Goodbye to the my little family…

Today I finally talked to my principal about the “lost boys” (as my parents have taken to calling them) and the result was exactly what I expected—I didn’t get in trouble and neither did they, but now that she knows (and I know that she knows) they have to go. The boys are currently seeing if they can beg their way back into the hostel, and seeing their bags packed in their room makes me sad every time I walk by. I guess it will be nice to have privacy (and food!) again, but it is going to be awfully quiet without them around. So, a little too late, here is the promised profile of my boys:
Chester is 16 and LOVES to talk. He hardly ever stops, unless another adult shows up for some reason (at which point he gets super shy and says nothing until they leave). He is a jokester and hangs out around the house the most. He is always dressed immaculately and is definitely a leader. He is an orphan since his mother died two years ago, but he has an older sister who helps pay school fees and such. He loves to talk and McLean loves to ask questions, so the two of them get along really well and have become like brother and sister. He teases her and she pesters him while they sit on my back porch, I love eavesdropping and the sound of them laughing always makes me smile.
Martin is a year younger than the other two. He is the most childlike, not because he is the smallest, but because he attached himself to me very early on in the kind of way you might expect from a younger boy. He is quiet, but not timid. He has no problem waltzing into my room to ask to borrow something or just say hi. He gives off a vibe of just being very considerate, and the girls love him.
Pietrus (I call him peter because it takes a lot less effort) is the most quiet of the group. He is a little more serious, and spends more time doing work than the others. His big distinguishing feature in my eyes is how attached he is to his family. He brought his sister to meet me the second day he came here and they spend a lot of time together. He tells me all about his mother (and apparently has told her all about me!). He is currently OBSESSED with the song “Just be your tear” by Tim McGraw, which he discovered on my computer. Seriously, I have heard the song probably 60 times in the past week. It’s a bizarre contrast to the hip-hop and rap that they usually choose…
I feel like this explanation is completely inadequate. How can I describe the way Martin hangs around near me just in case I want to chat? Or the sneaky smile that Chester has when he’s trying to get me riled up about something? Does it make sense to say he’s winking with his whole face? Sorry if I’m getting over-sentimental, but I’m going to miss the sound of them whispering at night when they’ve gone to bed and the way they always make me an extra plate of food when they cook. It will be so weird to watch a movie uninterrupted (or alone) and to not have their friends dropping by. I hope they come to visit a lot…