The time was around nine-ish and I was trying to cleanse my mind with a good deejaying session in my room. At least my deejaing was improving. But it was not still at the level I wanted it to be. Mat’s birthday was coming up in a couple of months and he was the only person at school to know about me practising every day to not let him down.

If I were to pull it off, his friends would all be shell-shocked. Minutes flew by as I continued spinning in my room. Just as I was beginning to get in my groove the door swung open.

“Thando!” Elena yelled. “What did I tell you about playing this music of yours so loud?”

“Oh my bad,” I shouted back, trying to speak over the music. I was so deep in my element I had not noticed the room reverberating to the loud sounds coming from my amplifier.

“I’ll just play it through my earphones!” I announced, while plugging my headphones into the audio jack. As I looked up I saw Elena still giving me a stern look while folding her arms.

“How come every time I play my music there is a problem. Whether it’s me not doing my homework it’s me playing it too loud or…”

“That’s not entirely why I came here,” she interrupted. “I need to speak to you about something,” it sounded serious. Eventually I pulled the plug from the dj-set paid full attention to her.

“Listen, yesterday morning you seemed like you wanted to tell me something during breakfast,” she inquired.

“Really, I can’t remember,” I answered, knowing fully well what she was talking about.

“If I was correct, you said something about a note?” she continued. “You know you can tell me anything, Thando?”

Such a liar! I had never told Elena anything about my life.

“Yeah, I do – and will, if I need to.”

“Good, I’ll leave you to your deejaying then,” she said, turning away as she did so.

I felt like a coward. Here was the opportunity to confront my mother and I just let slide by like always. Never had I challenged my foster mother on anything she did. Yes, she adopted me but was I to live my life forever like a dog on a leash? Not this time.

“I know about the affair!” I bellowed. Elena came to a halt while clutching the doorknob.

“An affair?” she repeated, running one hand through her silky, black hair.

“Don’t,’ I sighed, shaking my head. “Don’t try to deny it please,”

“Where is your evidence?” she barked.

“Here,” I held the flower’s note in my palm. Slowly she turned her body towards me while closing the door.

“Where… Where did you get that?”

“In the car, when you picked me up on Saturday,” I replied. “Not to mention the mysterious calls, you making yourself up when going to work and the times you’d never wear your ring. So either you tell Dad about the affair or I am.”

It felt so good finally standing up to my adopted mother – like a giant boulder being lifted off my shoulders.

“Now you listen here – Thando,” she threatened. “How dare you speak to me like that? I never liked you…”

“The feeling’s mutual,”

“Shut up!” she howled. “If you ever tell Jerry about this I will…”

“What? What could you possibly do that could make the situation worse”

“I’ll drag you back that to wretched orphanage!”

“You can’t do that?” I pleaded.

“Oh really, do want to test that theory?”

“Fine, do what you must!” I cried. “But when all is said and done, I would rather go back to the orphanage for being honest than stay here and lie to the first family I ever had.”

“This is not your family!” she hissed, running towards me. I knew she was going to grab me.

Frantically I jumped out of the way. Her momentum made her awkwardly crash into the work table which was in the corner of the room.

“Ow!” she roared, clutching her left wrist as she did so. Trickles of blood began slithering between the creases of her right hand which now was shielding her wrist. She looked towards me with the most sinister expression.

“You see what you did!” she blustered. Elena had cut herself with a pair of scissors which was on the table during her awkward fall.

“Wait till Jerry finds out his precious Thando attacked his own mother with scissors for no reason,’ she hissed, with a devious grin.

“What!” I wailed in disbelief. “You wouldn’t make up such a lie – please!” A tiny pool of blood started to collect next to Elena’s thigh as she kept her wrist away from her body while sitting on the floor. Just then the door crashed open and Dad barged in.

“What’s all the commotion abou…? Elena!” he yelled.

“Honey, Thando struck me with scissors!”

“Why?” he demanded, rushing to aid her.

“I don’t know,” she lied theatrically. “I just asked him about his real family!”

“That’s a lie! You have to believe me,” I pleaded and frantically told him everything I knew about the affair. This was it. Who would he believe; his adopted son or the mother of his child?

***

Tell us what you think: Who do you think Thando’s dad will believe?