Chiko

Chiko was on top form last night. It started with my arrival at 6.30, as we had scheduled the day before. After walking 5 flights of stairs up to his apartment, with whiteboard and bag of books in tow, I was pleasantly surprised to find total darkness (his rooftop apartment has frosted windows which enables you to determine if he's at home or not). I waited in his outdoor balcony for 5 minutes, admiring the great view while gently cursing his punctuality. After using up all the expletives I could think of, I gave him a call.

'Ello?'

'Chiko, hi, it's Ashley, are you on your way?'

'Way? No, but I will be at 7.30. That's when the lesson starts, right?'

'No! We scheduled for 6.30, we spoke about this yesterday!'

'Eh? I have 7.30 in my head...are you sure?

'I told you that I have to LEAVE at 7.30!'

Instead of getting pissed, my sympathies were immediately extended to his business partner, another likely contender for a Sopranos audition. Quite how Chiko has a successful business is beyond me...then again, those stories of gun-wielding seemed to make sudden sense...

So, I had to cancel a beer with a friend while waiting for Chiko. He arrived at 7.20. The lesson was its usual self, though that glazed look in his eyes when he struggles to comprehend that D comes after C (you think i'm joking...) came later than usual, so I pat myself heartily on the back...

I'm not intending to run Chiko and his attempts to learn English down but he is my 'main man', a character you'll be seeing more of here at anglosaxy...