"So the school came up with this idea: the top 30 students get to personally storm Plowsonia!"
Filippov burst out laughing.
The students laughed along too.
Filippov: "Do you guys still sing 'Tanya, Tanyusha, my Tatiana'?"
One of the students: "Not anymore. We now sing 'The Dark-Eyed Girl.'"
Filippov: "Oh? How does it go?"
The students exchanged glances, and eventually, all eyes landed on a tall, skinny young man: "The Major is asking—come on, sing a little for us, Alyosha."
"Yeah, you should. The Major's sporting a Venus medal, and their unit even has capes! They must be heroic battle veterans! Just sing us a few lines!"
So the young man began to sing:
"One summer morning, at the break of day, I turned to look next door,
"And there I saw a dark-skinned girl, plucking grapes by the basketful.
"My face turned red, my heart raced, I had to muster up my courage and speak.
'Please come to the riverbank, let's greet the dawn together.'
