Read Online The Schooldays of Jesus by J. M. Coetzee - Free Book Online

she can’t. It is a source of distress to her, of anguish. You wouldn’t think it, to look at her, would you—anguish? You would think she was one of the serene angels who live on nectar. A little sip now and again, nothing more, thank you. But then there are señor Arroyo’s children from his first marriage, whom she mothers. And the boarders too. So much love to give. Have you met señor Arroyo? No? Not yet? A great man, a true idealist who lives only for his music. You will see. Unfortunately he does not always have his feet onthe ground, if you understand my meaning. Head in the clouds. So it’s Ana Magdalena who has to do the hard work, taking the youngsters through their dances, feeding the boarders, running a household, seeing to the affairs of the Academy. And she does it all! Splendidly! Not a word of complaint! Cool as a cucumber! A woman in a thousand. Everyone admires her.’
    â€˜And all of these are housed on the same premises—the Academy of Dance, the boarding establishment, the Arroyo household?’
    â€˜Oh, there is plenty of space. The Academy occupies the entire upper floor. Where are you from, señor, you and your family?’
    â€˜From Novilla. We lived in Novilla until recently, until we moved north.’
    â€˜Novilla. I’ve never been there. I came straight to Estrella and have been here ever since.’
    â€˜And you have worked in the museum all that time?’
    â€˜No, no, no—I have had more jobs than I can remember. That is my nature: a restless nature. I started out as a porter in the produce market. Then I had a spell working on the roads, but I didn’t like it. For a long while I worked in the hospital. Terrible. Terrible hours. But moving too—the sights you see! Then came the day my life changed. No exaggeration. Changed for the better. I was hanging about on the square, minding my business, when she walked past. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Thought it was an apparition. So beautiful. Unearthly. I jumped up and followed her—followed like a dog. For weeks I hung around the Academy, just for a glimpse of her. Of course she paid me no attention. Why should she? An ugly fellow like me. Then I saw a noticeadvertising a job at the museum, a cleaner, bottom of the ladder, and to cut a long story short I started work here and have been here ever since. Promoted first to Attendant and then last year to Principal Attendant. Because of my diligence and my punctuality.’
    â€˜I’m not sure I understand. You are referring to señora Arroyo?’
    â€˜Ana Magdalena. Whom I worship. I am not ashamed to confess to it. Wouldn’t you do the same if you worshipped a woman—follow her to the ends of the earth?’
    â€˜The museum is hardly the ends of the earth. How does señor Arroyo feel about your worshipping of his wife?’
    â€˜Señor Arroyo is an idealist, as I told you. His mind is elsewhere, in the celestial sphere where the numbers spin.’
    He has had enough of this conversation. He did not ask for this man’s confidences. ‘I must leave, I have business to attend to,’ he says.
    â€˜I thought you wanted to see the Estrella school of painters.’
    â€˜Another day.’
    Hours yet before the school day ends. He buys a newspaper, sits down at a café on the square, orders a cup of coffee. On the front page is a photograph of an elderly couple with a gigantic cucurbit from their garden. It weighs fourteen kilograms, says the report, breaking the previous record by almost a kilogram. On page two a crime report lists the theft of a lawnmower from a shed (unlocked) and vandalism at a public toilet (a washbasin smashed). The deliberations of the municipal council and its various subcommittees figure largely: the subcommittee on public amenities, the subcommittee on roads and bridges, the subcommittee on finances, the subcommittee charged with organizingthe forthcoming theatre