Peer Pressure (11 page)

Katy gave a little laugh.

“Must it? Don’t kid yourself, it’s just a job. I sit behind a desk all day.”

Rob sensed the boredom in her voice and tried again.

“Good money though, right?”

“I get by,” Katy nodded, “Mortgage, bills, frozen peas.”

Rob hesitated, trying to steer the conversation towards what he was really getting at.

“And what about fun?”

Katy thought about this for a good few seconds. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had asked her that, or taken such an interest in her at all for that matter. Any other time, she may have found Rob’s questions suspicious, but as she sat there looking at this man, she found herself actually warming to him a little. That may have been what spurred her on to reply,

“I sleep.” She half smiled at him, to which Rob smiled back. And with that, the atmosphere had lightened and Katy had some questions of her own.

“What about you?”

“I’m a teacher,” he replied.

“What subject?”

“English.”

Katy nodded, a little surprised by his profession, considering he looked about her daughter’s age.

“How old are you?” she asked.

“Twenty five. Why?”

“Oh, I’m not being critical or anything, it’s just, for your age, you know, it’s impressive.”

“Not really. My dad was a professor, so I kind of fell into it accidentally.”

“What would you rather be doing?”

Rob thought on this for a few seconds, before looking her in the eye and giving a small, resigned smile.

“I couldn’t honestly say.”

Katy suddenly found herself feeling as though she had found a kindred spirit, somebody else out there who had fallen into their situation, not out of drive or luck, but out of circumstance.

“I know how you feel. I never knew either.”

Katy and Rob looked at each other, for the first time that afternoon, feeling that they had made some sort of connection. Katy, of course, was not going to acknowledge this, but Rob, who had the ignorance of youth on his side, charged ahead, regardless.

“You know, I feel really stupid asking you this, seeing as we’ve been talking for the last twenty minutes, but what’s your name?”

Katy chuckled quietly, it dawning on her also that they were still strangers.

“I’m Katy.”

Rob held out his hand.

“Rob.”

She took his hand and they shook gently, both feeling a sudden change in the air as their bodies touched for the first time. True, it was just a hand shake, but already it had made both feel like kids again, feeling the first blush of attraction while not yet possessing the wisdom to do anything about it. Katy was the first to speak.

“Well, Rob, what do we do now?”

Rob let go of her hand and looked around, as if searching the café for an answer.

“Do you fancy another cup of coffee?”

Katy shook her head, checking her watch.

“I would but I kind of have to be going soon. But thanks.” She started to get up from her chair. As she did, Rob rose out of his too and tried again.

“A drink then. You know, a proper drink. To make up for the one I spilled on you.”

Katy stopped mid-step and looked at Rob, trying to size him up, looking for any sign of hidden agenda. She didn’t mean to come across as too cautious; it was just in her nature.

“Maybe,” was all she offered him in the end and with that she grabbed her shopping basket and headed out of the café, wondering to herself if Rob would persist.

“Is that maybe yes or maybe no?” he persisted.

Katy stopped walking and smiled a flattered smile. She turned to see Rob standing just a few feet away from her.

“Just maybe,” she said, repeating herself. Rob nodded.

“I can deal with that. Do you have a number?”

Katy placed her shopping basket at her feet and opened her handbag, pulling a small business card from her purse. She handed it to Rob.

“This is my work number.”

Rob looked at the card then put it in his jacket pocket, before pulling out an old receipt.

“Do you have a pen?” he asked. Katy rummaged in her handbag before handing him a small black biro. He started to scribble on the old receipt.

“Okay, here’s my mobile,” he said, handing her the piece of paper, “just in case that turns out to be brain damage and you want to sue.”

Katy looked at his number, before asking,

“Would it be worth it?”

Rob shrugged, before quipping,

“Not on my salary.”

“No,” she continued, trying to find the right way to phrase her question, “I mean, I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but would the drink be worth it?”

Rob’s brow furrowed in confusion, Katy’s sentence rolling about in his head for a good ten seconds before he could grasp what she was getting at. Katy waited for his response, slightly worried that she had been too forward. She stuck by the question though, feeling that she was getting too old for all the usual games and rituals that came with men and women dating. Finally, Rob got it.

“Oh, you mean you and me? Man, you’re pretty direct. Nobody ever asked me that before.”

Katy found his sudden flurry of confusion quite cute, but was now overcome with a feeling of regret for having asked him at all.

“Well?” she asked.

Rob looked down at her work number one last time, before bringing his head back up, smiling his smile and simply responding,

“Maybe.”

By the end of the following week a number of things happened. For Jodie, the week had started well. She looked forward to her English classes with an enthusiasm that began to affect her other subjects. It’s not that she wasn’t doing her work; it’s just that she was not interested in anything other than what went on for those five hours per week in Rob’s classroom. She would sit and listen to his voice, hanging on every word. However, nothing was sticking in her memory, nothing except the soft lilts in his speech patterns, the way he rolled his ‘l’s and ‘r’s, or how he would clear his throat between paragraphs of Hardy’s descriptions of death and misery. He could have been reading the phone book for all she cared, she was hooked on his voice, and much the same way as someone gets hooked on online gambling. While her
‘addiction’
wasn’t costing her money, it was threatening her education.

Jodie was a little surprised when she was called in to meet with her Guidance Counselor, Mr. Posner, that Thursday afternoon. He was a beast of a man, with thick wavy white hair and a nose that was crooked, like a parrot’s beak. Yet despite his tough exterior, he was actually something of a teddy bear, a man genuinely concerned with the well-being and education of his students. Jodie, who had always shown such promise, was rather worryingly becoming a firm target on his radar.

“Jodie, I hope you don’t feel we’re being too forward in calling you in here today.”

“I don’t think it’s forward, I’m just a little worried. Did I do something wrong?”

“No, don’t worry about anything. This is just a formality.”

“Okay.”

“Jodie, I and some other members of staff are just a little concerned about some of your marks over the last few weeks and we thought it best to meet with you and see if there’s anything wrong.”

“Anything wrong?”

“You know, if perhaps you’re experiencing problems at home, or here, or if there’s some reason why you seem to be reluctant to try harder in many of your studies.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, that might be the problem. Jodie, we know that you’re one of the brightest students in your year. You show great promise and one day, hopefully, your teachers and I hope to one day look back and say we knew you when.”

“Really? I always thought that I just got my head down and did the work. I didn’t realize I was being prepared for success.”

“Not prepared, just encouraged to do as well as you can, which is really where my concern lies. We want you to excel at your exams this year. Have you looked into any universities for next year?”

“I was thinking of London, maybe.”

“Studying?”

“English.”

“Ah, of course. The only class we’re not concerned about. I trust you’re enjoying your advanced studies?”

“You could say that.” She couldn’t help but smile a little, thinking to herself that if only Mr. Posner knew just how much she enjoyed it.

“Listen, Jodie, if there are any problems, my door’s always open.”

“I know that, sir. Thank you.”

“Just keep your head down and your marks up and you should be fine.”

Jodie left the office and stood for a few moments in the corridor, trying to take in what she had just been told. But in truth, she wasn’t sure if she had just been praised or bollocked and that night she lay in her bed her mind reeling with a mixture of agony and ecstasy, both concerned with her future and excited by the prospect of seeing Rob the next morning. She often lay on her bed, usually listening to music, using the time to herself to figure things out. Of course, over the last few days, thanks to her best friend, even the sanctuary of her own room was beginning to feel a little strained, distracted as she would get by the shenanigans going on ten feet across from her window, at Sean Lewis’ house.

Sean had only been going out with Laura for five days, but already he was beginning to suspect that she was perhaps a little too much of an extrovert for his tastes.

For example, she talked, at great length about the multitude of boyfriends she had had in the past, as though she was reading off an honors list. This wouldn’t have been so bad had she not also listed their sexual preferences. Sean wasn’t a shy type of guy, but there was only so much he could take. He didn’t care whether Brian from second year lasted more than ten minutes, or whether Jonas from forth year was
‘riddled with it and
probably still was’
. It just wasn’t particularly attractive.

In fact, if Sean got anything from Laura, it was that she was perhaps, under her loud exterior, actually rather sad. He could read it in her body language sometimes, the clinging to his arm at any given moment when they were out in public; as if she was making sure he couldn’t stray too far from her. Or maybe even making sure everybody saw the two of them together.

Then there was the eagerness to please him at every given moment, which would often lead to dull one sided conversations rather than stimulating debate. Or the quiet desperation in her text messages when she would ask to come over (she really needed to turn off the Caps lock on her phone). The fooling around was fun, of course. What red blooded person didn’t enjoy making out with someone when they were a teenager?

The problem was, every date would end in an extended make-out session on his bed back home, followed by her declaration of ‘how awesome’ he was and her abrupt departure to go next door and talk to Jodie. He was beginning to suspect her stories about her past conquests were in fact little more than stories. If he was honest, he knew that this fling with Laura had been badly judged and that he was going to have to knock it on the head soon. But, Laura being the kind of girl that she was, he knew it wouldn’t be easy.

It was Wednesday afternoon before Rob managed to build up the courage to phone Katy’s work number. When he finally dialed the number on his mobile, he hung up before she answered. Twice. He was sitting in the staff lounge, nursing a cup of coffee that had gone lukewarm, when suddenly his mobile buzzed to life, his ‘Star Wars’

ringtone mocking him as the handset registered that it was Katy’s number calling. Rob panicked, but managed to gain enough composure to answer.

“Hello?”

Katy’s voice came through, loud and clear.

“I’m guessing there’s a reason you were calling?”

Rob’s eyes shut in a pained embarrassment as he realized he’d been caught red handed.

“I’m sorry,” he owned up, “call it nerves. How are you?”

“Oh,” Katy replied, “I’m updating data on our computer systems. I’m on the edge of my seat with excitement. You?”

“Yeah,” Rob felt nerves getting the better of him, and decided to go for broke, ”Are you free for dinner this Friday?”

Rob had met Katy at a restaurant in the city center. It was how she’d wanted it, preferring to get more of a grasp on Rob’s character before allowing him to see where she lived.

The last thing she would have wanted was a creepy stalker, even if he was a cute twenty-five year old. A girl had to have standards.

Rob had booked a table at Poldino’s for seven p.m., and while she kept it casual, in jeans and a nice dark red top, he had worn his suit. By eight-thirty, the restaurant was full. It was Friday night and the room was bustling with couples, the sound of chatter in the air, the chink of wine glasses and cutlery. Katy and Rob had kept the conversation simple, polite and lightweight, choosing not to burden each other with sob stories or pet hates.

That could wait until the second date, if there was to be one.

Rob had driven there, so had limited himself to two bottles of beer, while Katy had left her car at home that evening, allowing herself to drink through the better part of three glasses of red wine. It was only as the main courses were finished, that the conversation turned towards a more honest frame of mind, the drinks having taken the edge off, if only for a short time.

“Do you feel awkward?” she asked.

“In what way?”

“You know, the whole out with a stranger thing? Not being sure what to say to one and other? All that sanctimonious crap that people have to put up with every time they take someone out?”

Rob shrugged.

“It’s just dinner, I hadn’t really thought about it like that.”

Katy smiled and sat back in her chair; aware that maybe she was being too melodramatic.

“Sorry, I guess I’m just trying to say that I was really nervous about tonight.”

Rob leaned forward, raising his eyebrows a little in surprise.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” replied Katy, now aware that she was rambling a little, but unable to stop herself,

“Why do you think that is? That we are instantly daunted by the prospect of another person’s company?”