Two days flew by. I didn't leave the apartment once during that time, partly because of my leg. The swelling was slow to go down, despite all the anti-inflammatory ointments. But I suddenly had a lot of time to finish watching a TV series I had started long ago. I somehow managed to forget that in the absence of a man and work, you don't have to cook every night, one eye looking into the pot, the other – in a notebook. There was no one to litter either. Having collected all of Alex's belongings, I brought them over to my neighbor's place. We had agreed that if Alex showed up, my neighbor would hand them over to him.
He couldn't resist knocking on my neighbor's door to inquire about my whereabouts.
In any case, someone rang the doorbell, but I decided to ignore it by putting on my headphones, pumping up some music, and not going to see who it could be.
By the middle of the week, I was able to move my legs fairly well, if I remembered to keep my bandage on, and after some deliberation, I decided to crawl out to the store. You can't hide from the world for the rest of your life. I need to buy at least the essentials: bread, milk, and chocolate bars!
Quickly dressed, I looked at myself in the mirror and remembered Alex's words about "gray mouse". What can I say? Here she is, in person! Angry, I changed my jeans and sweatshirt for a jumpsuit of skinny pants and a hoodie. Changed my ponytail into a messy bun and even put on a little makeup. I had to wear a long down coat (I forgot that the coat should be cleaned after the fall). But winter sneakers successfully fit into the look. The mirror reflected a more modern girl, not a "geek". I could use a little more self-assurance. It seemed to me that if I went out, TikTok fans would recognize me at once!
As it turned out, that's not what I should have feared, but an ambush in front of the house. As soon as I took a few steps away from the entrance, Alex jumped out of a car I didn't recognize. It was stupid to rush back into the driveway, so I used tunnel vision and went on without looking at him.
"We need to talk!
Alex grabbed my arm, turning me roughly towards him. I hissed, feeling the pain in my leg from the awkward movement.
“'Do we have anything else to talk about?' I asked, pulling my hand out of his grasp.
How long have you been with him?!”
“With whom?” – I didn't understand.
“Rebrov! “
I was a little confused, hearing that name for the first time, then I realized who he was talking about.
“With Andrew?”
“That's amazing! Turns out you don't know who you're sleeping with. Or is sex not a reason to get to know someone? “
I almost said yes. I could hear the mockery in his voice. I also wanted to hurt his feelings.
“How long have you had this? “
"I lied. Yeah, a long time," I said. "What about you?"
"I can't believe I lived with you!" he said.
Alex gave me a scornful look and took a step back, as if he was disgusted to be standing next to me.
"You shouldn't have lived." You should have left as soon as you found Diana! – I shouted angrily and continued on my way.
– I'm lucky I didn't marry you, or I'd have to take a DNA test for all my kids.
I felt like I'd hit a wall. I mean, I hit a wall. In my mind, I knew he'd said all that to hurt, but I couldn't help but react. Turning around, I was ready to claw his eyes out. Alex took a quick step to the car and drove off, tires screeching.
I stood on the street, breathing heavily, and feeling like I'd been doused in slop. I clenched my fists, but I went to the store instead of running home to cry. I just decided to buy a bottle of wine in addition to the candy bar.
A walk around the store did me good: I forgot about my problems with Alex, and I couldn't resist the financial ones. I had some savings (goodbye, Turkey!), but I couldn't live on them for long. It was urgent to find a new job. However, I didn't know which school would hire me with such a reputation. I can imagine what they will write in the characterization from the last place of work!
Having taken the most necessary things (I especially needed tangerines and wine), I went to the cash register and immediately, by the law of meanness, got in a huge line. I've noticed many times that while walking along the aisles, the cash registers are free, but as soon as you head towards them, the crowd comes.
After standing behind four people with huge shopping carts, without looking around, I began to take out products from the basket. Then I looked for a discount card for a long time and when I turned to the terminal, I found someone else's card paying for my purchases. Blinking, I looked up and almost groaned. Today was definitely a day of meetings: after Alex I decided to visit Andrew, in person!
"What are you doing here?" I hissed.
"Helping you store,"
Andrew brazenly took my bag. I frowned and didn't let him grab me.
"I don't need anything from you!" I'll go back to the store and…
“I already appreciate your dramatic talent. Do you want to be an actress? I'll buy you a role.”
Confused, I hesitated, and he grabbed my hand.
“This is my girlfriend, we had a little fight.”
I was completely confused, not understanding what he was saying. And then it hit me when the salesperson started trying hard to force a smile out of himself. The whole line snickered, trying not to laugh so obviously. Angrily twitching, I ran into his grin. No one was in a hurry to help me; on the contrary, everyone was looking at the scene with interest, as if it had been ripped out of a melodrama with a comedic twist. Even the guard and the policeman standing in the next line were laughing. People would not react even if he dragged me to the car by my hair: you bet, a tall handsome brunette in a dark suit, white shirt, strict black coat, well-groomed (even his hands were in order), calmly approached and paid for my purchases with his card. The sympathy of all present instantly shifted to his side. Feeling my hesitation, Andrew led me out of the store. At the car, I tried again to free myself.
"Do you want to be filmed again?" he asked, moving closer.
I shrank back in fear, which he took advantage of, by pushing me into the car.
"Don't tell me you want to talk too," I said venomously.
“What, did Alex come crawling back? So what are you?”
“And you have options!” I snorted angrily.
Andrew glanced at me and turned the ignition key.
“I have one, but I see you were smarter than Diana.”
“Did she take it back?” I asked in a strangled voice.
I was so hurt, I felt like drowning or, more effectively, jumping out of the car at full speed right now! I could see it all written on my face. Andrew grinned sarcastically. I immediately tried to pull myself together.
“However, I have more important problems now!” I muttered.
“I wondered what they were. “
“I'm getting fired from my job.”
“For what?! “
“Do you think a school would keep a teacher with a reputation like that? You saw the video!”
“Oh, right, you're a teacher.”
“Uh-huh, Russian language and literature.”
“I liked the video. I even downloaded it.”
I sniffled, wishing I could fall through the ground and never see it again!
“Well, if it's such a problem, Russian language and literature are good education. You could work at some magazine. I know a couple of people, I'll call them today and take them to an interview tomorrow.”
“Work for what?” I was confused.
“Editor, of course. Not as an editor-in-chief, of course, not yet, because that would require experience, but as a staff member. “
Suddenly I felt like Winnie the Pooh, when you want honey, but also "zh-zh-zh" for a reason!
“Why would you do that?”
“My plans haven't changed. I'm gonna get Diana away from Alex.”
“And you need me to do it. Are you going to make me look like an even bigger idiot than I already am?”
“I'm going to take you to the campground and introduce you as my girlfriend. I kind of like you, so I thought I'd clear the territory first.”
The man's smugness was off the charts! With a hiss, I turned toward him. I wasn't afraid to hit him now, since we were stopped at the curb.
“Let's go into the coffee shop and talk. You girls seem to like places like this – lattes and pastries. Or do you prefer champagne?”
He caught my upturned hand and yanked it toward him.
"How much passion you have in you!"
The phrase was not ambiguous, but very definite. I pulled away from him hastily.
"All right, let's go in. On one condition: Keep your hands to yourself!"
"Hands? Well, all right," Andrew grinned.
There was a subtext in that, too, but this time I didn't understand it. Andrew walked out, and I hurried after him, slipping immediately. When I managed to grab the handle of the car door, I straightened up and found him standing across from me, grinning. I was embarrassed. I slammed the door shut and walked past him, heading for the coffee shop.
The first thing that caught my eye was a huge palm tree. It was on a table and was too lush for its assigned corner, so I had to circle around it. Additionally, someone with a great sense of humor had decorated it with garland and Christmas tinsel and forgot to take it down! Or was that the plan?
I took my eyes off the palm tree and looked at the girl in the long apron.
"We need a quieter place," Andrew said, taking me under his arm.
The girl smiled at him, gave me a strange look, and led me to the far table. I frowned once again. It looked like she had rated my appearance a C, and his a solid 10. And now she was wondering what we had in common. If I were her, I would be wondering the same thing.
“I'll have an Americano.”
Andrew looked at me expectantly. I mentally counted all the cash I had left and, deciding that I could splurge a little, ordered a “latte.”
"And a cheesecake, the freshest," Andrew added.
The waitress left, leaving the two of us, but for some reason Andrew kept silent and stared at me. His scrutiny was embarrassing and infuriating.
"Why did we come here? I have a lot more to do today."
"To go to the store and finish watching the show, yeah!"
“Really? I wonder what they are? “
Andrew smiled at me, and I realized with annoyance that I had almost answered his smile. What is this?! I'm a grown, independent woman who knows how to control her emotions. Especially these days, I'm getting better at it.
"The latte arrived on time, and I hastily hid my confusion behind it.
“Tonight, I'll let you know what time you need to be ready. We'll go to the editorial office.”
“And what in return?" I asked suspiciously. “
I didn't believe in his unselfishness and conscience. But I believed in the saying about
"cheese and a mousetrap.”
“You'll go on vacation with me.”
Here comes the mouse trap!
“What?!” I was indignant, putting the glass on the table and rising.
“Calm down. Alex will be there too, as well as Diana. Your mere presence will make them fight all the time. “
That's what I believed. Even if Alex didn't care, Diana wouldn't just let it go.
“What's in it for you?”
“Diana's father successfully legalized his business at the dawn of the nineties, investing in several companies, one of which I now run, and Diana is his heir. But here's the problem: she keeps choosing the wrong men. I imagine a partnership with Alfonso.”
Andrew grinned, showing his attitude toward the future work process.
"Very interesting!" I exclaimed.
In fact, Diana may turn out to be a business shark, but for some reason, she's not taken seriously at the moment. Then she needs just such an Alfonso to keep out of her business. But why my Alex?!
“Where are we going? And for how long?”
"Forest" campground. A corporate party for three days, for business partners. “
“Hmm.”
“I'll introduce you as my girlfriend. It's like we've been together a long time. “
“So we'll act like a couple? “I asked suspiciously.
“So that everyone would believe it," he confirmed.”
I wondered. If you believe the novelists, then the method is effective. But only if I can?
“And tomorrow I have to get a job. “
I realized it was blackmail, and nodded grimly.
They took me home and even handed me a bag of groceries. I had to take it obediently. The local FBI was waiting for me at the entrance. The grandmothers, having brought soft seats, handkerchiefs, and glasses, occupied the bench and waited for gossip.
Refuse to shop in front of them? I'm not that crazy yet. They'll think it's some kind of compensation. Television now shows so many "interesting" programs that even an innocent gesture can be suspected!
I had to limit myself from saying goodbye to him. But there's still gossip to be had! This jerk got out of the car and even said hello to them. The women put on their glasses and squinted suspiciously at Andrew and the car. But I got disapproving looks. As a matter of fact, I didn't really want to. I don't pretend to like everyone. After all, I'm not a hundred dollar bill!
The shopping trip turned out to be, I would even say, extravagant. It left me with a strange sense of shame. I realized belatedly that it was possible to not make a scene in the store, and coldly say "Thank you!" and proudly leave.
But anger gave me courage, and for starters I wrote a letter of resignation, turned on my phone, and sent it electronically.
Of course, the school administration was not satisfied with it in this form, and I was told to bring it. Scolding and angry, I got dressed again and went to school.
I had to hand in all of my work, classwork, and reports. The only consolation was that by that time the school was finishing the second shift and half of the students and teachers had left.
But I still received my portion of shame. If the principal remained condemningly silent, my former colleagues tried to find out the details, falsely sympathizing with my departure. I weakly fought back, trying to convey that I did not want to talk about it, but it did not help. As a result, the entire process of dismissal took two hours, and I came out of school not just wrung out, but as if ground up.
When I got to the bus stop, I sat down and cried.
Being a teacher is not just working in a school, it's a whole way of life. You take work home, checking notebooks, writing reports, plans, running with plans "from above" when you need to hand in something, collect, and learn. You often argue, want to quit, and even sometimes move to another school. And at the same time, you get attached to children, sincerely rejoice in their successes, and cry at all graduations. Unplanned and sudden dismissal is like losing a part of your soul!
Although I wrote the application myself, nevertheless, in the back of my mind, I hoped that they would ask me to stay: it is not easy to find a teacher in the middle of the year.
They didn't. Good, at least they didn't throw my things at me, or even "better" – in the garbage, snidely telling me where to find them later. Feeling broken and lonely, I climbed onto the bus and hid from the world with the help of music in my headphones.
I managed to hide from the world all the way to the apartment door. And then things didn't go according to plan. My neighbor was waiting for me in the stairwell. Judging by her impatient look, she had been waiting for me for a long time.
“Your Alex came!” Tanya announced solemnly and stared intently into my eyes, waiting for a reaction.
Resentment stirred in my soul, and a lump came to my throat. With difficulty swallowing it, I squeezed out of myself,
"So what? “
“He took his stuff."
"Good," I exhaled, sliding the keys into the keyhole. "I'm gonna go home, fall on my bed, and cry.
“And he said you cheated on him!” Tanya threw me in the back.
“Me?!” I specified indignantly.
I just can't believe it! It turns out these meetings with Diana are nothing, and I, therefore, cheated!
“That's what he said."
The neighbor got an exceptionally shrewd look. Clearly, she wanted details. Gossip is an important part of some women's lives. In fact, she has plenty of details to gossip about. If she thinks about it a little more, she'll give me a story that I'll have to sneak home for the next ten years.
He's mad because I pointed him out the door. Caught him in a restaurant with someone else.
“You did? “
The neighbor's eyes widened. She obviously didn't expect me to tell her that! We'd never really talked to each other – just to borrow a couple of eggs or ask each other to pick up the courier. But we were not close friends to discuss our personal lives.
“I luckily met an acquaintance, and he played along. "Now Alex thinks I evened the score, and he's pissed off about it," I added.
"You should have told him about it! Why lie? You'll be alone with the cat."
"I don't have a cat," I was confused.
"Here, you don't even have a cat. And you don't have a man."
I was stunned by her rant. "Wow!" That's female solidarity!
“Call him. Apologize. Tell him you lied to him because you wanted to make him jealous. Call him back. And while he's on his way, make him something delicious.”
I was so stunned I listened to the whole thing.
“Thanks for the advice, but I don't want to! “
"Some hussy is gonna steal him away, and you'll regret it later," Tanya said admonishingly and disappeared into her apartment.
I stood alone, trying to understand what was going on. I had never read such a thing even in a novel! Although there was one positive outcome of this conversation: I was angry, and I lost the desire to cry into my pillow. So, according to the people around me, I'm nothing without him. The man's a light in the window!
I flew into my apartment, hissing with anger, and scattered the purchases in the refrigerator. I changed my mind about drinking wine. Tomorrow I have a new life, I'll get a new job. Remembering the job, I thought of Andrew and also remembered the phone I had to find. After searching through my entire bag, I realized that it might be in my jacket pocket. The message had already been received.
"Tomorrow at ten in the morning, go to the editorial office of a fashionable men's magazine. I've made arrangements, they'll take you. Don't forget your papers."
“Wow!” I exhaled and, undressing as I went, went first to the bathroom and then to the bedroom. I had no energy left after that long day.