Chapter 1: Jenny's request

Stephen

"Why do those two bitches keep looking at me? Normally they shun me or take the piss, or at least Clarissa does. Jennifer's not so bad when she's not with Clarrie, but even she never looks me in the face. After being in the same class for over three months you would think they would be adult enough to come to terms with my disfigurement but no, they and the group of boys they associate with, delight in trying to humiliate me by calling me Scarface, Monster Man, Troll, Beast, Ogre and any other derogatory names they can think of. Most of the others tolerate and accept me but even they tend to keep their distance in case they are ridiculed. Perhaps it is also because I'm older and not into partying and boozing but of course, the main reason is my looks; my face. Only Su Lee will actually sit and talk to me. She's nice and treats me like a person and not something from outer space. Perhaps that is because of her Chinese ancestry? An honour thing? I know I'm a mature student but still I'm only eight or nine years older than most of them. Shit, it looks like Jenny is getting ready to come over here. Bet she wants some help with the coursework. She only got a C- in the pre-Christmas mocks. Clarrie didn't even get a grade. I think I'll pick up my tray and head out before she gets here. Damn, she's coming over. We won't be able to talk much with the noise level in this cafeteria especially with the hearing aid in my left ear turned off, and I daren't turn it on with the amount of background noise."

"Stephen, can you spare a moment?" Jennifer asked looking at my chest rather than my face.

"Sorry Jennifer, I have an online appointment with a client at 1:30 to try and sort out his network problem. If it's important, come and see me at home at four. My housemaid will be there then and we can talk for an hour before she has dinner ready. I must go now though." I handed her my business card and she looked very surprised when I walked off. Perhaps flabbergasted would be a better word.

It was true, I did have the appointment but I could easily have spared ten or fifteen minutes to discus her problems, However, it would be easier if I had her on my home ground and not with the eyes of a hundred or more students on us, each wondering why a girl like her would deign to speak to me. It is also nearly impossible to hold an intelligent conversation over the high noise level in the university dining room. In any case it would give me some idea of how desperate she was for my help if she had to make the effort to come to my home. If she came on her own without Clarrie, then I suspected she would treat me fairly reasonably like she had on a couple of other occasions when she'd asked for help but if Clarissa was with her, then she'd have to keep up the appearance of animosity and dislike towards me.