AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 2
Jack
Nine o’clock Mondaymorning lectures are always the same. The students stare at me with glazed eyes, and I stare back with a disdain that is getting harder and harder to conceal. This isn’t why I became an academic. In fact, it’s the least enjoyable part of the job. Every year, the students become more entitled, more self-assured, more resistant to learning, as if that were even possible. I wonder if any of them actually read the texts instead of just watching the film. A couple. Maybe. Most of them, however, look as delighted to be here as I am.
‘Let’s move on to the symbolism and main purpose of disguise in Shakespeare. In most of Shakespeare’s plays, the device of the masquerade orthe maskis used for both comedic and tragic effect. In Elizabethan England, women were prohibited from acting on stage so the female characters, acted by men in costume, would in itself have been an act of masquerade. Shakespeare would also sometimes use disguise to question gender conventions, as inTwelfth Night, or as a device to address societal and class issues, as inThe Taming of the Shrew. In Elizabethan times, audiences would have been well aware of the meaning and symbolism behind these acts of rebellion. This is because the Sumptuary Laws had long dictated appropriate clothing for the upper and lower classes. Fabrics and materials were restricted. Even the colour of your clothing was decided based on the station you were born into. If you think about it, it must have been strikingandrevolutionary for an audience, only permitted to dress in a certain way, to see such things on stage.’
I pause for a moment and scan the lecture theatre. I see there are a few students taking notes, but mostly it’s just a sea of blank faces. As all of the lecture materials are available online, many don’t bother to take notes anymore. And since the university made it compulsory that the lectures would be recorded, I’m lucky if half the class shows up. Why get up on a Monday morning when you can sleep off your hangover then listen to the lecture and get your notes at your leisure?
‘Let’s go back to Romeo and Juliet. Can anyone tell me where Romeo and Juliet are when they first meet?’ I take a deep breath and brace myself for it. I keep having to correct them. No, Romeo and Juliet did not first lock eyes on each other through a glass aquarium.
‘At a masquerade ball,’ a student shouts.
‘Correct. Shakespeare used masks, disguises, masquerades, and even cross-dressing as devices for several things, including to disguise gender and social roles. In Elizabethan society, disguise was a powerful tool. In Romeo and Juliet—’
I’m cut off by the bell. The students pack up their laptops, pens, and notepads. I always wait until the last student has left before leaving. Though today, I wish I hadn’t.
‘Love your shirt, Blake. Those colours really suit you,’ a young woman says in the front row.
‘This shirt?’ The young man scoffs in his posh accent. ‘This is my shooting shirt. Normally I would only wear it on a hunt but,’ he shrugs his shoulders, ‘time to do laundry, I suppose. I’m forever behind.’
They giggle together and I shudder. Conversations about shooting shirts aren’t something you would typically hear from the locals of Castle Eden, but within the walls of this university, I’m not surprised. Castle Eden is the third oldest university in England, and with the historic colleges and cobblestone streets, it’s a magnet for every posh student looking to continue their private school-type education. It’s a beautiful place to live and work, especially in the quiet summer months when the students have left the town, I think, smiling to myself. Sadly, it’s only October and the university term is just starting.
The last of the students finally leaves the lecture theatre and I follow them out, heading to the main office.
Although I despise nearly everything about this job, the students, my head of department, the insurmountable workload, there is one part I really enjoy—Leyna Burrows.
I hear her voice before I see her. A sickly-sweet tone dripping with terse civility. Who is she speaking to, I wonder, as I approach cautiously. That voice once again, overly polite but sheathing something darker beneath the surface. I have always suspected that there is another side to her, one she hides away from this place. That’s why I find Leyna so fascinating.
I can see her now. She’s petite and her black skirt hugs the curves of her hips. A soft, white, floral top is tucked into the high-waisted skirt and it’s buttoned up to her neckline. Very respectable. She has big, curious eyes and lips I could lose myself in. Normally her hair is tied back but today it flows freely around her face, chestnut locks that curl softly over her shoulders. I have no idea if her hair does that naturally or not, but all I can think about is running my fingers through her tresses, feeling their silky softness, and the pulling it all into one long ponytail that I hold onto as I...
Christ. Who stands in the shadows and stares at the departmental secretary like she’s a willing participant in a night of unabashed debauchery? And that’s just me winging it. Imagine what we could do with a little wine and a whole lot of temptation?Snap out of it, Jack, I tell myself. This is no way to behave at work, and, besides, Leyna isn’t that kind of girl.
