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Homo Ludus (English edition)
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She booked a private room for them on the second floor: a long couch, a table, glass windows with a view of the dance floor and karaoke.

It was just the two of them. Gustav was sitting on the couch, Oksana with a microphone stood right in front of him. She had said several times before that she wasn't ready to sing this song yet, but after she had almost completely drunk a bottle of Asti Martini, she turned on the song "Sun" by Ani Lorak.

"…it's like parting with your soul -

To live without you…"

Oksana sang. She thought she was perfect for the song. You have to be in the right state of mind to say those words. And her looks, too. She thought she was perfect, especially her legs. She often liked to say to herself, and sometimes out loud, that maybe she had a bad temper, but she had the most beautiful legs. She finished singing and sat down next to Gustav. He was completely calm, as if what had just happened didn't concern him personally, as if he were just evaluating an actress at a casting.

Placing his hand on the back of the couch and lightly touching her shoulder Gustav brought his lips close to her ear and said softly: "And do you often sing this song?"

"No." Oksana smiled slightly, not turning her head. – Very rarely… She's my favorite."

Only on special occasions? Or when you're in the mood?

"On special occasions when the mood strikes." – She nodded, smiled, and turned her head. Her eyes glistened with desire, as if she were ready to tear at that gorgeous dress, to cling to it, to cling to it and not let go until she owned it. "I liked it. – Gustav said affirmatively and calmly. – Tell me about yourself,

Oksan. Why do you like clubs so much?"

I don't know… Here you feel free. You can do what you want… Everyone is your own… In general, I go to jump around.

I guess my parents were always fighting.....

Yeah! But they quickly got used to my personality.

Which one is that?

Angry. Yeah, angry. Everyone used to ask me why I broke up with my boyfriend. I'd say, "Well, would you like it when your other half comes home at 3:00 in the morning drunk?" They all said, "No." I said: "Well, he didn't like it either." – Yeah. Frankly.

What's there is there.

She spoke from the heart. It was like a murderer in hiding who had found someone to pour her heart out to. But on the other hand, it was obvious that she was justifying herself with a view to the future. So that she wouldn't have to apologize for her behavior later, but just say, "I warned you, that's just the way I am."

Gustav hadn't met many of these, but he already knew what to do with her now, all that was left was to find out what he should do it against.

"What are you most afraid of?" – He asked.

"Thunderstorms. Thunder and lightning. I need someone to be there for me." – she sounded very serious. Clearly it wasn't the kind of fear that would paralyze her or make her lose her mind, but it was definitely the kind that would throw her off balance.

Oksana looked into his eyes again, her arms gently wrapped around his neck, the leg closest to him slowly and smoothly climbing into his lap.

"Why don't you sing something?" – The girl asked.

"No, but you know… We could go jumping."

She smiled and chuckled lightly, "Come on, Goose!"

She had told Gustav before that she knew a lot of people in clubs, and especially in this one. And this time she'd already talked to the manager, the bartender, the waitress, found out how things were going, who was where, who the DJ was, and then voiced it all out loud.

It turned out that the people she would have been happy to see were not here today. She didn't like Pablo, the new owner of the place, whose arrogance had made many people stop coming here, but she knew him well and had known him for a long time.

After dancing for a while, they sat down on one of the couches in the center of the room. After a minute, she called out to someone passing by, who came over, and they kissed lightly on the lips, after which he went on his way.

"It's Pablo," Oksana announced. It was obvious that she had had enough alcohol, and in such a state she could do obvious stupid things.

Gustav didn't bother to remind her of what she'd told him about the man five or ten minutes ago, about her attitude toward him and the epithets she'd thrown at him. It was too soon, but it was clearly a direction to go in, since she was setting herself up so cleverly.

"Ah, the owner." – Gustav said. – Why do so many people dislike him?" "Well he used to be one of his own. You know, when there was hardly any money, and everyone tried to support each other. They still do now. And he is. He just got lucky once in his life. It was an accident. He just got married. Lucky for money, I mean. He had a lot of money. Bought this club and started acting like he was better than them. And everyone remembers who he is, where he's from, what kind of man he is, what he's worth. They are used to communicating with him on equal terms, so they don't come here now. In general, it's a fairly standard story.

So he's switched.

Yeah. I guess so. Or maybe he's just been like that all the time and now he's just showing himself more clearly… Has money changed you?

Not at all. It's stupid for me. Changing for money.

Why is that?

Because, bitch, you deserve what I'm going to do to you. – Gustav thought angrily and said. – Because it all starts with the fact that a man wants money to achieve some of his goals, and in this case money is just a means for him. Even when a person, who does not have money yet, wants to get it, he really wants something else. He wants material wealth. And this is very remote from money. Even in this case money is only a means. But when they get this means, many people get lost. They forget about what they want, forget about the goal and start thinking about money. Just money.

Yeah. I wish there were more of them. – Oksana nodded.

Not to lose them. Actually, to not lose them… People don't want to go back in time afterwards. So they try to get more money. As if that will take them away from the time when they were short of money.

And why do you say that money is very remotely related to material wealth? I don't get it.

The whole point of the word exuberance… It's different for everyone. Less and more is equally bad. You need a two-room apartment – live in it, you need a onestory house – there you go. Cars, houses – it's like the size of clothes. Don't go on a ship with 20 oars alone – you won't be able to cope, better take a small boat. That's wealth. And when a man is in real prosperity, he thinks clearly, he knows what he needs. He's just in his place. And few people know how to manage extra money.

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