thirty in the test– and when she gets up it’s as if her heart is too weak to pump the blood all the way up to her head. Her knees give way and she is amazed to find that the cliché is actually true – that they really do give way. Darkness closes in so she seems to be peering through a tapering tube. Then she falls.
But someone catches her. When she opens her eyes she’s looking straight into Max’s concerned face. She’s sitting on the steps, leaning against the wall, and he’s so close to her that she’s breathing in his exhalations. And he hers? She has a strange taste in her mouth, which probably means she has bad breath.
‘Are you all right? Should I get the nurse?’ he asks.
She turns away so that she can breathe again. ‘I’m all right, I just haven’t eaten anything,’ she mutters.
At once she becomes aware that people have gathered and are staring at her.
Max opens his briefcase and pulls out a banana. She takes it and tries to stand up, but black spots swirl in front of her eyes.
‘Eat this first,’ Max says.
‘Thanks,’ she says. ‘I can manage now.’
But Max stays where he is.
Minoo starts to panic. She can’t imagine eating anything in front of Max while he’s watching her so closely, especially not some phallic fruit. She starts peeling it, so slowly that she hopes he’ll get bored and wander off. But he doesn’t budge.
She raises the banana to her lips. No, she can’t do it. She breaks off small pieces instead, pops them into her mouth, hopes her hands aren’t too dirty. Can’t he just go away?
‘I’m so sorry about what happened to Rebecka. You were friends, weren’t you?’ Max asks.
‘Yes,’ Minoo says, her mouth full of banana.
Max looks as if he wants to say something else, but instead he sits down next to Minoo and puts an arm around her.
There’s something about the way he does it, so totally natural, that makes her cry for the first time since Rebecka died. The warmth of his arm melts the lump in her throat and releases the tears. Someone catcalls at them. She doesn’t care. She doesn’t care that she probably looks like a depressed baboon as she scrunches up her face and sobs, holding a half-eaten banana.
Please don’t say anything, she thinks. There’s nothing to say and if you try it’ll just ruin the moment. This is the only thing that helps.
And Max remains quiet. The bell rings and the students around them disappear into their classrooms. Max’s arm stays put. His breathing is calm and steady.
After a while she wipes away the tears with her sleeve. She’s probably got mascara all over her cheeks. ‘I have to wash my face,’ she says.
‘Take as much time as you need,’ Max says, and gets up.
He heads up the stairs. Just as he’s about to walk out of sight, he turns and flashes Minoo a small smile. She nods, as if to say she’s okay. Once he’s out of sight she sniffles and stands up on her weak legs.
21
WHEN THE ASSISTANT principal, Tommy Ekberg, returns from lunch, Anna-Karin is standing outside his office, waiting for him. He starts when he sees her. Then he smiles warmly. ‘Well, hello there,’ he says.
Adriana Lopez’s closest subordinate is a short man with a shiny bald head and a bushy moustache. He’s wearing a loud shirt with a psychedelic pattern. His stomach hangs over the top of his slightly too-tight jeans.
‘I thought maybe you could let me into the principal’s office,’ Anna-Karin says.
He looks at her in astonishment. He opens his mouth to say something.
Just do it, Anna-Karin commands.
Tommy Ekberg gives a little sigh of resignation. He takes out the huge set of keys that has permanently distended the back pocket of his jeans. ‘Now?’ he asks, rattling them.
Anna-Karin nods. He walks ahead of her towards the principal’s office.
And then go back to your desk and think about something completely different until you’ve forgotten that you ever did me this favour, she commands, staring intently at the back of his neck. Afew flakes of dandruff bob in the fluff that encircles his bald spot.
‘Okey-dokey, whatever you say. Your wish is my command!’ he answers jauntily, as he unlocks the door. He throws it wide and gestures invitingly. ‘I’ll go back to my desk now and think about something else.’
Anna-Karin shuts the door behind her. Then she walks up to the window and pulls down the blinds.