At the very end of August, the cadet adolescence of Alyosha Aleksandrov ends. Now he will study at the Third Junkers Name of Emperor Alexander II Infantry School. In the morning he paid a visit to the Sinelnikovs, but alone with Yulenka he managed to stay no more than a minute.

Always in the foreground, always in the forefront; incomprehensible, inaccessible, incomparable, unique, delightful, dizzying - Julia.

The girl offers Alyosha to forget summer summer stupidities: both of them have now become adults.

In the school building Alyosha appears with sadness and confusion in his heart. True, he is flattered that he is already a "pharaoh," as freshmen called "senior officers," as freshmen called. Alexander junkers are loved in Moscow and are proud of them. The school always participates in all ceremonies. Alyosha will long remember the magnificent meeting of Alexander III in the autumn of 1888, when the royal family proceeded along the line at a distance of several steps and the “pharaoh” fully tasted the sweet, sharp delight of love for the monarch.

However, while studying, extra trifles, and the abolition of leave, and arrest are pouring on the heads of young men. Junkers are loved, but captain Fofanov, nicknamed Drozd, is "mercifully warmed" at the school by a platoon, field officer and commander of the fourth company. Daily exercises with a heavy infantry canopy and drill could arouse disgust for service, if not for the patience and harsh participation of all the "heaters".

Does not exist in the school and trampling by the younger, the usual for St. Petersburg schools. Here the atmosphere of chivalrous military democracy dominates, a harsh but caring fellowship. Everything related to the service does not allow indulgence even among friends, but outside of this, a friendly appeal to the "you" is prescribed.

After the oath, Drozd recalls that now they are soldiers and for misconduct will not be sent to Mommy, but ordinary to the infantry regiment. Nevertheless, boyhood, which has not been completely worn out, forces young cadets to give their surroundings their names. The first company is called "stallions", the second - "animals", the third - "smears" and the fourth (Alyoshina) - "fleas".

Each commander, except for the second course officer Belov, also has a nickname. Since the Balkan war, Belov brought his Bulgarian wife of indescribable beauty, whom all the cadets worshiped, and therefore her husband’s personality is considered inviolable. But Dubyshkin is called Pup, the first company commander is Khukhrik, and the battalion commander is Birdie-Pasha. All junker officers are mercilessly poisoned, which is considered a sign of youth.

However, the lives of eighteen to twenty-year-old boys cannot completely absorb the interests of the service. Alexandrov is keenly experiencing the collapse of his first love, but he is also keenly interested in the younger Sinelnikov sisters. At the December ball, Olga Sinelnikova informs Alyosha about Yulenka’s engagement. Shocked Alexandrov replies that he does not care. He loves Olga for a long time and will devote her first story to her, which will soon be published "Evening Leisure".

This his debut as a writer really takes place, but at the evening roll call Drozd appoints him three days in a punishment cell for publication without the permission of his superiors. Aleksandrov takes Tolstoy’s “Cossacks” into the cell and, when Drozd wonders if he knows the young talent, what he is punished for, he cheerfully answers: “For writing a silly and vulgar composition”.

Alas, the troubles do not end there. A fatal error is revealed in the dedication: instead of “O” stands “Yu” (such is the power of first love!). Soon, the author receives a letter from Olga: “For some reason, I can hardly ever see you, so goodbye.”

There is no limit to the shame and despair of the junker, but time heals all wounds. Aleksandrov gets to the ball at the Catherine Institute. This is not part of his Christmas plans, but Drozd suppresses all Alyosha's reasoning. For many years, Alexandrov will recall the brilliant entrance of an old house, marble stairs, bright halls and pupils in formal dresses with a ball neckline.

At the ball, Alyosha meets Zinochka Belysheva, from the mere presence of whom the air itself brightens and shines with laughter. Between them, true and mutual love arises. In addition to undeniable beauty, Zinochka has something more valuable and rare.

Alexandrov confesses to Zinochka love and asks to wait for him for three years. Three months later he graduates from college, and until entering the General Staff Academy, he will serve another two years. Then he will pass the exam and will ask for her hand. The second lieutenant receives forty-three rubles a month, and he will not allow himself to offer her the miserable fate of a provincial regimental lady. Zinochka promises to wait.

True love, it, like gold, never rusts and does not oxidize.

Since then, Alexandrov has been trying to get the highest score. With nine points, you can choose a suitable regiment for service. He lacks up to nine or three-tenths because of the six in military fortification.

But now all the obstacles are overcome, Alexandrov gets nine points and the right to choose the first place of service. When Birdie-Pasha calls his last name, the junker pokes his finger on the list without looking and stumbles upon the undominated Undom infantry regiment.

And now a brand new officer uniform is put on, and the head of the school, General Anchutin, admonishes his pets. Usually there are at least seventy-five officers in a regiment, and in such a large society gossip corrodes this society.

Having finished parting words, the General says goodbye to the newly made officers. Those bow to him, and General Anchutin remains “forever in their minds with such firmness, as if he was carved with diamond in a carnelian”.