Now, it was time to find something about Anglo-Norman. It was twice as hard.
After filling thirty-five pages in total with writing, I decided that I was ready for the class.
«Ignorance is bliss…»
Frankly speaking, I had some strange feeling. As if I was NERVOUS before my speech. But why? Why had I got this feeling? I don’t know. But I didn’t want to make a blooper in front of Andrew anyway.
So, I needed to prepare my speech in advance. Was it possible to learn it all by heart..? I didn’t think so. There must’ve been another way to impress the teacher.
I started rehearsing my speech. It turned out long enough. I hoped he’d like it. The first thing I had to bear in mind is the keep-smiling art. The second thing was to keep my head while speaking.
I hope there’s a piece of advice on how to pull oneself together at night. Wait, I also had to look well. Otherwise, he wouldn’t look at me.
So, I’d been rehearsing until it was time to go to bed. To be honest, I’d done only Andrew’s subject today. So what? I had some time to get ready for the other ones as well.
«So, who’s going to speak first?» he asked.
«Me!» I shouted out.
«Hmm… Why so impatiently, Ella?»
«I’ve just been preparing for your subject…»
«What, for the whole night?» he interrupted me.
«Absolutely not!»
«Then, why’re you so confident? Did you know that people behave like this only if they’ve been studying all night?»
«I didn’t.»
I didn’t want bad blood to appear between us. And I hoped it wouldn’t.
«Ella, you’re quite quick on the uptake!»
«Thank you!»
«It’s not a compliment, you know!» he laughed.
«What’s it, then?» I asked.
«It’s nothing! Just nothing! By the way, do you know any synonyms for the word «nothing’?»
We all were taken aback. What synonyms? For what word..?
«No one knows a single synonym,» I said.
«Oh, and why? Aren’t you the students of New York University?» he asked, pretending to be bewildered and raising his eyebrows.
«There’s an expression. I hope you know at least that,» he turned to the blackboard and wrote the following:
Ignorance is bliss
«So, what’s this and who said this?» he asked.
«It’s a well-known proverb,» Edward said.
«How do you know that, Edward?» Andrew asked.
«Well…» Edward yawned, «I just heard something about it.»
«Ha-ha! And that’s it?»
«Well, yeah…» Seemed like Edward was just waking up. Although the afternoon was well along. He hadn’t slept for the whole night getting ready for Andrew’s class, I supposed…
A lazy guy, yes.
«I think it’s an idiom,» I quickly put in a word.
«Prove it, then.»
«Well…» Although I didn’t want to be like Edwards who knew absolutely nothing. «It’s been said that idioms and fixed expressions are an integral part of folklore…»
«Wait, what does folklore have to do about ignorance?»
I couldn’t answer the question.
«It means you’re ignorant, Ella,» Andrew said and smiled.
My God! Fair hair, blue eyes. And his smile… And his aquiline nose…
He always wore black jeans and a suitjacket, a white shirt under it. So he did now.
Of course, I was ignorant in comparison with him because he knew practically everything, and I knew practically nothing!
«Okay, now, let’s pass over to your home assignment. What was it, Ella?»
I was really happy he’d been asking me more often than the others.
I was flattered. And I’d try even more, for Andrew to be impressed. No, for me to steal the scene for him! To be like the excellent brightness of the sun!
«Well, it was about the Anglo-Saxons,» I started. «They…»
«No, no, Ella!» He interrupted me. «I only asked you what the assignment was. Let’s listen to somebody else. You’ve already shown your knowledge today.»
What? How come? I’d been preparing for his class for the whole night!
He smiled. First, he asked me anyway! It seems like he quickly changed his mind.
«Now, Catherine!» he called the girl.
Catherine’s my best friend. I just call her Kate. It suits her better. Kate’s a dark-haired girl. She’s got big brown eyes. She’s a Jew. Jews are so nice! They always treat you as if you belonged to them, even if you aren’t! So, I treat her as if she belonged to the English too. We’re finger and thumb. And we both studied in America, far away from our homelands, so we were in the same boat. In contrast to her, I have got blue eyes and fair hair.
Kate lived in the student hostel with me. Her room was just next to mine. Her mother is a Jew too, and her father is an American. They both lived in California at that time.
I’ve also got another best friend, Tülay. She’s from Turkey, but she studies in London. We always write letters to one another: I send mine to the UK, and she gets hers to the USA. Tülay lives in London with her family, and she has decided it’d be better for her to stay there. And I’m a Bedouin. I like going from one place to another. That’s why I’m here, in New York.
«So, Catherine?» Andrew asked, distracting me from my thoughts.
«Just call me Kate,» she said. «It’d be more convenient for you to call my name when you need.»
«Okay. Sure! So, Kate…» he paused, «tell us all about the Anglo-Saxons, the Anglo-Norman language and all that jazz.»
I felt sorry for Kate. How would she make her speech?
Fortunately, she did it very well.
After Kate’s speech, Andrew turned to me:
«So, Ella, see how well-prepared she is? You should take an example by your friend!»
«Of course,» I said and then smiled too.
I wanted to watch his reaction. I smiled sincerely indeed. I’m not a bad girl. I don’t have any false feelings. Frankly speaking, I don’t even know how one can show false emotions. Your feelings and emotions must be truly sincere.
He stood, his mouth wide open. He didn’t say anything.
After some time, he continued speaking:
«Okay, that’s it. Now, let’s pass over to our today’s topic. And it’s not William Shakespeare,» he looked at me cunningly. He looked at me again!
«What’s it?» Sally asked.
«It’s Beowulf,» Andrew smiled.
«What?» Edward’s mouth formed an O.
«Beowulf, Edward,» Andrew said, his speech seasoned with irony.
«And