The Red King of Helsinki

by Helena Halme

  Mrs Härmänmaa checked her watch and cleared her throat.

  ‘Class 6 A, please be quiet.’ She turned towards the Russian man and pulled her lips wide in another attempt at a smile. As usual her lipstick had bled into the corners of her mouth. ‘Mr Kovtun from the Soviet International Friendship Town Committee has come to the school today with some very exciting news.’

  At that moment the door to the classroom opened and Miss Joutila burst in.

  ‘Sorry, I’m late, Mrs Härmänmaa.’

  Everyone laughed.

  The Old Crow cast her evil brown-eyed spell over the room and it became quiet again. Pia held her breath. She was so close to a full giggling fit she didn’t even dare to look at Heikki at the back of the class, who’d laughed the loudest.

  Instead, Pia started daydreaming about last Friday’s Vanhainpäivät party. Even though Vanhainpäivät was a school party, and the punch was supposed to be alcohol-free, it was the best ever. When the two teachers were out of sight, Heikki had poured a bottle of Koskenkorva vodka into the mix. Half of the punch had gone by the time the Old Crow noticed. By then it was too late, everyone was way past it. But she didn’t stop the music. Anni said it was so everyone would sober up before going home drunk – that way, the parents wouldn’t complain to the school.

  Pia had worn her new blue satin shirt and trousers. She’d used heated rollers on her hair and must have looked good, because Heikki told her he fancied her, and they snogged for ages in the cloakroom on top of a pile of overcoats. He pushed his tongue inside her mouth and kept trying to get his hand inside her blouse. Once he touched Pia’s right nipple and it felt really good. But she stopped him because she was afraid someone might come in. When they got up, he pressed his hand between her legs and said, ‘I want that, Pia, you make me crazy wanting that.’ His breath was hot and his voice hoarse. Pia giggled and pulled herself away. He moved his hand to her bottom and squeezed it. ‘Nice arse too,’ he said. Pia turned her face to him and gave him her best smouldering look. His eyes were dark on her and his fair hair was tousled. Pia straightened herself up and walked out into the darkened gym hall. Everyone was dancing to a slow number. Pia turned around to take hold of Heikki’s arm. She wanted to join the couples on the floor, but Heikki had disappeared. Pia had looked all over for him, but he must have been smoking at the back of the school building. She didn’t see him for the rest of the evening.

  * * *

  Pia forced herself to listen to the Old Crow. The Russian looked very tall next to the short and fat headmistress. He had straw-blond hair, which he’d combed back from his angular face. He didn’t look very friendly, though he did smile at Miss Joutila. Perhaps the PE teacher knew the Russian. Why was she here anyway? It was a Monday morning and the class was supposed to have Finnish with the Old Crow first thing.

  ‘As I was saying,’ the Old Crow gave Miss Joutila, who again was wearing trousers at least two sizes too small for her, a quick nod, ‘we have some exciting news. As you all know, the cities of Moscow and Helsinki are twinned, cementing the friendship, mutual understanding and co-operation between our two great countries. This year, 1979, we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of this great association. As part of these celebrations, we are proud to be taking part in a gymnastics competition between Moscow Girls’ Lyceum and Helsinki Lyceum. Please, Mr Kovtun, perhaps you would like to tell us some more.’

  Suddenly Pia grew serious. She listened intently as the Russian spoke in his broken Finnish.

  ‘From our great school in city Moscow, five girls will come to you. We will have a Friendship Trophy competition of gymnastics. The best will win!’

  That’s all he said and then he started clapping.

  Old Crow nodded to the class and put her hands together. Everyone clapped.

  ‘What are we clapping for?’ Pia whispered to Anni, but she didn’t hear her.

  The Crow spoke again.

  ‘Five girls, from all the age groups at the school, will be selected to take part in the competition. Five schools from Helsinki and five schools from Moscow will take part. Helsinki Lyceum will compete in the group gymnastic section. There’ll be one girl from the Sixth Form. As the Upper Sixth are in the middle of their Baccalaureate revision, it’s been decided that the oldest girl, and therefore the Head Girl of the team, will be selected from the Lower Sixth. I don’t have to remind you what a responsible position this is. All those who wish to be considered should go and see Miss Joutila.’

  Pia made a quick calculation. There were a couple of girls in the Upper Sixth, who – if Pia was honest – were slightly better than her. Anni was good. She was supple and could bend her body to amazing positions on the mats. But Pia didn’t think she was really that much into the sport. Please, don’t let her want to take part. Then of course there was Sasha. Pia glanced over her shoulder. Sasha gave her a sideways smile, a sneer really. She was sitting next to Heikki, as usual, leaning towards him, while playing with the curls on her permed, coloured hair.

  Miss Joutila said something to the horrible Russian. He was looking directly at Pia. Pia smiled. Whatever, she thought, as long as I’m in that competition I’ll suck up to any Commie Russian they want me to.

  * * *

  After both Miss Joutila and the Russian had left the classroom, the Old Crow started handing out the week’s essay titles. Pia leant over to Anni, ‘I’m definitely going to go for it!’

  ‘What?’ Anni’s pale blue eyes were wide. She seemed upset, even angry.

  ‘What’s the matter?’

  ‘Bloody Commie,’ Anni whispered. She picked up her pen and started writing.

  Pia didn’t understand what her friend was on about. Of course all Finns, at least the patriotic ones, hated the Russians. If the Soviet Union hadn’t been attacked by the Germans in the Second World War, it would have invaded Finland. The country would be behind the Iron Curtain now, like Estonia and Hungary, instead of being neutral. Pia’s grandmother told her that when the tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia in the sixties, it was only because of President Kekkonen that the Soviets left Finland alone. So now President Kekkonen and the rest of the country had to keep the Russian neighbour sweet.

  Surely that’s exactly what Mrs Härmänmaa was doing too?

  Why was Anni getting so upset up about it?

  * * *

  At break time, Anni said, ‘Why do you want to be involved in some Communist gymnastics competition?’

  ‘Because I want to win.’

  Anni wasn’t looking at Pia, but was walking resolutely towards the tuck shop. Pia felt in her jeans pockets for any coins but knew she would find nothing. She hadn’t had her allowance for two weeks now and it was getting embarrassing borrowing money all the time. Her mother would be paid tomorrow. The smell of freshly baked apple doughnuts became stronger as they got nearer the stall. It was only half past ten but Pia was starving.

  Queuing up, Heikki stood next to Pia and Anni. Heikki said, ‘You two gorgeous birds don’t mind if I join you, do you?’

  There were looks from the smaller kids down the line.

  ‘Yeah, sure, you just want to jump the queue,’ Pia said, her eyes on him. Heikki Tuomila was the best-looking guy in the school with his fair hair and broad shoulders. Today he wore a duck-egg blue shirt. His thumbs rested inside the back pockets of his faded jeans. Pia looked down the line but to her relief Sasha was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘So you’ll go for the competition, then?’ Heikki asked Pia. He was standing so close she could smell his aftershave. The kids were following her every move, eavesdropping on their conversation. ‘Might do,’ she said.

  Anni looked at her, ‘What are you having?’

  ‘Nothing,’

  ‘You want cash?’

  Pia lifted her eyes to her and said, ‘No, it’s OK.’

  ‘Two apple doughnuts,’ Anni said to the woman in a bright pink housecoat. She gave her the money and picked up the brown paper bag. The smell was unbearable. Then she took one doughnu
t out and gave it, wrapped around a paper napkin, to Pia. Anni was a real friend.

  ‘Thanks,’ Pia said.

  Anni was the reason Pia had become one of the inside gang. Before she moved to the school, Pia had been a nobody. Anni’s parents were rich, her father was a diplomat and she’d lived all over the world. The family were only staying put in Helsinki for Anni’s education. She was planning to go to university in London or Paris. She lived in a huge old flat, with a bay window and a crystal chandelier in the salon. Sometimes when both Anni and Pia had a free period, they’d go and have lunch there. Anni’s kitchen overlooked a private leafy courtyard, with a lawn in the middle and benches. A secret garden in the middle of the city. Pia had never seen all the rooms in the flat. Anni told her there was a massive attic with windows, but that no one ever went there.

  Anni’s father looked like an absent-minded professor, always in a worn-out cardigan, carrying books and papers. But he’d smile and say hello to Pia. She wished her own father was around more, though for years it had been only her and her mother in the little flat on Kasarminkatu.

  Pia saw her father once or twice a year when he came over from Malmö in Southern Sweden to stay with Grandmother. The summer weeks by the lake with her dad were the best. They swam, fished and had a sauna nearly every night. Her dad called Pia his little sauna baby. He told her she’d only been two days old when she was taken into Grandmother’s dark, wood-fired sauna. ‘You never cried a bit, just laughed when the heat touched your little body.’ He squeezed Pia close to him. In the winter, just before Christmas, they had less time, but then he brought her nice presents. He bought them in Stockholm on his way through. Last Christmas he even went to Hennes and Mauritz to buy really fashionable clothes. He said the shop assistants helped him, although Pia suspected it was his new wife, whom she’d never met, that had chosen so well for her. Pia didn’t mind. She wished her father and his new wife could live a little closer to Helsinki. But he said his work at the car factory in Malmö couldn’t be moved. Once when Pia was younger, she’d asked if they didn’t need car mechanics in Finland. Her father laughed but didn’t answer the question. Of course, now Pia understood about the unemployment situation in Finland. Sometimes she wondered if the Old Crow ever talked about anything else while she nagged about the importance of a good education.

  Walking between Heikki and Anni along the glass-fronted corridor towards the lockers, Pia stopped. Miss Joutila and the Russian were standing in the middle of the schoolyard. It was snowing lightly, and the Russian was wearing a black fur hat, making him stand even taller. Mrs Joutila also had a hat on, a woollen crochet beret. Pia shook her head, how unfashionable could the woman get? Miss Joutila and the man were laughing together. Something about how they stood so close together made Pia think they knew each other very well.

  ‘She’s a bit of a dark horse, eh,’ Pia said.

  Heikki said nothing. He was munching on his doughnut.

  Anni moved closer to the glass and said, ‘Traitor.’

  ‘What?’ Pia didn’t think she’d heard her friend right. What had got into her today?

  Miss Joutila and the Russian walked to the gym hall by the side door. Pia decided this was her moment. She stuffed the rest of her doughnut into her mouth and said, ‘See you later.’

  * * *

  Pia was sure Miss Joutila would take the Russian to her little office next to the changing rooms. From the side door, a steel staircase took you up to the gym hall. Pia opened the heavy door and took off her boots. The red-faced caretaker was always telling the pupils off for walking on the polished wooden floor with their outdoor shoes.

  Pia looked at the blue mats rolled to the side of the hall and at the climbing ropes tied together in the corner of the room. She felt at home here. She wished she could do a few front rolls on the blue mats instead of having to walk by them. She imagined a hall full of people, all cheering as she preformed her programme to perfection, each hand stand and each roll more gracious and controlled than the one before. She’d attempt a set of three or four back flips. Surely there’d be enough time to practise. She’d ask Miss Joutila.

  When Pia reached Miss Joutila’s office, she heard voices.

  ‘You chosen the girl, yes?’

  ‘I...’

  ‘You take one with long brown hair.’ The Russian man’s voice was loud and clear. As if he was issuing instructions to an army.

  The gym teacher was quiet, or perhaps Pia didn’t hear her answer.

  ‘What her name?’ the Russian said.

  ‘Mäkelä, Pia Mäkelä’

  Pia stopped breathing. Her heart was beating so hard, she was afraid that Miss Joutila and the Russian would hear it. Quickly she tiptoed out of the hall, ran past the mats and put her boots back on. She skipped down the steel staircase, then realised how childish it must look and forced herself to walk normally back to the school building.

  * * *

  After the English lesson, Sasha came over to Pia.

  ‘You’re going for it then?’

  ‘Going for what?’

  Sasha Roche laughed so that the mock blonde curls on her head shook. She was much shorter than Pia, but the hair made her head look twice its size. The whole effect was ridiculous. But her parents were rich. She had a swimming pool in her house and held the most amazing parties. So everyone wanted to be her friend.

  Including Heikki.

  ‘Pia, take my advice. Forget about the Friendship Trophy. You know there are at least two people better on the mats than you. Anni isn’t going to take part. Her right-wing Nazi parents wouldn’t allow it. So that leaves me. So sorry, but we have to think what’s best for the Lyceum. We wouldn’t want to lose at the 25th Friendship Trophy, now would we?’

  Sasha left Pia standing by her desk. She was glad she hadn’t said anything about what she’d overheard the Russian say to Miss Joutila. She would enjoy seeing Sasha’s face much more when the team, with Pia as the head gymnast, was announced in assembly.

  What Sasha had said about Anni played on Pia’s mind as she sat on the tram on her way home. The number ten was full to bursting. Pia had managed to get a seat but as it approached the centre of the city more and more people came onboard. She had to give her seat to an older lady wearing a huge overcoat and laden with shopping bags. The woman didn’t even say thank you, just slid into the seat as if it was her right. Pia held onto a pole and thought that Anni’s father didn’t look like a Nazi. What was Sasha talking about? Pia hadn’t seen Anni since she’d left her and Heikki in the school corridor. Finnish was the only lesson they had together on Mondays. Even their lunch breaks clashed.

  Pia stepped off the tram and instead of walking up to Kasarminkatu, she turned left towards Tehtaankatu and Anni’s home. She couldn’t wait to tell Anni her news. The street was dark, and as the echoes of the tram disappeared behind her, Pia felt a shiver run down her spine. She quickened her step.

  All the lights in Anni’s house were out. Pia stood on the pavement opposite for a while, looking at the large windows. The block was a very old one, ‘Jugenstil’, Pia had heard Mrs Härmänmaa once brag to Miss Joutila, ‘... a fabulous example of Finnish Art Nouveau.’

  It was a beautiful house. Only four storeys high, with an attic on the top floor. It looked just as Pia imagined a Parisian building, with decorative golden window frames. The roof was slate, with smaller sash windows. Pia looked at the darkened third floor. Anni’s parents weren’t sitting in the dining room or the salon. Pia walked around the corner. Anni’s bedroom was dark too, with the curtains drawn and no light on inside. Pia moved to the other side of the street and stood under a large elm to get a better view. It was cold. She put her hands in the pockets of the white down jacket her father had bought in the autumn.

  Pia gazed up at Anni’s flat. Even the bay window was dark. They had a small lamp there, on a dark mahogany table with two antique chairs either side. It was usually switched on, with the curtains tied back with heavy gold tassels. Now all the c
urtains were drawn. It looked like Anni’s parents were away. Pia walked back to the front door and pressed the intercom button. She stood and waited for a few minutes. Perhaps someone else living in the block would come home and let her in. But the street was quiet.

  Opposite Anni’s beautiful building stood the vast Soviet Embassy. It was a modern, grey, three-storey structure, surrounded by a high steel fence and large gardens. The fence was topped by barbed wire. To keep people out or in? All the windows in the building were lit up. Pia hadn’t seen many people enter or leave the building when she’d been to visit Anni. Sometimes the large steel gates opened and a dark car with blacked-out windows drove in or out. Otherwise the vast three-storey building and the gardens surrounding it seemed void of people.

  Pia hurried back down Tehtaankatu. As she turned into Kasarminkatu, her own street, a man in dark clothing nearly knocked her over. ‘Oi, watch it!’ Pia shouted, but the man didn’t even look at her. Pia stopped dead. She’d recognised him from that morning.

  The Russian, Mr Kovtun, was running as fast as he could on the slippery street towards the tram stop.

  3

  Leena Joutila sat at her desk, smoking a cigarette. She should be getting ready for her next class, but she didn’t move from her seat. She tapped the fingers of her free hand against the heavy black telephone receiver on her desk. She thought about Vladsislas, or Vadi, as he had asked her to call him. How long had it been since Leena had last been this infatuated? She didn’t usually allow herself this kind of teenage behaviour, but Vadi was different. As soon as Leena heard his voice, or saw his eyes, she felt her armpits dampen, her breath quicken. He was also the first foreign man Leena had ever fallen for. Not that her love life had been that exciting. Leena pursed her mouth and smiled. Well, at least she would have something to tell the young girls who at that very moment were doing everything but what they’d been told to in the gym hall. As if they’d be interested. What the girls didn’t understand was how much Leena could help them if they allowed her to. Instead they didn’t listen, thought they knew everything already. Instead they were obnoxious, unruly and loud. Always giggling, always making faces behind her back. Oh, Leena was so tired of the Lyceum. Tired of Mrs Härmänmaa, who seemed to think Leena had no idea how to do her job. The Head should remember that Leena, at forty-four, had two years’ seniority to her.