THOA/Chapter 19

Olive stood by the skyscraper leaning onto the parapet. She was anxious; playing nervously with her hair, she kept looking in her pocket mirror to check her makeup. Then, as she threw her mirror back into her purse she scrutinized the young men passing by, looking out for the bespectacled one and trying to pick him out of the crowd. Some skinny four-eyes, indeed, showed up soon, walked by Olive, approached two young guys and all three disappeared into thin air.

Olive pulled her skirt down her knee again, trying to hide her torn tights and looked around. It was so embarrassing! Not only had she come here painted up like an idiot with her tights torn, she was hanging around here all alone, waiting for some glasses, who hadn't even deigned to turn up. Olive felt ashamed of herself, her last night's excitement and awkwardness when she had called him and set up this date. Perhaps leaving would be the best idea right now, she thought. Yet she stood on and waited pointlessly, glancing sideways at the tall fellow standing a little way and waiting for his girlfriend as well.

"Maybe I should talk to him," occurred to Olive, "There's nothing criminal about, for example, asking him what time it is."

But, while she was summoning up her courage, the guy took the words right out of her mouth.

"A quarter to one," he murmured passing by her and glancing at his watch, "I think there's no point in waiting any longer."

"I see your girlfriend hasn't shown up either." said Olive shyly.

"Actually, she's not my girlfriend. I just met her online... Never even seen her photo."

"You know it's the same with me..." Olive began and cut off suddenly as she caught his gaze, "What? What's wrong? My face got dirty?"

"Not really," said the green-eyes still gazing at her, "Those Moscow gals are bizarre, I dare say. Called me last night, set up a date and... never came!" 

Olive blushed beet-red; the mirror slipped out of her shaking hand. She bent to pick it up but felt his gaze through her skin, and, burning with shame, she looked up at him. He was smiling.

"Okay, I see," said he trying to contain his laughter, "So, you say you are from Murmansk, right? Cart Street... Or no, you mean Horse Street..."

Olive could barely keep herself from running away like hell.

"Or is it Stable Street or something..." Daniel kept on jeering at her, "Tut-tut, how naughty of you little liar!"

"Now stop it!" cried Olive ready to die of embarrassment.

Daniel stood there with his arms folded and kept on staring at her with a grin on his face. His eyes cut right through her and made Olive see herself exactly the way he saw her. She got incredibly embarrassed of her stunted, short-legged person on extremely high heels reminding stilts; the cheap, heavy makeup on her slant-eyed face; her gaudy, flashy outfit and the crow nest on her head. She had been so desperate to impress him that she'd dressed up like a fool. And her lying about Murmansk... She wished she had bitten her tongue off. It would be no wonder if he said that he'd got some urgent business right now, jump on a tram and leave for good.

"Oh, well," said Daniel with obvious disappointment, "It's an interesting date, isn't it? So... what are we gonna do now?"

It meant "I hadn't thought you would turn out to be such a scarecrow! You are not at all as I imagined. I fancied you pretty at least a little bit. Not as ugly as you really are. So plain and short, and slant-eyed like a Chinese. Gosh, and this makeup... Five layers of powder, five layers of mascara, the vulgarly thick layer of greasy lipstick - looks like the paint is about to peel! The burning, acid green sweatshirt, huge earrings, too! The hair is a mess... Terrible. Ter-ri-ble".

Olive could feel he didn't like her. Her cheeks burned with shame and humiliation, tears welled up in her eyes. She sat down beside him hunching her back and hanging her head.

"Don't know," she whispered softly not daring to look at him.

It meant: "I know you don't like me and it hurts me badly, but I can't make you stay. You may leave, I'm not keeping you".

However, Daniel wasn't in a hurry to leave...