Текст книги "The teacher"

Автор книги: Ksenia Nikitina

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Part III

On Wednesday afternoon, Thomas was in a hurry to go about his business, but the thought of the student's absence bothered him. What if she had already been killed and thrown into a ditch on the way home? She must have been hitchhiking. Anxiety and curiosity consumed him, and Tom took her personal file from the Director's office, studied it with interest, and went to the right address. No information other than that her father is an attaché and her mother is a homemaker. Address and phone number, that's all.

«Not really,» he said, looking at the report card.

An hour later, he reached a run-down, God-forsaken village and stopped at an old two-story brick-coloured log house. The flimsy door with its cracked and crumbling paint made feel terribly sad, and the iron handle was completely broken. Brown Windows with rotten frames and a small porch with a short roof. Now Tom wanted to go back to his mansion and get rid of the memory of that awful house, if it could still be called home. Shulman knocked politely when he heard a child's screeching and footsteps. The door swung open, and for a moment he thought he was being attacked by a pack of crazy bats, but it was much worse – they were her younger brothers. Three identical boys, about seven years old, circled around Tom, waiting for something delicious, which He brought, serving the boys sweets with liqueur. Shulman didn't say that he didn't like children, but when there were women around him, he preferred to end up in rags or on a sheet. It is better to listen to five minutes of dissatisfaction about a spoiled bed, than to spend a lifetime dissatisfied about how bad the offspring turned out. The children sorted out the candy, shouting a triple «thank you» and giving one each to Thomas and his driver, who returned to the car.

«Where's the sister? Shulman asked, chewing on a piece of candy and looking around the room.

«In the bathroom. What's it? » one of the boys asked, touching the chain on his arm with his fingers, while the others flew up curiously, fiddling with the wide gold braid.

Tom looked slowly at the faded maroon Wallpaper, the whitewashed ceiling, and the broken linoleum. Two sofas, a coffee table and a huge library. A short flight of stairs to the second floor, a beige door, and the silhouette of a girl who came out of the house holding only a white towel. Lily looked down at the children from the railing and gaped when she saw Thomas below.

«Is that you?»

Tom just nodded, beckoning to her, knowing that he was going to give her a good spanking, but she was careful.

«You want to kick my ass? Go ahead!»

«Better fuck you in the ass, then you won't be able to sit in class, but maybe you'll get smarter.» Tom thought, feeling a pleasant shiver run down his back and groin.

It didn't take him long to relax when the living room fell silent and he saw a young girl, wet from the shower, her hair dripping in a light blue cotton house dress. Her brown eyes, framed by wet, curled lashes, fascinated him.

«You've been gone for a week!» The Jew swore, looking at her tired and pale face. «Where the hell have you been? I don't need this certificate!

Thomas scolded her like a little girl who blinks guiltily with her head down.

«Why don't you just calm down and have Breakfast with me? I'll explaineverything. »

«What the fuck? Breakfast? She's laughing at me, mocking me!» Tom drove almost seventy kilometres to get Breakfast? He came here to give her a good spanking, and instead he's sitting in a small kitchen like a fucking family man with three kids and a new wife, eating pancakes with honey. What had he come to? This girl torments him as she wants, and it is he who should torment her on his cock. By the way, which of them is Thomas Shulman?

«Very good, » said Tom, looking at her almost empty plate and washing it down with sweet tea and milk.

He didn't want to talk about business anymore, so they just ate, glancing at each other from time to time.

«When are you going back to College? When will you become an uneducated idiot from a distant village? »

Yung poured iced tea into it and slammed the Cup down on the table. At this point, Tom realized that he had overdone it, and took it all on himself.

«When you stop interfering in my life! »

The Jew almost fell off the chair, barely keeping his fucking balance and wanting to beat her with the same chair, enraged by what was happening, by the arrogance of a girl who swore never to help or do well, who always came out of it sideways, shaking sweet drops from her beard. Lily was already regretting what she'd done a hundred times when she handed Shulman a towel to wipe his irritated face. If it had been anyone else, he probably wouldn't have held back, but Lily had been on his mind for the past month. The ringing in his ears was getting louder, and it was getting harder for Thomas to keep his composure.

«If I don't see you in class on Tuesday, we will do our best to have you kicked out of College with a kick up the back side! Is this point clear?»

Thomas tossed her a tea-soaked towel, put on his coat, and headed for the hall.

«You're evil! Lily will never leave us! » One of the boys violently grabbed the Jew by the hip, striking him lightly with his fists. «Dad left us! And you're bad, too! »

Lily turned to the window, looking out at the may greenery. Tom stroked the boy's fair head, wondering at the little protector, knowing that he was mistaken. But it was too late to move, and Shulman silently left the house, closing the door guiltily behind him.

A group of Pakistani were waiting for Thomas in the pub, and they demanded that he lower the prices for the supply and sale of alcohol.

«Suck my circumcised fucking penis! Do I look like a bitch who gives her ass to every dog?» he asked, looking back at a black-haired, dark-skinned jerk with the same black eyes and soul named Safar, the leader of the loonies in the Pakistani quarter. «Well, hell, no discounts for you and your buddies, man!»

Tom wasn't going to bust his ass to have these fools refuse to pay his bills. You see, things are going very badly for them.

«Thomas, you are a reasonable person. Why do you need all this trouble?» The leader put his brown flat paws on the man's polished oak Desk and looked him in the eye with disdain.

Today was not a good day for Thomas, so he was in a bad mood and frankly angry.

«Don't you dare, do you hear? Don't look down on me, you damned, » the Jew's voice was more like the warning growl of a wild beast.

Tom snatched up the thin penknife with which he was cutting bread from the table and thrust it into Safar's hand as if it were a piece of bread and not a human hand. A heavy thump and a booming howl went through the pub in a frightening wave for the rest of the wise men, and thick red blood ran down his fingers, dripping to the floor.

«Well, I suppose we agreed not to bring up the subject of price cuts again? »

Late in the evening, Shulman decided to rest for the first time in a month, driving up to a familiar brothel. His coat was open, the collar of his white shirt was open, and his strong hands were thrust into the deep pockets of his trousers. His only desire after a bad day was to have sex with some clean girl. Despite his shattered mind and even a strong desire, Tom never jumped on the first woman he saw, believing that he would not find his penis in the trash can. Shulman avoided Jewish women, considering it unacceptable to spoil them, especially Jewish virgins. A man with the most real fanaticism demanded only untouched girls to the brothel, and if there were no such girls, he silently returned home with nothing. Thomas will never climb on that girl who was already in use or, in other words, used. Now he was standing at the bar, finishing a rare but much needed cigarette, waiting for the brothel owner to respond. Grey eyes slid over half-naked girls in the arms of young, old, and various men. Someone clung to a table in the corner, someone kissed against the wall, and someone just drank in the company of women.

«There's a girl there. It is a beautiful and valuable thing, but I ask three hundred pounds for it. »

«Went to push a sewn-up whore to me for the price of this bar? I was being chased by their fake virginity tricks when I had a whole group behind me.» Thomas pursed his lips. «My dick was sinking like a fucking bucket of warm water! »

The man chuckled, trying to calm the incredulous Jew.

«This one is definitely new, with a label tag between her legs. Will you take it? »

Tom hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether to hand in the draft or fork out once a month, after all, he deserved it. With a slight slap on the table, Tom decided to take a break, took a wad of rolled-up bills out of his pocket, threw down three hundred pounds in disgust, knowing that this girl would be with him all night, and squeezed himself and her even harder. After a couple of minutes, the man went up to the second floor, walked past empty rooms, knocked softly on the right, opened a creaking and wide door, behind which nothing was heard. In the corner of the bed sat a young body whose face Thomas could not see because of his poor vision, and he took a few steps toward the bed, removing his jacket and shirt as he went. Two more steps and Shulman ruffled his thick brown hair, falling flat at the feet of the girl, who immediately cringed with excitement and fright.

«To hell with it!»

Grey eyes stared into the huge brown eyes opposite.

«What are you doing here?»

The girl looked anxiously at the man's overgrown face, not wanting to answer, and shyly covered herself with a silk blanket.

«Decided that you can earn «easy» money here?»

Yung shrugged, still looking the teacher in the eye.

«Well, I'll give you a chance to sort it out.»

Shulman crawled across the soft silk bed to her, groping for the leather belt, trying to undo it and the rough button on his trousers.

Now all he could see was the girl's bare legs, the bottom of her short dress, and the veil that was not needed here. The startled little body shrank back.

«What is wrong with you? Three hundred pounds is not lying on the road, young lady! Why work with your head when you can work with holes for an hour, right?»

Tom leaned against the frail body, his head on her shoulder, his thick beard and full lips pressed against the soft neck, his head spinning as if he had been on morphine since the war. Dry fingers slid down her right thigh, which was trembling wildly. The sweet smell of perfume intoxicated him.

«You're bluffing…» she hissed, feeling the hot breath on her neck and nothing more. Tom didn't budge, he just stood there.

«Either you're brave or you're stupid, Lily. And I don't know what's worse,» he murmured, still breathing in her ear. «I can feel you trembling, your voice trembling. »

Shulman staggered back, pushing the girl in the chest, causing her to fall on the bed and look around indignantly.

«Stupid girl! » He thought as he put on his shirt and angrily buttoned the cuffs on his sleeves. «There is no such thing as easy money. »

Thomas knew that he was intruding into her life. He didn't know why he was asking her now, because it would have been easier to leave her to someone else. It didn't concern him yet, but some paternal instinct wouldn't let him turn and walk away fabric.

«Rushing from extreme to extreme is not an option even in the most difficult situation, » he muttered, without looking up at the girl, who was still sitting in the corner of the bed, shedding salty tears. Drops fell on the grey silk, slowly soaking up the water, spreading over the fibbers of the fabric. «What's the solution, Mr. Shulman? » Lily leaned against the wall, dropping transparent drops with a completely indifferent face, which Thomas looked at carefully when he heard his name. «Is there any way out? We were born into this world to wander forever through unfulfilled hopes, forced to live in a world of our own called «Disillusionment. »

Shulman scratched his beard nervously, curling his lower lip.

«Look, you really should go back to College. » Tom stared into her brown eyes, reading the hopelessness in the black pupils. «I want you to overcome your youthful maximalism and become wiser. »

«For what? » Lily asked, still drilling indifferently at the wall, looking at Thomas. «Life is a throw, a long sigh from birth to death. »

The man chuckled at her argument.

«I think that education, a degree, and a good job will allow you to run less. You will see, and the sigh will become more relieved. »

Lily smiled faintly, infecting the Jew with it.

«Get dressed, my driver will take you home. »

Shulman got out of bed, buried his face in his watch, and studied the dial with feigned interest as the young girl hurriedly pulled on her dress.

«Mr.Shulman, » she said, walking up to the man and handing him three hundred pounds, «Take it back. I don't deserve this. » Tom raised his eyebrows:

«And great!» He grinned, showing his and white teeth, but when he saw the girl's earnestness, he agree.

Part IV

Thomas stood at the blackboard and he wrote on the blackboard, glancing nervously at the clock and the empty space that Lily usually occupied. They hadn't seen each other in a week, because Shulman was only in College on Tuesdays, and all the other days he worked at the bar and read the Torah. The girl did not change it for the better, but only opened new features, expanded its boundaries. But the idea of Thomas remained the same, because he was and remains the leader of one of the London gang of Jews, which he covered with obscenities , and this has not gone away. Shulman began to think about this even more, reading the Torah, running his eyes over the Hebrew language, as if looking for answers to his questions in this book. There were contradictions in his mind, because she was a Christian and he was a Jew; she was a student, he was a teacher; she was very young, and he was already Mature and experienced. Different beliefs, different views, different values-and nothing in common. Thomas is calm and reasonable, while Lily is quick-tempered and impulsive, living with feelings and emotions. The man sat down, glancing at his watch, which hung on a thin gold chain. A thoughtful and frowning face ran through the classroom, which seemed empty without one of the students he needed. Suddenly the old and creaking door swung open, and Lily young, who had been standing at the entrance, looked guilty and disappointed, rushed in parallel with the bell.

«Damn it, it's only a minute!» she thought, trying to find an excuse for being late.

She opened her mouth to say something, but Mr. Shulman waved her back to her seat with a satisfied gesture.

«I'm not going to hit you with a pointer, Miss Yung,» he said, and Lily smiled sheepishly as she pulled books, a Notepad, and a pencil out of her bag.

Thomas stood up, beginning the lesson with a greeting and the usual list of absentees who weren't there today. Then everything goes back to the worked-out scenario, reading the work, Discussing and writing a short essay-reasoning. Only here again there was a difference of opinion between the teacher and the student.

«Great importance has always been attached in literature to the sacrifice of love, ladies. No work misses this storyline.»

Someone yawned and grinned at the last Desk.

«Lily Yung? » the man asked, noticing the raised hand, knowing who it belonged to.

«I think it's easier than we think.»

«What do you mean?» Shulman turned, tossing his hair aside. «These are just beautiful fairy tales that are opposed to reality. He rubs her about eternal love, but after getting what he wants, what happens?» she asked herself as she drew something with a pencil on the table, occasionally glancing at Tom, who was interested and ready to listen.

«Stop beating around the Bush, miss Yung. Why don't you take my place?»

«Are you inviting me?»

«I insist. » Thomas leaned back, watching as the girl hurried up to the Board, flashing a maroon sundress with a white blouse underneath, and turned to clear her throat excitedly.

«How can you all be so compassionate with this girl? What was driving her mind? Feelings and belief in something that didn't exist? »

Thomas grinned, folding his hands on the table.

«No? You can't know for sure!»

«It's funny to you, Mr. Shulman. Look, no one wants to see the beauty of the soul in us, and everything flows to the body, doesn't it? » Lily spread her hands. «A character is no longer interesting to a man after they've become close, is it, Mr. Shulman? »

«If everything flowed to your body, you wouldn't be standing here anymore, » Thomas thought, and pursed his lips wearily as he recalled their brief but epic encounter in the brothel. If Thomas hadn't wanted to explore her inner world, he would have succumbed to lust and debauchery, and perhaps Lily would have reasoned differently?

«The heroine had a desire to give, and giving is the meaning of love. » Tom said, exhaling through his nose.

«Oh, yes, of course, Mr. Shulman. Conclusion: the world is ruled by animal instinct! Correction: people are ruled by animal instinct. Point.»

The Jew was disappointed by her answer and reasoning to the story she had read, and Lily was at a loss, drooping until the end of the lesson, as if she wanted to hear something more from him. She was playing the fool again, and he was playing the complete idiot. It seemed to Shulman that the girl had seen enough of the male sex and definitely hated it. After the lesson, Lily Yung waited for the teacher in the office even more depressed and upset.

«You write an essay, I check it out, and then we all go our separate ways. » he said irritably as he entered the classroom and tossed her a notebook.

Lily nodded obediently: «Did I upset you?»

Tom gritted his teeth and nodded with a heavy sigh.

«I am frankly infuriated by your reasoning. They disappoint me. Nineteen for you and you're young.»

Lily hastened to apologize.

«That's not the point. You can think the way you want, the way you like, and the way you think is right. Your life experience is richer than mine? Or have you really decided that you know and understand more than anyone else?»

«Any theory needs practice, miss Yung.»

Lily nodded quickly.

«But, sir… Seeing the illusions of others, I have lost only my own.»

«That's your problem.» Thomas said quickly, his mind on fire, his heavy pen pounding viciously on the textbook. « Live your dreams and hopes, your faith in love.»

«Why? To end up being crushed of your own free will, like everyone else? » Shulman took a deep breath, trying to be patient.

«What do you mean, like everyone else? You're not them, and they're not you! All rules have exceptions. I would prove it to you quickly!»

Lily's head snapped up, and Thomas stared into her eyes, clearly aware of what he'd just said. His face straightened with an effort, became soft and even a little peaceful.

«Prove it,» Lily said, her grey eyes still boring into her.

«Are you playing with me, Lily? If I take you on, I'll see it through.»

«Depends on what awaits me at this very end…»

Thomas rubbed his hands together, intent on making a deal, watching her seeming calm. And her knees are shaking.

«Joy and peace, but with your complete devotion to me.»

«Is that a condition?»

«No, it's a usually deal.»

Lily frowned as she scanned the room, taking in the beige walls, the curtains, the stands and posters, the huge Windows, and finally settled on Thomas, who waited patiently, twirling a pen in his hands. She knew that, on the one hand, it was profitable, because serving a teacher in any outcome leads to the fact that her debts will instantly disappear, the gaps will close her eyes, and she will be able to fully engage in upbringing at home and take care of her brothers and a sick mother.

«Maybe you can plow the whole garden on the Jew if the brothers don't have time to sow.» She silently assessed his physical development, taking in his broad shoulders, chest, and massive arms.

Playing love is a difficult task, but Lily is determined to try, take a chance and try her luck. If it gets its priorities right and creates an acceptable framework, it will lose absolutely nothing. But all this was not as profitable as Shulman himself. The thought flickered in the corners of her brown eyes. What will he get in return? After all, Thomas, as a true Jew, never did anything for nothing. Status? Or just to prove their case and superiority? Lily licked her lips.

«Nervous? » Mr. Shulman asked her in a haughty, hoarse voice.

«No, I think.» she said.

«You're nervous,» Tom said, drawing out the vowels.

The man chuckled and nodded politely, folding his dry hands together again, flashing several seals at once, his eyes burning in hers.

«And in the end, what's the catch?» Lily asked, unbuttoning the top button of her shirt, which was beginning to choke her. Shulman raised his eyebrows:

«What kind of catch are you looking for? I'm being honest with you. Make a decision, I have other things to do besides you.»

Thomas thought about the bar and his problems with the illegal business, which were drowning him in shit. And he slowly unravelled it, humanly tired of everything.

Perhaps this «deal» was more necessary to him, because he wanted easy communication and warmth. For someone to wait and listen to him, meet him in the evening and hug him in bed. He was alone. Too lonely.

«I like you because you're a loner. » The girl broke the silence, throwing Shulman as if from a black horse, and immediately began to play not by the rules.

«Me? A loner? Friends, colleagues, students. I'm not a loner, Yung. »

Thomas had no friends or colleagues who were anything more than a tick on his list of sources of profit. And the students were more afraid of him than they adored him. – Well, what of it? His patience was wearing thin. The Jew pressed Lily gently.

«I agree, but in time I would like to establish some rules. » Lily said.

Thomas didn't like it, but he didn't show it.

«Well. Then it's a deal?»

Lily stood up and took his open hand.

«On deal.»

Thomas did not rush the girl with the essay after a tense moment for her, deciding in the future to demand a debt for this indulgence. He was surprised at her acceptance. Either she was just a fool, or she was a cunning fool who wanted to deceive him.

«To deceive a Jew is to remain deceived by yourself,» he thought, as he slung her bag over his shoulder, while she was beaming with happiness at having received the assessment for nothing, in fact-in advance.

There's a Commission scheduled for next Friday, and if you don't close your debts on time, you'll be kicked out of the class five minutes before graduation. Do you understand?»

The girl made a tired sound:

«All right, but math and Latin… Miss Evans is like that… I mean, she just hates me. »

Tom smiled, taking the subtle hint.

«I can help you with Latin, but you'll have to make up for lost time in math. » Lily smiled at him.

Tom ate a dog on a smart ass like her and ate a bitch, which is what she's doing now in this fucking circus.

«A fucking generation willing to do anything for profit. Isn't that what I am? Who the hell do I look like?» Shulman thought to himself, carrying her bag on his shoulder like a boy, and she walked ahead of him, swaying her hips, which were just right: wide and beautiful.

«It should produce children only to Supplement the valiant and great Jewish race,» flashed through his mind.

«Is this your bus?» Tom pointed toward the bus stop.

«Ah, yes! I have to go!» Lily perked up as she took back her bag, which he carried three blocks like a camel or horseback. «Goodbye.»

The brown eyes on the other side looked directly into his, searching for answers or questions. The next moment, she started toward the vehicle, but Thomas grabbed her around the waist, his fingers brushing the soft fabric of her sundress.

«And the kiss? » her eyes widened and almost popped out of their sockets. Thomas sidestepped her insolence with his own. Her face was flushed in the may sun, and her lithe body moved slightly away from him.

«We have to do this. »

Lily sighed indignantly, looking at the bus, which seemed to be in no hurry and was waiting for a goodbye kiss just like Shulman. Thomas's inner voice was hoarse with anticipation.

«You sealed our agreement with a handshake, » he reminded her.

She swallowed nervously, took a step toward his shaggy face, and put her right hand on his shoulder, as if that would help. Tom was never patient, and he disliked waiting, leaning forward, carefully sealing their «deal» with his plump lips on the same ones, only very soft and pink, feeling the sweet taste and burning heat running through his body. She just squeezed her eyes shut, but there was no gun at her temple to make her tense.

«Now, good-bye. » he said, pulling away from my beloved lips, still holding her just above her waist. «When will you be home?»

Lily was completely bewildered, confused, and blushed even more as she struggled for words: «Well… I… In about two hours, not before. » Thomas took note of this.

«Then I'll call you at six sharp, may I?»