Poptarts let out a loud sigh, "I'm going to miss you so much, Connor," when Connor told him about his family's plan to emigrate.
"Oh, don't be dramatic," Connor flicked his paint-loaded brush onto the wall of the classroom they were trying to paint. Poptarts was going to be fine, his family was loaded. He could fly to London and visit Connor whenever he liked.
Connor turned to Kevin, who was sitting in a corner mixing two colours in a bucket, "Kev, look! I'm such an artist. I could be like the new Jackson Pollock!"
Kevin was unimpressed, "Oh yeah, I'm sure Kizza and Kalimba will be thrilled to have blue paint splattered on their wall like some grisly scene of a Smurf murder. Don't waste the paint, will you? Do you know how hard it is to get the same shade again?"
The Elders were still treading lightly around Kevin, treating him extra nicely. It was making him uneasy. And when Kevin is uncomfortable, he's irritable.
"You're just jealous of my talent," Connor teased, trying to lighten Kevin's mood.
Kevin narrowed his eyes at Connor and stuck out his tongue. What a child.
That reminded Connor of something, "Hey, did I tell you guys? They put Kevin in the paeds ward when we were at the hospital."
Elder Church burst out laughing at once, Poptarts followed soon after.
Elder Michaels raised his eyebrows, "Was it intentional or did they run out of beds?"
Kevin scoffed, "Yeah well, I wasn't the one who almost cried when he tripped a nurse and made her spill medicine all over the floor."
Poptarts looked at Connor in disbelief, "You did what?!"
"It was an accident," Connor lowered his head, still feeling embarrassed by the memory.
"I think both of you belong in the children's ward," Elder Church mused as he painted long strokes of blue on the wall.
He accidentally covered a doodle which Elder Michaels was making with his brush. Elder Michaels gasped and punched his companion in the arm, "James! My dog!"
"Ouch!" Elder Church complained, "Maybe you belong to the children's ward too. We need to paint over it sooner or later."
"But I spent like ten minutes on that!"
"Ugh, fine. Go draw another one in that corner," Elder Church pointed to an unpainted spot.
Connor smiled fondly at the exchange. It was moments like this which made him feel like all the hard work they had put in was well worth the effort. Everyone had grown so much over the past few months, Connor felt like a proud parent.
Poptarts suddenly had an idea, "Maybe we could paint some pictures on the wall? Like numbers or alphabets!"
"Are you suggesting more work?" Elder Church groaned, "Okay I guess it's a pretty good idea. But I can't draw for shit. And Michaels' dog looks like a pile of dead leaves so who's going to do it?"
"What did you say about my Yeti?!" Elder Michaels shrieked.
Kevin's quiet voice cuts through the room, "My mom used to teach me how to do acrylic painting."
Nobody knew how to respond, or if they should even speak at all. Kevin was still intently mixing the paint in his corner.
All three other Elders had stopped painting to stare pointedly at Connor, as if he was the only one who knew what to do. He probably was. Kevin hated it when the Elders treated him with kid gloves, so Connor wasn't going to.
Connor cleared his throat, "You can do it then, Kevin."
"Hmm?" Kevin looked up from the bucket, "Sure. I'll come up with something."
"Look at that, Price to the rescue," Elder Church laughed, part relieved and part mocking.
Connor was thankful that Elder Church had reverted back to his snarky self with Kevin, who shot Elder Church a withering glare.
—
Connor was walking back to the mission hut, when he heard someone call his name from behind him.
"Elder McKinley. Hey."
Connor turned around, "Elder Davis," and greeted him with a nod, "Where's Elder Neely?"
"Ah, he uh is meeting up with someone from the village."
Connor could hear the implication in Elder Davis' tone, "Like a date? Who is it?"
"Middala's daughter, Maua. He's been crushing on her ever since we stepped foot in Uganda."
"How are you doing?" Connor realised that he hadn't really talked to Elder Davis since Sunday morning.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Elder Davis pursed his lips, "I think that it's best if I returned to the US."
Should Connor be asking Elder Davis to stay? But who was he to do that?
"But we shouldn't leave our companions alone," Connor cringed at the stupid that slipped out of his mouth.
"We're not Mormon missionaries anymore," Elder Davis raised an eyebrow, "I've already talked about it with Neels. He understands that it's what I need to do."
"Are you leaving because of me?" Connor had to ask.
Elder Davis just shrugged and smiled sadly, "Well anyway, I just wanted to let you know, before I announce it to the rest of the group."
Connor grabbed his arm when Elder Davis started to walk away, "When?"
"My parents bought me a ticket for next Wednesday. This will be my last week in Uganda," Elder Davis' eyes glistened.
"I'm sorry," Connor found himself apologising even though-
"It's not your fault, Elder McKinley. Connor," Elder Davis shook his head, "I wished things are different, but I don't regret coming here, or meeting you. I wouldn't trade Uganda for anywhere else in the world. But this is for the best."
"I'm sure you'll be fine," Connor put a hand on his shoulder.
Connor was a little envious at how Elder Davis could decide to leave, just like that. It wasn't as though Connor was held here against his will, but he had never allowed himself to even consider leaving or transferring. Mostly because Connor was the leader of the district, and he was way too responsible to even entertain the thought of abandoning his Elders.
Sometimes though, he hated how he never really had the courage to stand up for himself, and fight for his own happiness, unlike Kevin or Davis. He hated how he was always waiting for someone else to make the move, because he was too cowardly to do so.
—
Connor took back what he said about being glad that Elder Church was being snarky to Kevin again. Now, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Shut up, Church!" Kevin snarled.
"Shut up, Price! Just because your parents are assholes, doesn't mean that you get a free pass to take it out on all of us!"
As soon as that left his mouth, the whole room fell silent.
Connor found himself having to physically hold Kevin back.
"What the fuck did you just say to me?" Kevin tried to dislodge Connor's hand on his shoulder.
Someone gasped, "Oh no."
"Guys," Connor sighed.
Elder Church stepped forward, "I said-"
"Woah hey," Elder Michaels stopped his companion, "Everyone heard what you said, there's no need to repeat it again."
"Alright, the two of you need to go cool off in your rooms," Poptarts held onto Elder Church's arm, "C'mon, Church."
Connor gave Poptarts a grateful nod, as he started to lead Elder Church away from Kevin. Connor knew his shouldn't get involved in this, even though he was supposed to be the one in charge. Anything he said would just be used by the both of them as ammunition for the fight.
Elder Church scoffed, "Typical of you guys to take his side."
"We're on nobody's side. Just keep walking," Poptarts pulled harder.
Kevin yelled after them, "I don't need all of your fucking pity!"
"Hey that's great!" Elder Church wasn't done yet, "I'll save it for myself, for having to be stuck here with your sorry ass. Yo Davis, aren't you glad that you're leaving?"
"Don't bring me into this!" Elder Davis looked horrified.
Connor didn't fail to notice how all the other Elders followed after Elder Church, and left him to deal with Kevin all by himself.
Kevin glared at Connor, "Let go of me."
Connor took his hands off Kevin. He had no idea how a game of Uno led them to where they were right now. No really, he didn't.
At least Arnold wasn't here to make things worse by fighting alongside Kevin.
"Kev no," Connor sighed when Kevin headed to the main door instead of his bedroom.
Connor followed him out into the humid night, "Where are you going?"
"See! This is what happens when you force me to play with them," Kevin huffed as he stomped away from the hut.
"Are you saying that this is my fault?!"
If Kevin's mission was to get everyone mad at him tonight, he was doing an excellent job of it. Maybe leaving Kevin be and letting him bottle his feelings up was a bad idea. Connor should have known that Kevin was due for a meltdown.
They walked further and further away from the hut, into the darkness. Neither of them were carrying a flashlight.
"Kevin, we're going too far, let's go back before we get lost, huh?"
"Leave me alone."
"Look, you're putting us both in danger."
They weren't even on the dirt path anymore. Connor hoped that he still remembered which direction they had come from by the time Kevin decided turn back.
"Nobody asked you to come."
Connor took a deep breath to calm himself down. He didn't want to get mad and say something that he'll regret later. But Kevin's childish behaviour was making it very difficult.
"Kevin, stop," Connor frowned. Was that rumbling that he heard?
The rustling of the grass underneath their feet was too loud for Connor to discern the sound. Connor looked around, the thick trees around them obscuring whatever it was he had heard.
What was that low growl-
Wait a minute.
Connor stopped in his tracks and hissed, "Kevin Price, STOP WALKING!"
The urgency in Connor's voice must have gotten through to Kevin, because everything fell silent, except for the ever-present chirping of the insects, and the menacing growling noise to Connor's right.
Kevin was a few feet in front of him, partially illuminated by the moonlight. He was about to say something, when Connor gestured for him to keep his mouth shut.
"Lion," Connor mouthed.