1.
- You do realize how lucky you are, don't you? At least three other people who were much more promising than you were applying for this position as a teacher. It helped that you once studied with my daughter in the same class and she told how often you helped her with homework and even tests. I felt it was only fair to bail you out of your sad situation.
- And I thank you again from the bottom of my heart. I really need this money, thanks to you I was able to close my rent for this month on the very last day! I don't know what I would do without this job.
- You would be on the streets, obviously. Remember that horrible smell as soon as you get off the subway? Next to those dirty beggars? I think that you would have no choice but to join them ... At least there is warmth there, and this is very important for the homeless on these cold evenings.
- That would be terrible. I don't know what would have become of me if it wasn't for you. Thank you again.
- Okay. I thought about where to put you and did not come up with anything better than if you teach foreign literature. My daughter told me that at school you were very fond of reading all sorts of thick novels. Do you think you can handle it?
- Yes, I know a lot of literature and I can teach it to students without any problems.
- It is always more difficult with the younger ones, so you will teach in 2-3 courses, those who are over 18 already study there, so there should not be any problems. You won't be in trouble, will you?
- No, of course not.
- Nobody will complain to me that you teach badly or something like that?
- No. I will never set you up like that in my life.
- That's right, because in the worst case scenario you end up on the street, right? - the woman smiled, no longer holding herself back.
- Right...
- Okay, you're free for today. Tomorrow will be your first day at work. Come to room 1076 at 10 am, the lesson plan will be sent to you by mail.
- Thanks again for the opportunity, I swear I won't disappoint you.
Lily left the rector's office with her head bowed low, she could hardly restrain herself from crying. The life of a homeless woman scared her more than death, but reality was that if she missed this opportunity to work at the university, then the cold ground near the metro would be waiting for her. The worst thing was that she hated this kind of work where she needed to be the center of attention. Lily was a very modest person, a shy girl who prefers that no one notices her once again ... And now she will have to teach an entire audience of people who were about the same age as her. Lily was 22 years old and already at the bottom. A long chain of bad luck and failures led her to the fact that now she grabbed every opportunity to stay afloat. She had long ago cast aside her pride and any principles. Her childlike innocence was erased, broken against the strong concrete walls of the adult world.
She walked down the stairs towards the exit of the building. A joyful student life raged around her, Lily remembered how a few years ago she was in the place of these carefree students and thought that a happy life awaited her ahead. She did not expect that very soon she would wake up in the morning and her first thought would be how much she wants to eat. Lily began to notice how, after just a few months, she had changed beyond recognition .. became very angry and envious. Even now, she descended from floor to floor and heard the sonorous laughter of attractive students who were talking among themselves, and at that moment Lily hated them with all her heart, especially because of their beauty, because she herself was not very attractive in appearance. If she were more beautiful, then she is sure that life would be much easier, these students will definitely not think too much about where they could get normal food today or tomorrow, or in a month. Although Principal Maple hired her, it was not a formal job, plus it was a trial period. Lily will receive only half of the minimum wage for the first two months, and only then will she be paid in full ... The next two months she will still have to starve, but now at least she did not have to worry about being evicted from her apartment for non-payment ...
Principal Maple... Once upon a time, at school, Lily was head over heels in love with her daughter, whose name was Sasha. Lily is sure that then it was true love, at least one-sided. At school, Lily was disliked because of her eternally dissatisfied facial expression and incomprehensible arrogance coming from god knows where ... Due to the fact that Lily began to read books from an early age, she imagined something big about herself, as if she was better and smarter than her peers. As a result, she managed to regret it a hundred times already, because later they began to really hate her. She had no friends at all, no one wanted to deal with her, she was despised. And so, when she was already desperate and decided to completely immerse herself in the abyss of depression and apathy, Sasha appeared. She was recently transferred to this school and put at the same desk with Lily, since no one wanted to sit there. The teachers decided that perhaps this new girl would be her first real friend. And they did not fail. Sasha turned out to be a very kind nature, who immediately won over with her sincerity and openness ... But in the first place, of course, was her simply extraterrestrial beauty. One could look at her simply perfect face for hours, simultaneously experiencing waves of aesthetic pleasure. Sasha seemed to be like the Goddess at the paintings of the masters of ancient eras, as if she was like a stranger in such a gray current world. When Lily spoke to her, she could not stop trembling in her arms and legs, she constantly swallowed saliva and could not control her voice, stuttering and even whispering. Sasha was a little amused by what her new friend was going through, she did not even suspect what a strong effect she had on her. When everyone in the class realized that Sasha had become Lily's friend, all bullying and hatred immediately stopped. Everyone wanted Sasha to have a better opinion of them.
But, in the end, of course, Lily's "love" did not go beyond friendly gatherings and walking to school together. She could not risk losing Sasha if she confessed her love to her and she would be rejected. After that, it would not even be about friendship. Lily was sure that Sasha would immediately move away from her and forget forever. This fear was very real and Lily decided to do everything in her power to keep her "angel" close to her. She began to ask Sasha to let her do her homework, assingments, help with tests, and in general everything that she wants. When it was necessary to clean up the school grounds and work on the flowerbed, Lily immediately shifted all the physical work to herself, telling Sasha to rest and not even think about such things. Lily did not know why, but she felt unusually pleasant when she did something for Sasha .. as if warmth radiated from the center of her abdomen throughout her body, she had never experienced anything like this ... whe Sasha laughed, covering her mouth with her hand, it was even better. Waves of pleasure rolled down Lily's back and she could hardly stand on her feet.
But all this was behind. After graduation, she never saw Sasha again. And now Lily could not believe that in her job search she managed to stumble upon her mother, who was the principal of this university. It seemed that she was the complete opposite of her daughter: very rude, unsmiling, and in general, a completely opposite, negative aura emanated from her. Lily didn't like her at all, but she had to put up with it.
All those students... It was a public university, where you even don't need to get good grades to be enrolled... You get here for fat sums of money that people like Lily could not even dream of. She is sure that everyone here has very rich parents who took good care that their children would not be overworked in this life. Each of these giggling coeds was born with a silver spoon in their mouths, Lily smiled knowing that she wouldn't get any respect for them. It was evident from their faces that these "kids" did not respect anyone but themselves.
Suddenly, Lily witnessed a scene unfolding in front of her. One of those fat and unattractive cleaners was sweeping right in the next corridor, she was disgusting to look at, she was sweating and she was breathing like she was a carriage horse. Most likely, she had been working here for several hours tirelessly, probably, she needed to clean this last floor and immediately after that she would have gone on her well-deserved break. For some reason, Lily stopped, leaned against the wall and began to look at her figure. And at that very moment, the door of one of the classrooms opened wide and three girls came out of it, holding phones and snacks. They were talking loudly about where they were going to party tonight.
