Stealing Asia (15 page)

Part 3

Chapter 1

I knew that it was
wrong, but I could not help myself. A psychologist would call it a plea for
attention. I just call it one in a long line of easily forgettable hook-ups. If
I am really honest with myself, I only screwed him to see if sex would feel any
different on a boat. It didn’t – well, not in any positive sense at least.
Let’s just say that the Earth did not so much move as merely slosh about a bit.
What is it with boys and their toys?

‘When can I see
you again?’

Such a stupid
question. Why can he not just say what he really means?

‘Tomorrow
morning,’ I told him. ‘You have me for Gothic Literature at ten sharp.’

‘I mean when...’

‘...can you fuck
me again?’

He cast his eyes
away from me. Perhaps the impropriety of the situation had finally caught up
with him.

‘It is not like
that,’ he protested in a mock British accent. ‘I did not want to say anything
so soon, but I have been thinking about leaving Carol.’

Oh please! Why
is it that when the other girls screw their professors they get top grades, but
all I get is a midlife crisis who thinks he is in love with me? No doubt I will
have to change my major yet again.

‘Maybe it would
be better if we cooled it for a while,’ I suggested. ‘If you are merely
thinking about leaving your wife then it follows that you are also thinking
about staying with her too. It would be wrong of me to unduly influence that
decision in any way.’

He seemed unsure
how to respond. Academics can be so weak. Next time I will seduce the football
coach.

‘You should take
her out to dinner,’ I added. ‘If you plan on reigniting the spark, you will
need to provide some sort of kindling.’

He nodded
thoughtfully. It is amazing how easy it is to manipulate a man’s way of
thinking when you know how to speak his language. This one was just a sucker
for metaphors.

‘You’re right,’
he finally replied. ‘A flower will not blossom if it is left un-watered.’

I chuckled,
lamely - for his benefit, not mine. Did I really just sleep with this guy?

‘That’s right,’
I said. ‘I’m so glad I was able to be of help, sir.’

And that was
that. The balance had been restored. He was my teacher again and I his student.
As soon as I got home, I called Sydney to tell her about my day. I had a good
idea that I knew what her response would be.

‘OMG, Katie; you
are such a slut!’

I should add
that Syd does not actually talk in this way. It is just a game we play where we
pretend to be your typical preppy LA girls. She is much better at it than me.

‘Like, tell me
about it,’ I replied. ‘You should have seen his boat – it was super awesome.’

I told you she
was better.

‘Does this mean
you will be getting straight A’s this semester?’

‘I doubt it.
This one has never cheated on his wife before. Once the excitement wears off,
guilt will follow and then it is only a matter of time before resentment sets
in. I don’t think I need to tell you where he will be directing that, do I?’

‘Oh, Katie,
however do you get yourself into these situations?’

‘I thought we
already covered that. I’m a slut, remember.’

I heard her sigh
at the other end of the line.

‘Seriously
though; was it worth it?’

‘For the sex? –
no. The comedy value on the other hand, was unforgettable. Have you noticed how
he always puts that ridiculous fake British accent on during lectures?’

‘How can anyone
not notice? The guy is so pompous. Everyone knows that his family come from the
mid-west. He is fooling nobody.’

‘Well, the
impression extends further than mere speech.’

‘What do you
mean?’

‘Let’s just say
that he likes to keep a stiff upper lip.’

‘You are
terrible!’

She was right,
of course. All of my problems are engineered by me, but I was glad to have
Sydney to confide in. Being an only child is never easy and it is even worse
when you are a girl. She was the sister that I should have had. After
exchanging a little more gossip, I ended the call and almost immediately the
handset burst back into life.

Withheld number.

There is
normally a fifty-fifty chance whether or not I would answer a call like this.
Since I had just ended it with the only man in my life, I was confident it
would not be somebody playing games. I took the call.

‘Hello, Syd,
it’s Katie. You will never guess where I have spent the afternoon...’

Hearing the
exact same words I had spoken just minutes before played back made me feel sick
to the pit of my stomach. I knew instantly who the caller was. There was still
one man who was dead set on complicating my life and the games he had in mind
were never playful. He had not only heard everything, but the bastard had it on
tape. I pressed the end button. It was not necessary to hear the entire
conversation again to realise what trouble I was in. All I could do was to wait
for his next move.

There was no
point in trying to avoid him. It was his house and with security cameras in
every room, it was not like I had anywhere to hide. My summons came shortly
after dinner. Well, shortly after his dinner. I had just taken a bowl of fruit
to my room and eaten from that. If we carried on avoiding each other at meal
times it would do wonders for my figure.

‘Well?’ I asked,
hoping that he would just get the lecture over and done with.

He did not
answer. He did not even acknowledge the question. All he did was sit at that
stupid desk of his and pretend to be engrossed by some dumb paperwork. He had
built an entire career based around feigning an interest in paperwork.

I turned to
leave. When I was just about to turn the door handle to let myself out he
finally acknowledged my presence.

‘I did not
excuse you, child.’

Child! Who did
he think he was? I had lived more in my nineteen years than he had his entire
life.

‘You did not
give me permission to breathe either. Would you like for me to asphyxiate
myself for you?’

He did not
respond.

‘I did not think
so. That’s a game you like to save for your hookers, isn’t it?’

Again, he just
sat and silently stared me down. Mom’s portrait was behind him as ever. He had
no right to keep her so close to him, but at least I could take some comfort in
her presence. Why she had wasted her life on such an odious man I will never
understand. I held her gaze to avoid his. It was his turn to be uneasy with the
silence.

‘I have spoken
to the Dean and he is as eager to avoid any negative publicity as I am. Rather
than expulsion, your name will simply be deleted from the school’s records. It
will be as if you never attended.’

Was I supposed
to be grateful? That was the third school I had been removed from in six
months. Yet I was still not getting the credit I deserved. Maybe I was sleeping
with the wrong people.

‘Why must you
insist on hiding the truth?’ I asked. ‘Would it not be easier to just let the
papers have their scandal? Let the world know that your daughter is some kind
of a sex addict. I am sure that the resulting publicity would do wonders for
your campaign.’

I would only
ever use the “d” word in a negative context. He deserved to claim no parental
responsibility except when it came to my fuck-ups.

‘It seems you
know even less about politics than you do about being a lady. The only reason I
did not throw you onto the street years ago is because of the stain it would
leave on my own reputation.’

‘Sorry for being
a regular teenager. Maybe you would prefer it if I contracted a terminal
illness. If you want to get re-elected you are going to have to win over the
sympathy voters.’

His nearest
rival in the polls had recently closed the gap to just two points. She had a
young son in hospital suffering from leukaemia and the story attracted a lot of
media attention. The best he could manage was to butcher a load of impoverished
kids for selling crack just to stay alive.

‘That will not
be necessary. I intend to see to it that you cannot jeopardize my career ever
again.’

His words seemed
so final. I quickly glanced down at my feet to make sure I was not standing on
a secret trap door. He opened the top drawer of his desk and I braced myself
for when he would push the button that would send me cascading down into the
crocodile pit below. A few seconds passed and I did not find my limbs being
torn apart by ravenous reptiles. It looked like I had once more over estimated
the old man.

I watched him
remove an envelope from the drawer and place it onto his desk. Maybe things
were looking up for me after all. Many a political foe or member of a law
enforcement agency had sat across from him at this same desk and been passed a
mysterious envelope that turned out to be filled with crisp green portraits of
ex presidents.

‘This is a
first; you paying a lady
not
to fuck you.’

‘You are no lady
and I am not paying you anything. Open it.’

The envelope was
not sealed. I pulled back the flap and removed what turned out to be a plane
ticket. The destination was Malawi: one way. Rather than lower myself by asking
for an explanation, I waited for him to offer one.

‘I thought that
by keeping you at home this time it would have stopped you from giving in to
the temptations that inevitably come with college life. I was wrong. The only
option left is to send you away; far away.’

This was a bit extreme
even by his standards. Did he genuinely think that spending a year or two in
the Peace Corps would mould me into the frigid mannequin he had always wanted
me to be? If either of us needed to be humbled by experiencing third world
poverty first hand it was him. Maybe if I was lucky, Madonna would adopt me and
bring me back home to the States a little sooner.

‘Can I be
excused now?’

He waved me away
before returning to his oh so important papers. There was nothing I could say
to change his mind. I walked to the door, but still he had not finished with
me. Once again he called me back just as I was about to leave.

‘One more thing,
Katherine,’ he said, as condescendingly as he was capable. ‘It would be
unfortunate if your ticket were to become lost or damaged in any way. Andrew
will take it from you once you leave my study. He will also be your chaperone
until it is time for your departure.’

So that was it.
I was to be guarded under lock and key before being exported to Africa, where I
would undertake my rehabilitation. Surely Betty Ford would have been cheaper. I
found out a little more of the details over the following days. The destination
selected for me was an all female refuge. I was to help care for victims of
rape and domestic violence. There would not be a man within a hundred square
miles of me the whole time.

I would like to
say that Andrew had been a loyal servant of the family since before I was born
and looked upon me as he would his own daughter. Unfortunately, that is not
true. The senator was a miserly employer and could never retain any of his
staff beyond a maximum of two years. Andrew had been at the house for just
eight months and he was hired with my proclivities in mind. He was homosexual.
On the positive side: I always did enjoy a challenge.

The senator was
out of state on business when the day of my departure came. He would not have
been bothered about saying goodbye to me anyway; he only wanted to make sure
that I was gone.

A security agent
was appointed to accompany me to the airport. It reassured me to know that tax
dollars were being put to good use on a matter of national significance.
Ordinarily, I may have tried to seduce this unwanted chaperone. He was, all
things considered, quite cute in an apish sort of a way. It would have been a
futile gesture though. I had tried it once before. These security types take
their job far too seriously to jeopardise it on a girl. They probably cut their
dicks off at boot camp just to make sure that temptation is never an issue.

Andrew was driving.
He also took a liking to my new bodyguard and made no effort to hide the
attraction. The way he flirted was outrageous. He even had a few tricks I was
not aware of. Resisting the advances of a girl was one thing, but having to
deal with the advances of another man was a different matter for the minder
entirely. By the time we made it to the airport the agent had had enough.

‘I will take her
from here,’ he said to Andrew. ‘You are dismissed. I will make my own way
back.’

‘Just one
minute,’ said Andrew, using his finger to prod the agent in the chest. ‘This
little Angel is my responsibility and I am not letting her out of my sight
until she is safely on her plane. Do you understand?’ He then softened his
tone. ‘Besides which, I was hoping that we could maybe make a detour on the way
home: just the two of us.’

He smiled in a
way that I could only describe as lascivious.

‘You want her;
she’s yours,’ said the agent.

The guard then
shot me a cruel sideways glance before striding away to look for a taxi to take
him back into the city. I waited until he was out of sight and then raised my
hand to offer Andrew a high-5.

‘You are even
more of a tart than me,’ I told him later, as we sat in the airport juice bar
sharing smoothies before I headed to the departure lounge.

‘You have got to
be kidding,’ he replied. ‘I know all about your antics, young lady. They make
even an old queer like me blush. You certainly have a talent when it comes to
men.’

‘Talent enough
to make a gay man straight?’ I asked.

He laughed into
his straw, dumping a dollop of froth onto the tabletop.