Based on a true story

She was born and raised by her mother who was living in the Eastern Cape in the Elliotdale district at Miller location. In her state of mind, she lived in her own world of no truth, where loyalty was not allowed to enter her territory. Believe it or not, she was so fluent when she spoke that language, that when she explained something, it was like it had been written on the page.

I was still in high school at the time, doing Grade 11. She and I were only separated by the distance between our vocational subjects, but we were in the same Grade. At the beginning of the year, our principal Mr N. Nyembezi, took us to a sport event which was held in Elliotdale. Six students were selected for two different sport codes; myself and another guy for volleyball, she was chosen with three girls for netball but she was definitely the best in the field of play, and obviously I noticed.

Five days after we came back from the event, the principal called us to his office. We were optimistic for good news as we expected feedback from the principal about the event, but it turned out that one of us was a bane to the principal. He showed us something disturbing, asking “Is there anyone of you who knows what this is?”

We sang the same song to respond to him: “NO!”

When I looked at it closely, it was surprising. Yes! It was the harmful drug called ‘dagga’. We were all shocked and were invited to go to the interrogation room. The principal and deputy principal interrogated each one of us, saying that they got that drug from the back of the principal’s vehicle where we were sitting when we went to the event. Everyone else refused to drink gravy without eating any meat, except I was forced to. I was the last one to enter the interrogation room so someone ate the meat and wiped me with the gravy when coming out of that scary room.

I had to wear the bulletproof as they kept shooting at me with non-stop bullet questions. They said: “If you keep denying what you’ve done, we’ll call the police, and they will torture you until you tell the truth.”

I said: “You can do whatever you want. All I know is that I’m not as guilty as you think I am.” They finally decided not to call the police but to punish me with a static piece of wood. I stood there staring into their eyes like a statue. I was so furious and horrified not to be believed, when others were sent to a freeway without paying any price. I paid the biggest price for someone, which is why I kept digging until the truth came out.

Two days after the interrogation process and punishment, my friend, the guy I went to play volleyball with…told me who was responsible for the drug. I confronted her and she confessed, admitting that she wanted to smoke it but she lost it in that vehicle. All I wanted was the truth, which is what she granted me, I decided to forgive her, not to expose her or judge her, but to give her positive advice as a human.