«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.
