That day, I took time to dress up. I reached for my crisp white and blue checked shirt and the dark brown chinos that had been sitting in the cupboards' upper shelf, waiting for a good occasion. Making sure my hair was neat; I applied a generous coating of petroleum jelly to add that extra softness to my lips. I even sprayed the perfume a lady friend had gifted. My freshly shaven face was radiant, as I folded the clean white handkerchief and slipped it in the back pocket. I was all set to meet Lexi for my first scheduled tuition class, and the reason I was spending time in front of the mirror was, of course, Ella.
I knocked, expecting Ella to appear in one of her sexily smart dresses, but the door opened, and Lexi gave me a half hug. She behaved as if I was one of her old pals. Cabmatically, my face turned stiff with irritation. It was beyond me, the reason why she was always more than just happy to see me.
Lexi wore short pants, too short for her! I could see her thin, unwaxed legs, and the loose T-shirt hung on her like a big fat dress resting on a slim hanger.
I diverted my attention from her legs to my surroundings.
'Sir, it's good to see you!' My line of thoughts was interrupted by Ella. She welcomed me with a sugar sweet smile as she came out to greet me.
I really liked Ella. But it was for more than just her looks. Of course, I could not entirely disregard her beauty, but she was well-mannered, seemed mature, and single-handedly managed everything.
The lounge had an old four-seater sofa. It was quite outdated, but new covers hid its age well. Behind it was an old and faded wooden dining table, next to the modular kitchen.
The layout of the ground floor and the first floor was slightly different, as rooms were placed after the kitchen.
Ella guided me to an inner room. The walls were lined with pictures, but I couldn't have a good look at them. There were some childish
drawings. I guessed, Lexi would have made them during her growing years, and the doting mother had held on to them.
The room which I entered had a study table and two chairs placed at right angles, clearly the designated place for me to teach. The room was meticulously clean. Either they were too organized, or it had been cleaned and arranged to make space for me.
I sat on one of the chairs and sneakily studied the room. My eyes fell on the right side of the wardrobe; the corner appeared like a hospital's chamber. There was a drip rod, some bottles, a few syringes, clean white towels, sanitizer bottle, several medicines, and bundles of bigger-sized diapers. I concluded Ella practised nursing from her home as well. Couldn't blame her, she had to manage her finances.
A picture, this one a family photo, hung at the centre of the wall. A young couple was holding a baby. The frame was almost three meters away from me, but I could recognize the young girl in the picture. She was glowing, looked extremely happy, and the brightness of her eyes captured me. I could not stop myself from thinking how beautiful she was. The same lady came into the room with a glass of water. I looked at her, and my mind said – she is still just as beautiful.
'Thanks,' I picked the glass of water. She nodded and turned her face slightly away to scream,
'Lexiiiiiii… where are you? Come here, sir is waiting…'
'Just two minutes, Mumma…' Lexi answered from some corner of the house.
'Thomas sir, what would you like to have… tea or coffee?'
I liked tea. Hoping to make a civilized impression, I said, 'Coffee, without milk.'
She smiled brightly, which was enough to please a pervert like me.
She left the room. Inadvertently, my eyes travelled back to the family photo. I couldn't stop looking at it. I guessed the baby in the image to be Lexi. The Lexi in the photo was a chubby and healthy child. Unwillingly, but out of curiosity, my eyes moved on to the man in the picture. I focussed on him. I had a feeling I knew him. He looked familiar. I was sure I had
seen this man before. I tried to shuffle through the images of people I had met and tried to think hard but could not place this man.
'Hi, sir!' Lexi had finally decided to come to the room. She seemed excited, 'Which chapter shall we start with?'
'Algebra… Isn't that the part which troubles you the most?'
My nostrils were tickled by the wafting aroma of the coffee that Ella placed in front of me. I rolled up the sleeves of my shirt and held the coffee mug, James Bond style. Lexi sat across from me, blushing for no apparent reason. She did not look interested in the book at all.
'The problems won't solve themselves if you keep looking at me. Focus!' I chided.
'Nice shirt, sir. You look cool in it.'
I had worn this shirt for her mom and this teenager was noticing it. I didn't know what to say to her. And it didn't help that she was blushing like I was about to propose to her.
'Lexi, if you stop looking at me, we can get back to work.' 'No sir, I am angry with you,' she faked a let-down-face.
Was I here to please my angry girlfriend? 'What did I do to get you angry?' I took the coffee mug to my lips.
'You like mom more than me,' Lexi stated matter-of-factly.
I coughed as the scalding coffee burnt the back of my throat. I had had too much in one gulp and the almost bitter taste burnt me down. Add to that her words which led to all this chaos in the first place. It felt like, I was about to get a heart attack! 'And what makes you say that?' I counter questioned, to confirm if my liking was all that evident.
'Because when I asked for your help in maths, you denied. And then you agreed to mom's request,' Lexi explained.
I heaved a sigh of relief. 'Oh that!'
She nodded and I looked at her book. 'Can we please focus on studies?' I raised my voice a little. In a few minutes, I concluded her algebra was at an unsalvageable stage. I decided to focus on weak sections instead, rather than pursuing all topics. I thought I'd let her say which was the weakest section – quadratic equations, trigonometry or whatever.
I pointed at the contents page listing all these options and asked her, 'So Lexi, which is the hardest subject for you?'
'I don't like politics,' Lexi shook her head for effect.
'I am not asking your topics of interest. I meant the toughest unit in maths!' Suddenly, teaching felt like the toughest job. If I spent any more time with Lexi, I was sure to start hating my job.
She remained silent.
'In which part of this section can you not solve any problems at all?' I poked again, simplifying the question for her, and pointing at the sections listed in contents once again.
'Probability...'
'Okay. You only need to concentrate; it's not that difficult.' I picked the book and flipped the pages.
'Sir, can I ask a question?'
I nodded, still looking at the book. 'Was Mia good in studies?'
It was impossible to handle this girl. She had no mood to study, and I wondered why she was snooping. Where was she getting to know about these things?
'Can we focus on this chapter, Lexi?' I repeated with a tough face. I had realized by now that being polite would not work with Lexi. I began explaining with an example, 'Suppose, Lexi, there are two students and one teacher. The teacher has four hours to teach, and the students are sitting at two different places. What chance does each student get to study?'
'Two hours,' Lexi answered.
'Correct. What percent is two of four?' 'Fifty percent.'
'Right! So, what would be the probability for a student to get the teacher's time?'
'Probability would be 50%,' she said with a winner's smile. I smiled back in appreciation and said, 'Very good!'
'But I have a doubt, sir,' she said.
'Hope it's related to what we are studying?'
'Of course, sir!' she said in a tone implying she never asked any other kind. 'Suppose one student is Lexi, and the second is Mia. And you love to spend time with only one. In that case, what would be the probability of the other student getting to spend time with you?'
This was unbelievable! I seethed, wishing I could run off, or maybe bang the notebook on her head. I looked at her disbelievingly. She was smiling, as if she had cracked the biggest joke.
I answered with clenched teeth, 'Zero probability for you to learn mathematics.'