Oct. 17--Temilade Adekoya and Temitayo Thomas-Ailara weren't convinced their story was important, interesting or even cool.
So on Monday afternoon in the Marian Catholic athletic training room, they waved over a few classmates to discuss their relationship.
The facts: Adekoya and Thomas-Ailara's parents lived in Lagos, Nigeria, and immigrated to the United States before their children were born. The families did not know each other in the Nigerian capital, currently the world's sixth-largest city with a population of 15 million -- about five times larger than Chicago.
Those families, of all places, became rooted close to Marian Catholic in Chicago Heights.
Neither Thomas-Ailara (who has a sophomore brother attending Marian) nor Adekoya (who has two older siblings and one younger) recognize why anyone would have any interest in the coincidence.
So it was fleshed out further, beginning with the basics. They are both girls, and they both love volleyball. They're varsity players at Marian, Adekoya as a sophomore and Thomas-Ailara as a freshman in a program usually unwilling to play underclassmen at the highest level. They met at the Eisenhower Center in Lansing, at a Diamond Elite club 12-year-olds tryout. They've been best friends since.
Still, they remained unimpressed. The girls -- who both go by "Temi" -- just don't see what the big deal is.
"It was cool four years ago, it really was," Adekoya said. "Some of the other girls were like, 'What's your name?" I said, 'Temi.' And they were like, 'No, you can't be, there's another Temi.' I was like, 'Oh, really, that's cool. Let me meet her.' I asked her full name, and it wasn't the same. I was like, 'Oh, that could've been cool if we had the same full name. But its not. So...' "
A group of about 10 Marian students, all of whom were meandering around the training room, came over to the table where the Temis sat. Some boys, some girls. Some dark-skinned, some light. A few knew the Temis; most didn't.
The girls downplayed their happenstance, with one asking "What if two Americans named John moved to Paris? Would it be interesting then?" Several students with knowledge of the Temis were unimpressed. A few others, who knew either one or neither of them, were amazed.
Adekoya's mother, Bola, realizes that the friends' connection is indeed special.
"For them, they've both grown up in the American community," she said. "They're American children, but are children with African descent. So they're like, 'OK, big deal, I'm Temitayo, you're Temilade.' But the coincidence is still there. What if one Temi decided to go out for basketball and the other one played volleyball? How would you have met?"
Fact is, the Temis are part of a young, talented core at Marian Catholic that has the program excited about its future. Adekoya made the sophomore team as a freshman last season, and has acted as a Swiss Army Knife of sorts for the varsity this year. Coach Ryan Summers lauds her versatility and general athleticism. The long, lanky Thomas is an outside hitter for the Spartans, still getting her prodigiously talented feet wet in a very unique circumstance.
"Freshmen (playing varsity), it's extremely rare," Summers said. "That does not happen that often anywhere, including here because we're a strong program. Sophomores, we usually get some on varsity in limited roles. This is definitely an uncommon year though, to have so much young talent playing, but it's pretty cool and sets us up nice for the future."
One reason Adekoya and Thomas shrug off their intertwined story is the ignorance -- intentional or otherwise -- it can generate. No, they're not sisters. They weren't born in poverty. They've never run away from lions, hunted buffalo or eaten llamas. They don't think Ebola cracks are wise. Yes, their parents speak English. No, they have not been to Nigeria. Yet.
Offending parties, Adekoya said, shouldn't bother to ask the Temis, both excellent students, for help with their homework.
"If you ask if we're sisters," Thomas added, "I genuinely hate it."
Bola Adekoya, laughing, says she "came to the U.S. in the '80s; I don't remember the specific year." She and her husband chose Marian Catholic because of its focus on academics and religion. She describes the lives of her children as "between two worlds," identifying closely with American life but at home, following what she called "African training."
Neither household is one the Temis describe as "American." Their parents' accents are thick, but they have learned to mask it when speaking with American parents. At home, they speak Yoruba, their native language. For Adekoya and her siblings, Thomas and hers, they're American kids living in Nigerian homes. Their relationship started here, but their serendipitous bond extends well beyond.
"The African culture in America, we really focus on education, on being responsible at home and at school, and education is number one," Bola Adekoya said. "Even though the two Temis play volleyball, academically, they are incredible students.
"We struggled, if you're familiar with the African life here," she added. "We just want them to live the American dream."
rmayor@tribpub.com
