Page 62 of Single Teddy
“I thought I’d drop by once or twice a week, and do some extra lessons with them until their performance improves,” I said.
“I don’t think?—”
“I really, really don’t want to upset you again, but we don’t really have a choice. If…if the principal thinks they’re underperforming, you’ll be in trouble, so really, I’m doing you a favor.”
I was doing him nothing of the sort, but he struck me as the kind of guy who only cared about himself, so I hoped appealing to his ego would work.
“Fine.”
“Great. Can I…? Can I come in?”
“What?” He winced. “Now?”
I shrugged.
“Better late than never.”
I didn’t even give him a chance to ask me to return another day. I needed to get things rolling. If I had any doubts about the kids’ safety before, there was no doubt in my mind about it now.
“Fine,” he grumbled again, and I wasted no time.
I made my way inside and found the twins in the same dirty living room I’d found them before. They were running around, chasing each other, but as soon as Mr. Barnes walked in, they froze on the spot and looked him dead in the eyes.
“Are you being dickheads again?” he asked them, and I could feel the steam coming out of my ears, but I held my composure and my thoughts to myself.
“Hi, boys,” I waved at them, and their expressions softened. “How are you? Your dad and I were talking, and we agreed I’d pop by every week to help you with homework. How does that sound?”
They both nodded but kept quiet.
“Okay then. Where is the best place to do the lesson? The kitchen maybe? Or do you have a dining?—”
“Here is fine,” the dad grumbled and left the room.
“Okay then.” I smiled and inspected the space, trying to find the best way to do this.
I grabbed a couple of cushions, gave them a good pat to get rid of the dust, and told the boys to sit on them as I took the greasy armchair that stunk of cigarettes and breathed through my mouth.
“How are you kids doing?” I whispered. “Are you hungry?”
I retrieved the sandwiches I’d made at home for them, and they didn’t even say anything. Just snatched them up and wolfed them down.
“You guys are such sweethearts. I’m trying to help you, okay? Just remember that no matter what happens.”
“Don’t,” Niko said, glancing at the door. “He’ll hear you.”
My gut twisted at the fear in his eyes as he confirmed my worst nightmare.
“Okay, so we’ll do some studying instead while I try to figure out what to do.”
Niko nodded, and I walked them through addition and subtraction with the colorful number blocks I’d brought for them.
“So ten is the same as two fives?” Valentin asked, holding the two five-blocks on top of each other next to the ten-block.
“Exactly. See? They’re the same height when you stack them.”
“So if they’re the same height, they are the same number?” Niko asked.
“They make the same number, yes. See? When you put the three on top of the seven, they also become the same height as the ten-block. So if five and five makes ten, so does fifty and fifty make one hundred.”
