Bernadette Azizi - Undying

“Wow! I suppose that’s why all of those women are after him,” I said cheekily.

“I suppose you’re right,” Jules agreed.

“Now, our dinner reservation is for 7 o’clock tonight. I have organised a taxi to pick us up at 6. I thought we could go for a walk through the village beforehand. You might like to go through the shops,” she suggested.

“That sounds wonderful, I can’t wait.”

“And the men will meet us at the restaurant at 7. I am so happy!” Jules said, with tears of joy in her eyes.

“Oh well, here we are!” Jules said, trying to dismiss her emotional flare up.

“I’m going to have a shower and change. If the weather holds up, I might go and explore the grounds.”

“See you at 6 if I don’t see you before,” I added.

Running to my room, I couldn’t help touching James’s door as I went past. Upon opening my door, I discovered an envelope inside. I picked it up and closed my door. With excitement due to the assumption that it was from James, I quickly opened the letter.

Dear Catherine,

I am very sorry for what you went through last night. My intentions to ease your pain were strong but my actions, unfortunately, weren’t strong enough.

Mr Kemp is a very suspicious and complicated man. If any part of me believed that you were in any kind of danger in his presence, I would have removed him from the grounds immediately. It is apparent that he is not happy with you being here, but that is all. And without contradicting myself, I need you to trust that I believed every word you said and do not doubt you at all. I also apologise that I won’t be able to make tonight’s dinner plans since I believe it will cause Mr Kemp to be even more of a nuisance.

James

What? No! That isn’t fair. How can Mr Kemp get away with what he did last night? And we have to tiptoe around him .

I sat at my desk for a few minutes; I didn’t want to be the third wheel tonight. I had been really looking forward to seeing James again.

I should make Mr Kemp come tonight as payback, knowing how much he dislikes me. Like they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer . I quickly pulled out some clothes to change into and went to the shower. I dried my hair and put on some basic make-up. I wore jeans and boots, with a white blouse and jumper, putting on some of my favourite red lipstick to finish my look. I was very happy with the outcome. I only wish I was getting ready for James, not the garden gnome, Mr Kemp.

I left my room and locked the door. I went directly down the hall to Mr Kemp’s room. It was easy to find, he had been whining about his ‘eviction’ ever since I got here. I knocked on the door. No answer. I knocked again. I then heard a clatter. I knew he was in there, but still no answer. I waited for a minute and knocked again. I was getting impatient. Finally the door opened about ten centimetres.

Mr Kemp must have been in bed. His hair was untidy and he seemed dazed and confused as he put on his glasses to see who had woken him.

“You? What is it that you want, not another accusation I hope?” He barked.

Unbelievable, not even slight remorse for what he had done to me .

“Mr Kemp, Jules and Dr Simons and I are meeting for dinner at 7 o’clock this evening. Would you care to join us?” The words were as painful as chewing on glass.

“Me? Dinner with you? Will Mr Barclay be joining us?” he asked sarcastically.

“No, he hasn’t been invited. I just think it would be nice for us to have a chance to get to know each other better. We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot.”

Mr Kemp looked down and around his room. If he were a normal person he would have been thinking about providing an answer to my question, but knowing what he is capable of, I could see that he was already plotting.

“Yes, I accept,” he answered.

“Great, I will have Dr Simons pass on the details to you.”

I couldn’t bear to look at him a minute longer. I turned around and left. When I got halfway down the hall, I heard his door close. I wasn’t exactly sure what my plan was just yet. Maybe if James knew that Mr Kemp didn’t hate me so much to have dinner with us, then he would relax about being seen with me. I had to find Jules and let her know that James wasn’t coming and Mr Kemp was. I knew I would have a lot of explaining to do.

It wasn’t hard to find her. She was sitting with Dr Simons in the common room and they were laughing at something in a magazine.

“Jules, there you are,” I said as I approached them.

“Catherine! Hello dear!”

“Good morning, Dr Simons,” I said.

“Good morning, Catherine.”

“Jules, I’m sorry, but James can’t make it this evening, so I have invited Mr Kemp.”

There, I’ve said it, no beating around the bush .

“WHAT!!!” Jules and Dr Simons shouted in unison.

“I know it doesn’t make sense, but I just thought that if he had a chance to get to know me, he might like me and in return leave me alone.”

“Have you gone mad,” Jules asked.

“No… not at all.”

“Mr Kemp? I don’t know, Catherine. He has been so mean to you, I don’t think I could be nice to him,” Jules said as she shook her head from side to side.

“I agree. I don’t think I will be able to look him in the eye and be friendly towards him,” Dr Simons said with a stern look.

I appreciated their loyalty.

“Listen, please, no-one could possibly dislike him as much as me right now, but I am trying to make the situation better… for all of us.”

They looked at each other and then Jules turned towards me.

“Alright. But it will be difficult, and if he steps out of line once I will not bite my tongue.”

“Thank you, thank you. I am off to watch some of the boys’ sports. Can you please forward the details onto him and I will see you at 6,” I said, without waiting for a reply.

I headed straight for the field at the rear of the college. At least half the students were still here, having not headed home for the weekend. Some of the students were horse riding. Some were playing soccer — which they called football here — and others were just hanging out. I decided to head for the horses. There was a stable at the far end of the field. The stable was big enough to accommodate 12 horses. The first horse I saw was magnificent. Its coat was extremely shiny and smooth, with a neck and poll of amazing length. I started to stroke the horse on its forehead. It was so calm in nature, and its approachability made me feel confident.

“Excuse me Miss, that’s Sugar, she has a great nature, would you like to take her for a ride?” a young voice enquiry.

As I looked around and noticed it was one of my students.

“Thank you, Mathew, but I think I have had enough adventure for today. I may take you up on that offer one day soon though,” I replied with gratitude.

“Just let me know,” he said as he turned away and headed back to his friends on the oval.

I turned back to the horse, which now had a name.

“Sugar, huh? That’s so sweet,” I said aloud, amused at my attempt at a joke. Then I sensed I wasn’t alone, looked around but saw no-one. I felt as if I was being watched, so decided to hastily make my way back to the college. The sky seemed darker than it was minutes ago and the wind stronger. My head began to ache and I seemed to have no strength in my legs. I leaned back on the rails and closed my eyes. A shot of pain went through my body that knocked me off my feet.

“James!” I shouted for help, not caring if anyone heard me. I just needed him next to me. “James!” I yelled out his name again, this time louder. I held onto my head. The pain was becoming unbearable, I could hear voices, I looked around to see if there was anyone who could help me, but there wasn’t anyone around. Voices were inside my head and I couldn’t escape it. I felt faint…