Page 82 of Love, Academically
Two complaints were bothersome? Yeah, it is ‘bothersome’, Sue, and if she had been on her predecessor as much as she was Lila, then it wouldn’t have been an issue in the first place.
“Nearly there,” Lila said with a smile, praying she would be finished by five so she could go home. Her legs hurt from her quick march walk around the reservoir yesterday. Twice.
“Good,” Sue said, scrunching her nose up as she watched Lila pour hot water into her chamomile teapot. “Okay, well.”
She turned to leave.
“Oh, Sue,” Lila said, catching her arm gently. “As I’ve got you, can I have a quick chat about the Linguistics Master’s course?”
“In the English department?” Sue frowned hard at her. “What about it?”
“I’d like to do it.”
There was a beat of silence and Lila’s courage faltered. She hadn’t even planned on asking Sue, because it was just a pipe dream. But she was buoyed with adrenaline from her French Resistance fantasy and her assertive conversation with Jason. Actually, Jason’s half of the loan should be able to fund most of it. Fingers crossed.
“Why?” Sue asked, before waving her hand dismissively. “I don’t know if I can release you for the required lecture hours.”
Without checking, Lila wasn’t sure that Sue could ask her why she wanted to do a course and she wasn’t about to disclose her lexicography dream to her just to be ridiculed. Recently, Sue had been so… prickly.
“I think the handbook says that staff can be released for up to six hours per week for university courses,” Lila said with a smile. There was no ‘think’ about it. She’d checked it ten million times and the Linguistics course was four hours a week.
“Oh, right,” Sue said, shifting uncomfortably.
“The handbook also says that there’s a discount. Do you know how much it is?” Lila continued. She might as well get it all out.
“No.”
“Could you find out?”
“I suppose I can ask Finance.”
“Great, if you could let me know by Wednesday, that would be amazing. Applications are due soon and I want to make sure I’ve got mine in.” Lila popped the lid on the teapot and gave Sue the biggest grin she could find. “Thanks, Sue!”
Lila scuttled back to her office, clutching her teapot nice and tight so she didn’t spill any of her precious flower water.
Who the crap did she think she was? Managing upwards? That was some really ballsy stuff and Sue had been left a bit shell-shocked. She checked her phone again while the tea was steeping.
Nothing. It was times like these, when she’d had no replies, no check-ins, that she felt a bit like a burden to her friends and family. They were all busy. Jasmeet was doing whatever she was doing with Dan, Maddy had Ruby and their baby, her parents were living their best lives.
She couldn’t complain. She was glad for them all. They werehappy, they were growing, it was exactly what she wanted her for her friends and family.
It was just that Jason had kind of isolated her. Okay, no ‘kind of’ about it. Hehadisolated her. If it hadn’t been for Jasmeet being able to see what Lila couldn’t (that Jason was a manipulative piece of shit) and forcing herself into Lila’s life, then she would be completely alone.
What she didnotdo, however, was look at the stupid message that stupid Rhys Aubrey-Dallimore sent last night.
It’s not you, it’s me.
Okay fine. Maybe she did look at it. Several times. Could he get any more clichéd? Yeah, he sometimes struggled with social niceties, but was that really the best he could do? It was now well into the afternoon and she still hadn’t seen his pert little conker arse, so everything was good. If she could just make it through the next two hours, then she would be golden and perhaps by tomorrow, the mortification would have lifted a little.
Who was she kidding? The embarrassment of rejection wouldn’t leave her until she was dead in her grave, and then she’d be resurrected just to remember Rhys’s words.I don’t want…
Yep. Brilliant. Great.
Lila knew she’d have to see him sooner or later, but surely later was better than sooner, when it wasn’t so… raw. Yes, raw. When she could laugh it off and say ‘oh that? Oh, never mindthat,Rhys!’ and give a sophisticated, tinkly chuckle, as she imagined Seren would.
It was ten past four when the inevitable happened.
“Lila?” Rhys stood in her doorway, having the good grace to look at least a little bit abashed.
