Her whole life Mandy was treated like a Princess. Except for her parents no one dared raise their voice at her. In the past her parents had taken away her gadgets and allowance as punishment but they have never raised their hand at her. Now she was whipped with a sjambok by a Teacher at a government school she hated on her first day!. She couldn’t believe it and cried even louder.
Stand up and stand in front so the whole class can see you. He commanded.
Mandy who was now shaking, did as she was told. Thandi felt sorry for her. It was their first day, this punishment was ver harsh in her eyes. The rest of you sit down, he ordered.
Number 21, tell number 8 why she got eight strikes. He commanded. He knew all their names but preferred using their desk numbers. Numbers made sense to him.
The girl who was sitting on desk numbered 21 stood up and stated eight things Mandy did wrong.
Your wearing a blouse not school shirt, your skirt is not the school skirt, you not wearing socks, you not wearing school shoes, your nails are long and painted, you are wearing earrings and you did not stand to greet Mr Q.
Mandy was not wearing the school uniform. She was wearing expensive designer clothes in school colours instead. The school uniform was simple and cheap, her mother had bought her five pairs of it for each day of the week but she refused to wear it. Her whole life she never had to wear similar clothes as everyone else. To her school uniform was boring and embarrassing.
Tomorrow I will double the stiles for each mistake, do you understand? He roared again.
Yes Sir, Mandy responded with a low shaky voice.
Good, sit down. He commanded.
Mandy walked back to her seat and sat next to Thandi.
Thandi felt so sorry for Mandy that she instinctively scratched her left hand under the desk and held Mandy’s right hand. Mandy did not resist, the sat like that the whole hour listening to Mr Q listing his many rules that can not be broken. Before he walked out, he told told everyone to bring their books tomorrow and must be neatly labelled and covered.
Everyone sighed with relief as soon as he walked out. The boys cheered themselves for not getting in trouble today.
The Teachers that followed were all strict but friendly. They patiently explained what was required of them this year. Mandy could still feel the pain on her back but she was less agitated now.
She thought of many reasons why Thandi would offer her hand to comfort her. Was it empathy or was she trying to gain her favour like most people she has met? Mandy’s family was not among the top 10 richest in the country but was in the top 5 in the province, so people she did not know knew her. This was a government school with pupils mostly from poor families, some from middle income families and few from rich families who like her were expelled from the prestigious private schools and whose families wanted to teach them a lesson by bringing them to the school.
Mandy could tell from Thandi’s back pack that she was either from a poor or middle income family. So she probably was being nice so she can get something from her! Mandy was so tired of these girls. They wanted to be her friend either because they wanted her money or fancied her brothers or both. She would like to have a genuine friend for once. She decided to give Thandi a cold shoulder, she would rather not have any friends than have fake ones.
During lunch break, Thandi asked if Mandy wanted to go to the bathrooms with her to freshen up but Mandy just ignored her. She got off her desk and went to the bathrooms alone wondering how she offended Mandy. When she returned to the classroom Mandy was surrounded by pupils. The girls were from different grades and had come to welcome Mandy to the school. Some were complementing her appearance, her designer clothes. Some had bought her chocolates, some snacks. It was like a competition of who could buy her more. These were girls were mostly from poor families using all the allowance money they had for the month to impress Mandy who did not look a bit impressed by their gesture. Mandy was used to getting more expensive gifts which she would turn down because her family could buy her anything she wanted and turning down gifts made her more mysterious. She fought the edge to tell everyone to get lost and stop being so fake but instead she turned each one of them down with a smile. She was not stupid, she did not want to offend the pupils in this school on her first day. With teachers like Mr Q she might need them in the future.
Thandi wandered if Mandy was a celebrity. She had never heard of her but clearly she was well known here. This did not surprise her though, she was from a village in a rural area where people did not have time to pay attention to the media and celebrities. Except for the news at 7 o’clock in the evening , her family hardly watched television. There was just too much to do than spend hours sitting down watching television.
Instead of going back to her desk which she shared with Mandy she started talking to the other new pupils in the class. They exchanged names and soon had full conversation. Thandi soon discovered that Cindy, also new was staying two blocks from her aunts house and decided to walk together to and from school from now on. They were all not from rich families so except for Mandy, this school was an upgrade to them and they were very excited for the opportunity. They spoke about how nice the other teachers were except for Mr Q who terrified everyone.
Once the girls left Mandy’s desk, Thandi went back to her desk and sat next to her. They were desk mates but had not spoken to each other. Thandi decided to introduce herself first.
Hi, I’m Than....
Don’t bother, not interested. Mandy lifted her palm and interrupted before Thandi could finish.
The bell rang again, few more teachers came to introduce themselves and expectations. It was time to go home. Everyone stood up and left the classroom.
Thandi and Cindy walked towards the school gate herding home. They did not pay any attention to the exquisite cars parked at the gate to collect the rich kids.
Beside her desk mate being so rude and Mr Q terrifying everyone, it was a good first day at school and Thandi was looking forward to more school days.
Thandi got to Noli’s house, ate her food and helped with the chores.
The car stopped in front of the pant-house, Mandy got out banged the car door and ran to her father’s study. She opened the door without knocking and started complaining about an awful day she had. Her parents were in the middle of the conversation when she got in without knocking or greeting and were annoyed by her behaviour.
Before they could respond Mandy lifted her blouse to show the sjambok latches. She was sure her father will deal with Mr Q harshly. She was so shocked when he asked her what she had done to deserve the punishment. When she told them about the 8 rules she broke and the 8 lashes her parents thought she deserved it!
What! how can she deserve it? Asked Mandy in a sulking tone.
We bought you 5 pairs of school uniform and you still choose to wear your own clothes. It’s about time you act and behave like other pupils in the school.
These were her parents words. How could they! Mandy was very upset. Something must be wrong with her parents, she thought.The next day Thandi got to school 15 minutes early and asked Sthe, the only new boy in 9a to switch desks with her. She was now sitting on desk number 5 next to Cindy and very happy. When Mandy got to her desk she discovered that she had a new desk mate. She thought Thandi would plead and coax her into becoming her friend but she moved instead and was chatting happily with her new desk mate, paying no attention to her at all. Sthe was not a talker and he kept to himself. The bell rang again at 8 o’clock and the Physical science teacher came and thought them. When questions were asked Thandi knew all the answers.Mandy was confused. Was this not only the second day in grade 9? then why did Thandi know so much about this stuff? Mandy was not the top of the class in her previous school but she was among the brightest but she did not know these answers. If she was n
Mrs Jobe known to many as the lovely Mrs J came back late from work today. With all the wealth in her family she did not need to work but she loved her job. Being a principal at a primary school had its privileges but also had a lot of paperwork. Primary schools were not under a lot of pressure like High schools that had to produce great results and be compared to other schools. Primary schools had young children from grade 0 to 7 and did not have to deal with rebellious teenagers. By the time they were big enough to challenge their teachers, it would be time move to High school. This week was however busy for her as inspectors were coming to her school, so she needed to make sure that everything was in order.She expected to find her daughter in her room lying on the bed talking to her friends on her phone or in front of the television.What are you doing in here? Mrs J ask
Auntie, what is JJL? Thandi asked Noli. The conversation she had at school with Mandy was playing over and over in her mind. She did not want to look stupid in front of her desk mate.Jabu Jobe Logistics, why do you ask?What is it antie? Thandi still did not understand.Noli looked at her niece with curiosity. Tell me why you want to know first, she said. Her niece was very focused on her school work, she hardly paid any interest on anything else.My stupid rich desk mate asked me about it. Thandi could not help but get angry when thinking of Mandy.Who is this desk mate and why is she stupid? Noli was puzzled. Thandi 
Today Thandi was not feeling well. She had very bad cramps and could not help it but hold her tummy and wince now and then.What’s going on with you? asked Mandy concerned. The two of them never quarrelled again but were not very close. Her desk mate looked like she was in pain and she couldn’t help but feel sort for her.Dysmenorrhea, said Thandi still holding her tummy.What? Mandy raised her eyebrows.Period pains, I get bad ones. Thandi clarified.Mandy opened her bag took out some painkillers and gave Thandi two. Here have these, I get migraine headaches so I keep these in my bag.Mandy looked at them and said “these can give you ulcers”.
Today they were solving old Mathematics question papers. Mandy, Pretty,Cindy and Mandy were sitting around a circle solving the problems. There was one particular equation they had been working on for sometime and could not come up with an answer. They were tired and were taking a break, except for Thandi who could not stop until it was solved. This was an obsession of hers. A problem must be solved, no matter how long it takes. The door suddenly opened and S’bu walked in carrying a tray. On it was juice and biscuits. Beautiful Ladies, I thought I should bring you refreshments since you working so hard, he said with a breathtaking smile. They looked up at him. Mandy was furious, Pretty and Cindy were blushing. S’bu was handsome and his physique drove girls crazy and today he was wearing a tight vest that wa
They were interrupted by Amahle who was screaming hysterically. Tadie, Tadie she said pulling Mandy’s skirt with wet eyes. Mandy picked her up her niece and tried consoling her. She will come see you soon, ok precious. Let’s go get a lollipop for Amahle. The little girl nodded her head, wiping her tears. Yes lollipop, she said. Mandy laughed walking into the house, it was very easy to please her niece.S’bu are you ok?S’bu..... S’bu!, Menzi was now shouting waving his hand in front of his eyes.What? S’bu answered absentmindedI’ve been talking alone for 20 minutes now, what’s going on with you? Menzi and S’bu had been very close for as long as they could remember.They spent a lot of time together and knew everything about each other. They were similar in so m
S’bu made sure that he was back home early for the whole week but was disappointed. The study group girls did not come back.Mandy went to other girls homes for studying and got back when it was supper everyday.Today grade 11’s had just come out of the exam. They were walking home discussing the Physics paper they just wrote when an exquisite car stopped next to them.Ladies and a gentleman, S’bu greeted them with a smile.What are you doing here, Mandy asked her brother suspicious.Mom sent me to the shops and asked me to look out for you and give you a lift home. Your friends can also come, he said still smiling.Before he knew it Pretty was sitting ne
My home is an hour away! Thandi exclaimedI know. Get in, I will take you there, S'bu saidI’m sorry you can’t take me home, she said turning down his offerOuch, he said putting his hand over his heart pretending to be hurt. Most girls would not miss the opportunity to get into his car or spend time with him but it was different with her. Fortunately he was prepared for this.What have I done to offend you? he asked sounding hurt.Thandi suddenly felt guilty. This was her best friend's s brother and he had never offended her in any waybut she could not let him take her home. She tried to speak but could not find the words. In the end she just opened and closed her mouth.At least tell me why you won’t let