My Charming Teacher.

I woke up early, took a bath, prepared breakfast and served Javan. He was surprised and pleased. I felt useful now. He enjoyed the meal, most especially because he ate from my hand. I cleared the dishes and went to check up on the garden. It was amazing; the plants were growing beautifully. I spent some time talking with the plants. It is believed that talking to your plants increase their growth rate. They were basically my pets; my faithful and trustworthy companions.

At noon, I changed into my swimming suites and sat at the edge of the pool with my legs in the water; since I did not know how to swim. Javan came later on and dived straight into the pool. I got startled and let out a funny scream and he laughed at me. Do not blame me, I was so lost in my thoughts.

Javan: Wow! That was so easy.

He said teasingly and I gave him a somewhat stern look which made him laugh even more. His laughter was contagious and I found myself laughing too.

Javan: Join me, it is very refreshing.

Ndale: You scared me.

Javan: Sorry. Your scream was so cute; it sounded like that of a little girl's.

He laughed.

Ndale: I will get back at you for sure.

Javan: I do not think you can.

Ndale: You just wait and see.

Javan: Really?

He laughed and I rolled my eyes at him, smiling mischievously. "Hihihi you have no idea Terry", I thought to myself.

Javan: Babe come and join me.

Ndale: No

Javan: You are missing a lot.

He splashed the water on me. Oh how I wish I could swim.

Javan: Come on

Ndale: No, no

He took a hold of my hands and before I could protest some more, I was in the water.

Javan: See, it is not as bad as you think.

Ndale: I do not know how to swim.

I held on tightly to him.

Javan: For real?

I nodded nervously.

Javan: I am going to teach you how to swim, okay?

Ndale: Okay.

Javan: You look...

He chuckled teasingly and I gave him a straight face. He kissed me, I smiled and my nerves relaxed. Smiling helps calm nervous nerves.

Ndale: Terry, I do not want to drown.

Javan: I am here so nothing bad will happen to you. There is nothing to fear, it is just water. You can trust me, Okay!

I nodded. He swam to the shallow end of the pool; as I kept my hands tightly wrapped around him. At the shallow end of the pool...

Javan: Relax! Let go please.

Ndale: The first time I tried this I almost drowned but thankfully, Jade rescued me.

Javan: Great! That won't happen today okay. I will teach you properly. So now be a good student and let go.

I loosened my grip reluctantly.

Javan: Good girl. Let's get down to business, hold my hand. We are going to walk to the other end of pool and back. Right?

I nodded in agreement. We walked to the opposite end of the pool and back to our original position. It was not that bad.

Javan: Great! Now we are going to do flutter kicks. It is done by moving your foot alternatively. Okay, so as you move your right foot downward, you move your left foot upward. Try it.

I did as he had instructed.

Javan: No from your hip and thigh.

At this point, I was lying horizontally with my head slightly above the water.

Javan: That is good, but, when moving your leg downward, your ankle must be relaxed, teos pointed behind you and your knee slightly bent. Good, you are a smart student. You are getting it. Now when your foot reaches the surface of the water, straighten your leg and allow your foot to snap downward. Well done! As your foot moves upward, keep that leg and knee straight. Good, good, now let it be smooth and steady. Keep doing it.

He came in front of me, held my hands and we did it together. It was fun. After doing a couple flutter kicks he taught me the arm stroke technique.

Javan: Okay, now to move about in the pool, we use the arm stroke method. It involves CPR phase, that is, catch, power and recovery phase.

Ndale: Interesting!

Javan: To begin the catch, slightly bend your right wrist and elbow as you move your entire arm downward. No not that way, watch closely and learn. See, very easy. Your hand should be directly in line with your shoulder. Good, you are getting it. Now for the power phase, you straighten your wrist and bend the elbow so your forearm is about forty - five degrees from your upper arm. Point your fingers down and inward. Yes, that is it, now add some more force. Push hard against the water and sweep your hand and forearm down and back under your chest. Good! As your hands come out of the water, the recovery phase begins. Keep your wrist and hands calm and hanging below your elbow, like this. As your arm reaches the surface, move it up and forward to the water again, allow your fingertips to smoothly enter the water. Rotate your hand so that your thumb enters first as your arm straightens under the water to its full length. Great work. Good, keep practicing. We will finish another time; I am ravenously hungry and exhausted. You are an outstanding student. We are done for today. See you.

In less than a minute, he was out of the pool. Impressive! I decided to play a prank on him. I pretended to drown. It worked. He dived swiftly into the pool, carried me on his back and swam out of the pool. When he put me down, I laughed my heart out and sprang to my feet. He ran after me and caught me.

Javan: Wow, you...

Ndale: What? I promised to get back at you.

Javan: Fair enough.

I laughed and he spanked my buttocks slightly.

Ndale: Ouchhh that hurts.

He lifted me in his arms, kissed me and walked to the room.

Javan: Sorry darling.

We took a quick shower and had lunch. We ate happily. Swimming is a lot of exercise and very refreshing. Now I could swim and would do it more often.

That night after supper, we had a movie night in Javan's movie room. We watched a horror movie which Javan enjoyed while, I was basically screaming at every scene. After, we watched a romantic one. That was when I enjoyed myself. We had pizza and coke as our accompaniments. I placed my head on Javan's left shoulder. The movie had quite an effect on us. He pulled me closer and placed his head on my lap. I took the opportunity to give him a head massage and after a short while, he was fast asleep. My cute prince looked adorable. I also slept a while later.

The next morning, I woke up screaming. I had had a nightmare and it felt so real. The horror movie must have triggered it but I still had a cause to worry because it was about Zangula. I was in bed, I guess Javan had brought me there. He came rushing into the room and I hugged him tightly. I was petrified. He stroked my back gently and assured me it was only a nightmare.

After breakfast, I narrated the entire dream to him but he did not take it seriously. He said it was only a dream. The subsequent nights, I had similar dreams and the one that got to me most, was the last one. There was war in Zangula, Jade was taken captive and my father was beheaded. I could not eat anything that day. I was even down with a fever. Javan was kind and understanding, fortunately. I was so anxious and needed to hear from my father; I called him but that was still not enough. I needed to meet him personally to be certain he was doing well.

Javan's house was literally outside Zangula hence, the distance. However, I did not mind taking that risk to meet my family. I kept pestering Javan to take me to the palace until he finally granted my request. I was elated.