FINESSE

√ TWENTY √

"Mom, a friend is coming over today" Ike said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Gloria and Chi Chi?" Mrs Adeniyi asked as Ike scratched the back of her head.

"Not at all. A friend from school. My project partner" Ike replied as her mom nodded.

"So, is there anything you'll like  me to prepare for him?" Mrs Adeniyi asked with an amused smile as she turned to her daughter.

Ikeoluwa stared at her mom in both surprise and shock.

"How did you know?" Ike asked as her mom laughed.

"You wouldn't say who it was. And I heard Lade telling the gardeners this morning that a guy was the one who dropped you off yesterday and you were dancing" Mrs Adeniyi replied as Ike used her palms to cover her face.

"Jeez" Ike murmured as her mom laughed.

"You should have just told me" Mrs Adeniyi replied and Ike chuckled.

"You would probably freak out" Ike replied as her mom frowned.

"Why would I? You both had better stay in the seating room" Mrs Adeniyi replied and Ike chuckled.

"See you are freaking out" Ike said as she shook her head.

Ike rummaged through the wardrobe the hundredth time that morning. It was few minutes to 10am and Juola would be there any moment.

Why the hell hadn't she found the cloth to wear yet?

Ike sighed as she rubbed her forehead while laughing at herself.

"Ikeoluwa, you are hilarious" Ike said out aloud as she grabbed a pair of matching outfits. A pair of zebra shorts and a plain white top.

Just her Ike finished dressing up and packing her books. She walked down the stairs to hear a car drive in. Increasing her pace, she quickly dropped her books on the dining table and hurried out or her house.

She watched as Juola stepped out from the car and as much as Ike wanted to take her eyes off him, her eyes refused her demand as they remain glued to him.

He was wearing a pair of black jeans, a white round top and he wore a shirt on it and didn't bother to button it at all.

He opened the back seat and brought out his school bag as he walked towards Ike who had finally gotten control of herself.

"Good morning" Ike greeted as she flashed him a smile.

"Morning" Juola replied as Ike suddenly felt conscious with the way Juola was looking at her.

"Don't just stand there, follow me" Ike said as she started walking towards the door. Walking in front of him even made her feel more conscious as she increased her pace.

She opened the door wide and allowed him to walk into the house. Juola slipped his other hand into his pocket as he looked around the house.

"Nice house" Juola said as Ike turned to him and smiled.

"Thank you" Ike said as she led him to the dining table.

"I figured the dining table would be a better idea than the seating room" Ike said as Juola nodded and pulled out a seat.

"Anywhere is fine" Juola replied as he sat down and turned when he heard voices and clanking of heels.

Mr and Mrs Adeniyi who were arguing about something stopped as soon as they spotted a handsome guy seating at the dining table.

Juola stood up immediately as Ike watched in shock as Juola prsotrated fully as he greeted her parents in the traditional way.

"This is.... " Mr Adeniyi asked as he turned to his daughter.

"Juola. He's my Physics project partner" Ike rushed out as Mr Adeniyi smiled at the younger boy.

"How are you Juola?" Mr Adeniyi asked as Juola nodded.

"Very much fine sir" Juola replied as Mrs Adeniyi beamed at him.

"Please feel at home. We have to rush somewhere so we can't entertain you" she said as Juola shook his head.

"That's totally fine ma" Juola replied as Mr Adeniyi nodded.

"Okay. You two do your thing. We'll be back by evening" Mr Adeniyi said as he and his wife rushed out of the house.

"Who drove this here?" Mr Adeniyi asked in shock as soon as they saw the car parked in front of the house.

"The guy who came to see Ike" the gateman, Lade replied as Mr Adeniyi turned to his wife.

"We'll ask Ike when we come back. We are late already let's go" Mrs Adeniyi said as they both got into the car.

"Those are your parents?" Juola asked as he and Ike sat down.

"Yeah" Ike replied with a smile as she turned to Juola.

"Why?" Ike asked as Juola shook her head.

"You look like your mom alot" Juola replied as Ike laughed out.

"Everyone says I'm her carbon copy" Ike replied as she smiled wider and flipped her books open.

Like the day before, both she and Juola worked fluently. Different kinds of textbooks had been opened on the dining table with different books and notebooks sprawled all over the table.

"It can't always be like that. Why don't we try using the Latent Heat of Fusion?" Ike asked as Juola shook her head.

"If we are going to use Latent heat at all, I think that latent heat of sublimination would be a better idea" Juola replied as Ike furrowed her brows.

"That would make the whole equation complex" Ike complained as Juola shook his head as he scribbled something in his note.

"No. Its even much more easier. I've seen something like this before. See" Juola said as he turned his notebook towards Ike who looked through what he had written down before glancing at him again.

"Wow" Ike murmured as she pursed her lips and stared at Juola as he scribbled something in his note.

She definitely couldn't count how many times she had said the same statement over and over again in the spanse of about five hours.

Her phone buzzed loudly catching both Ike and Juola's attention.