept catching on doors. They were supposed to recite poems.

—  «Did you see Alice's fairy costume? And Timofey's robot! I want one in red! Rusian, let's get tangerines! I almost learned my poem...»

—  «You've 'almost learned it' for a week,» — Ilyun grumbled. — «Stop fidgeting.»

  When their turn came, Voldery ran onto the stage — but forgot every word.

— «The red car... races... forward...»

  The hall fell silent. Panic washed over him.

  Then from behind the curtain came Ilyun's whisper:

— «...And in the dark night, the path holds no fear for him!»

— «...And in the dark night, the path holds no fear for him!» — Voldery repeated.

  From the other side, Rusian's baritone:

— «He knows his friends will warm him!»

— «He knows his friends will warm him!»

  He finished the poem, bowed so low his cardboard car cracked, and the hall exploded in applause.

  Afterward, Voldery hugged them both:

— «You saved me! It was like driving off a cliff, and you pulled me back!»

  Ilyun adjusted his bow tie:

— «That was inefficient. Next time, memorize it. But... I'm glad we were there.»

  That night, Voldery vowed to remember this day forever: with friends, he could move mountains — even without words.

***

Fourth grade, spring

    The «Fun Starts» competition was announced. Three-person teams. Voldery was ecstatic.

— «We'll win! I'm speed, Rusian is strength, Ilyun is brains!»

— «No,» — they said in unison.

  But he wasn't listening.

  Race day. First event — "Kangaroo": Voldery shot forward but tripped and fell. The opponents pulled ahead.

— «Get up!» — Rusian shouted from the finish line. — «You don't give up!»

  Voldery got up and finished — second place.

  Second event — tug-of-war. Rusian grabbed the rope, his plump arms swelling with strength. But the opponents were heavy.

  Ilyun called out:

— «We'll win if we move in sync. One — pull, two — hold, three — pull again. Don't stop breathing.»

  They synchronized. Pull — the rope moved their way. Pull again — victory!

  Third event — intellectual. Ilyun solved logic problems faster than anyone.

  They took first place overall. Voldery raised the trophy like an Olympic champion.

— «This is our victory! Because I'm speed, Rusian is strength, and Ilyun is brains!»

  He hugged them both, and even Ilyun smiled.

 — «We made it,» — Voldery thought. — «We're a team.»

***

End of fourth grade. The last bell.

    Sunlight poured through the windows as generously as four years ago. But now everything felt different — the desks smaller, the air filled with sweet sadness.

Voldery sat by the window, twirling a red pen.

— «You're fidgeting again,» — observed Ilyun, already reading a seventh-grade physics book, his glasses slipped down on purpose — to hide his moist eyes.

— «I'm trying to remember everything,» — Voldery admitted. — «The smell, the creaking desk, how Mr. Dorin adjusts his tie...»

  Rusian chewed a pie silently, his cheeks red, eyes glistening.

— «I don't want to leave,» — he said hoarsely. — «Here I first understood what real friends are.»

  Mr. Dorin rose from his seat. He hadn't changed in four years — still in his vest, with his kind, tired eyes.

— «My little fireflies, four years ago you came in as frightened fledglings. I remember Voldery asking about spiders. Rusian clutching his dragon pencil case. Ilyun pretending he didn't care. You've grown — but stayed the same. Voldery, the tireless adventurer. Rusian, warm and reliable. Ilyun, precise as a Swiss watch. Together, you are a team. A little world you built yourselves. Go into the big world. But remember: you are never alone. My door is always open.»

  Voldery rushed to hug him, sobbing into his vest that smelled of books and apples:

— «Thank you for believing in me. Even when I forgot poems. Even when I broke the chair.»

  Then Rusian joined, nearly knocking them over. Ilyun came last — took off his glasses, put them in his pocket, and hugged them tightly.

— «We promise,» — he said quietly. — «We'll stick together. In middle school, even if we're in different classes. This isn't goodbye. It's a new stage.»

— «Like shifting gears in a car,» — Voldery sniffled, trying to smile. — «We don't stop. We just drive forward.»

— «Together,» — added Rusian.

  They pulled apart, still wet and tousled. Voldery looked at Rusian's round, tear-stained face and Ilyun's vulnerable, determined eyes — and understood: these were the most precious people in his life. His team. His family.

— «Let's go. A bigger school awaits us. But we'll manage.»

  They walked out. Voldery paused at the door, taking one last look at the empty desks and sunlit windows. He said goodbye to every crack, every creak, every memory.

  «I'll come back. But not now. Now — forward.»

  And he stepped over the threshold. Together with Rusian and Ilyun. The three of them, as always.

  The elementary school door closed behind them. Ahead stretched a vast, bright, mystery-filled world. And Voldery, who had always feared the unknown, felt only anticipation.

  Because he knew: he was not alone.»