.: Let Our Crosses Crown Our Past [Julian Drain] :. Info

I was running. I was running as fast as my short five-year-old legs would possibly allow me to. Sure, I was insanely out of breath, but the thought of losing was unbearable. I would be ridiculed for life. Not only just by him, but he would undoubtedly tell everyone. So I ran through the pain, the sweat, the tears.

I finally crossed over the street line, which was about a thousand meters from where we originally started. I looked back to see where he was, unsure of whether or not I had won. I didn’t see him behind me so I hesitantly turned around to see him grinning, a little out of breath, standing in front of me.

“Hah! I win!” he exclaimed excitedly.

I rolled my eyes as my breathing finally started to become normal again. “You play football. You’re more in shape than me.”

“So what? It’s not my fault you’re not in shape,” he said in a slightly cocky voice. I shoved him down onto the ground and he looked up at me with a pout. “What was that for?”

“For acting like you just became president of the world,” I replied, crossing my arms across my chest and sticking my tongue out at him.

He grinned. “I’m just too good,” he said, holding out his hand.

I reached for his hand, still thinking he was acting too arrogant for the fact that he just won a mini foot race. I helped him up. “So what’s mom cooking for dinner tonight?” he asked, putting a friendly arm around my shoulders and walking me home.

“How would I know? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” I said, following his lead.

He smirked and looked at me. “I’ll race you there.”

I felt a few sharp nudges in my side and sleepily opened my eyes only to take in the reality of the situation I was in, forgetting all about the dream.

“We’ll be learning about Karl Marx’s theories next class,” the aging woman in the front of the classroom concluded.

I looked next to me. The sharp pain in my side was the girl next to me trying to wake me out of the doze I had fall into. All around me was dozens of students looking as if they had just woken up too. It was around ten in the morning and anything before noon was way too early for us college students.

Everyone started filing out, me being amongst the crowd. “Thanks,” I said to the girl who had woken me up.

“No problem. I have to do that to people every class,” she said with a little nervous laugh. I smiled at her and headed the opposite way outside the lecture hall.

It was November in Tampere so it was freezing. That’s why I had to hold my thick winter coat closer to my body as the wind blew at me even harder. I probably would have blown away if my apartment were any farther. Luckily for me, it was in downtown Tampere so we could walk to classes, bars, and anywhere else I wanted to go.

I entered the apartment and hung up my coat.

“Natalia! Come here!” I heard someone yell from one of the inside rooms.

“Coming,” I yelled back, rolling my eyes. With Jesse in the house, there was no peace.

I entered his room to see his shirtless self looking in the mirror and flexing his muscles. “Do I look more buff to you?” he asked, turning to me and flexing his bicep.

I rolled my eyes and just walked out. This boy was ridiculous at times. But I don’t think I could have loved him any more than I did.

Jesse and our other roommate, Lauri, had offered to rent me an apartment here at a reasonable price. I thought it would be so hectic living with two guys that I didn’t even know at all, but they opened up to me in no time and we soon became the best of friends. We did everything together: we went to the same bars, we went to the few classes we had together, and, because they were both on the University of Tampere hockey team, I went to every one of their games as their own personal cheering section.

I went into the room next to Jesse’s and knocked before entering. Lauri was currently engaged in reading a book titled Psychology while leaning back on his computer chair. He looked up at me when I knocked and smiled warmly. “Come on in. I can always use a break from studying,” he said, slamming the book shut and throwing it into the nearby rubbish bin.

“Don’t you need that?” I asked him, laughing as I came in and sat down on his bed.

“I’ll get it later,” he said dismissively. “How’s the weather today? I just woke up not too long ago.”

“Fifty below freezing,” I replied, exaggerating. “I miss New York City weather.”

He frowned. “So are you going back to America after this semester?”

“Of course not! I love Tampere. I think I’ll just finish up my studies for the year here. I still have to decide about what I’m going to do next year though.”

“At least we have you for the whole year,” he said smiling again.

Jesse walked into the room now fully clothed. “You have to admit though, my muscles have definitely gotten bigger,” he said before jumping onto the bed and tackling me onto it. He got me into a headlock and started messing up my hair.

“Ow, stop it!” I said in between laughs. For the first few months, I used to fight Jesse back, but then I realized it was useless. A small girl like me couldn’t hold off a huge ice hockey player like him so I kind of just gave up and went through all of his friendly abuse.

He finally stopped and sat on the edge of the bed. “So what are we doing tonight?”

“I don’t know. When’s your next game?” I asked. Ever since I started staying with them, I was like a second mom to Jesse and Lauri. I never let them stay out late before practice, I never let them drink at all before a game, I made sure they ate healthy foods, and made sure they didn’t hook up with the sluts of the school. I looked out for both of them and they looked out for me. As much as they hated me when I told them they couldn’t do something, they eventually thanked me for it in the end.

“Tomorrow night,” Lauri answered, grimacing.

“Why the pained face?”

“Because we’re playing University of Helsinki’s team and they always win,” Jesse said sadly.

“You don’t think you guys are going to win tomorrow?” I asked.

Jesse snorted in a mock laugh. “Of course not.”

“Wow, I would love to have an optimistic ray of sunshine like yourself as my team captain!” I said sarcastically. A second later, I was tackled back onto the bed in another headlock yelling at him to stop.

“Oh, you two,” Lauri said, shaking his head at us and reaching for the psychology book.

After Jesse let go, I fixed my hair. “How about we go to the gym and get you guys pumped for the game tomorrow.”

“I don’t need it,” Jesse said, grinning in a cocky manner while flexing again. This time it was Lauri who had had enough as he threw his psych book across the room straight into Jesse’s stomach. Jesse was soon doubled over, clutching his stomach in pain.

I was laughing so hard; I had tears coming down my cheek. “No wonder you guys are so pessimistic about winning. What horrible reflexes,” I said as I gave Lauri a high five for shutting Jesse up.

“You guys are horrible,” Jesse said, finally being able to stand up, but still clutching his abs. “If I play badly in the game tomorrow, it’s your fault because I’m in so much pain.”

“Not my fault. I actually have good reflexes,” Lauri replied, grinning.

“I’ll say,” I agreed. Lauri was one of the best goaltenders around the league. Every team wanted him, but he chose the team closest to home.

“So what are we doing until gym time?” Jesse asked.

“I want to take a nap. I fell asleep during International Relations for like, five minutes so I’m still tired from that.”

“Alright. I have Anatomy soon and Jesse’s going out with Antero so you’re going to have the apartment to yourself anyways.”

“Alright. I’ll see you guys tonight, then,” I said, getting up from the bed. On my way out, I hit Jesse across the stomach. He cringed at the pain as I started running for dear life across the hallways to my room. He was soon right on my heels, but right before he could catch me, I got inside my room and slammed the door shut in his face, locking it so he couldn’t get in and get his revenge.

“Have fun!” I yelled laughing as he started yelling some Finnish obscenities and banging on my door.

I changed into a pair of skimpy boxers and a cami before climbing in between my bright orange silky sheets and my white down comforter.

As hectic as this house got at times, I loved all the chaos of it when it was just we three. I was very picky when choosing friends so I got really lucky when I was forced to move in with these two guys who soon became my family in no time at all. They were the reason I had not planned on going back to America. And they were the ones who made Tampere feel like home again.