The teacher. Ksenia Albertovna Nikitina
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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