Luke SandersThe Tragic Flaw

The Tragic Flaw

Josie sat by the library window, tapping her pen on the mantle, and taking quick, irregular sips from the can of cola in her right hand. She tried to concentrate on the heavy textbook before her, but found herself glancing across the table to the empty space opposite. Although Catherine had been gone a long time, she had left her personal effects on the desk, signalling her intent to come back. Her black leather coat and matching handbag hung on the chair. Her pens and bound notebook were arranged neatly beside a half empty bottle of premium brand mineral water.

Josie waited with growing anxiety for the other girl’s arrival. She was close to believing that Catherine was not coming back after all, and that the leaving of her belongings was simply another cruel trick on her part. Exasperated, she snapped the textbook shut and leant over it, resting her chin on folded arms.

Just as Josie had convinced herself of Catherine’s guilt, the library door swung open and the accused stepped into the library. Catherine saw Josie was still there, smiled, and walked across the library towards the seated girl. Her enviably long legs stretched out to devour the ground from the practised sway of her hips. She was a tall, perfectly defined young woman, dressed flatteringly in a tight-fitting red polar-neck and creaseless black trousers. A healthy bouquet of swept brown hair framed her neat make-up. As Catherine drew nearer to her, Josie became very self-conscious and raked at the baggy shapeless mass of her sweatshirt. Not having much success, she propped up her textbook and hid behind it, with just the tops of her spectacles showing above the worn dustcover. Josie hated being in sixth form; she was much happier when everyone still had to wear uniform.

“Alright?” Catherine said as she reclaimed her seat, smiling down at the smaller girl; Josie made no effort to reply in kind and kept her eyes fastened to the text. Undeterred, Catherine leant across the desk, peering around the corners of the book. Josie remained unresponsive to all her efforts, maintaining a look of intent distraction.

Eventually, Catherine relented and sat back in her chair, reaching for the bottle of water. Josie watched as Catherine took a long drink from the bottle, taking care not to smudge her lipstick. She grimaced at the cold liquid sliding down her throat, but quickly replaced her smile when she noticed Josie was watching.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she said, “Just this cold weather’s not doing my throat any favours.”

“Oh.”

Catherine picked up her handbag and started going through the contents. “Sorry for taking so long. You did keep an eye on my stuff, right?”

“Uh huh.”

Catherine replaced her handbag on the chair, and turned back to face Josie - she was still stuck in her book. Catherine sighed and folded her hands together, looking about the library at the other students. She smiled regally in acknowledgement as a few waved in greeting. Some raised curious glances at Catherine’s choice of sitting companion, while the more fashionable girls gave conspiring winks and smiles of encouragement.

Catherine turned back to Josie. “I ended up running into about a hundred people on the way back,” she said, “Dr. Lockett cornered me in the main corridor and started questioning me about my history coursework; luckily, I was in good form today, and fed him enough half-truths to keep him off my case.”

“Oh yeah?”

“And then there was Sarah, and Becky and er… hey, you’re gonna love this, Mark was at it again. He was begging me for goss to include in this week’s school paper,” Catherine chuckled, “I swear, if he keeps going at the rate he’s going at, he’s gonna get castrated! If not by the Head, then by everyone else he’s included in there.”

Josie didn’t look up. “Never read it,” she said.

“Ah, but you should,” Catherine leant over the table towards Josie, “you like reading don’t you? Then you should pick one up this week.”

“Not really my thing.”

Catherine laughed. “Well, I can’t say it’s my thing either, what with Mark printing anything he can just to wind people up. Still, it’s what everyone’s talking about, and you don’t want to be out of the loop do you?”

Josie didn’t respond, and shifted her chair back a touch, putting a little more distance between herself and Catherine. More people turned to watch the exchange

Catherine sat back in her chair, arms folded behind her head. “Anyhow, getting the paper early can be a necessary security measure. If Mark’s saying something about you this week, you wanna be the first to know, right?”

Josie shifted away even further. Catherine’s smile fell away; she wasn’t satisfied yet. “Well, let’s see, who else did I meet, hmmm?” She looked to one side, her brow creased and her fingernail tapping on the desk, “Well, I was unlucky enough to run into Tiffy. She talked at me for what seemed like forever, before finally running off. Nice girl, but can be really irritating at times. It seems there are too many people like that. You want to like them, but they just test your patience again, and again, and again… every time you meet them. Don’t you get that sometimes?”

Still, there was no reaction; Catherine's expression grew more severe. She leant forward on the desk with her arms folded, looking straight at Josie, whose tiny form remained huddled behind her oversized textbook.

“Now, there’s one person I’ve missed here.” Catherine's voice was flat and deliberate, and her face wore only the ghost of a conversational smile. “It was… it was Jeff, wasn’t it? How could I have forgotten?”

Josie lowered the book and looked up at Catherine, her movements just a touch too quick. Her milky, timorous eyes struggled to keep contact with Catherine’s cobalt gaze.

“Ah, yes, I remember,” Catherine sat up in her chair and clicked her fingers. “We were making plans as to what to do with the evening. When I suggested spending the night at his place, he started to get all embarrassed because his parents were in.” Catherine lowered her voice and shielded her face with her hand. “Thing is, he doesn’t want them knowing he’s got a girlfriend. It’s not that they’ll mind as such; he just feels a bit awkward discussing certainthings with them.” Catherine giggled at the thought. “Jeff’s so cute when he gets all self-conscious.”

Josie shuddered and abandoned any attempt to look at Catherine. Her eyes blinking slowly as they watched the traditional January hail pounding into the window. In front of the window hung a small plush toy; it was a cartoon representation of the school mascot - a squirrel - supposed to signify wisdom and foresight. It hung there, wide-eyed and childlike, less than a half-inch away from the outside world, with just one solitary pane of sullied glass protecting it from the storm.

“So, instead I’m going to take him for a drive. Maybe visit some quiet, out-of-the-way pub where they need customers too much to run an ID check. Then maybe we’ll find ourselves a nice deserted lay-by, and… in case you didn’t know, my estate has a lot of room in the back.”

Josie continued watching the rain. She took several deep breaths through her nose, struggling to control her thumping heart. She gathered her composure and turned back to Catherine. “Well, it’s nice to hear that you’re getting on so well,” she said, “but really, I’ve got reading to get on with. So if you don’t mind, I really should get this finished.” Josie moved forward and sat her book flat on the table, signalling the end of the conversation.

Catherine smiled and looked over the pages, “So what is it you’re reading then?”

“I’m reading Shakespeare. Now, if you don’t mind…”

“Oh come on, I know that much already. It’s written on the spine in big black letters. Which play are you reading exactly?”

“Othello,” Josie answered, trying to concentrate on her reading.

“Othello? Ah, brilliant! That’s got to be one of my favourites. With Desdemona and Othello… really, some of their scenes are just so beautiful!”

Josie looked up, confused. “You know the play? Are you studying it this year?”

“Yes, I am, but I’d read it a while back. Grrr… It’s terrible, you know. I’m in a class that’s mostly boys and all they ever care about is Iago! They don’t care about the tragedy, or the romance of the play, all they see is some little ratty guy going around and ruining people’s lives. And you know what’s worse? They think it’s a good thing.”

Catherine took another gulp of water to cool down and was overtaken by a coughing fit. She doubled over, pounding her chest..

“Are you alright?” Josie asked, glancing about at the other students watching.

Catherine stopped coughing, and dabbed at her lips with a handkerchief. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She smiled. “I think some of it just went down the wrong way, that’s all… anyhow, what was I saying about Othello now?”

“Well, er… you were talking about the tragic element, which is what I’m studying, kind of.” Josie looked down at the page and chewed at the end of her pen. “I’m planning an essay on the flaws in Shakespeare’s tragic heroes, pinpointing and elaborating each one that results in their downfall.”

“Ah, I get it, so in Othello’s case, his tragic flaw would be jealousy, right?” Josie looked up on hearing the emphasis in Catherine’s voice. Catherine looked straight into Josie's eyes as she spoke. “Yes, jealousy. He becomes so consumed by the idea of Desdemona’s adultery that he becomes some type of monster. So willing to give in to his one, terrible vice, that he forsakes everything else: his life, his honour, his mind. All he had to do was think rationally, investigate exactly what was going on, and everything could have been avoided. Instead though, he lets his jealousy take over; so much that he won’t even tell Desdemona his accusations… well until he kills her, that is.”

Catherine sat back in her chair, still smiling at Josie. She watched for any effect her words may have had on the smaller girl. Josie's head had fallen back to her text again, but there was nothing obvious apart from her normal sullen reticence.

Catherine continued. “You know, I actually think jealousy’s the worst sin there is - which is why I like Othello so much. Jealousy is all about possession you see? And possession is nine-tenths of the law. So if you follow that through logically, jealousy is nine-tenths of all evil. Makes you think doesn’t it?”

Josie raised her head from her book, her eyes peering at Catherine from behind the mousy tangles of her fringe. This was her territory.

“No,” she said.

Catherine glanced up in surprise, though she didn’t seem offended or unhappy at Josie’s response. “Sorry?” she said.

“No, I think you’re completely wrong. Jealousy isn’t Othello’s main flaw, that’s making things entirely too simple,” Josie tapped her pen on the text before her. “If you want my opinion, it’s more to do with pride. You see, basic jealousy on its own would not lead Othello to act as he does. Yes, he may be jealous that Desdemona has been with other men, but he does not give that as his reason for killing her. Instead, he acts on a kind of perverse righteousness, convincing himself that it is the right thing to do by divine law, and that he’s preventing her from spreading her evil seducing other men.” Josie’s voice slowed to a crawl on those last three words. “By taking on this task, and convincing himself that he is completely in the right, he’s displaying arrogance more than anything else. Othello’s killing of Desdemona is a base act of self-love. He’s very quick to believe she’s a lesser being than he is, which, in his own head, gives him the right to administer judgement to her!” Josie smiled and slammed her pen down on the table.

Catherine leant back in her chair, forehead creased in anger. Josie was about to ask Catherine to leave when the other girl burst into laughter, drawing the attention of everyone else in the library. Josie felt very small again and raised her heavy textbook back to her face; it seemed nothing had changed.

“I don’t believe it! You do have a personality, after all!” Catherine said. “I think that’s the most cutting thing I’ve heard all day. I’d give you a round of applause, but I’ve made enough noise as it is.”

Josie looked in shock, her small mouth hanging open as far as it possibly could. “What do you mean?”

“Huh? Oh, come on, you know what I mean. I’m not daft, you know. Why don’t you do that more often? If you can stand up for yourself like that, then what’s stopping you? Grow up already, this isn’t primary school anymore, it’s not like anyone here is going to slap you for it.”

“I… I don’t understand. You mean that all…?”

Catherine sighed, pressing her hands to her face, “At first - you were fun. Watching you make out you didn't care... generally having no self respect, but thinking you were being mature and so on. But it got out of hand. I did more than I was really comfortable with; you should have seen the looks I got when I started dating Jeff!” Catherine shook her head. “Everyone thought I was some kind of predator, and Mark’s been having a riot with his articles lately. Huh. As if you were worth all that trouble.”

Josie felt sick. Her stomach went cold and threatened to sink her entire body. “But why would you do anything like this? Why bother with me?”

Catherine shrugged. “I suppose you’re right, but how many of them do you think like Shakespeare? I noticed you spent a lot of time reading what I was into myself. So I made an effort to try and talk to you, remember? Seems you were so paranoid and high-strung, that you didn’t want to know, and…” Catherine laughed. “Well, what can I say? I couldn't resist.”

“It’s… it’s okay, really…” Josie’s voice trailed off as Catherine took another large gulp of water. As she set the bottle down, Catherine wheezed. Some of the taller girl’s young beauty had drained away; her features were crossing the borderline from clear to pasty.

“Damn it! What is wrong with me?” she said, fighting to keep her voice light. “I hope it’s not some bug, but then it always happens at the worst times, hey? What with deadlines coming up and everything.” She stood up, her breathing coming quick and shallow. “God, I feel awful. Hang on, I’m just going to the ladies. My head’s feeling a bit funny and I don’t want to be sick in the library. Mind if I trust you with my bag again?”

“Not at all,”

Catherine smiled as she steadied herself on the chair. “Thanks Josie. I’ll see you in a tic… and er… by the way, about Jeff? He’s yours for the taking. Though I will miss him. He’s a very kind and, heh, talented young man. You’ve got a lot to look forward too if he likes you as much as I think.” Catherine was suddenly overtaken by another painful coughing fit. “Oh God,” she said under her breath as she staggered towards the library door.

Josie sat motionless in her chair, fighting down her own rising nausea. She couldn’t bring herself to watch as the other girl pulled aside the library doors and hobbled down the corridor, leaving behind the curious chatter of students watching the scene.

Powerless to move anything else, Josie’s hand reached slowly down into her sweatshirt pocket, and withdrew holding a small cluster of empty, cylindrical vials. Looking across at the bottle of mineral water, she saw it was completely empty, save for a few drops clinging to the sides.

Josie’s eyes smarted with anguish, and not having any more reason to hold back, she fell face down on the table, sobbing loudly – much to the amusement of the other students watching.

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