The Ivy Lessons (17 page)

‘Then stay where you are – I’m coming to meet you.’ The line goes dead.

Half hour later, I’m about to order another
hot chocolate
when
Jen
comes bounding up to the table
. She throws her arms around me, and I hug her back.

‘She’ll have a cappuccino,’ I tell the waiter, ‘no chocolate on top.’

We smile at each other.

‘Well?’ says
Jen
. ‘What are you doing in this part of London so early? Did you stay out with someone last night?’ She leans closer.

I look at my hot chocolate. ‘Yes and no,’ I say. ‘I was in hospital.’

‘In hospital?’
Jen
’s hand shoots to her mouth. ‘Oh my god, Soph. What happened? Why didn’t you call me?’

‘It was all so quick,’ I say. ‘It was nothing serious, in the end. Ryan put something in my drink, and it gave me a funny turn.’

‘He did
what
?’ When
Jen
gets angry, she gets really angry. ‘He put something in your drink? Wait until I get a hold of him.’

‘He’s just an idiot,
Jen
, don’t worry about it.’

‘I am worried,’ says
Jen
. ‘He’s not going to get away with this.’

‘I don’t think he has,’ I say. ‘
Marc
Blackwell
had a word with him. I imagine he’s suitably chastised.’

‘Wow.’
Jen
flicks her blonde hair from shoulder to shoulder. ‘
Marc
Blackwell
stepped in and talked to him? What a great guy. Did you read about him in the newspapers? The spanking stuff?’

I nod.

‘Do you think it’s true?
’

‘I’m positive it’s true,’ I say.

‘How come?’

Jen
’s cappuccino arrives, and I don’t answer for a moment, waiting for the waiter to leave.

Then I whisper: ‘Because he told me.’

‘He told you?’

‘When I was in hospital, he came to see me,’ I say. ‘And he had me transferred to a private place in West London. He got me my own nurse. And he came to visit me there too.’

Jen
’s eyes are growing wider as she picks up her cappuc
c
ino.

‘And he sent me flowers to my room. And ... how can I put this? We’ve ... things have happened between us.’

Jen
puts her cappuccino back on its saucer with a clatter.
‘Something happened
between you and
Marc
Blackwell
!’

‘Shssh!’ I look around. ‘Not so loud. But yes. Something is ... well, happening I guess.’

‘I want to know everything,’
Jen
leans closer.

‘It’s ... complicated,’ I say. ‘
He’s
complicated.’

‘I’ll bet. What with the spanking and everything. Has he done that to you?’

I shake my head. ‘But I think he wants to.’

‘And how to you feel about that?’

‘I don’t know. I don’t know if he only likes me because I’m his pupil, and that’s his thing. I mean, he’s a good person, before you say it. He knows it’s not right for the lecturer to be doing anything with the students.’

‘And what have you done, exactly?’
Jen
asks.

‘Not much,’ I say. ‘I’m just so confused by the whole thing.’

‘I’m not surprised,’ says
Jen
. ‘Wow. Well, he always seemed a bit weird with women, don’t you think? I mean, never having a girlfriend for more than a few weeks, and all of that. I’ll find out everything I can
about him through my agency
. Fore warned is fore armed.’

‘Thanks
Jen
.’

‘I know he’s hot
,’ she says. ‘But
h
e doesn’t sound like good news, and ... well,
morally speaking
he shouldn’t be messing around with his students.’

‘I know,’ I say. ‘It’s difficult. But he makes me feel
amazing.’

‘I bet he does.’

‘But confused too, you know? Because this isn’t right, the way things are happening. Or at least, it’s not
normal.
’

‘Soph. You worry too much. If you’ve got something going with
Marc
Blackwell
, just enjoy it for what it is. And you can look back when you’re thirty and happily married to some nice, normal guy and think, I had a fling with that hot actor when I was younger.’

‘But I sort of want it to be more than that, you know?’

‘Ah.’
Jen
takes a sip of cappuccino. ‘Well, that’s your problem. He’s
obviously
not a usual sort of guy, Soph. So you can’t expect to have a usual sort of relationship. I mean, look at his history. He’s not exactly the romantic type, is he? Just enjoy it for what it is, and try not to get too hurt when it all ends.’

‘You’re right,’ I say. ‘I know you’re right. But then ... if it’s all going to end, maybe I should get out now before I get too hurt.’

‘Maybe you should,’ says
Jen
. ‘But you’re only human. And I know you. Do you think you can walk away, or do you think you’ll need to be pushed?’

I smile at her. ‘I think we both know the answer to that.’

She nods. ‘So. Enjoy it right now, and prepare yourself for heart break down the line. That’s life. You can cope with heart break. It won’t kill you.’

I don’t know about that.

‘So what are we going to do today?’ says
Jen
.

‘I could show you around the campus,’ I say. ‘Introduce you to the other students.’

‘For a creative person, you can be very unimaginative,’ says
Jen
. ‘We’re in the middle of London. There are a billion things to do better than that. I’ve got a guidebook and I’ve ringed the things we should try out. Are you ready? It’s going to be fun!’

Jen
and I have a great day. We visit Harrods, and buy picnic food to eat in Regents Park. A few tough, city squirrels try to steal our food, and we end up running away, screaming and laughing.

We go see a movie at Leicester Square, and finish out popcorn walking around in the sunshine, watching the tourists and Londoners shop at Covent Garden.

Predictably,
Jen
has armfuls of shopping by the end of the day, and we head back to campus to order a takeaway in my bedroom.

Jen
wants t
o find Ryan and slap him around the face
, but I persuade her not to.

I invite Tom and Tanya over, and all five of us sit aro
und on my sofas, eating
Chinese
food
, drinking red wine and watching the sun set over the campus. We watch the star wars movies and
Jen
asks Tom and Tanya endless questions about their backgrounds.

Tom
tells us he’s
from London originally, so knows the city like the back of his hand. He went to a London boarding school from a very young age. At weekends, he and his friends would go to the theatre and he always did amateur dramatics in his spare time. His parents are actually a Lord and Lady,
I was surprised
to hear. It’
s true that Tom is well spoken
, but he’s really down to earth.

Tanya tells us her
parents are divorced, and she spent her teenage years in a custody battle between the two of them. She ended up living with her mum, falling out with her, then moving in with her dad when she was at college.

She’s been to uni
versity
, but quit because she took the wrong course. She’s always loved drama, but her dad wanted her to be a lawyer. Two years of law told her tha
t’s not what she wanted, and now
she’s over the moon to b
e doing drama at Ivy College
.

Tanya and Tom ask me about what h
appened on Saturday, and I
tell them I had a funny turn and ended up in A&E.
Jen
glares at me, willing me to tell them about Ryan, but I feel so sorry for him.
Marc
has already confronted him
.

We’re having a great time, but
as usual
lately
my thoughts drift
elsewhere.
I think of
Marc
and
,
more specifically right now, his iPhone and the pictures and film footage on it.

Just as we’re starting to watch Return of the Jedi, my phone rings with a number I’ve never seen before.

Chapter 38

My heart begins to pound, and
Jen
gives me a knowing wink.

‘Back in a sec,’ I mutter, running out to the balcony. I take the call.

‘Hello?’

‘You’re not alone.’ It’s
Marc
’s voice. My stomach turns over.

‘No, I’m not. How did you know that?’

‘Because I’m on campus, watc
hing your window.’ I look over the dark grounds
, but I don’t see anyone.

‘I can’t see you,’ I reply.

‘I can see you right now on your balcony. And I see your friends in the background. I wish you were alone.’

‘You do?’ I feel myself smile.

‘Yes
. But right now,
I just wanted you to know that I’m watching over you. And.
I’ve been watching you all day on my phone. Ve-ry nice. Very nice ind
eed
.’

‘Thanks,’ I stammer
.

‘I’d like to take more f
ootage of you. Perhaps tomorrow
.’

I swallow tightly. ‘
Marc
, I’m nervous about tomorrow. I don’t know what you mean
about
-’

‘I want you to arrive for class twenty minutes early,’ he says. ‘Yo
ur class tomorrow will be
different from everyone else’s.
Don’t wear any underwear
.’

With that, the line goes dead.

The next morning, my room smells like takeaway and my living area is a mess. Empty wine bottles and glasses, take
a
way containers ... I wish I’d accepted everyone’s offer to
help
clear up
last night
.

I shower, wash up and bag up rubbish. As I head down to the recycling area in the sweatpants and t-shirt
Marc
bought me, I see Ryan loitering in the reception area by the post boxes.

‘Hello,’ I say coldly. ‘
What are you doing up so early?’

‘Sophia ...’ He looks startled. ‘I have to say sorry to you. I never thought anything like that would happen. I just wanted you to lighten up and have fun with me.’

I think of what
Marc
said, about Ryan being in love with me.

‘Just don’t ever do anything like that to anyone again,’ I say.

‘Mr
Blackwell
has already read me the riot act.
’

‘He told me you ... have feelings for me,’ I say softly.

‘What does it matter?’ Ryan snaps. ‘You’re already goo goo over Mr
Blackwell
, just like every other girl on the course.’

‘I honestly thought you hated me,’ I say.

Ryan laughs. ‘Hated you? I do
in a way
. It’s hard, seeing someone you
like and not being able to have them
.’

‘I guess it is,’ I say.

Chapter 39

When I return to my room, I see there’s a text message waiting on my phone.
I catch my breath when I see it’s from
Marc
.

Don’t forget. No underwear.

I think over the message, and what
Marc
said to me on the phone last night. All this stuf
f about punishment
and telling me what to do. When
Marc
tells me to do something, it’s hot. And him asking me to wear no underwear to class is hot. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to do it. Or anything
else
he asks me to.

If he wants to do something I don’t like, I’ll tell him so. But so far, everything he’s done to me I’ve liked very much. Even his filming me, when I think of it now, makes me feel warm between my legs.

I take off the sweatpants and t-shirt and examine myself in the bathroom mirror. I have a skinny, pale body, no question about that. Not very womanly. A small waist, which is nice, and a weird gap between my thighs, which is not so nice.