Dragana Mladenović
SVE ŠTO (NI)SAM
ŽELELA Ilustracija
Dušan Pavlić
Dragana Mladenović ALL I’VE N/EVER WANTED First English-language edition © Kreativni centar, 2023 Original title Sve što nisam želela Translated from the Serbian by Nataša Srdić Language editing by Novica Petrović Book cover designed by Dušan Pavlić Illustrated by Dušan Pavlić Prepress by Vesna Pijanović Published by Kreativni centar, Beograd, Gradištanska 8 tel.: 011 / 3088 446 www.kreativnicentar.rs e-mail: info@kreativnicentar.rs For the publisher Ljiljana Marinković, director Printed by Klik tim, Beograd Printed in 2023 Print run 300 copies ISBN 978-86-529-1225-4 COBISS.SR-ID
To my
Kati
I had a dream I got everything I wanted But when I wake up, I see You with me Billie Eilish
9
4th April “Be careful what you wish for, it might come true” – that’s the sentence I remembered when I opened my eyes this morning. While washing my face, I tried to summarise the current situation in my mind. Since I realised that I realised nothing, I decided to sit and write everything down. I’m using my English notebook because I have nothing else to write in.
Let’s take things one by one.
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One
I am 12 years old. Currently I live in a semi-dilapidated house that once belonged to my grandma, with – note this – Maksim, of all people, a seventh-grader that half the school is completely besotted with. Wait, let’s start anew, I’m not nuts. My name is Nina Kovač, and I’ve been living with Max for three days now! If only I could tell my BFF Vera about it now, but she, just like everyone else I love, is elsewhere. Or nowhere. I feel like crying. Two
It’s true. While blowing out the candles shaped like numbers 1 and 2, I wished: a) for Max to finally notice me, b) for us to get acquainted, and c) for us to get closer. However, as tends to happen with wishes, this one has only partially come true. That is:
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a) Yes, he did notice me, but only after tripping over my schoolbag (I had put it down by my side while struggling to unlock Grandma’s house) and falling flat on his face. I mean, who wouldn’t notice me under such circumstances?
b) Yes, we did get acquainted. “Hi, I’m Max.” “Nice to meet you, I’m Nina.” Very exciting.
c) No, there’s no chance of us getting closer.
Three
I last spoke to Mum on 1st April, that dreadful Thursday when everything ground to a halt. She told me they were fine and not to worry about them, but to try and find a safe place for myself as soon as possible and stay protected. “You have the key to Grandma’s house…” – she said before the Internet collapsed and mobile networks went totally haywire.
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I
n the city, there is an emergency situation and twelve-year-old Nina has found herself accidentally separated from her parents in her grandma’s dilapidated house. To make things even more interesting, there is also seventh-grader Max, her secret crush from school.
We sit in the yard, tearing sheets of paper into ten parts. We play the matching game. Each of us writes down their favourites. Worlds apart. 1. MUSIC Him: Brut, 2pac, Zift Me: Alicia Keys, Billie Eilish, Arctic Monkeys 2. FILM Him: The Twilight Saga, Part 1 Me: Isn’t It Romantic 3. SERIES Him: The Big Bang Theory Me: Never Have I Ever 4. BOOK Him: The World’s Worst Children Me: The T he Summer I Learnt To Fly 5. GAME Him: Assassin’s Creed Me: The Last of Us
Zero matches!