The Home Lesson Teacher

The buzz of my phone jolted me up from my brief nap. I had slept off while sitting in my shop at the Plantation City Estate waiting for my shopkeeper who I had sent to get me something from the next crescent. I glanced at the screen of the phone to know the rude caller might be. It was an unknown number that was displayed on the screen. I flinched. I did not like being interrupted when taking a nap because I rarely slept at night. I reluctantly picked up the phone and slid the icon to answer the call. "Hello," called a sweet female voice from the caller's end. I took a cursory look at the screen again to be sure that I did not know who the caller was. "Hello," I replied. "Whom am I speaking with?" I asked, sounding as polite as I could manage. The caller hesitated for a moment before she spoke again. "I'm lady Meryl Ogie. I got a recommendation from a friend of mine about you. She said you're a good teacher of English and Literature teaching in her daughter's school, Golden Crest International Academy," she explained calmly. I was drinking the calmness of her soft voice. I could imagine the ambient atmosphere that would exist around her in person if she spoke with this much grace on the phone. "Is that correct?" she asked as if as an afterthought. "Yes, ma'am. You... you... are correct," I stuttered and wondered why I did. I was not used to being contacted for a teaching job in this manner, so that, maybe, explained why I felt uneasy. "Okay. I'll like to have your services. My daughter is preparing for her SSCE, JAMB and POST-UME and she needs to be well coached in English and Literature ahead of the exams," she said. "Okay, ma'am. Do you live in the Plantation?" I asked. She replied that she did. As a matter of fact, they had the biggest mansion in the estate according to her description. I smiled to myself. Good catch then, I thought. We eventually agreed on a day to meet and discuss the pay package and the mode of service. I was to go to the Chief Ogie mansion on Saturday to iron things out and probably know when to start. My boy came back before the call the ended. He handed the package that I had sent him to get to me and went behind the counter to assume his normal position. I rose and walked out of the shop, heading to my one-bedroom apartment in Blooms Garden Street in the Plantation. With a mega contract on the way, I walked on smiling and humming unknown songs to myself. Stay connected for the real deal.