The Killjoy by Anne Fine

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The Killjoy by Anne Fine

Main characters: Alicia Anna Davie (19 years old) and professor Ian Laidlaw(49 years old)

Summary:

In a late afternoon seminar in the department of politics of a Scottish university, a student was talking on about an essay that he wrote, and Professor Laidlaw tried to cut him short twice with one of his most characteristic phrases: 'Quite so. Quite so.' On the second time, Laidlaw heard a tiny noise, and he realized that it was one of the other students. Alicia Anna Davie had got the giggles.

Laidlaw decided to ask her a question: 'I'm interested, Alicia, in your opinion of Stuart's point.' (He was a great man for diminutives.). But when he greeted her answer with yet another: 'Quite so. Quite so,' she exploded in an uncontrollable laughter. He stared at her with joy; for the first time in years he knew what it was to be pleased by another person again.

His gratitude was strange, however. After she recovered herself, she smiled at him and he smiled back. Carefully turning towards her, Anna had done her best like everyone else to avoid the scarred side of his face. Laidlaw got that scar because he fought against a big dog years ago. Then he positively underlined his disfigurement, making his eyes rounder than usual, puffing up his bad cheek.

As he claimed later, it was simply his way of cutting short a mood of happiness that he knew couldn't last. But when she cried out that he was a bully and slapped his face so hard that he nearly fell off his chair, he admitted that he deserved it.

A giggle, a fit of laughter, a grin, a slap - such are the beginnings from which a sinister duet starts to take shape. Laidlaw found that he was fascinated by Alicia in spite of himself, and in spite of her ignorance and satisfaction and her grubby ways. He tried to draw back, but then he realized that she was fascinated in her turn, that his ugliness aroused her. She liked his face. That was the root of it.

Then it was time to go home. They both were going home, but Laidlaw decided to follow Alicia. Alicia saw Laidlaw and she thought he was going to rape her or something but that wasn’t the case, so she walked faster and she tripped. All her books fell, but Laidlaw offered to help her.

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