– It's a beautiful name. I can't stand mine," I admitted. Of course, I was lying: I'd recently thought the name Viper was ridiculous, but strangely enough, it suited the girl sitting across from me, my stranger from the Nusle Bridge.
Viper raised her eyebrows in surprise.
– Cedric. Like the hero of a chivalric novel. Where are you from? – I changed the subject, trying to find out as much about my companion as possible.
– From Brno," she answered.
– As far as I know, Brno has many good universities. Why were you attracted to Prague?
– You are right, Brno has many universities, but it is Prague, the capital. If I hadn't applied here, thanks to the grant, I would never have been able to pay for my studies and would have stayed in Brno. But luckily everything went well. Where are you from?
– I was born in England, but ten years ago my family moved to Prague. When the question came up about which university I should go to, my parents insisted on Oxford, but I chose the University of Prague," I said, mentally adding to myself, "It's just that I've graduated from Oxford six times.
– So you're English?
– Not really – half Czech. Can I ask you a somewhat personal question? – I asked firmly.
– Yes?" the girl replied in surprise.
– How old are you? – I needed to know if I had made a mistake on the bridge.
– Twenty-two," Viper answered.
– And you're only in your third year? – I wondered.
– My family had financial problems, and I wasn't able to get in right away, but I guess there's nothing wrong with that," she said calmly. Viper lowered her gaze to her hands and leaned back in her chair. I instantly realised that questions like that discouraged her.
– What's your problem with your studies? – I asked delicately to dispel the awkwardness.
I enjoyed our conversation: it turned out that this mysterious and angry girl was quite intelligent, easy to talk to, not girlish, and not throwing languid glances at me to get my attention.
Viper just sat across from me and stared at me with her beautiful brown eyes.
– I'm failing physics. I hate physics. – She shrugged, as if shaking off the word she hated. – I got a four, but it was a stretch. The teacher took pity on me and gave me a four so I wouldn't lose my scholarship. But at first he wanted to give me a three.
– A "C" isn't such a bad grade. I think you've heard it before: "It's not the grade that counts, it's the knowledge," I tried to cheer her up.
– Are you on a grant? – she asked.
– Commerce," I grinned.
– You see, a C is okay for you because you spend a lot of money on your studies, but people like me fight for the right to study here for free and get a scholarship. A C is unacceptable. Plus, I'll be honest: physics isn't my thing.
– Okay, we'll deal with that. Any other subjects?
Viper smiled, and I suddenly thought she had a very beautiful smile. And then I realised that I was smiling too, but barely noticeably.
– All subjects except languages, literature and history. Numbers are not my thing either," said the girl.
– Then why did you choose this particular faculty? – The motives for her choice were unclear to me.
– Because of my parents. They are both maths teachers, and I have to continue their work. I had hoped that I would inherit an aptitude for the exact sciences, but as it turned out, my abilities were very modest.
– If they had been modest, you would have been expelled in your first year," I remarked. – It's not as bad as it looks at first glance.
