The phone buzzed against the table, low and steady, vibrating just enough to pull attention without breaking the rhythm of the room.
They were still laughing.
Jeffery had just said something about Dayo ducking a real race if it ever came down to pure endurance, and Janet had backed him up with that exaggerated seriousness she liked to use when she knew she was stirring trouble. Their mother shook her head, smiling into her plate, while their father leaned back like he had seen this exact argument a hundred times before and knew how it would end.
Dayo glanced at the screen.
Sharon.
He didn't react immediately. Just a small pause, the kind that would pass for nothing if you weren't watching closely. Then he picked up the phone and stood.
"I'll take this," he said, easy, already stepping away.
No tension in his voice. No weight. Just a normal excuse.
"Don't go and start planning strategy without me," Jeffery called after him.
