<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/9/93/Jesse_Williams_black_jacket_2.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Dr. Okello Okanjo<br/><strong>Status:</strong>Employee - ship's medical doctor<br/><strong>Date | Time:</strong>8/1/12 | evening<br/><strong>Location:</strong>UK<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>See picture, white collared shirt, black jacket, jeans, sneakers<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Hailee Spencer<strong>Mentioned:</strong>None<br/><strong>Content Warning:</strong>None<hr/><br/>Okello followed Hailee into the house.  He closed the door behind him and entered the living room.  He looked at her from behind.  She was so slim, almost too slim.  The possibility of her having an eating disorder crossed his mind.<br/><br/><strong>"Well, being a doctor is not for everyone, Hailee.  Sometimes I wonder if I have made a mistake.  It is a lot of work, and I am only now realizing that I would rather be traveling zhe world or hanging out on zhe beach.  <em>C'est la vie</em>."</strong><br/><br/>Okello noticed her checking him out as indirectly as possible, and he also noticed that she did not tell him her age, so he did some quick math.  He was 26, as was Griffin.  Griffin said he had a younger sister, and Okello thought he remembered him saying he was 10 when she was born.<br/><br/>Hailee said she was in Year 12, which was typically 16 or 17 years old.  The age of consent was 16, but she was still far too young for him to consider having a fling with, ignoring the complication of her being his friend's sister.<br/><br/>Still, he wanted to know for sure, and she would be the best source to confirm that.<br/><br/><strong>"Ah, Year 12.  I shuffled back and forth between England and France and had mostly private tutors.  So, zhat would make you... 15 years old?"</strong><br/><br/>Okello was big on bedside manner, and that included being able to get the truth from a patient.  Sometimes, instead of asking directly, it was better to offer a lie.  The defense would be to tell the truth, and not necessarily come up with another lie.<br/><br/>Griffin came down soon after.<strong>"Let's go!"</strong>He was out the door before Okello was.<br/><br/><strong>"It was nice meeting you Hailee."</strong><br/><br/><div align="center">***</div><br/>Hours after midnight, Okello used Griffin's key to get them into the house.  Griffin was stumbling and slurring, and Okello intended to put his friend to bed.  Okello tried to keep them quiet to avoid disturbing his Griffin's parents and sister, but Griffin was talking nonsense and bumping into things.<br/><br/>He put Griffin to bed, then started walking out of his room.  He saw Hailee, there, or who he thought was Hailee based on the silhouette.<br/><br/><strong>"Ah, Hailee.  <em>Je suis désolé</em>.  I'm sorry.  Did I wake you?  <em>Excusez-moi</em>."</strong>Okello was not nearly as drunk as Griffin got, but he had a nice buzz going.<br/><br/><strong>"I should go.  If you please, to lock the door behind me?  I will sit on the porch while I wait for a cab."</strong><br/><br/>His French accent was less pronounced now, but still present and obvious.<br/><br/>Somehow, he wasn't sitting on the porch alone.  He was sitting on the porch with Hailee.<br/><br/><strong>"You know, Griffin and I, we were talking to these two ladies at the bar.  They seemed to take a liking to us, but Griffin was mixing shots with beer.  Actually, I think they both liked me, because I was... speaking with zhis accent... The plan was for me to bring him here and then for me to go back to the bar.  But I would rather sit here with you than be with them in their flat."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"Earlier, you mentioned my name is unusual, which it is, at least over here.  But I think my background is much more interesting.  I was born in Johannesburg, in South Africa.  My mother was white, and my father was black.  It was a time of segregation and apartheid.  Me, being mixed, me being <em>born</em>, was a crime."<br/><br/>"One time, I went to a store, and I heard a white store owner talk about me, saying in Afrikaans, a form of Dutch, 'Look out for the black.  Make sure he doesn't steal anything.'  So I turned to him and said in perfect Afrikaans, 'Or make sure he gets the help he needs so he can buy something.'  The owner was apologetic.  He said he didn't mean me, just the other blacks."<br/><br/>"Another time, a bunch of black men followed me and spoke in their Zulu tongue, 'Let's surround this white guy and take his money.'  So I was scared, but I turned around to them and said back in their Zulu tongue, 'Hey, don't take my money.  But if you find another white guy, let's all together go rob him!'  They had a big laugh, and they left me alone."<br/><br/>"I wish I knew the point of these stories.  Perhaps it is that language affects how people think of you.  How they hear you determines how they see you.  If you speak in their language, you're one of them.  If you speak with their accent, you're one of them.  And if you speak with a different accent, you're exotic.  That's what so much is about, Hailee.  <em>Communication</em>."</strong><br/><br/>The cab arrived.<br/><br/><strong>"Thank you for listening to me, Hailee.  It was so nice meeting you.  Perhaps we will meet again someday.  <em>Bonsoir</em>, Hailee."</strong><br/><br/>He stood up and opened his arms for a hug.<br/><br/>