Getting a Life Read Online Free PDF Page A

cardboard. She opened a bottle of wine and sat sipping it, wondering which colour wine he was drinking. She hated this job of his and promised herself she would find out why he did it and if it was really necessary. Not that it was anything to do with her, of course.
    It was a restless night. It was freezing cold in the bedroom. Jo always thought it was healthy to sleep in a cold room but by three o'clock in the morning, she decided it was sheer stupidity and switched on some heating. She then fell deeply asleep and didn't wake until eight-thirty.
    'Help,' she squeaked. Just when she wanted to look nice for Mike at college that afternoon, she woke late and had to rush. She showered in seconds, made some coffee and still just made it to her lecture by nine-fifteen.
    When Mike arrived, along with several others in her class, she felt her heart leaping again. He was still as handsome as she remembered, clad in his leather top and jeans that had certainly seen better days. She delivered her class and set them all tasks to work on. Her heart beating faster than she was used to, she stopped beside him.
    'Hi,' she said softly.
    'Hi yourself. You look nice.'
    'Not sure why. I dressed in seconds this morning. Sorry, I mustn't chat like this to you. I'll see you afterwards?'
    'Okay. Sounds good.'
    When the class finally reached its end, she made her final speech.
    'There is only one more week before we break for the Christmas holiday. Make sure you bring everything won't you? I need your course work in next week. Thanks.'
    The usual buzz went on in the room and soon, she was left with Mike. He picked up his leather jacket and hooked it over his shoulder.
    'Shall we get a drink in the café?' he asked her.
    'Okay. I'll just switch off everything and I'll be with you.'
    They went to the main café, now full of students.
    'Is there a table anywhere?' he asked.
    'I'll go and look. I think there's one in the corner.'
    'I'll go for coffees if you can grab it.'
    'Sorry about last night,' he said when he arrived. I thought I was going to be free but a late call came in.'
    'I was disappointed. Where did you go?
    'Oh just out. I really don't want to talk about it.'
    'Why do you really do it? Be an escort, I mean?'
    'Why did you book an escort?'
    'Because I didn't want my friends to know I don't have a boyfriend. Not a real one, I mean.' She blushed as she spoke. It seemed such a shameful thing to have to admit.
    'So, there you have it. That's why I do the job. There are lots of female escorts on the agency's books, too. So it isn't just females who don't like going to functions on their own. I need to earn some extra money and this is one way to do it. I don't understand why you haven't got a whole swarm of men in tow.'
    'Probably because I'm too fussy. And I'm quite brainy. Men don't like that. If I know more than they do, they soon get bored. Emasculated or something.'
    To her surprise he laughed like mad. She felt annoyed. What had she said that was funny?
    'An intelligent woman is a delight,' he said. 'You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to look interested when some woman drones on about clothes or make up. Honestly, they do. They seem to think I'm actually interested in what they bought in the town or how long it took to change their hair colour.'
    'I have the same problem with my female colleagues. I'm boring, because I love my work and if I talk about it outside the college, I'm booed.'
    'I can understand that. Typical of the world really. It's quite tough being a mature student. Most of the rest of the groups are rather young. I have to make it work though, for my family's sake.'
    'Why?'
    'We have a family business. Small manufacturing ... electronic components. My father runs it and my sister and I both work there. We need to develop various new projects. I'm also updating various systems and it appears that I need to have a recognised, formal qualification. Meantime, I also need to earn extra money.'
    She listened to his story. He