章 13: Back to work

When morning came, it felt so warm and cozy that I didn't want to wake up. The blanket I had chosen was apparently doing a good job of keeping me warm. And when I turned around and opened my eyes, they met those of my 'warm blanket.' All 65 kg of muscles were coiled snugly around me.

'Good morning,' Dave said sweetly. I couldn't help but smile back at him. And then in an even sweeter voice he added, 'It's 7, Ash. You're going to be late.'

'Cripes,' I shouted, throwing his hands off from around my waist and jumping from the bed. 'I can't be late. We have a week with special extracurricular activities planned and many resource persons have been invited.'

God bless my habit of choosing my outfit on the eve. My clothes were already hanging on a hook inside the bathroom. I quickly opened the valve for the shower and while waiting for the water to start heating up, I squeezed mint toothpaste on my brush and started brushing my teeth. I then had one of the quickest showers I ever had in my history of showers. I would wash my hair in the afternoon and use my dry shampoo instead. I took my towel to dry down and I immediately missed the large fluffy one at Dave's house. I had always thought they were a useless expenditure, but I promised myself to go by the store in the afternoon to buy a set.

'You look so different,' was Dave's casual comment when he saw me in my white shirt and tailored black pants. I had paired it with a pair of black wedges in an attempt to look taller without messing up my ankles. 'I prepared you some oatmeal, another one of my Masterchef-worthy dishes,' he said with a flourish, pointing at the bowl set on the table. He had even cut and spread a few pieces of banana on top to make it more presentable. 'And healthier,' he added. 'Yes, I do watch some of your channels on television.'

I wasn't going to complain about him reading my thoughts at that time as it saved me the task of talking while eating.

'How are you going to go to work?'

'Claudia will pick me up in,' I looked at my watch, '10 minutes.'

'She's the one you called a close friend, right?'

I nodded to acquiesce. 'I have to reach early today as we still have one gap to fill for the meetings. One resource person cancelled out on Friday and we haven't been able to replace him.'

'What do the resource persons have to do?'

'Just talk about what they do for a living, their qualifications and so on. So that they can inspire the kids.'

'A kind of career counseling, you mean.'

'Yes. Gotta go,' I said, pushing my chair back and springing up to reach for my bag and files on the living room sofa. 'Claudia is here. You heard the honk? That's her.'

I rolled my eyes in response to my own question. Of course he heard. Much better than me. 'You'll be fine, right?' I asked, with one foot out of the door.

'Don't you think that I should be asking that, Ash?' Dave replied, putting a tendril of hair, that had escaped its bun, back in place. His fingers grazed the side of the face while moving back his hand, leaving a trail of tingles behind. 'Don't forget that I was the one who helped Nani settle in Crimson Town. I'll manage. You have a good day,' he said, bending and giving me a kiss on my cheek so quickly that I barely saw him move, only felt the caress of his soft lips.

I gave him one last lingering look and then dashed to the car. Claudia's hand was already on the honk again.

We reached the Academy with a few minutes to spare. Claudia had barely spoken a word to me during the first part of the trip, she was munching a breakfast bar, and I could only hear the munching sounds.

'Where were you during the weekend?' she then asked, wiping the crumbs of her bar off her legs. 'I tried calling you a few times, but your phone was unreachable.'

'I had gone on a trip and there was no network,' I replied with a straight face. It was true, my phone didn't work on Bhuvar. And I didn't think that roaming would as well.

'And who's the hottie I glimpsed through your door?'

I hadn't realized that she had noticed Dave as he had stayed inside all the time, but I guess I shouldn't have underestimated Claudia. She had always had a keen eyesight. She could easily spot Mr Pierce, the Principal on his rounds and would warn me through a missed call when we were in our respective classes. I didn't want to lie to her, so I said, 'A friend.' And it was true, Dave had become a very good friend. It was true that I wanted more from him, but for the moment he was a friend.

Claudia was deceived by my answer. 'A friend spending the night at your place?'

'He's from out of town and needed a place to crash,' I merely replied. That was true as well.

The sight of the gated building ahead made Claudia change mental gears so fast that I was left reeling.

'We meet in 5 in my class to plan the meetings.'

While Claudia parked the car, I walked to my class with slow steps. I had already noticed Gati standing in front of her class. On that day she was wearing a short dress whose hem brushed her mid-thigh. Against the rules of course, but when did she ever care? She thought that her relationship with the trustee gave her some privileges. She looked me over when I approached and crossed her arms, thrusting her rather voluminous chest forward and stretching the fabric of her dress. Her long hair was down with the luscious curls cascading down her back and caught the light when she moved. As usual, her makeup was applied flawlessly. How did she find the time to do all of this in the morning?

'Hi Ash,' she said waving her pink-topped fingers at me.

'Hi,' I merely replied with a strained smile, getting in my class without another look at her. I put my files on my desk, and checked the time. Students would soon start moving to the assembly hall for Mr Pierce's weekly address and that barely gave me time to apply my makeup. I had been in such a hurry that morning, that I had just taken my make-up bag and stuffed it in my bag. Some powder, eyeliner and light lipstick will have to do.

I hurried to Claudia's class and together we went to the hall, where the speech had just ended. The Vice-Principal, Mr Scab, then moved onstage to make the announcements. My eyes followed Mr Pierce who had come down to welcome all the resource persons. There were several well-dressed men and a few ladies as well. One man, in particular drew my attention, as he was very different from the others. He was quite bulky in stature and his coat seemed to be staining at the buttons. He was easily above 6 feet and towered above everyone. He was wearing opaque sunglasses and even though I couldn't see his eyes, I felt his gaze on me. I felt my ears buzzing weirdly and my eye started twitching. Claudia's arm grazing mine brought my attention to the pressing matter at hand.

'Shit, we still haven't made the arrangements for the missing orator,' I announced with doom to Claudia.

She looked at me weirdly and in a whisper she asked, 'Are you sure? I met Mr Pierce on the parking lot and he told me he had received a call from a person you are supposed to have invited as a replacement. He was very eager about it.'

I stared at her in horror and thought about the confusing situation. Had I really invited someone? Was it on Friday? I had been in such a depressed state that I barely remembered how I even reached home that afternoon.

'Miss Runner, happy you could make the arrangements,' Mr Pierce's voice broke my musings. 'We'll see your guest in my office in an hour, okay?'

I mutely nodded and wondered what in hell I was going to do in the next hour to make a guest I didn't remember inviting manifest himself.