CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

When Jason woke up the following morning, Chike was gone but on top of the wooden table was a note Chike left behind.

I have an errand to run. My phone will be out of service for hours.

Try to have a great time, Yagazie.

Yours true pain in the Ass,

C.

Jason shook his head and threw the note inside the waste bin. Jason flexed his shoulders and yawned. He just took a seven hours nap but he was as tired as he was when he went to bed the night before. Jason used his foot to look for his foot wear and gently slide his feet into them. He wouldn't be this tired if he still had an indoor gym to work out his knotted muscles.

"Yay... it is morning. Time for my life to suck more than it already is" Jason voice contained a hint of dismay and he figured he wasn't saying anything that the universe didn't already know.

He reached for his shirt on the only chair in the room without actually turning to face the chair and his hand felt a leg...a child's leg. Few months ago, Jason would have freaked but it wasn't unusual to find toddlers in his room... actually one toddler, if he was being accurate.

Jason waited a second or two to hear Nolani's signature giggles but they never came. He turned abruptly to hear the girl sniff and with a tear filled face. Her nose was red from excessive rubbing and her hair was messy.

She looked at Jason and fresh tears emerged. Nolani was holding a stuffed elephant that was wearing a dress and a bow-tie.

"What is wrong?" Jason asked as he moved closer to her. His first instinct told him to go the other direction and yell for someone more qualified to handle the situation.

"Bubba is dead...." Nolani said as tears dripped down her cheeks.

Jason found it fascinating that she could produce that much tears from her tiny tear glands.

Who is Bubba? Jason thought. Was Bubba a friend or another orphan?

How do you ask a two year old to explain something in a way that will make sense?

"I am sorry? Who is Bubba?" Jason asked as he offered her one of his clothes to wipe her face but instead she dropped it on the floor.

Nolani slowly presented her dead stuffed elephant to a confused Jason.

"He is Bubba"

Jason saw that the elephant was missing a hand or whatever accurate name an elephant's front left leg was called.

He seriously didn't know how to explain to a toddler that the elephant was never alive to begin with!

"Can you fix him?" Nolani asked with a glint of hope in her beautiful blue eyes.

"I think he is pretty much dead..."

When Jason saw that she cried harder and people might wonder why he was making a two year old cry, he added "....but I can try and save him"

What he didn't say to Nolani was that he wouldn't even know where to start since he had zero knowledge about needles or threads.

A soft knock on the door made Jason and the child's gaze to leave Bubba for a moment.

John pushed the door and entered. He was wearing a brown singlet and black shorts. He was holding a red T-shirt and a blue belt.

"Good morning sir. My name is John"

It was the first time the teenager had spoken to Jason for almost a year since Jason came to the Orphanage.

"Hello John. Nice outfits!"

The boy smiled vibrantly and his eyes went to his feet. He was wearing a pair of brown sanders. If Jason were to guess, the sanders had seen good years and was the only one he had.

"Miss Naya said big boss is taking all of us to see the world. Miss Naya is a smart woman; she said the world is bigger than the Orphanage"

Jason liked the excitement that radiated from John as he spoke. He was finding it difficult to reconcile the introverted boy that stared at him always with this vibrant young man.

"Yes indeed....Naya is right. There is an entire world out there to see and I can see you are ready, John"

"Everyone is ready. We all started preparing as soon as Miss Naya told us yesterday" the smile on his face never wavered.

"Going out today is really important to you guys, isn't it?" Jason asked

"Yes sir!" The boy nodded.

"Well I guess you should look your best then. Open the door, let's see that feet of yours" Jason encouraged and John did exactly as he was told.

For a teenager, he had huge feet, almost same size as Jason. Jason's eyes trail the room towards where he dumped most of his shoes on a plastic shoe rack and after an extensive search for the right shoes, he settled on the black Louis Vuitton Manhattan Richelieu men's shoe.

It was expensive but it was perfect for John. Jason stood up from the bunk bed to get the shoe and it was then John saw Nolani in tears clutching Bubba.

"Did big boss beat Nolani?" John asked as he glared at Jason, who was oblivious of the charges leveled against him.

When Jason turned around holding the pair of shoes in his hands and saw the accusations in John's eyes. He tried to defend himself.

"Oh no...I didn't make her cry. Apparently Bubba the elephant is missing an arm and Nolani seem to think that he is dead"

John went to Nolani's side in a second, leaving Jason standing there with his expensive shoes. John got on one knee to be the same size as Nolani.

"Bubba died? John will fix Bubba for Nolani"

Jason found it strange that John talked about himself in a third person point of view.

"No...I want Dada to fix Bubba" Nolani was adamant.

Dada… Did the little girl just call me Dada again? Jason was taken aback. He stepped closer to the duo when John turned to look at him, looking almost as confused as Jason.

"Are you Nolani's father?" John asked with a puzzled expression.