Chapter V

“We need to get that scholarship back,” George said loudly as he entered the hall from his room. Georgea was seated on the longest sofa in the hall with her legs in it. She did not make a sound or move a muscle as she was focused on her phone; as always. George came closer and snatched the phone and then, sat closer to his sister. He threw the phone which landed perfectly on the sofa next to the one they were sitting on. That was the only way to get her attention.

“And how do you plan on doing that?” she asked and then, stood up to get her phone back. George pushed her back on to the sofa and firmly held her hands.

“We,” he said pointing to Georgea and then himself. “Remember ‘YEF’?”

He could tell from her facial expression that she did not remember; he went on to explain.

“‘Yen’s Education Foundation’? the people who support the schooling of many young people?”

Now, she remembered but George already knew the question she would ask next so he decided to answer it even before she asked.

“They’ll be visiting our school. I don’t know when but they will. And they’ll be offering scholarships to students who pass their tests.”

“How do you know all of this?” she asked with a curious face, “snooping around?”

“Benefits of being a teacher’s pet,” he responded with a smirk, “I know they’ll be bringing their own questions so it’ll be tough. But with this tip, we have more time to study.”

“Study for what?” Agyei asked as he also entered the hall with his bags.

He had Baby in hand. The weekend was over and Agyei had to return back to the main city for work where he would spend the entire week. As he entered, George and Georgea kept quiet and watched how the adorable little girl clung to her father. Then, Gyaba entered too. She came closer and fixed Agyei’s collar.

"Love you, son,” Gyaba said before taking Baby from his hands.

Then, she left with Baby. She knew that if the little girl saw her father leaving, she would begin to cry.

“You know what. . . thinking about it, I would like to visit dad with you guys,” Agyei said with a smile.

His words and smile place a smile on the faces of his twin siblings.

“Will you even be around for that? I mean, with your work and all,” Georgea wondered.

“Let’s hope by then, I’ll have lost my job,” he said and then laughed.

“Yeah, hopefully,” the twins chorused and also laughed.

He walked towards the door to leave but just as he stepped out, Baby came running towards him. He dropped his bag, carried and raised her high in the air.

“She doesn’t want you to leave,” Gyaba said as she ran after Baby.

“Just go with her already!” George yelled from the hall.

Gyaba went back to pull George’s ear; he screamed in pain.

“Go, get up,” Gyaba instructed, “help your brother with his bags.”

George stood up and went ahead to help his brother with his bags until he got a taxi to the bus station. As brother and brother with Baby walked further away from the house, they stayed quiet. Suddenly, Agyei stopped walking causing George to stop too. He place his left hand in his pocket and brought out some notes of cedi. “Here, take this,” he urged George.

“I’m taking it only because we need it,” George said and immediately took the money.

The two continued walking. “Mr. Nana asked me to come work at the shop during vacations.”

“Don’t stress yourself, Gee. I’ll get another job; a much better one.”

Even though Baby was crying, Agyei entered into a taxi after kissing her on the forehead. George, with Baby in his hand now, watched as the taxi disappeared.

“Stop crying. You’ll see him again very soon,” he reassured the little girl. “Now, let’s go home and we’ll play together. Ha, you like that, don’t you?”

allowed the baby to walk as he held her hand. Side by side, they slowly walked home.