Naya and Vince

21

QUESTIONS AND EMOTIONS

We had spent about one hour into the session when Magdalene stalked into the room. I and Vincent looked at her like she had grown two heads.

"I was definitely not hoping something else was going on," she said laughing awkwardly.
Vincent had suggested that we used an empty room downstairs for the class.

Constance dashed into the room. "Auntie Thelma said food is ready o," she said hoping to and fro. I heard Vincent mutter thank God. Truthfully, the day's session wasn't going smoothly. Vincent had a hard time assimilating what I was saying and I honestly didn't feel like teaching him at the moment. Chemistry could be brain tiring at times.

Vincent closed the his book and hopped out of his seat. He stretched his body and it made funny popping sounds. "Men! my brain and body is tired."

"Lazy boy! Nairobi is not complaining," Constance said dancing pirouettes to the tune of a phantom instrument. She stopped beside me. "I like your name. Nairobi. Maybe I could change my name to Addis. As in Addis Ababa," she said stroking her chin. "Deji, do you think mummy would like it?"

Vincent came and took her hand and led her towards the door. "She would definitely like it. She likes everything that concerns you," he said with a small laugh that seemed a bit forced. "Now go and eat. I'm coming with your new friend."

"Okie dokie," she sang and skipped out of the room. Vincent returned his gaze to me. Vincent didn't look happy like I expected. I expected him to shake his head then smile and make a funny comment about Constance but he didn't. He just gave me a hollow, sad and distant look.

"I can't keep lying to her. Can I?" He asked in a defeated voice. It didn't feel like he was talking to me.

"Lying about what?"

His head snapped up at me like he did not know I was there. "Spaghetti. You like it?" He asked instead.

"Um. . .yes," I answered before following him to the dinning table.

So apparently I was having a superbly satisfying lunch with Vincent and Stephen and part of their family. Something I didn't foresee, but I was not complaining.

Stephen and his sister would not stop using their phones every ten minutes. Noah kept saying nasty stories about worms and how they made popping sounds when they were happy. Constance made it a routine to stand up and start running around the table only to come back when Vincent scolded her. Well me, I just observed everyone at the table. Especially Vincent freaking Adebayo.

When he was not scolding Constance, he was just facing his plate of worm lookalikes-thanks to Noah. His phone was with him but he checked it like only once then switched it off. He and Vincent often exchanged some things about girls, basketball and male accessories in pidgin- with Stephen doing most of the talking and Vincent doing more of the chuckling, nodding and wowing. I really wanted to know what's up with him. This was the second time he has unknowingly admitted something to me and it kind of brought my nurturing personality to the surface.

"Connie eat fast so that we can go home. Someone is waiting for me," Magdalene said typing away on her phone.

Constance slurped on her spaghetti noisily. "I don't want to go. I want to stay with Vincent and Nairobi."

Home?

I decided to speak now. "Sorry for asking but who's house is this?"

"Ours." Constance gulped a glass of yogurt. "Ever since mummy travelled, Vincent makes me stay at my Aunty's house during the weekends and come back home after school on Monday," she blabbed.