CHAPTER NINE

"No, oh, no, I’m sorry. Curiosity got the better of me, it had been a vacant room, and seeing it open, I just wanted to, you know. Our new neighbor?”

“Oh yeaaa, but not me, my friend. She’s the one moving in.”

“And you are not moving in with her?”

“Do you want me to move in with her?” she fired back.

“I don’t know, I mean, I don’t know. Anyway it’s nice meeting you, my new neighbor’s friend or sister?” he asked. 

“Friend,” she said, “your neighbor’s friend.”

“And your friend, she’s not in?” 

“Oh no, she’s gone out to get something.”

“Oh I see, well let me let you be, that’s my room,” he pointed, “if you need anything.”

“Ok, thanks, if we need something, we’ll let you know.” As he turned to leave, it occurred to him he didn’t get her name, he wanted to turn back and ask for her name but decided against it, he gently walked to his room. A few moments later, there was a knock on his door, he opened the door and saw a beautiful stranger. She was fat but not too fat, her beauty and her height complimented her body size, when she spoke she spoke with confidence and her diction was impeccable. 

“Hi,” she said, “I’m joy, the new girl next door and my girlfriend, Jane, the lady you met a while ago said we could call on you if we needed help.”

“Ah, yes, your friend, I told her you guys could call on me if you needed something.”

“Well, sorry to disturb you but we need your help, we are trying to fix the place and you know how it is.”

“Tell me about it.” 

She didn’t say anything, she simply stared at him, apparently she had taken note of his diction and noticed it was good, like hers. 

“Shall we?” she asked.

“Sure, after you.” As he followed her, he smiled, he had remembered when he used the phrase' after you' on his aunt who had visited them. She had fetched water and was on her way to the visitors’ bathroom but Dennis had gotten there before her, she winked at him and he obliged saying ' after you.’ His aunt who had not heard the phrase before fired back, ‘ after you is who?' everybody had laughed. Now that he thought of his aunt and her reply, he smiled.

As he followed Joy into the room, he noticed things were scattered around, mattress, pots, stoves, racks, bags and books. Jane who had a check shirt earlier  now had only a vest on, she looked lovelier, he thought. 

“Don’t mind the littered place,” Joy said.

“You need to see how mine was when I first got here. I know how it’s like, trust me. So what would you have me do?” he asked.

“Please,” she said, “we need you to help us hit the nails for the curtains.”

“Ok, no problem, I guess you have the nails.”

“Yep, I just got them,” she replied as she gave him the nails. “Perhaps Jane would help you out while I fix some things.” She had began arranging the pots and the plates without waiting for either of them to say something. Dennis grabbed a stool and got on it, his height wouldn’t let him hit the nail on the wall. 

“Jane,” he said, “could you help me hold these nails while I climb?”

“Sure,” she said as she collected the nails and the stone from him. As he looked down to collect a nail, his eyes caught something, something he hadn’t asked to see, his eyes saw her two young beautiful round breasts, he turned his face immediately, not to look at the breasts again , he wouldn’t fall victim to the ' sin of lookery,’ he simply stretched his hand and collected the stone and a nail, hit it into the wall, then he dropped and shifted the stool to the other side of the door, he climbed again and as he looked down to collect a nail,  intentionally or unintentionally, his eyes saw them again, who was he kidding? Were men not naturally drawn to these things? He would look if he could but he wouldn’t let himself get caught while looking. As he hit the nail, this time without concentration, sand from the wall dropped into his eyes, he closed his eyes and stopped hitting. 

“Are you alright?” Jane asked.

“Oh yeah I am,” Dennis replied, what foolish boy would tell a lady he wasn’t alright? More so if they were meeting for the first time. “So, Jane, are you one of us or one of them?”

“One of you?” She asked, apparently lost.

“Yes, one of us or them. Us are those who in a bid to run away from mathematics gather in faculty of Arts and Social sciences while them are those who love maths and are in the sciences.”

“Ohhh, I see,” she said nodding her head. “I am one of you.”

“Really? So what’s your course of study?” he asked.

“Linguistics,” she replied, “linguistics, myself and Joy. You?”

“Psychology. Wait,' he said, ' Linguistics? You know how to run away from mathematics indeed.”

“what are you trying to say,” and they laughed. “I had to run away from mathematics, in fact my case is hopeless, I am so daft in mathematics that if Pythagoras would come down here and teach me mathematics a few minutes to maths exam, I would still fail.”

“That’s funny, in that case I think I’m better than someone though I won’t say who. If Pythagoras teaches me mathematics, I think I will make an E.”

“Ahhhh, just an E,” Jane said, “ Anyway while I’m making an F, I know someone who will make a G.”

“I heard that,” Joy shouted from the kitchen.

“Guilty conscience,” Jane whispered to Dennis who only placed two fingers on his lips to suggest he was sealing his lips.

“I heard that too,” Joy said again.

“please stop hearing everything this ,”Jane joked,  and they all laughed.