It's Only Temporary (9 page)

‘The reason I am asking,’ Stacy continued.
‘Is because you just met your group.

Chapter 6.

‘You have got to be kidding!’ The sudden anger I felt towards Stacy was unexpected, confusing and to be truthful very unusual for me.

‘Why, what’s up?’ she said frowning.

‘What’s up? You knew there was a chance that those hooligans could accost Dan and you are still inviting them into the centre, his centre!’

‘Well everyone deserves a chance,’ she said quietly.

‘Really? What about Dan? Will he have much of a chance once they are here!? Or even me? They basically threatened me with physical harm and now you expect me to teach them!’  I was nearly shouting.

‘Well if you don’t think you can cope now is the time to say!’ she fired back.

What on earth was wrong with her, could she not see that she was in the wrong? It was a simple enough notion.

‘Cope? You don’t cope with that you survive it! It’s not only me I am worried about, what about Dan?

‘If that’s the case then maybe this is an opportunity to help those boys? Kurt is basically a good lad; he just hides behind his bravado. Maybe you can teach him about leadership?’ She was challenging me now but I was not playing.

‘Leadership? For god’s sake! He thought you could catch Down’s Syndrome!’

‘Exactly! He leads that group but has no idea how to do it. He saw you as a challenge and responded the only way he knows how.’

‘He is an idiot!’

‘Well teach him then!’ she snapped.

We both turned and walked in opposite directions.

What an infuriating woman! How could she be so blind as to actually invite trouble in? Yes everyone deserves a chance but there must be more deserving cases out there surely? I spent the rest of the morning preparing for Monday. Why was I wasting my time? There was no point in even trying to teach Kurt and his gang. What about poor old Dan. How would he cope? What about me?

A short time later I heard ‘Peace offering?’ and looked up from my desk. Stacy had brought me another cup of Earl Grey and a slice of Lemon. Well at last she had seen some sense and had obviously come to apologise not only for her outburst but for her error of judgement I assumed.

‘I err, I had a normal brew,’ she said.

‘Well that’s for the best.’

‘Ok….. Can we talk?’

What did she think we were doing? ‘We already are aren’t we?’

‘I mean about what happened before?’

‘Yes perhaps we should.’

There was a longish pause before she said ‘Can I sit down?’

I became aware that for some inexplicable reason my manner was making her feel uncomfortable. Perhaps she realised she was in the wrong?

‘Of course,’ I said gesturing to a chair.

‘Right,’ she said as she
sat. ‘I’m worried.’

‘So am I, those boys…..’

‘Not about the boys……. about you,’ she interrupted.

‘Look, I don’t like the idea of being attacked any more than you wo
uld, so maybe a few rules for them to follow before they start?’ I said.

‘That’s not the problem.’

What? Worried about me, what on earth could she have to be worried about other than my physical safety? I was after all essentially saving the centre; I had protected Dan, I even put up with drinking from mugs. What was the problem?

‘The problem is we have only known each other for two days and we are already arguing. That doesn’t seem right somehow. I am worried we won’t be able to work together.’ she continued.

‘I see,’ I was unsure about how to respond. I was used to being in charge and things being done my way. If someone disliked my methods they could leave, only it was me that would have to leave this time around.

‘I know you feel protective towards Dan, we all do. But I set this centre up to give those who need a chance exactly that, a chance.’

This was starting to come across as a pre-planned speech so I waited for her to continue.

‘I would never let anything bad happen to Dan or any of the members here, including you. But I really want to give those boys a chance too; I need to give them a chance in order to stay open…’

She was almost apologetic. I thought about my alternatives, and quickly realised that I did not have any so I elected to try and smooth things over. I was sure I could put up with things for a few weeks until I was sorted out.

‘I understand, but you need to understand also that I’m worried about it as well.’

‘Yes I get that, but are you just worried about Dan and Kurt, or is more about you and them?’

‘What does that mean?’ I snapped.

‘Ok, sorry. I didn’t mean that in the way it sounded. Are you worried that this type of teaching is not for you?’

Well yes I was, but I was not letting on.

‘No, I just want to make sure Dan is ok,’ and I live through it I almost said.

‘Ok, well you’ve got a one hundred per cent Stacy guarantee.’

‘A what?’

She sighed, ‘I guarantee that Dan will be ok, alright? I or one of the volunteers will watch over him and you will watch over Kurt and Co knowing we have got your back. They need a good teacher to get the best out of them, someone who really knows what they are doing.’

‘I see,’ was she seriously doubting my abilities? I was not going to be the problem, they were.

‘So…’

‘So?’

‘Us?’

‘What about us?’

‘Are we gonna be able to work together?’

‘I should imagine so.’ After all I was not planning on being here long, I didn’t add.

She smiled and squeezed my hand, ‘I think we should agree that if we are having a difference of opinion we sort it out like this. Not yelling at each other in the corridor?’

‘Agreed,’ I said.

‘You were lucky we weren’t in the kitchen!’

‘Why?’

‘Yu is very protective of me and she has all sorts of things that can do you bodily harm in there….’

‘Maybe she should teach them? Cookery or something?’ I could help.’

She laughed although I was being serious.

‘Yu would kill them in a matter of minutes.’

She got up to leave, ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘If we can use our energy positively rather than fight I am sure we can do good things here, perhaps even make it permanent at some point? A paying job maybe?’

I understood she was offering me an olive branch and just smiled at her. There may well be a job here in the future, but not for me. I finished off the day and said goodbye to everyone. Walking home I realised I had forgotten to check my emails; how on earth did I allow that to happen? Now I would not be able to do so again until Monday, a whole weekend away.

Using Dan’s timetable I elected to catch a bus to the supermarket rather than walk home. Once there I purchased enough food to get me through the wee
kend and some more Earl Grey. As I wandered the isles with my hand basket my mind was preoccupied with the events of the day and my frustration at not checking my emails. As a result I had been filling my basket in an absent minded manner. When I looked down at what I had selected to provide for myself for the weekend I realised I could not afford it. Smoked Salmon, steak and fresh vegetables did not equate to living on benefits.

Reluctantly I placed the majority of it back on the shelves and resigned myself to own brand precooked mini sausages, baked beans, bread and processed cheese. To my dismay I realised that I had very little money left over even after making these economies. Possibly enough to buy something to eat on Monday night but that still left two days with no funds until next week’s payday.

Arriving home I felt exhausted and after having something to eat fell asleep fully clothed on my bed, I was awoken a few hours later by the sound of Alfie making his way upstairs again. The room was dark but as I had not drawn the curtains it was illuminated by a street light. I drew the curtains, got undressed and climbed into bed properly, I told myself to enjoy the weekend’s peace although I was dreading the impending teaching on Monday.

The next morning I
made myself some toast for breakfast and considered what to do with the day. Generally my weekends would have been spent in the university library, maybe at a gallery or a museum, with an opera or play in the evenings. This was not an option anymore and sun was shining and I realised that spending a day in my room would be horrible so I elected to have shower and go for a walk.

Having a shower meant braving t
he communal bathroom; previous visits had made me realise that minimising the amount of time in there was the key to surviving the experience. I had been washing and brushing my teeth at the sink in my room and trips to the toilet were made as infrequently and quickly as possible. I gathered my wash kit and a towel, put a T shirt and shorts on then tentatively checked no one was around before venturing into the landing. I carefully pushed open the bathroom door to check it was unoccupied and stepped inside.

The aroma that assaulted my nostrils was like nothing on this earth, holding my breath I opened the window and gasped as the fresh air blissfully entered my lungs.  Good grief what on earth had caused that smell?

It seemed to be emanating from the toilet and I decided against investigating any further. There was no lock on the bathroom door so I quickly undressed and entered the shower; discretion was the better part of valour here as I did not want to draw attention to myself. This objective evaporated as soon as I turned on the shower, which seemingly was set at a temperature several degrees below freezing. As the water hit me I let out a scream that had any passer by heard then they would have been justified in reporting it to the police as a potential murder in progress. Eventually the water temperature reached the giddy heights of merely being cold and once I had caught my breath I began to shower.

The door opened and Alfie walked in, I was about to warn him that it was occupied but he did not seem to care.

‘Morning mate,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Blimey it’s freezing in here, why is the window open?’

‘The smell,’ I said.

‘Oh yeah, that would be me! Too posh to push? Nah not me mate, too drunk to flush more like!’ He said as he burst out laughing.

I peered from behind the shower curtain, ‘Erm Alfie, I’m in the middle of a shower here.’

‘Yeah I know mate, I’ll be done before you are out, don’t worry.’

‘That’s not what I meant,’ I said but he was not listening and instead he mercifully flushed the toilet.

‘Bombs away!’ he shouted.

I was expecting him to leave but to my horror he proceeded to use the toilet again, a replacement aroma quickly filled the small bathroom along with sound effects for good measure. I turned off the shower wrapped the towel around me, grabbed my belongings and ran for my room.

Once dressed I ventured outside into the sunshine, despite my sense of frustration at my overall situation I could not help but feel uplifted by the summer weather. I set off into town and eventually came to library where I spotted a sign offering free internet access. I entered and was informed that I needed to join the library before I could use the facilities. I did not have the required proof of identity on my person only my now defunct university staff card, but the librarian helpfully pointed out that I had until five o’clock to come back before they shut.

Heading home it dawned on me that Luci’s library would have computers and internet access, feeling a little rebellious I changed direction and soon found myself back on campus. I looked longingly at my old apartment as I passed and managed to peek through the windows of my old office. However my card did not allow me to open the door and enter.

Being barred from my own office resulted in a flood of emotions, had anyone seen this happen? The embarrassment would be too much to cope with.

The library was open as usual and I walked in, Brian the librarian nodded to me in recognition and seemingly had no idea I was not supposed to be there. I tried to log on with my normal access code and password but was denied.

That was fast Robert! I cynically thought, my previous embarrassment turning to resentment.

Approaching Brian I said, ‘Errrm, Brian is there a general access code and password?’

‘Yes the guest one, why would you need that?’

‘Erm my card appears to not be working.’ I was praying he did not ask me why.

‘That’s actually quite common, it’s probably best if you use your own computer in your office. The staff passwords seem to get rejected in here for some reason. I don’t know why.’

‘Ah, actually I am not able to get into my office at the moment.’

‘I see. Well this is the guest one. You won’t be able to do all the things your staff access allows though.’