It was a swelteringly hot day to be driving to Abu Dhabi. The man who had made the trek got out of his car and sputtered before putting on his grey suit jacket. He checked his ensemble before grabbing his attache case, and walking up to the less than regal-looking pinkish building sitting in the middle of Mustafah semi-residential area. He had for some reason, the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” theme in his head, and swaggered as such.
A giant white sign that had not been cleaned in a year at least welcome him over the main archway. Discount College.
“I thought they said Discan College,” he muttered as he looked up.
Well, he was here now.
He walked into the main foyer, where several clearly Karnatakan staff were walking around wearing t-shirts that had the school logo over a torn dollar bill.
Above them was a giant banner that said “50% discount this summer!”
They really live up to the name, he thought.
“Um, I’m looking for the dean,” he sort of called towards the staff as they coalesced together.
“Oh yes, Dean!” a clearly Indian woman with an African perm said. “He has been waiting for you.”
“Oh good! That’s the Dean of Partnerships right?”
“Yes, Dean.”
“Um okay. I’ll follow you then.”
He walked behind the lady who whizzed past several boxes stuffed with Monopoly money. The hallway was bare, with the sort of tiles one finds in a warehouse and no decoration.
“It’s how we can offer such deep discounts,” the woman beamed as she pointed at a white door. On it was a plaque that said Dean Dean.
He walked in with trepidation. There was a smell like someone had mixed egg and milk and left it out for a week.
“Ah Mr. Oh,” the man at the big desk said. He was portly and had hair like a wet black mop.
The desk was so big that the man got up to go around it, and then changed his mind and instead sat back down and waved Mr. Oh into the chair.
“Just call me Kayo. Ah good to meet you in person Dean…”
“Dean. I’m Dean Dean. My name is Dean and I am the Dean of Partnerships.”
“Oh, what a coincidence.”
“Or serendipity. Call me Double D if you like.”
“Maybe not.”
“Suit yourself. So let’s talk about partnerships. We at Discount College like to give huge godamn discounts. No discount is big enough. I like to see students get drowned by discounts. Little bitches.”
“I don’t know about calling students that.”
“Who will stop me?” Dean shouted. The words “stop me” echoed in the room.
Kayo realized that three African men were standing behind Dean saying the words in a whisper about 3 or 4 times.
“Who are they?”
“Oh you like?” Dean smirked as he sat back in his pleather brown chair. “I hired them just for this.”
“This is kind of weird. I should leave.”
“No! You want to partner with us!”
The words “With us” echoed. Kayo wondered for a moment if he should proceed with the partnership, but then quickly snapped out of it. The echoes had a discombobulating effect.
“You can’t fool me sir. I’m leaving.” He got up.
“Hold up!” Dean put him his hands like a swami about to prostrate. As he did, huge breasts popped out of the bottom of his shirt.
Kayo could not look away. They were swinging down like pendulums.
“You see these?” He pushes one boob so that it went and hit the other. “This is why they call me Double D.”
The echoes again. “Double D, Double D, Double D…”
“Want to touch?” Dean snarled.
“Chai?”
They were jostled from the tense confrontation by the call of man in the khaki uniform. A tiny fellow, he walked into the room with a tray filled with tea glasses.
Kayo held his breath as the man came close to the table. With alarming speed for a man who had so much hanging from his body, Dean jumped over the desk and kicked the man in the chest. The latter fell onto the nearby side table, which broke as glass shattered everywhere.
Dean laughed as he held his belly and looked at the ceiling.
“What kind of sick game is this?” Kayo shouted as he got up. “I’m leaving and reporting you to the Dean of Academic.”
“Oh, you mean Dean Jay?” asked Dean with a smile.
“Dean Jay, Dean Jay, Dean Jay…”
___________________________________________________________
The short man with the boyish haircut pulled at the lapels of his brown suit and smiled.
“Of course Tanesha you can pay the tuition next month. Now please, go rest up for you chemotherapy. I want you to beat cancer and not worry about small things like this.”
“Sir, you are god in human form,” the sickly girl in the green salwar khameez told him.
“Oh no no,” he laughed and sat back. “Now please, get some food from the cafeteria with that voucher I gave you before you go home.”
The girl got up and left, noting how the setting sun dropped on the man a soft yellow light that actually made him seem holy. There he sat with his hands folded sweetly on his pot belly, his countenance calm and serene
Four hours later
Tanesha walked slowly to the door and opened it. A stone coconut grinder hit her in the chest and she fell gasping for air. She lay on the ground for minutes with her eyes closed, not sure what was going on.
As she opened her eyes, she saw a man in the red light streaming through the window. He was the definition of sinister. He wore a black leather jacket and black pants. A silver circle earring sickeningly dangled from one year. He wore shades even though it was night. As he swung his belly, he hit a vase and dropped it to the ground. He was literally throwing his weight around. His mouth sucked on a toothpick, and then spit it at her.
She coughed.
“Dean Jay?”
“At night my name is Dee Jay Dean, bitch,” he said. “Now, where’s my money?”
“You said this afternoon I could pay later.”
He punched the TV so it fell over.
“Oh all sorts of things are said in the afternoon. You think I got where I am by letting people walk all over me?”
“But I need it for my chemo.”
He walked over to the couch and began peeing on it.
“Have you ever thought,” he said as he swung from side to side to cover the whole couch, “That you would live longer without chemo? Don’t chemo. Just pay your tuition.”
“But-”
“Listen, no buts. I’ve raped 2 people today, killed a dog and beat an old man into the ICU. Don’t make Dee Jay Dean play an encore.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“You have till tomorrow,” he said as he left, spitting on her pooja area as he left.