Panties for Sale (30 page)

I think I will start an investment
club with these girls.
 
I know they make
enough money.
 
And I can educate them on
investing.
 
Using their money to help
them in their life, in their future.
 
Give them something good and positive to do with their money.
  

I thought I was helping the
girls, by making sure they are safe.
 
And
giving out those kits and explaining what they would expect.
 
And calling and listening to them.
 
But you know what?
 
Luann is right.
 
I do feel better when I’m helping.
 
And if I teach my girls how to save their
money and make more money, maybe they will begin to respect themselves and
start helping themselves?
 

Ah….Angela, you clever
helpful lady, I love you.”

“Where I can buy just one egg?”
 
Mrs. Chan asked.

“I’m sorry?”
 
Ms.
Macdonald asked

“This morning,” Mrs. Chan explained, “I want to buy two
eggs.
  
Ok, my son’s wife, she does
shopping, she buys the food on Sunday.
 
We have a list.
 
But today,
morning, I want to make my fried rice. But she don’t want me to use the eggs
because she want to use them for fried fish.”
 
Mrs. Chan rolled her eyes. “So, no matter. I stop in the store after I
visit to my friends. I take two eggs from the box and then the shopkeeper he
get angry at me.
 
He call me crazy!” The
class laughed as Mrs. Chan shook her head. “But I don’t need to buy all the
eggs.
 
Then my son’s wife know I buy the
egg. And then she is angry. I am not crazy, la.
 
The shop near to my house, ah, Loblaws, it is crazy!” She turned to the
rest of the class.
 
“So big and noisy and
so much food! Yes? Aiyi!
 
Too much
food.
 
No wonder so many people here so
fat,” Mrs. Chan shook her head, looking around the room for others who agreed
with her.

“Oh, Mrs Chan,” Ms. Macdonald laughed, “that is a good
question.
 
Yes, many of you have probably
noticed that it is hard to find food that you are used to.
 
And every country does package food its own
way.
 
Usually, Mrs. Chan, here in Canada,
we do not buy just one egg, you must buy the full dozen.
 
Of course, you may be lucky and find eggs in
groups of six. That is a half dozen.”
 
She paused and walked over to the board, writing down
grocery shop, dozen, half dozen.
 

“But if you want to find a small market that is more
Chinese, have you been to Chinatown, Mrs. Chan?” Miss Chan shook her head
no.
 
“Well you can go shopping
there.
 
It is downtown on

“Now, does anyone have a question about a word they heard
and they didn’t understand?
 
Or how to
say something?”
 
Ms. Macdonald looked
around the room, but everyone had their heads down writing in their notebooks.
 
“Anyone?
 
Ok, let’s move on and if anyone thinks of any other questions, please
raise your hand.”

“Now today, we will start with some idioms.” Ms Macdonald
turned around to write the world
Idioms
on the board.
 
She underlined it then underneath wrote
go bananas
and
apple of my eye.
 
Chieko
yawned.
 
Idioms again?
 
She wished she had stayed home today.
 
Right now, she could be curled up on her
couch watching Y&R.
 
Who said ‘go
bananas’ anyways?
 
Chieko wondered when
would she ever need to tell someone that they were the apple of her eye?

She wished Ms. Macdonald would teach them something more
useful.
 
Like what to say to the man who
followed her down the street yelling vulgar things.
 
Or what to say when someone called you a
stupid chink on the subway and pushed you out of the way.
 
Or what to say when two young boys thought it
would be fun to surprise their escort by raping her.
 
What do you say in English to that?

Chieko sighed, and watched the other students scribbling
down the idioms in their notebooks.
 
She
looked at Jay who was sitting beside her and smiled.
 
If she had stayed home today, she wouldn’t be
able to see Jay.
 
She did like seeing
Jay. She didn’t know why she had been so stupid before.
 
Jay was a real live boy who talked to her and
was interested in her.
 
Douglas
was, well nothing.
 
He was just a
client.
 

Miss Macdonald was talking to the Filipino girls so Chieko
rested her head on her elbow and watched Jay.
 
He was drawing something on the top of his note book.
 
A small Asian girl with big eyes and sexy
curves.
 
Chieko watched fascinated as the
girl began to come to life and then Jay added wings.
 
“Fairy?”

Jay shook his head.
 
He coloured in the wings black and then added a long curving tail and
pointed horns on top of the girl’s head.
 
Then he drew flames of fire shooting out from her fingertips and surrounding
her.
 
“Ah,” Chieko whispered, “a
devil.
 
Sugoi.
 
She is beautiful.”

“She is Devi,” Jay leaned his head close to Chieko, “a fire
spirit.
 
She can put anything on fire
with her” he pointed to the tips of her fingers.

“Fingertips?”

“Chieko?”
 
Ms. Macdonald
walked over from across the room.
 
Chieko
blushed and lowered her head while Jay turned his notepad over.
 
“Can you use the idiom in a sentence?”

“Ah,” Chieko stammered trying to guess which idiom the
class was discussing.

“Excuse me, Ms. Macdonald,” Jay interrupted, “I have a
question.”

“Oh, really?” Ms. Macdonald smiled at Jay.
 
“Wonderful.
 
What is it?”

“What does ‘eh’ mean?”

“What does what mean?” Ms. Macdonald leaned on her
desk.
 

“Eh.”

“A, you mean the first letter of the alphabet?”

“No,” Jay shrugged, “I don’t know.
 
I hear it a lot.
 
People say eh after a sentence.
 
Maybe like, my name is Jay, eh.”

“Oh,” Ms Macdonald laughed.
 
“Ok, I understand.
 
Yes, yes we
do.”
 
She looked at the rest of the
class.
 
“Has anyone else noticed
this?”
 
All the students nodded their
heads.
 
“Yes, I guess it does sound
different for you.
 
I never really
thought about it.
 
Do you know why?”
 
All the students shook their heads.
 
“It is something that Canadians say.
 
Um,” she paused to think.
 
“Ok, I guess it means, well it is used after
a question.
 
How can I explain?
 
Ah, I know.
 
It means you want a response.” She looked around the classroom at the blank
faces. “Ok, like, if I say nice day, eh?
 
What I am really saying is, it’s a nice day, don’t you think so?
 
Yes, that’s it,” Ms. Macdonald walked over to
the board.
 
She wrote down
Eh = don’t you agree
?
 
“When someone says eh, they are really saying don’t you agree.
 
Like, English is difficult, eh?”
 
The class laughed.
 
“So you agree?
 
Ok,” Ms. Macdonald turned to Jay, “do you
understand?
 
Can you try it?”

“Ok,” Jay looked over at Chieko and winked. “Chieko is
pretty, eh?”
 

Chieko’s face turned beet red and she slunk down in her
seat as the rest of class laughed.
 
“Yes,
that is right,” Ms. Macdonald laughed.
 
“Ok, someone else?”

“Canada is cold, eh?”
 
One of the Filipina girls shouted out and giggled.
 

“Really?
 
You think
so?
 
Already?
 
But it’s just August.
 
Wait until December.”

“I am a good cook, eh?” Mrs. Chan said.
 
The two Filipino girls looked at each other and
rolled their eyes.

“Yes, good.
 
Wonderful,” she smiled and walked back over to the board, “Ok, now let’s
read over the new sentences.
 
Repeat
after me class.
 
I like you. You are the
apple of my eye.”
  
The turbaned man put
his hand up.
 
“Yes Mr. Rashad?”

“The time is up, eh?”

Ms. Macdonald looked up at the clock and laughed.
 
“Yes, yes, you are right, Mr. Rashad.
 
Very good!
 
Ok.
 
Remember to use your new
words this week.
 
And to write your
sentences.
 
Also, please do pages 38 and
39 in your work book.
 
Oh, and try to
bring some more good questions next week.
 
Ok. Good bye.”
 

As the class said good bye, Chieko grabbed her bag and
darted out the door.
 
“Chieko, wait,” Jay
called after her.
 
Stuffing his books
into his bag, Jay ran down the stairs after Chieko.
 

“I’m sorry, did I embarrass you in class?
 
I was just joking.
 
Well, no, not really, I mean, you are pretty,
but I…”

“Oh no.
 
No, you
didn’t embarrass me.
 
It was nice, what
you did, what you said.”
 
Chieko looked
up at Jay and smiled.
 
He was standing
close to her, staring down at her with his big kind eyes.
 
Chieko looked away, hoping Jay didn’t notice
how flushed her face just got.

“I was, well,” Jay paused.
 
“Chieko, I want to ask you something.” Chieko kept still, afraid to
breathe, afraid to do anything to ruin the moment.
 
“Would you, I mean, would you care to, do you
want to go out?
 
For dinner or to a movie
or a coffee?”

Chieko smiled. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
 

“Yes, do you want to go?”

“Yes,” Chieko laughed, “yes of course I want to go.”
 
As they walked side by side down the street
to the TTC, Chieko couldn’t stop smiling.
 
Finally!
 
A real date!
 
All those weeks of talking and flirting,
dreaming and wishing, Jay had asked her out.
  

As Jay’s hand reached out, intertwining his fingers with
Chieko’s, her mind raced ahead.
 
She
could see them, as a couple, walking down the street, holding hands, laughing
and talking.
 
They would go to Mar’s Deli
and share French fries and milkshakes.
 
They’d stop at Starbucks and sit in the window sipping tea and examining
each other’s fingers.
 
Maybe they would
go to a movie and touch fingers in the popcorn.
 
He’d wrap his arms around her shoulders and she’d snuggle close to
him.
 
They’d call each other all the
time, texting, chatting.
 
They would stay
up late, talking on the phone, laughing, and giggling.
 
They would tell each other all their hopes
and dreams.
 

Chieko’s phone rang and she dropped Jay’s hand to dig it
out of her bag.
 
It was Angela.
 
She paused, looking at the ringing phone,
realizing that this was her life now.
 
Angela calling every day to set up appointments with to have sex with
random men.
 
“Dame,” she muttered and
threw the phone, back into her bag.
 
“Oh
Jay,” she turned, “I can’t.
 
I’m sorry,
but no.”

“Huh?” Jay looked at her in surprise. “I don’t understand,
Chieko.
 
Do you want to go out with me or
not?”

“I am sorry, no,” Chieko bowed her head and stepped away
not wanting to look Jay in the eye.
 
She
turned and hesitated for a moment and then, watching the traffic, ran across
the street.
 
When she looked back over
her shoulder, Jay was still standing, on the sidewalk, watching her, his coat
wide open blowing in the breeze.