Lahat ng Kabanata ng Their Chance : Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

AhanaMy Banking management class is still on when I start scouring the Internet, watching YouTube video after YouTube video, desperate to find out how smart appliances, smart kitchens, smart thermostats, heck smart homes, work. Watching these videos, I am amazed by how simple household machines have evolved over time, and I balk when I see how much they cost. But it makes me even more determined to learn. I am not going to make a fool of myself again.After my shift at Poundyard , I head to pick Muna from day care. Seeing her face light up when she spots me is enough to make me feel a whole lot better.Apart from the money, the little cherub makes everything worth it. She chats all through the bus ride to their house. Her father isn’t there, so I open the key with the set he gave me.After settling her with her afternoon tea, with Gigglebiz playing on the CBeebies channel, I go looking for the thermostat where one of the YouTube videos said smart ones like that are usually installed.

Chris I look at her and I know I am doing a bad job of concealing my irritation. But heck, why conceal it when I can show her? My mind flashes back a few weeks to the other lady and I am angered that another opportunist now stands before me. Is that the common gimmick these foreign nannies pull out of their hats? Offer to cook and get paid double? Give me a break!“Cheers, but Muna is more than fine with what she eats,” I say, putting the sandwiches on a fresh plate. “There’ll be no need for ‘cooking’ or ‘baking’.”Her face falls and I feel a momentary stab of guilt. She looks genuinely disappointed, and I hate that I am presenting myself as a bad guy, but after everything I’ve been through with child minders, I don't think I can be blamed.“Sure,” she says, her smile no longer quite as wide. “I’ll take her sandwich to her.”As she reaches for the plate, I notice a sprinkling of freckles on her nose and that her eyes are a very light brown. Who knows, maybe beneath those minging brai

AhanaI cry the entire twenty-minute bus ride home, completely broken. That I have been reduced to a teary, begging mess by the prospect of losing a babysitting job has broken my spirit. I am crushed by the reminder that keeping this job is the difference between my getting decent accommodation or returning to Aput’s flat. I think back to when I gave away my entire allowance, a whopping £8,000, and I feel like going back in time to give that foolish girl a resounding slap across the face.But it is too late to cry over spilt milk.Thankfully, Chris isn’t home the next day when Muna and I get back from day care, or even today. Just like yesterday, he doesn’t get home till a few minutes before 10, and also like yesterday, we exchange only a terse greeting as I leave, with him reminding me to be there tomorrow, Saturday, to watch Muna. I’m unable to even look him in the eye, the memory of blubbering and pleading for my job too vivid in my head.Leaving the house that Friday evening, I wa

Chris Walking out of the house, a glance at my watch confirms I am a few hours too early for the meet up with my friends this evening. But after rambling like a fool, I needed to leave the house, and quickly. Clearly, it’s been too long since I was with a woman. That has to be the reason why my daughter’s nanny, of all people, is making me feel some type of way. The very thought is an absurdity as she is nothing, absolutely nothing, like the kind of women I go for.I reach for my phone and scroll through, looking for any number to call for a much-needed hook-up. As I scroll, I hesitate over Itunu’s name, but shudder at the thought of calling her. It has been almost two months since our last encounter, and I absolutely do not want to awaken that beast. No, Itunu should remain boxed in the Never Again pile. By the time I get to the station, I have not found anyone of interest to call, and resign myself to the reality that there will be no hook-ups tonight. tonight.“Where you at?” I as

ChrisI’m so tired when I get home, I am barely able to respond properly to Ahana’s greeting. It isn’t until she’s gone that I remember she was supposed to have cooked something for Muna’s dinner and wonder how it all went.Walking into the kitchen, it is as bare and sparkling clean as it was before I dumped all her requested groceries there. It almost makes me think she changed her mind about cooking… almost. The lingering smell of cooked tomatoes is enough of an indicator that some cooking did go down in that space. I smile at the memory of that smell, remembering how it was what I needed to know my mother was about to throw it down in the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I see, first the cupcakes and scones, and then the Tupperware bowls of rice. Out of curiosity, I take a cupcake and bite into it, pleasantly surprised by the delightful confection, rich and moist, with a vanilla and strawberry flavour that feels hearty and solid. My interest piqued, I reach for one of the Tupperware c