"From One Hare" by Asya Lavrinovich, summary Automatic translate

Asya Lavrinovich’s novel, published in 2019, tells the story of an excellent student and a competitive athlete who are brought together by a chance university project on electrodynamics. Published in the young adult genre, it explores the typical problems of students. The plot centers on the clash of two completely opposite personalities. The protagonists are forced to compromise in order to earn a good grade on their diploma. The author generously peppers the text with humorous dialogue, comical misunderstandings, and romantic experiences set against the backdrop of everyday school life.

Distribution of projects

Margarita Romashina, a third-year physics student, is used to always being first. She gets straight A’s, holds a rank in rhythmic gymnastics, and holds the title of "Miss University." She’s always on time and dislikes laziness. Her complete opposite is her best friend, Alla Gekht. A beautiful brunette, she attends classes at the university solely to find a wealthy husband.

The friends’ lives change dramatically during the assignment of final project topics. The dean of the faculty decides to assign partners himself. Margarita is assigned Artem Zayats, a handsome hockey player with a reputation as the class’s biggest truant. Alla, meanwhile, is paired with Vladlen Parshukov. Vladlen is the group’s leader and is known for his extreme isolation and strictness.

Margarita is utterly dissatisfied with her new partner. She’s terrified of her future honors degree. She’s certain Artem’s frivolity will seriously damage her final grade. She can’t refuse to work together without losing precious points. She devises a cunning plan. She decides to be as unbearably annoying as possible, so Artem will break up their academic partnership.

From that moment on, Margarita began systematically pestering Artem. She gave him lined worksheets with assignments. At night, she called her partner under the pretext of a sudden desire to discuss Maxwell’s equations. He quickly uncovered his classmate’s ulterior motives. He struck back, waking her up at seven o’clock on a Saturday morning. Contrary to Margarita’s expectations, Artem demonstrated his brilliant knowledge. He brought a perfectly completed theoretical assignment to the meeting. The rivalry between the young people quickly escalated.

Difficulties on roller skates

Meanwhile, Alla Gekht faces her own problems. At the insistence of her active mother, she agrees to attend roller skating school. Vladlen Parshukov, unexpectedly, turns out to be Alla’s instructor. Within the school, the young man behaves aloofly, but at the roller rink, he harshly criticizes a classmate for her clumsiness.

During a routine practice session in the city park, Alla makes a mistake. She loses control of her roller skates on a steep slope. She hurtles at high speed straight into a busy highway. Vladlen miraculously manages to intercept Alla just before the roadway. He risks his own life to save his careless student. They fall together onto the dusty shoulder.

After this dangerous incident, Alla’s attitude toward the class monitor changes dramatically. The student feels intense gratitude, which gradually develops into genuine infatuation. She even impulsively kisses Vladlen in the classroom when they accidentally find themselves locked in the same room. The young man rudely rejects Alla. Later, it becomes known that Vladlen has a girlfriend. The class monitor has already managed to boast to her about the attentions of the most beautiful woman in the department. Insulted, Alla decides to erase Parshukov from her life forever.

Development of the conflict

Margarita continues her attempts to annoy Artem. Upon learning of his allergy to dogs, she brings an old poodle named Volodka to the meeting place. Artem suffers from a severe allergic reaction but courageously endures his partner’s antics. Later, the students head to the library to study. There, Margarita deliberately causes a scene. She wants them to be expelled from the reading room in disgrace. Artem reacts to these provocations with ironic calm. The hockey player demonstrates excellent solutions to physics problems. The success of the underachiever deeply hurts the pride of the stubborn straight-A student.

Leaving the library, Margarita discovers her large pickup truck is missing. Her car has been towed. Artem calmly admits he saw the no-parking sign. He decided to remain silent out of revenge for the poodle. He gives the upset girl a ride to the impound lot in his expensive SUV. Along the way, more verbal altercations erupt between them. These heated arguments conceal a growing mutual attraction. Near their home, Artem jokingly tries to kiss Margarita. His brazen act provokes a storm of genuine indignation and intense embarrassment in her.

Date in a cafe and nightclub

Another homework review meeting takes place in a cozy café. Artyom arrives not alone, but with a striking blonde, Lika. Margarita takes the appearance of a strange woman as a personal insult. Lika is jealous of her companion’s relationship with her colleague. The blonde secretly gives money to the waiter to spill cold coffee on Margarita’s clothes. The ruined light gray T-shirt is the last straw for the straight-A student. The student hurriedly leaves the establishment.

Artyom catches up with the girl right on the street. The guy assures her that Lika means nothing to him. Zayats returns Margarita’s forgotten phone and invites her to a wild party at a nightclub.

Margarita feels incredibly uncomfortable at the club. To annoy Artem, she agrees to dance with an annoying guy named Vitaly. Artem watches them from afar. The hockey player openly mocks the situation and mouths a declaration of love to Margarita. The confused student flees the stuffy dance floor.

Later, Artem finds Margarita, exhausted, lying on a soft sofa in a quiet area of the club. He carefully places large headphones on her head. They play an acoustic version of a popular song by the band "Coldplay." Margarita falls asleep peacefully on her partner’s shoulder.

Recognition and the end of the story

Waking up in the morning, Margarita analyzes her feelings. She realizes her original plan has failed. She no longer wants to be separated from Artem. On the contrary, the student finds herself looking forward to each new encounter with the hockey player.

Margarita skips lectures for the first time in her entire school career. She runs to the city park to watch Artem play street hockey. After the match, they take a long stroll through the spring streets. The young couple eats fast food and joyfully rides a children’s carousel. The eventful evening ends with a tender, sincere kiss under the dim light of the streetlights.

The plot unfolds over the weekend. Margarita’s brother, Roman, invites his sister to his old friends’ dacha. He promises to introduce her to a friend who has long had a crush on her. Margarita takes the distraught Alla along to distract her from her romantic woes with Vladlen.

At the dacha, Alla unexpectedly finds common ground with Roman. Margarita’s brother offers to teach Alla and her mother how to roller skate for free. Alla happily agrees. This new acquaintance helps her quickly forget her past grievances against the village headman.

Revealing secrets

As the night wore on, a drunken Roman decided to publicly announce his sister’s feelings for him. Margarita had previously asked her brother to convey to his secret friend that she was in love. She was referring to Artem himself. Roman, however, took his sister’s words completely literally. He pushed a strange man named Valera into the center of the dacha courtyard. Roman loudly declared to everyone present that Margarita was madly in love with this barely known man.

Artyom witnesses the awkward scene. Hare decides Margarita was playing a double game and kissing him for cruel fun. In an uncontrollable rage, the boy walks away from the noisy group.

Margarita chases after Artyom into a dark maple grove. She trips painfully on a large rock, but he deftly catches her in his arms. During an emotional conversation, the whole truth comes out. Artyom admits that he was the one who asked Roman to arrange their meeting at the dacha. The hockey player had long known that Margarita was his teammate’s sister. The classmates clear up all the accumulated misunderstandings and openly confess their mutual feelings. The story ends happily with the lovers’ reconciliation. In the final lines, Margarita promises to introduce Artyom to her grandmother.