2015
Scipione Maffei High School,Verona
The posh co-education school was one of the best in the city, centrally located and sophisticated. Most students came from affluent and well-to-do families, and the school provided them with ample facilities and modern amenities, obviously for a comparable fee. Looking at the way parents left their kids at school in a hurry made me feel that they came to dump their kids there, to have peace and freedom for six hours.
The staff accommodation was within the premises, about one kilometre away from the school building. It was a convenient arrangement for bachelors like me, who had to spend a lot of time and effort to find a decent place.
But the previous night, I had been asked to the leave the staff colony. Though the recent rumours doing the rounds in school had prepared me for it, somewhat. In trying to find the reason behind the order, I was told the official reason – the revision in rules allowed the staff quarters to be given out to families only. Bachelors were not allowed. But a whole lot of my bachelor colleagues were still there, cosy and comfortable.
The actual reason that they did not and could not disclose, however, was – they assumed I had slept with a student in my flat the previous afternoon on the pretext of teaching her. The girl was a student of mine, a minor, and the only daughter of an influential father – perfect recipe to ruin my life and career.
Honestly, I was not a saint. In fact, I saw myself more as a demon, if anything. But this time, I wasn't at fault. Events had just unravelled in a way that made me look like the culprit. I have indulged in a lot of relationships, mostly no strings attached, but never with my students. I have never forced myself on any girl. Nor have I ever passed a wrong comment out loud. I might be imagining them naked in my mind and saying and doing what my senses found bliss in, but I have never crossed the barrier of being human. There were fragments of humanity in me.
I was now looking for an accommodation and wondering how I'd go about finding another job for myself if the school decided to throw me out for good. As I sat impatiently in a property dealer's office just across the school gate, I had more things running on my mind than the chaotic traffic on the road outside. With three big bags on my side, taking up most of the dealer's office space, anyone could guess that I was relocating in a hurry.
I sat in front of the broker, quite hopeful. He looked at me with an expression which smelled of irritation. I noticed his office was well-furnished and luxurious, and my request for a cheap paying guest accommodation option must have put him off a bit. Finding an accommodation in Verona is quite a task for a bachelor, I told you. Verona is known as the 'Oxford of the East', thanks to quite a few popular educational institutions in the city. Nearly half of the total international students in the country study in Verona, so you can imagine the rush. Add to it that it's an IT hub, so the city also has good number of well-earning people from other states. The rent business is good and flourishing, and brokers earned handsomely.
I knew it was going to be tough, given this man's attitude, but what other option did I have! As my eyes travelled to his face, they stopped momentarily at his oily neck, where a thick gold chain hung. It instantly reminded me of the steel chain I often used for securing my luggage while travelling in trains.
His dark brown face had turned darker and gloomier when he realised I was not one of the rich customers. After his yellow eyes had finished looking at me with disdain, his thick black lips finally moved to say, 'Mr Thomas, it's very difficult to get a flat at such short notice. Plus, your price range is too low.' His single sentence, spoken in a heavy accent, had drained me of a fistful of hope.
'I am comfortable with a PG as well,'I said in a mortified tone, consoling myself more than the broker.
He took in a long breath of exasperation, picked up his expensive phone, and began browsing. 'Let me try to find a PG for you…'
'Any luck?' I asked hesitantly after about twenty minutes of seeing him fidget with his phone.
He gave me a look which said, I was the source of all his troubles right now.
I had been in his office for almost an hour now. I was desperate to find a place before school got over for the day, lest students, saw me and started asking questions to which I had no answers. But my destiny had been written with ash, it seemed.
Soon enough, students started coming out of the school, towards their guardians. Most had the air-conditioned school buses waiting to take them home, a few had fancy, chauffer driven cars picking them up, some waited for cabs, and a few others for their shared rides. One could hear a cacophony of screaming and giggling kids, cautioning parents, gossiping moms and maids, and the super active hawkers selling ice-creams, colas and candies.
I looked at all this from the transparent glass window of the broker's office. My eyes fell on a hawker selling Spiced cola. It was a hot February day, and just one look at the poster of the chilled cola glass on his cart had me salivating. I had not had anything to eat or drink since morning in the rush to vacate. My dehydrated self was demanding a cool refreshing cola.
I looked at the broker with his eyes digging in to his phone and absently said, 'Sir, I will go out for a drink.'
He did not even nod in response. Quite sure he had heard me, I dragged myself towards the door.
'O teacher Mr… Teacher sir… take your luggage with you. There is no guarantee here.'
'But I will be back in a couple of minutes,' I said, quite surprised.
He looked at me exasperatedly. It was the longest eye contact we had in the whole time I was there. His pot belly was moving back and forth with every breath, his shirt buttons on the belly threatening to fly off at any time. This man seemed like the one responsible for malnutrition in Italy.
'Please carry your things with you,' he said with a grave expression and got back to his phone.
It was a polite way to shoo me away. I took my luggage and dragged myself to the cola serving man, requesting for a glass. The cola man made
such a performance out of mixing ice, lemon and that patented Spices – that's still a mystery for most of us – before offering me the drink.
I took a sip. I couldn't taste the cola, but the entire blend was cooling down my anxiety a bit, and tasted nice.
I had my back towards the school gate because of obvious reasons, but instinctively turned around to see if there were any familiar faces. That's when I noticed a pair of unblinking eyes looking towards me. It stood out so peculiarly because it was an unknown girl.
She started walking towards the same stall, perhaps for a glass of cola. She was wearing the school uniform. The short skirt ended just above her knees, and her striped shirt was tucked in neatly. She looked like a regular girl, nothing remarkable in her appearance. As she purposefully strode towards us, I realized, she was coming towards me, and not the hawker. Her eyes were set on me, still unblinking, and that was a tad bit disturbing. I think the fear of the word having spread in school about my suspension was gnawing my insides, and that made me quite conscious of this mundane event. I felt suspicious of her, because the way she looked at me, made me feel she knew me and my secret. In a matter of a few seconds, she was standing right in front of me, a spark of recognition in her eyes.
She was thin, tall and fair to the point of being white. Out of her otherwise reed thin body, her abdomen seemed to swell in a strange way, making her look strangely stocky from the middle. Her legs peeking from under the skirt had no curvy appeal. They seemed more like a pair of bamboo sticks supporting a thin frame.
'Good afternoon, Thomas sir,' came her sweet and timid voice. 'Why are you carrying so many bags? Are you going somewhere?' the young girl asked. Her voice and face showed genuine concern.
Despite the circumstances, I was pleasantly surprised. I wondered why she would enquire after a teacher who barely knew her.
'Actually, I am shifting to a new place,'I answered her with an attempted straight face. Her brown eyes were almost like mine and something in her demeanour made me feel I knew her very well. What made her so familiar, I wondered?
'Sir, I am Lexi. Class tenth student.' Her voice was quite sweet, which is common at her age. It is only as we grow up that the voice and the world
around us starts getting less pleasant and polite.
'If you don't mind me asking, sir,' she began humbly, '… have you left the staff accommodation already? And where are you shifting to? I hope you are not leaving the school…' her voice trailed off. The sudden dip in the voice showed she was somehow hurt by the idea.
How I wished a property dealer to have asked the question about the accommodation.
'Oh yes, I have surrendered the school flat. The food at the mess wasn't very good.'
'Hmm. So, you've already found another accommodation?' she asked again.
This girl – who had appeared sweet, humble and concerned till now – was now beginning to look too intrusive. I did not wish to give her explanations or anymore lies. I had enough going on already, and too many questions could disclose what had brought me here. I could avoid more rumours about me, least of all through these seemingly harmless students.
'Yes,' I said and turned around to return the glass to the hawker.
Something in my sleep-deprived, pale face must have given away the fact that the "yes" was a fake. I could hear the hollowness in my voice while saying it, and prayed that this little girl had missed noticing it.
'If you want, I can help you,' she offered politely, without insisting this time, giving me a few seconds to weigh my options.
'Help me about what?' I asked innocently. But deep inside, my heart was running a marathon, wishing with every beat to hear something positive.
'We have a place available for rent in our house,' she said and my eyes snapped up at hers in a moment. She added as an afterthought, 'Our tenant recently moved abroad.'
Feeling exhilarated that I at least had an option now, I wanted to hug Lexi and cry out of happiness. I have heard of miracles happening, but they had never happened with me. After sitting hopeless for almost half the day, this blessing walking up to me was nothing less than a miracle. Luck never favoured me – neither as a child, nor now. But this girl had given me a new hope. All that said, I could not express my enthusiasm and happiness. Not only could it land me in trouble again, but it was definitely a wrong strategy
to express happiness in front of a landlord, or landlord's daughter in this case.
'What would be the rent?' I asked hesitatingly, as I knew most kids in this school came from posh areas.
'Whatever you would like to pay, sir,' she said. I wondered if it was sarcasm, but soon I was sure she was being respectful.
I glanced at the cola serving man, wondering if the drink was spiked! Was I hallucinating? The man smiled at me, showing off his yellow-brown teeth. The sheer glimpse of those teeth assured me I was not dreaming. I was being offered a house on rent by a girl, who was apparently my student, and the rent was for me to decide!
'Please confirm with your parents, Lexi. I have already found a flat. If I take up your offer, let go of that flat and your family refuses… I don't want any such hassles later,' I said, trying to keep my voice calm.
'Yeah, your point is valid, sir. Let me speak to my mom,' she said, pulling her cell phone out. Taking a few steps away from me, she made the call that was to decide my fate. I wasn't sure how things would eventually turn out, but the way it had gone till now, I had high hopes. My heart sank for a bit when I saw the timid Lexi speak aggressively into the phone. She was walking restlessly as she spoke to her mother.
I crossed my fingers as I looked at the unusual girl. I could gather that she was arguing with her mom – for me. I was quite surprised, but did not take a second more to offer a few bribes to god. 'Please, help me this time, god. I swear I will not stare at anyone's legs for the rest of my life.'
She looked at me from the corner of her eyes, disconnected the call, and started walking towards me again. The voting was done. The decision had been made, and I was waiting with bated breath, like a Grande Fratello finalist, whose result was to be announced.
'So, what is the decision?' I asked, failing to keep away the excitement from my voice miserably.
She asked instead, 'Sir, you have only these three bags?' Her triumphant smile was somewhat reassuring.
'Yes!' I managed to say after I breathed out the air I had been holding in my lungs.
'Let's get going, then!' she said with a smile touching her ears, and I couldn't thank my stars enough for this happy coincidence. We quickly booked a cab and she instructed him about the place we were headed to; my new home, if all went well – Borgo Trento.
The ride was quiet, except for Lexi giving the driver directions to her house. I sat back and looked out, feeling overwhelmed with the way things had turned out in the last twenty-four hours or so. From the settled life I was enjoying, I was back to where I had been a few years ago – homeless and penniless. Now, as the cab neared the destination, doubts began to flood my head.
I wondered what I was going to say to Lexi's parents, because I did not know anything about her. She hadn't existed for me till a few moments back, and now I had all my hopes pinned on her.
'So, which class are you in, Lexi?' 'Tenth, sir.'
'Oh! I taught math to the entire ninth standard batch last year, but I don't recognize you,' I said honestly, trying to read her face. I had seen her somewhere, no doubt, but why I wasn't able to place her was beyond me!
'That's because last year I was in tenth only. I failed,' she said as if in a whisper, eyes downcast, and visibly upset.
Of course! That's how I knew her. It was a big deal in school as she was the only one who failed in tenth. Without batting an eyelid, my mind categorized her into a spoilt brat. We have a tendency of judging a student by his or her marks, and I was no different.
I asked her a few more questions about her class teacher, subjects of interest and extra-curricular activities, just to know a bit more about her, in general. I asked about her preparations for this year's exams, and she gave a squeak for an answer. Not that I was much concerned about her preparation or result; I just wanted to make sure I was able to convince her parents completely, by hook or crook. Even if I had to falsely praise Lexi or make up a story.
Just then, the cab hit a speed breaker. Perhaps the driver had not seen it coming, and the jolt sent us flying in our seats. When we landed back, she had shifted slightly closer to me and her skirt had gone up a bit, giving me a
small view of her thighs. As much as I tried to think of other things, testosterone hit my system. It was like a million unwanted organisms getting activated inside me, ushering me to a high. I could never understand why this particular body part in women fascinated me. I turned my gaze away to the roads. Lexi was my student, and perhaps landlord, too – in a way. I didn't want any trouble after what had happened at school recently.
When I looked back at her to see if she had noticed this change in my demeanour, I saw some sort of excitement on her face, which I found discomforting.
'Sir, you know, you are my favourite teacher!' She was beaming at me.
I could have handled it easily if she had said those words simply, like many other students did. But she had taken my hand in hers and almost rested her head on my shoulder while saying it. Like I was her boyfriend. I wondered what she was up to. Was she planning to take a nap on my shoulder?! This gesture inevitably fuelled the thoughts already brewing in my head. I took my eyes away from her and looked at the sky instead. Not again, god!
I had just promised him that I won't stare at women, and here, the supreme deity was testing my capacity. If I could really stick by my words and control my nasty desires.
I focused my energy on her words instead, and smiled fictitiously before replying, 'That's really nice to hear. I am overwhelmed. Thanks.'
I wanted to hold her shoulders, shake her into reality and ask her to shift away from me. But that would have been too risky a proposition, given that I still needed her help. Keeping the conversation casual, I continued, 'Did you speak to your parents about the rent? I mean, I know you spoke to your mom... Is she okay with whatever I wish to pay?'
She nodded a yes. My breath caught up in excitement.
'What about your father? Don't you need to check with him too?'
She looked mighty displeased with this question. Her smile vanished and she turned sad. Unknowingly, I had embarked upon a prohibited subject.
She tried to appear unaffected when she replied, 'I don't have a father.'