Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! To those who wanted some Dimitri, here you go! And there'll be more characters added soon.

Disclaimer: I do not own the title or the characters in this story so far.

Day Three: Departures and a Reunion.

"Do you have to go?" little four year old Viktoria asks. "You can stay here with me."

Dimitri smiles at his little sister and ruffles her hair. "Yes Viki, I have to go to St. Basil's."

"But why Dimka? Mama can teach you like she teaches Karo, Sonya, and me! School's boring, it's fun here," Viktoria cries as she wraps her arms around her elder brother.

Dimitri pulls Viktoria into his arms and kisses her forehead as his little sister sobs into his chest. Leaving isn't as easy as he thought it would be. But it's for the best. Like babushka says, a man has to know everything in order to lead a house. He must excel in education, defense, and common knowledge in order to be the man of the house. And even though St. Basil's costs a fortune for his family, it's worth it. This way, Dimitri can become the man of the house. This way, he can look down on his father and kick him out of the house without worrying about who's going to bring money for dinner the next day.

Of course his mother doesn't know his intentions. All she thinks is that her son wants to go to school and live a life like an everyday kid, not some Russian immigrant with a drunkard, gambling dad. But boy is she wrong.

"Dimka!" someone howls.

Dimitri grins at the familiar voice and turns around to come face to face with Ivan Zeklos, his childhood best friend and partner in crime. "Ivan," he says and gives his brother like friend a short, manly hug. "It's been too long!"

"I know," Ivan says as he helps pull Dimitri's bag off the bus. "I wish you could have come to America with us. You've missed a lot here and you have a lot to catch up. You've missed full whole year of school. You have a lot of gossip to hear, many clubs to join, and a lot, and by a lot, I mean a LOT of girls to meet. But you won't have a hard time catching up, after all, your friends with the Ivan Zeklos."

Dimitri rolls his eyes at his friends. It has been a whole year since Dimitri has seen Ivan. Their family left their Russian hometown in Baia a year earlier than the Belikov's. Their family moved to America because his father had been offered a higher paying job. Dimitri and his family moved here because gambling's growing in America.

Dimitri's hand clenches at the thought of his tall, thick bearded father who's blanketed in tobacco and alcohol. He rolls his shoulders back and shakes the thought out of his head as he looks ahead at the large academy before him. St. Basil's. One of the three legendary academies in St. Vladimir's. This school is going to be where he'll be coming to every year for the next seven years of life. From middle school to highschool.

"Yo Dimka, you coming?" Ivan asks as he pulls his suitcase up the stairs.

Dimitri looks up at the huge elegant carved writing on the plank of wood before him that reads, St. Basil's, school for the smart, strong, and successful. He nods and looks up to meet Ivan's eyes.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

Did you like it? Tell me what you thought! And also, how old is Viktoria in the books? And I know it's short, but it's honestly all I have time for! You can blame my school

See you next time! Review please!