by Anna Archer
Eve started to run.
“Miss Eden?” came the shout.
Eve looked to the other side of the road. It was Manny Jones in brightly coloured gym gear with a larger-than-usual knee brace around her right leg. “Manny!” shouted Eve, frantically dashing across the road as quickly as she could, before wrapping her arms around her student and bursting into tears. “Can you get me out of here?”
Without a word, Manny took Eve’s hand and walked as fast as she could manage to the carpark at the back of the building she’d just exited. “Are you okay?”
“He’s following isn’t he?” uttered Eve, staring over her shoulder. “Quickly!”
“Who?” said Manny, beeping open the flash sportscar and helping her teacher into the passenger seat.
“Just drive,” said Eve, to her student who was now in the front of the car. “Please, just drive.”
Manny revved the engine. “Where to?”
“Home, I want to go home.”
Chapter Eleven
Following her teacher’s final bit of route guidance, Manny pulled the sportscar into the carpark of the swanky apartment block. She turned in her seat. “I’m taking you inside and I’m calming you down, and I’m not taking no for an answer.”
“It’s not appropriate.”
“You’re in a state so we’ll go inside and I’ll pour you a drink.” She smiled. “And if you’re ready, you can tell me what’s happened.” Manny pulled herself out of the car and walked around to the passenger side door. She opened it and nodded. “Come on.”
Eve peeped her head out of the car but stayed seated. “Has he followed us?”
“The speed I was going in this thing? No chance.” Manny offered her hand. “You’re safe with me.”
Eve slowly succumbed to the encouragement. “Just see me to the door.”
“No way! I almost bought one of these apartments. I want to see what I’m missing out on. Do you have a view of the river?”
Eve nodded.
“I know how expensive these places are.”
Eve nodded again.
“How do you afford it on your teacher’s salary?” Manny paused. “Sorry, that was wrong of me. I bet you do some modelling on the side or something, don’t you?”
Eve laughed.
“Finally! A smile, come on, Miss Eden, show me the way.” Manny didn’t give her teacher time to reply, following her in through the communal lobby and nodding with encouragement as she called for the lift.
“I’m not sure you should…”
“Tough. I’m coming up.”
“I’m honestly okay.”
“You haven’t told me what happened yet. You could have robbed an off-license for all I know and I’ve been complicit in your crime.” Manny walked forwards as the lift doors opened, ushering her teacher inside and nodding at her reflection in the mirrored walls. “Have you got two bottles of Chambord hidden down there?”
Eve glanced at her reflection, quickly pulling her tight dress higher over her breasts.
“No, I’ve got it, you’ve just stolen two basketballs from the sports shop, haven’t you? You’re fed up of everything at Ridgecrest being so old.” Manny continued to nod. “Anything new has been stolen by you and Mrs Howard pays you commission and that’s the reason you can afford this place.”
“What are you talking about?”
Manny laughed. “I spout shit when I’m nervous. Haven’t you noticed that in class yet?”
Eve glanced down at herself. “Basketballs?”
“Ha! I love it when your humour comes out. I should have said medicine balls instead.”
“I’d rather you didn’t comment.”
“Demi Moore has got breast implants as well.”
“Mine are real!”
Manny stared. “Wow! You’re joking?”
“Could you stop that, please.”
“Sorry. Wow. I just assumed… Well then, you really are a natural beauty, Miss Eden.”
Eve cleared her throat as she led them both out of the lift towards her apartment doorway. “You’re in my home, at night, complimenting my breasts, I think you can call me Eve.”
Manny smiled. “This is turning out to be a very good night indeed.”
“Well said. Good night.”
Manny looked at her teacher. “Can’t I come in?”
“You’ve seen me to my door and I’ve very grateful that you rescued me earlier, but it wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“You haven’t told me what happened.”
“A date gone wrong, but I’m okay now.”
“Really?”
Eve nodded. “Really.”
“Right then.”
“Thanks again,” said Eve.
Manny smiled. “You don’t actually live here, do you? That’s why you’re not going in. It’s like one of those films where you want me to go away so you can scurry back down the street to your grungy student house share.”
Eve turned the key in the lock and opened the door an inch. “I live here.”
“Oh my goodness!” Manny craned her neck. “Is that the river! That must be such an amazing view.”
“Good night, Manny,” said Eve holding out her hand.
“You shake hands with your friends?”
“We’re not friends.”
Manny left the hand outstretched. “No problem then, you take care of yourself.” She turned to leave. “But just so you know, I really was only interested in the view. Oh, that and being a good person.”
Eve paused. “Manny, wait.”
Manny stepped into the lift. “You have a good evening, Miss Eden.”
****
Looking across the corridor and watching the numbers count down above the now closed chrome lift doors, Eve didn’t know what to do. Manny had been nothing short of a hero; driving her without question, not pushing her for answers about what had gone on, seeing her to her door and rightly thinking she could come in for an explanation, or even just a look at the view… and all she’d done was respond with rudeness. Dashing into her apartment, Eve grabbed the book of Demi Moore quotes from her rucksack. She flicked faster than usual and stabbed her finger at a page. She read quickly. Don’t let your wounds make you become someone you’re not. Eve nodded. Demi was right. Dashing back to the corridor, Eve knew Manny would be long gone if she waited for the lift to rise again, so she headed instead to the front of the building and the communal balcony. It was designed to give the apartment owners a roof-top garden experience but really it was just a bit of decking with potted shrubbery that over-looked the carpark that no one ever used as they were too busy enjoying their own, beautifully maintained balconies that overlooked the river.
Pushing through the glass doors, Eve shivered in the cold evening air. She hadn’t noticed it earlier when making her escape from David, the adrenaline from her fight or flight response sending her attention elsewhere. Rubbing her shoulders, she strode towards the balcony, cross that her natural reaction earlier had been flight. Who did David think he was and why had she chosen to run instead of confront him? Grabbing hold of the wooden railing, she decided to shout. She wasn’t going to run and hide from another interaction. This time she was going to stay and fight. “Manny!” she shouted, to her student who was almost at her car. “Up here!” Eve watched as Manny glanced around confused. “Up here!”
“Oh my good god!” screeched Manny, squinting upwards. “It’s like a scene from Romeo and Juliet!”
“Shush!” shouted Eve. “I’m sorry. Come back up and let me explain?”
“There’s nothing to explain.”
“There is. Please. Just give me a minute.” Eve watched the lights on Manny’s car flash as a beep echoed up to the balcony. “Oh no, please don’t go!”
Manny laughed. “I’m just locking it!”
“Oh right. See you up here in a minute.”
“Where’s here?”
“My apartment. Come to my apartment.” Eve turned back to the glass doors, no lo
nger aware of the cold.
Chapter Twelve
Standing behind her closed apartment door, Eve held her breath. Manny was on her way up. Manny from school. Manny her student from school. She gasped. She’d stay silent, pretend she wasn’t in. This whole thing wasn’t appropriate at all. Going out on a school night. Tottering across the street in her tight dress and heels. Hugging her student. Begging her student for a lift. Inviting her student inside. She stared at the book of Demi Moore quotes hastily discarded on the sideboard. Was there time to get a second piece of advice? Lunging away from the door, Eve grabbed the book and flicked. There’s nothing wrong with having a desire to want nice things. No! She didn’t want Manny! She wanted to have a normal relationship with Manny. Don’t let your wounds make you become someone you’re not, that’s what Demi had initially said and all she was doing was making sure she didn’t push away another friend.
Eve froze as the apartment bell sounded. Pretending she wasn’t in wouldn’t work as she’d literally just invited Manny up, but what if she’d fallen asleep? Eve shook her head. No. People who fell asleep too quickly were psychopaths. Normal people like her needed at least an hour of self-analysis where they mulled over the day’s events before concluding that everything was actually okay and they were safe to drop off. The bell sounded again. She’d have to go to the door. She’d have to let her in. Eve stayed frozen.
“Eve?” said Manny, this time knocking instead of using the bell.
Holding on to the sideboard, Eve let out a silent scream. What was she doing?
“What are you doing?” continued the voice. “Putting on some nice lingerie for me?”
“I certainly am not!” snapped Eve, yanking open the door so she was face-to-face with her student. “And you need to stop crossing that line!”
Manny shrugged. “Hey, you’re the one who invited me up.”
“To explain! Not to… well not to…”
“You’re far too easy to wind up, Miss Eden.”
Eve stepped backwards and signalled Manny inside. “Eve when we’re out of school.”
“Why? Does it make it less weird for you? Less student-teacher relationship?”
“Manny.”
“Sorry, I told you, I spout shit when I’m nervous.”
Eve glanced into the corridor before closing the door behind her guest. “Why are you nervous?”
Manny turned around. “Aren’t you?”
Staring into the piercing blue eyes, Eve didn’t know what to say. She was so nervous her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her far-too-revealing dress. “I just wanted to clear all of this up. You were great this evening and I shouldn’t have pushed you away.”
“You’re my teacher. I shouldn’t be at your house at night with you looking sexy as hell like you do.”
“Manny!”
“Shit spouting, sorry.”
Eve pointed Manny through into the open-plan lounge. “There’s the view of the river,” she said with a nod.
Manny walked straight towards the glass doors. “You have a balcony too! Wow, it’s gorgeous.”
“It’s only one bedroom.”
“That’s all we need.” Manny corrected herself. “Sorry! Footballing banter! Can you imagine what it was like during the World Cup? Twenty-three women, mostly all gay, stuck in each other’s company for the month, not to mention the other women from the other teams. Comments like that were expected and applauded.”
“Well I’d rather not expect them and I’ll certainly not applaud them.”
“Even if they’re really quick witted?”
Eve sat down on the sofa. “Manny, you’re clearly a huge personality with lots of funny stories, but I just wanted to invite you back to say thank you, and sorry.”
“Sorry for looking so sexy?” Manny laughed. “See. That’s quick, funny and on-point.”
“Not when referencing your teacher, it isn’t.”
“And what if I quit school?”
Eve looked up at her student. “What do you mean?”
“Imagine if I accepted a coaching position somewhere and we bumped into each other again, would you still be so on-edge?”
“I’m not on-edge.”
“You have a wall up.”
“Because you’re my student.”
Manny laughed. “Look at me! I’m not like Kitty, or Ava, or… who’s that one with the weird haircut?”
“Dulcie.”
“I’m not like any of them.”
Eve studied the strong thighs visible through the brightly coloured lycra. “Sit down. Your knee must need a rest.”
“I was at the gym; I’m feeling great actually.”
“Might you accept a coaching position?”
Manny shook her head and sat down next to Eve. “Getting my A-Levels is the sensible choice. It’ll give my knee two years to properly recover and then I’ll see where I am.”
“I prefer it when you talk nicely like this.”
“I told you, it’s just my nerves.”
“Are you nervous now?”
Manny smiled. “I’m not actually.”
Eve maintained the connection. “Neither am I. How weird.”
“Maybe we just needed to properly connect. One of United’s sports psychologists had us staring into our teammates’ eyes for ten minutes. Total silence. Just staring. We had to do it with every player. It lasted a whole morning.”
“And then what happened.”
“We played really well.” Manny shrugged. “And look at us, sitting on this sofa, staring into each other’s eyes. Maybe we’re about to play nicely together.”
Eve laughed. “I’m not staring into your eyes.”
“We’re close and calm though.”
“I told you, it’s a small apartment.”
“It’s a nice apartment. It looks very ordered.”
Eve cleared her throat. “It was wrong of me to send you away when you’d been so kind.”
“Women help women, it’s a thing.”
“Well thank you.”
Manny nodded. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“There’s honestly nothing really to say. A date gone wrong.”
“That hairy guy?”
“It was a blind date.”
“Was the person who set you up on it blind?”
Eve laughed. “He’s Mrs Bruster’s nephew.”
“Well they’ve certainly got the same build. She seems okay though. Was he a bastard?”
Eve inhaled sharply before glancing over her shoulder to the wine rack in her kitchen. “I’m going to pour myself a glass. Would you like anything?”
“I’ll have a red wine if you’re opening a bottle.”
“Are you allowed?”
“I’m nineteen next week. I’ve barely been at home for over two years and we always celebrate our wins with wine after wine after wine.”
Eve stood from the sofa. “And woman after woman after woman.”
“Eve!”
“Quick witted enough for you?”
Manny laughed. “I like it! And you are interested in my life!”
“I’m not actually.”
“I know! That’s why I like you!”
Eve reached for a bottle. “And anyway, if I wanted to know anything about you I’d just ask Kitty in class.”
Manny laughed again. “I knew you had a sense of humour.”
“I’m a hockey girl. We can banter too.”
“Are you just uptight at school then?”
Eve twisted the corkscrew and pulled out the cork, taking two glasses from the cupboard. “Teaching’s my life. I want to get it right.”
“Says the teacher standing in a very sexy black dress pouring a glass of red wine for her student.”
Eve gasped at herself. “You’re right. What am I thinking?”
“I’m joking!” said Manny.
“You can’t tell anyone about this.”
“Says the teacher plying her student with booze before forc
ing her into silence.”
“I’m serious, and you’re not having any.” Eve left one of the glasses where it was and returned to the sofa with her own.
“It was a joke!”
“Not a funny one, just like the majority of your comments… not funny.”
“Because they’re too close to the bone?”
Eve nodded. “Yes, maybe.”
Manny got up and walked to the kitchen counter, lifting the other glass. “I take full responsibility for all of it. I chose to help a woman in need. I chose to drive her to a safe place. I accepted her offer of thanks. I enjoyed a glass of wine.”
“So stop alluding to ulterior motives.”
“Eve, it’s clear for all to see that you’re utterly angelic. You care about your reputation and you care about doing the right thing and the right thing this evening was to say thank you to me and treat me like any other woman who’d helped you.” Manny sipped from her glass. “With a nice girly chat and glass of wine.” She sat back down. “So, tell me about fat boy.”
Eve couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re the type of person who ingratiates themselves with everyone, aren’t you?”
“I’m likeable. Or I was.”
Eve smiled. “You’re barely limping at all tonight.”
“It’s this knee support. It’s much stronger than my other one which helps when I’m exercising but I don’t want to get too reliant on it, so I don’t wear it to school. Anyway, fat boy, tell me the story.”
Eve groaned. “Mrs Bruster’s nephew, met him at the wine bar, had a brief interaction with him, decided to run.”
“Why?”
“He was inappropriate.”
Manny laughed. “That’s your thing, isn’t it?”
“He was rude.” She lowered her voice. “Sexual.”
“That sometimes happens on a date.”
“Not on a first date, and not on a blind date, and not on a blind date that’s thirty seconds in.”
“Really? He just got straight in there?” Manny nodded. “It must have been that dress.”
“Hey! Women should be able to wear what they want without questioning the risk it might pose because men can’t keep their hands to themselves.”