"Ms. Rivers, I understand you are unhappy with your living situation, yes?" My landlord spoke for the fifth time and looked at me as if I was still in Togo and did not know much English. I roll my eyes at him and stand up. "Ms. Rivers are you done with this conversation you insisted we have?"
"We did not have any conversation. I listened to you and heard nothing but shit. I will find elsewhere soon. Until then you have my rent payment. I have to go now; I will be late if I do not leave." I scoff as I hear him shut the door and complain to himself. Stupid man. Stupid American man. I knew I looked funfun[2], but I am not, I am Naijiria[3], and I will be respected and not looked down upon. I drove to work and parked at the spot they had assigned me. I got my purse and my identification card out and went along my way. I heard many things said by my coworkers as I walked down the hallway. I got to my room and unlocked the door with this key, it was gold and quite boring.
I walked in before cutting on the lights and set up for today. I taught first grade at Wensley Hills Elementary School, and they were bright students. I wrote our daily plan on the board and then made sure their clips were all on green. I prayed silently to both Olokun[4] and Yemoja[5], for luck and for pure reason. I prayed to Yemoja every morning before work on weekdays and on the weekends just as I wake up. I thank them for my health, which has lasted longer than I thought it would, and thank them for my ability to teach. I hear the intercom chime and open my eyes, ready to start the day.
Students slowly come in one by one, and I make sure they are all set down before class starts. "E kaaro[6] my little ones!" I say happily, looking at them all. They chime back 'E kaaro Ms. Rivers.' and our day continues. Around 9 am, there is a knock at the door, and I have the students work on their math while I get the door. "Oh hello." I smile as I see one of the top students in my class, Jeremy Carpenter, with a small bandage on his arm. "There you are Jeremy."
"Sorry Ms. Rivers, I fell asleep late last night." Jeremy smiled sheepishly and I took his hand, silently praying over it to Ọbalúayé [7]to heal his injury.
I stand up straight after and smile. "Go on in, they are doing mathematics." I watch him walk away and then look at his father. "I take it you slept in as well." I joke.
"Yes, I did it was horrible. He and I stayed up to finish his homework that…shit…homework. I left it at-"
"It is okay, I trust you got it done. Besides, I will not miss it." I giggle and then turn to leave. "Have a good day Mr. Carpenter." He was very arewa Kunran[8] and I could not deny that.
God damn she is hot, how is she so pretty and still a year older than me? Fuuuuck. I run a hand through my hair and smile. "She will not miss it." I mumble, thinking about her accent. She must be Nigerian, must be. Oh, I hope she is. But she is very white. I mean anyone could be white. My father is white and Nigerian so it could happen. I stare at my phone as I sit in the parking lot and smile, deciding I could call in sick and clean up today.
This house was a damned mess after last night and Jeremy was begging for ice cream so of course he got a bowl and then was hyper and now here I am like an idiot doing ten things at once. I ignored Bluey playing on the TV and continued to work in the house. By the time the house was finished, it was almost time to get Jeremy from school, so I got into the car and drove, stopping at McDonald's on my way. I got our favorites and then headed to the school, and I saw her standing with him. Holy hell. I got out of the car and went over, Jeremy yelling 'dad' when he saw me and running to me. He looked so happy and forgot to grab his backpack when he came over.
"Dad, Ms. Rivers is single! She is so pretty! Can she be my mommy?" I blush at his words and shrug.
"Let daddy talk to her for a minute okay, go sit in the car and buckle up." He nodded and ran to the car, waving bye to his teacher. I walk over to Ms. Rivers. "So sorry about him."
"You apologize quite a lot, yes? Why?" She sounded so confused and I shrugged.
"I don't know, I'm sorry." I say softly and she giggles. I blush as I realize I apologized again.
"You Awọn ara ilu Amẹrika[9] apologize for everything. But do not fret, I apologized to a cat this morning for no reason."
"So, you are getting into the lifestyle of an American, no?" Oh my god what language was that? It was beautiful. She is beautiful.
"Yes, I am. Jeremy had a good day, it was so good that he was on the purple this afternoon, so he got another sticker on his sheet. Only meji[10] more and he gets to redeem them for whatever he would like."
I nod and think hard. What language was it?! Meji was not in Igbo, my father's language or Hausa, my mother's. Dammit! I would have to ask my father. I softly mumble to myself before picking up Jeremy's backpack and think for a bit more before speaking. "Nwee ezigbo lafiya[11]…?" I sigh, immediately apologizing for my shit language.
"You are Nigerian?" She spoke softly, excitement in her eyes. I shake my head.
"My parents are. I was born here." She smiled still.
"The attempt was sweet, but I do not know what you are saying. I never left my village until moving here."
"I was trying to say have a good day."
"Well, you do too, I have to grade some things tonight but should be in bed before midnight. I hope you try the same." She softly bowed before leaving me there, speechless.
I got in the car and looked at my son. "No talking about what we do anymore. Yes?" He nodded. "Good." And I drove home.
I swear that man is breathtaking. His attempt at the languages was beautiful. He is a Nigerian man as well! My parents will approve, but I will not be marrying him anytime soon.
After all, we barely know each other, and I am his son's teacher, so it would be illegal anyways and all of those big words and such. I graded some work for a bit before I finished.
I made my way home at 5 pm and started on dinner, enjoying noodles and a horribly made documentary before going to the bathroom and showering. I kept my hair out of the way as I washed, not taking long. I laid down and silently prayed before my sleep to rest well and wake up in the morning before shutting my eyes.
[1] Chapter One (Yoruba language)
[2] white
[3] Nigerian
[4] Yoruba deity
[5] Yoruba deity of women
[6] Good morning
[7] Yoruba deity of healing
[8] handsome
[9] Americans
[10] two
[11] Have good (Igbo) health (Hausa)