Chapter 5

The following Saturday morning arrived with the usual bustle.

Mrs. Bisi had declared it a cleaning day.

Which meant everyone had a job.

Whether they liked it or not.

An hour later…

The house looked noticeably cleaner.

Chief stood by the dining table with a mug of tea in his hands.

“Ire.”

She looked up.

“Yes, Daddy?”

“Come and sit.”

She frowned.

“I'm not in trouble, am I?”

He smiled.

“If you were, I wouldn't ask so nicely.”

She laughed and pulled out a chair.

Chief placed an envelope on the table.

“What's this?”

“Open it.”

She looked suspiciously at him.

“Ire...”

“I'm opening it.”

She carefully unfolded the paper inside.

Her eyes widened.

“My mock JAMB results?”

Chief nodded.

“Your tutorial centre sent them yesterday.”

She looked over the scores again.

English. Good.

CRS. Very good.

Literature. Excellent.

Government…

She stopped smiling.

“Oh.”

Chief noticed.

“You were hoping for better.”

She nodded quietly.

“I know I can do better.”

He sipped his tea before speaking.

“And what does that tell you?”

She frowned.

“That I need to study more?”

“It tells me you've recognised where to improve.”

She looked at him.

“That's very different from thinking you've failed.”

The words settled gently between them.

That afternoon. Books covered the dining table. Highlighters.

Sticky notes. Past questions. Ire stared at a page of her  government textbook as though it had personally offended her.

A chair scraped beside her. She looked up. Irawo.

Irawo smiled. “You look like you need help.”

Ire groaned.

“These policies and constitutions are trying to finish me.”

“Let's see.”

She picked up the textbook and glanced at the page.

“Which part is confusing you?”

Ire pointed at a paragraph.

“I've read it three times, and it's still reading me.”

A laugh escaped Irawo.

“Okay. Let's break it down.”

For the next hour, the dining table became their classroom.

There were questions. Explanations. A few wrong answers.

Then a few right ones.

"Oh!" Ire exclaimed suddenly.

“I get it now.”

“I told you.”

“I still don't like Government.”

"You don't have to like it." Irawo smiled.

"You just have to understand it." Ire sighed dramatically.

“I was hoping you'd say something more encouraging.”

“I am being encouraging.”

“No, you're being practical.”

“The two can exist together.”

Ire laughed. “Fine.”

Mrs. Bisi walked past the dining room. She paused. The books were still everywhere. Irawo was explaining another question.

Ire was actually listening. Mrs. Bisi smiled to herself.

She said nothing. Some moments were too precious to interrupt. She simply continued on her way.