“Mrs. Granchamps is ill today,” they tell me when I get to school. Looks like I’m in for a full day at the library! I can’t wrap my mind around it. First, my teacher stands me up, then this mysterious encounter. I can’t stop talking about it to Manon over our daily feast of brown meat.
“Maybe it was the landlord. What’s his name again?”
“Delmonte? That’d be a surprise. The guy I saw this morning was around thirty years old, he didn’t seem like a retiree…maybe it was his son?”
“Did he look rich?”
“I don’t know…he was wearing a suit.”
“There are suits and then there are suits! How was it tailored? What kind of material? How many buttons did he have on his jacket? The shirt?”
“He was wearing a…black suit with a grey shirt.”
“You’re killing me here. And his shoes?”
“Yeah, he was wearing shoes.”
“Thanks. I think I have all the information I need to determine where this person comes from.”
“Really?”
“Emma! No, I was joking. Anyway, was he cute?”
“Sure, I think so. Tall, brown haired, seemed interesting…”
“Are you going to go for him?”
“Given that I don’t know who he is, that I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again, that he’s probably the son of my landlord and that, moreover, I came here to Paris to study and that I don’t have the time nor the desire to become infatuated with someone, I’d say no.”
“What does that matter, we’ve been talking about him for an hour…”
“You’re the one talking about him! Anyway, what do you expect, it’s close to the only thing that’s happened to me since I got to Paris.”
That’s no lie. It’s true that the stranger made more of an impression upon me than I’d like to admit. But who knows, really. It all happened in less than a minute, which makes the experience seem even more interesting.
It’s as if my body retained the memory of the instant when our two bodies collided. I barely remember what he looks like, and thinking about our bodies touching brings back the sudden sensation of heat that rushed through me.
But I’m completely devoted to my studies. I didn’t come here for that kind of stuff. That’s all there is to say.
My wish has been granted, I resume my routine even more enthusiastically. The weather is starting to turn cold in Paris and it gets darker earlier every evening. I read in my room at night. I thought I heard voices come out of Delmonte’s apartment that night. In the morning everything is calm, I must have been dreaming.
4. Him again
My analysis is too short. I’m full of preconceived notions. I’m gluing old concepts onto ready-made ideas.
I’ve never received such harsh criticism before. Mrs. Granchamps pulled no punches. I leave her office defeated. I’m good for nothing. In any case, not for research. I don’t want to be the kind of person to act this way, but I run to the bathroom to cry. It’s too much. Two months of intense studying and meat in brown sauce far away from home and the people I love, for what? To be treated like a superficial idiot? I want to disappear.
Instead of disappearing, I decide to pick up something at McDonald’s and go eat in my little room while watching a movie on my computer. I deserve a little comfort this evening.
I come home with puffy eyes, carrying an enormous paper bag reeking of fast food and enter the building…and again I come face to face with the stranger who, this time, seems to be leaving. I want to crawl under the floor. He looks at me, not at all like the first time. I feel like I’m an old incontinent cat. At least that’s what I get from his disgusted and slightly scornful grimace. I manage to croak out a 'bonsoir'. He sizes me up for a little while and then grants me a polite 'Mademoiselle' before disappearing into a sedan whose back door opens like magic.
Well, who does this guy think he is? I fume while eating my fries on my bed. What does he think? That everyone eats caviar for dinner? I’d like to see this punk at the university cafeteria! He's probably never set foot on a college campus, he probably never even studied. He must be the kind of rich kid who goes from golf games to cocktail parties without asking any questions. The gentleman was born rich and handsome and despises all those who aren’t like him! What a despicable guy…
But still handsome. That can’t be denied. A natural kind of handsome, almost wild. I’d like to say he seemed artificial, wore too much cologne or too much hair gel, but he didn’t. He emanates something animal and deeply masculine. A force, an energy…something indefinable. His eyes are a dark black, bewitching, and his fleshy mouth seems ready to bite or kiss something. His body is enormous. Athletic. He’s handsome, yes. Which makes him even more revolting.