On Monday I walked through the school gates feeling like a princess. I had my confidence back and it had been the best weekend of my life. My friends had come and were part of my ceremony. It was great.

“At least now Mrs Groenewald will have no excuse to say she can’t pronounce your name – ‘Nande’ isn’t hard,” Alice had said and we had joined in laughter.

I had a new life, a new name; I was a new person. Chwayitani Nande. I liked it.

“It’s a pity your stupid ceremony couldn’t fix your hair or face.” I knew that voice and I wasn’t in the mood for it. It was Letitia and her minions. I turned to face them. Then, “What’s that on your arm?” she said, grabbing my wrist.

“It’s her bracelet from the ceremony. See, it’s made of goat skin.” It was the first time I had heard Nomthandazo talk. I was shocked.

“Well, you better take it off. You’re not allowed to wear such things here. This is not your village,” said one of the other girls.

“She can’t take it off,” Nomthandazo said and jumped in front of me. This was strange. “It must fall off on its own.”

“Nice, this means you’ll definitely get expelled then,” said Letitia.

“They can’t–”

“It’s fine, Beat … Nomthandazo. Letitia knows nothing about our culture; she likes to be ignorant. Have you done yours?” I asked, pulling Nomthandazo gently by the hand and walking away with her. The girl was on fire. It was as if she was set free.

We walked over to find my friends at the sports field. Nomthandazo was talking so much, she was giving me a headache.

“Welcome to the dark side, Beatrice. Are you here to spy for your boss?” Alice spat out.

“No, I was just talking to Chwayita. And my name is Nomthandazo.”

“Oooohhh…” we all chorused. Alice had just been told. This girl was feisty; I felt bad that she had been under Letitia’s thumb this whole time.

“Something big must be happening for you to turn on your friends,” Jasmin said, with a look I couldn’t place.

“You were my friend, not those girls. You know I’m not as strong as you and I was scared of them. I’m sorry Jas,” Nomthandazo said sincerely.

“Wait, were the two of you friends?” I asked.

“Newbie, there’s so much you need to learn,” Alice said as she got up. The bell was about to ring.

On the way to class, Nomthandazo filled us in about the latest developments.

“The Circuit Manager is coming today,” she informed us. “He heard about your meeting last week and apparently, word is, you guys are planning on ‘destroying property and damaging the school’.”

“What? That’s a load of bull!” Alice fired.

“Well, you parents’ threats didn’t help much. Mr Graham is convinced you are planning to take over the school today.”

We couldn’t believe it. They thought we would do that? But then again, this meant that our story was out there and was making waves.

Mr Graham was not at assembly, and neither was Mrs Groenewald. We went our separate ways after, setting off for class. Something was definitely up.

***

Tell us: Do you think the Circuit Manager will listen to both sides of the story?