Pasha
by
Diane Doyle
Kris Yakovlev, a young software engineer in San Francisco, California usually ran 3 miles on the trail near his apartment complex
before getting ready for work. It was early in September, 2270 when he began running with a partner. A slightly built young male of
primarily Japanese descent had started running at the same time as him. Since they were about the same speed, they started running
together and getting acquainted.
“Hikaru Sulu,” the Japanese runner introduced himself.
“Kristofer Yakovlev, but you can call me Kris,” his red-haired companion returned the introduction. “Are you new here?”
Hikaru smiled a beaming smile, “Well actually I’m a native San Franciscan but since I’m in Starfleet and was assigned deep in space, I’ve
been gone awhile. So I just moved into this complex.”
“I’ve lived in this neighborhood for the last three years, ever since graduating from college. I work as a software engineer for
CommCorp on a contract for Starfleet.”
“I was the Chief Helmsman on the Starship Enterprise but now I’ve teaching classes at the Academy. My old ship is being refitted and
will probably be in dry dock for a couple of years, so here I am.”
“I see.”
Because it was a Saturday morning, Hikaru then inquired of his new friend, “Why don’t we go to my apartment to talk a little more. We
could have tea together.”
“Sounds great!” Kris agreed. “We can never do this during the week since we have to race off to work.”
Sulu escorted Yakovlev to his apartment where they sat down at the kitchen table. Sulu filled a teapot with warm water and began
heating it up. He also grabbed some tea bags of various flavors from a cabinet. “I’ve got plenty of choices. Earl grey tea, mint tea,
orange pekoe, and many others.”
Once both young men selected their flavor and any desired sweeteners, Hikaru gave Kris a pensive look. “I was wondering where you
come from. You don’t sound at all like a native San Franciscan.”
“I’m not,” admitted Kris. “I’ve only lived the last four years here since college graduation. You see, my parents moved around a lot, so
we didn’t really settle down anywhere until I was in 8th grade when we settled down in Atlanta, Georgia. And then I went to college in
Virginia.”
“You don’t really sound like a Southerner either.”
“I lived in numerous places. I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and we moved around to various places, mostly in Russia, until we
moved to Boston, Massachusetts when I was in 6th grade.”
Hikaru gave Kris a quizzical look. “Your last name certainly sounds Russian but you don’t have a Russian accent. You have a lilting
speech pattern that some children of Russian parents tend to have but your pronunciations are not at all typical of a Russian accent.”
“I haven’t been back to Russia since I was 11. And, by the way, how’d you become the expert on Russian speech?”
Sulu smiled an enigmatic smile, “Well, I served with a Russian on the Enterprise. He was the most diehard Russophile and claimed
everything good was invented in Russian. And he had a really thick Russian accent.”
“I can’t say I had very fond memories of Russia,” Yakovlev admitted, sheepishly.
“Was it too cold?” Sulu inquired.
“I did not really fit in socially. The kids I knew did not treat me well at all. I was a social pariah.”
Sulu then teased, “I will just have to give my Russian friend a hard time about this. The next time he says that the Russians are the
best at something, I’ll tell him that Russian kids are the best at being mean to other kids.”
Kris shook his head, “I doubt that Russian kids are meaner than anyone else. In my case, my social skills probably were weak.
Because my parents moved around so much, due to my father’s job situation, my mother home schooled me. But when third grade
rolled around, I started going to “regular” school. I never stayed anywhere long enough to develop any close relationships, plus I’m an
only child, so I was definitely behind in social skills.”
“I see.” Sulu took a sip of his tea. “You social skills seem okay to me.”
“I had a lot of trouble fitting into the structured environment at school. All the things like raising your hand and doing everything at the
same time as everyone else. Hence the other kids thought I was peculiar.”
“Going to regular school can certainly be an adjustment.”
“It also didn’t help that I was a total klutz in sports. My hard-eye coordination is poor so I’m not good at catching balls or shooting
baskets. I was usually one of the last kids picked for any sports teams.”
“That’s no fun.”
“Kids are so cruel,” Sulu observed. “I had problems with boys calling my ‘Tiny’ for my lack of size. Then, I took martial arts classes and
got back at them for that.”
“Bravo, Hikaru! That taught them!” cracked Kris.
Hikaru nodded.
Kris continued his story. “Our family was also having financial problems that year, because my dad had lost his job. Therefore I didn’t
have very many clothes and those I wore were generally second hand. So, of course, the other kids made fun of me for that.”
Hikaru then changed the subject, “I was thinking, why don’t we get together for dinner at this new Russian restaurant on the 14th? That’
s this coming Wednesday. I plan to have some other friends of mine join us, including some people who used to serve on the
Enterprise.”
“That sounds good. I enjoy food from my old homeland.” Kris affirmed.
*******
On Wednesday September 14th after work, Kris wandered to Hikaru’s apartment at 1800 that evening. Their plan was to walk to a
restaurant named “Romanov Crown”.
As they walked together on the streets of San Francisco, Kris’s memories of his life in Russia were triggered. He turned to Hikaru. “Do
you know what today is? It’s the birthday of my old friend, Pasha, from third grade.”
Sulu reacted with an enigmatic grin. “H’mm, Pasha.”
“His real name was Pavel but he was called Pasha.”
“Well, that is the typical Russian nickname for Pavel.” Sulu said, archly. Then Sulu’s eyes lit up. “You’ll have to tell me all about him.”
Kris was slightly dumbfounded. “You really want to hear about my old childhood friend who I haven’t seen in about 17 years?”
Sulu nodded emphatically, “Yes, I do. As you told me before, today is the guy’s birthday.” Sulu emphasized the “is”.
“Well, okay.” Kris began his story. “Pasha was my only friend in third grade. As I mentioned before, I was very unpopular that year. He
couldn’t always play with me since he had other friends. But unlike most of my other classmates, he was never mean to me. I
remember he was a very small guy, with dark hair and dark eyes.”
“Sort of like me,” Hikaru mentally compared himself with Kris’s old friend. “I never could stand it when other kids called me ‘Tiny’.”
“He was one of the smartest guys in my class, if not the smartest, although he never felt smart enough since he missed out on being in
the local Gifted Center. His best friend, or should I say, former best friend, Mstislav Ilyich Ostrovsky, had been selected. And when it
came time for Mstislav to give his birthday party, he only invited his new friends from his gifted class at his new school, and none of his
old friends, not even Pasha.”
Hikaru gave Kris a sympathetic look, “I bet that must have hurt his feelings.”
“Pasha said that he was actually better in math than Mstislav. Mstislav was apparently really good at reading. Pasha told me his
second grade teacher did not like him at all but really loved Mstislav. She thought Pasha was a problem child and that his mind seemed
to always be in outer space.”
Sulu suggested, “Maybe he joined Starfleet when he grew up and got to go to outer space for real.” Sulu then laughed, “Heh! Heh!
Heh!”
“I don’t know,” Kris shrugged.
“Seriously, that must have been hard for Pasha to always being unfavorably compared to his friend.”
Kris replied, “I’m sure it was. But our third grade teacher seemed to really like him. I generally got along well with our teacher but most
of my classmates were really mean. If Pasha wanted to play with someone else, I was miserable since I had no other friends besides
him. The rest of the kids in my class made fun of me.”
“We all know that kids can be so cruel.”
“At least Pasha wasn’t cruel. He might not always play with me but if any of his other friends tried to make fun of me, he would defend
me and tell them they were out of line.”
Hikaru smiled, “He sounds like a true friend.”
“Then one day Pasha got very ill. It was on a day when his mother was gone and his father was preparing to leave Earth. You see, his
mother was in Star Fleet. She was an instructor at the Academy who developed computer simulations for training cadets so she was
usually on Earth. But this time, she was on a training cruise. That day, his father needed to leave home for a diplomatic mission.
Pasha was supposed to stay with his cousins. The plan was for him to go home with his cousins after school but he was really sick that
morning. He was so sick he had to go to the hospital. But, of course, his father forgot to tell his brother’s family about this. They were
really in a panic when Pasha hadn’t shown up at school. Meanwhile, Pasha wondered if he was abandoned since no one had come to
visit him at the hospital that day.”
Sulu’s facial expression was sympathetic. “Your poor friend!”
“I remember that on the second or third day of Pasha being out, a new kid came to our classroom. We didn’t have a spare desk so they
put him in Pasha’s desk. At the time, Pasha was sitting in the seat behind mine, which was great when he was there but now he was
gone. This new kid, Bartolomei Denisovich Vikhin, was larger than average. He was a real bully who took special pleasure in
tormenting me. Even more than any of my other classmates did. He bothered some of the other kids too, but bothered me more than
anyone else. It was especially bad because he sat in the seat where my only friend normally sat. Meanwhile, rumors were flying around
about Pasha. That he was close to death, had trouble breathing, and was hooked up to machines.”
Sulu then grinned, “I’m sure the rumors of his demise were greatly premature. But I can imagine what you felt like then.”
Kris continued, “One day, our teacher announced that Pasha was no longer in the hospital but staying at his cousins’ house. She gave
us his CommMail address where we could send him recorded mail messages. She thought it might cheer him up. So as soon as I came
home, I sent Pasha a message. I told him that I missed him and described some of the events of that day. I wasn’t sure Pasha would
reply but he replied within an hour.”
**********
Dear Khrystia,
I am so glad to be home from the hospital. Okay, I’m not home but at my cousins’ house. At the hospital, I felt I was being poked and
prodded all the time. Blood samples! Skin samples! Marrow samples! They took so many samples of me that I felt like a pin cushion.
And, of course, they said it wouldn’t hurt but it always did. It seemed as though doctors from all over the world were coming in to take a
look at me. And, of course, they wanted samples.
On my first day in the hospital, I kept crying all the time since I felt so awful and had no one to stay with me since both my parents were
away and no one had notified my cousins yet. The nurses didn’t want me to cry! I was so congested that I had trouble breathing.
Crying would make me choke. I was running a really high fever and was delirious and kept freaking out when I saw all the tubes and
machines I was connected to. I kept having nightmares that I was being imprisoned by hostile aliens.
I’m staying with my cousin, Piotr, who’s a couple of years older than me. I’m glad to see him, even though I can’t really play much since I
feel so weak.
Pavel
**********
An enigmatic grin was evident on Sulu’s face as he repeated Pasha’s complaints, “We want some blood samples! We want some skin
sample! Marrow samples!”
Yakovlev cracked, “You do such a good job of imitating Pasha. It’s almost as if you were there, even though I know you weren’t.”
“Well, those complaints sound awfully familiar,” Sulu laughed, smiling his typical enigmatic smile.
Kris then talked about other letters he had written to Pasha and Pasha’s replies to him. He even discussed the troubles he was having
with the new boy, Bartolomei Vikhin. Pasha’s comment on the new boy was, “Thank you for warning me about him. Since I’m a small
weak guy, he may target me as a potential victim.” Pasha encouraged Kris to describe his problems with Bartolomei in more detail. Kris
complied but felt guilty about burdening Pasha with his problems and apologized profusely. While Pasha, in turn, apologized about
burdening Kris with the details of his illness.
Sulu said softly, “Pasha sounded like he was a good friend, indeed.”
Kris’ story was now building to a climax. “Finally, Pasha returned to school. He looked paler than normal and had obviously lost weight.
He still coughed a great deal. Everyone was glad to see him again. As was usual during our post-lunch recess, Bartolomei started
harassing me. What was different that time was that Pasha was a witness. I could see the fury in his dark eyes. He lunged towards my
tormentor and yelled angrily, ‘Bartolomei Denisovich! You Cossack bully!’ And then, to the surprise and shock of all bystanders, he
punched Bartolomei in the face. Consider that Bartolemei was about 20 centimeters taller than Pasha and solidly build while Pasha is a
little skinny guy who’s weak from being so ill.”
“And what happened next?” Sulu looked at his friend with saucer wide eyes.
“Bartol was really shocked! He grabbed Pasha by the collar and demanded, ‘Why did you punch me? I never did anything to you. I
don’t even know you.’ Pasha replied, a cold fury obvious in his voice. ‘Ever since you arrived at this school, you have harassed my
friend, Khrystia, who has so kindly documented everything for me.’ Pasha wriggled out of Bartolomei’s grip. Bartolemei then threw a
counterpunch. A fight ensued. Eventually, Pasha slumped to the ground, obviously winded and coughing furiously. At that moment,
the principal of the school walked by. He was very angry. He dragged both Pasha and Bartol to his office. I was asked to come since I
was a witness to the fight.
At that point, Hikaru and Kris turned onto the street where the “Romanov Crown” was located. Hikaru cracked, “Now you’re really
getting to the juicy part!”
“The principal stared at Bartolomei with cold anger and addressed him sternly. ‘Bartolomei Denisovich, you should be ashamed of
yourself. Picking a fight with a boy who’s so much smaller and weaker than you!’ Bartolomei retorted, ‘But Pavel punched me first. I
didn’t do anything to him and he punched me, out of the blue.’ The principal then stared sternly at Pasha, ‘I am very disappointed in
you, Pavel Andreievich. You are supposed to keep better control of your temper.’ Pasha replied, contritely, ‘I am very sorry, sir. But I
could not stand by and let Bartolomei Denisovich harass my friend any longer. Khristofer Karlovich has documented the problems he’s
had with Bartolomei since his arrival at this school. I can play the messages I’ve received from him.’ The principal then addressed me,
‘I would like to hear your version of the story.’ I then recounted the story of how Bartolomei had bullied me ever since he had arrived
and that Pasha had defended me. After some deliberation, the principal punished Pasha and Bartolomei by having both of them do
many hours of community service for the school. It was decided not to suspend either of them. Pasha had already missed so much
school as it was.”
In that time, Sulu and Yakovlev reached the door of the restaurant. Sulu turned to his friend and smiled, “I could imagine this scene.”
“For the rest of that year, my classmates stopped harassing me and treated me with more respect. I guess any friend that Pasha would
defend at great risk to himself was probably okay. I started 4th grade in Moscow and was still Pasha’s friend but moved to Kiev in the
middle of the year since my father had found a job there, after being unemployed for nearly a year. We stayed in touch for a few
months but then eventually stopped sending mail. I always wondered what became of Pasha.”
Sulu gave his friend an enigmatic grin, “I’m sure he did just fine.”
Hikaru and Kris then entered the restaurant where the maitre d’ escorted them to a large table. One of Hikaru’s other guests, a dark
haired male, had already arrived. The guest then looked up at them. Kris could not believe his eyes.
“Pavel Andreievich,” Kris addressed his old friend in the standard Russian fashion.
“And you must be Khristofer Karlovich,” Pavel Chekov stood up and gave his old friend a Russian bear hug.
Once again, Sulu grinned his characteristic enigmatic grin, this time directed at Pavel. “Kris has been telling me a lot of stories about
your childhood.”
“Nothing bad, I trust,” retorted Pavel.
‘”You’d be surprised,” the Japanese helmsman gave a wicked grin.