The schoolyard was half-buried in snow. Students were stomping their boots on the icy steps, their breath steaming in the cold air. You pulled your jacket tighter, the edge of your oversized pink hoodie sticking out underneath. Against all the grey coats, it looked almost too bright — like a bubblegum spot in the winter white.

By the entrance, four boys stood in a loose cluster, half talking, half just kicking chunks of snow at each other. They didn’t look very different from the others at first glance, but they had the kind of energy that marked them as friends — easy laughs, shoves on the shoulder, half-finished sentences only they understood.

Eero was the tall one with a grey beanie, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He wasn’t laughing, just smirking now and then when the others said something dumb. Next to him, Joonas had messy hair that stuck out under his hood, and he couldn’t seem to stand still — bouncing on his heels, stamping his boots, swinging his backpack. Mikko looked more serious, chin tucked into his scarf, but his eyes flicked over everything like he was paying attention to more than he admitted. Aleksi, the one with longer blond hair, leaned against the wall and grinned too wide, as if he was always a step away from saying something stupid on purpose.

When you walked past, the pink of your hoodie caught Aleksi’s eye. He let out a short laugh through his nose. “Bright,” he muttered in Finnish.

Joonas glanced over too, nudged Eero with his elbow. “Uus? New girl?” he asked in a mix of Finnish and English.

You slowed a little — not sure if they were talking to you or not.

Aleksi tilted his head. “Hei… uh… hello?” He lifted his hand in an awkward half-wave.

The others went quiet for a beat. Eero raised his eyebrows, but didn’t say anything. Mikko just looked at you, then looked away quickly like he hadn’t been staring.

“…Hi,” you answered, your breath clouding in the air.

Joonas was the first to step forward, though he seemed unsure what to do with his hands. “You… from… Russia?” His accent was thick, vowels stretched flat.

You nodded. “Da. Yes.”

“Okay,” Joonas said quickly, almost like he didn’t know what else to ask. He looked back at his friends for help.

Aleksi chuckled under his breath. “Hyvä, Joonas, hyvä,” he teased. Good job.

“Shut up,” Joonas muttered in Finnish, shoving Aleksi with his shoulder.

Eero finally spoke, low and calm. “New student, right? You start today?” His English was better than the others, though clipped and simple.

“Yes,” you said. “Today.”

Mikko shifted his weight, kicked at the snow with his boot. “Cold,” he said suddenly, his English stiff, like he’d picked the easiest word he could think of.

Aleksi laughed at him. “Yeah, really?” Then, switching to English, he nodded at your hoodie. “Pink. Very… not Finnish.” His grin widened, but his ears were turning red with the cold — or maybe embarrassment.

The boys chuckled, not meanly, just awkwardly. They didn’t seem sure what else to say, but none of them walked away either. Instead they lingered, shuffling their feet, glancing at you, then back at each other.

For a moment, the silence stretched. Breath clouds rose into the white air, boots crunched on the frozen ground, and you realized they were waiting — for you, for themselves, for something to unstick the moment.