Being the new kid on the block is never a fun thing, especially when you’re in grade 10 and you’re a socially awkward human being.

My mom and I moved to the city after she and her long-time boyfriend got married a month ago. I am not against her relationship or marriage with Uncle Steven, he’s been a father to me since birth. But it was more fun when I only came here to visit. Permanently living here is a different story. It means I have to start over again, make new friends, and get used to the new school and teachers.

I just wish mama had let me stay with my granny and aunt. I miss my normal life, my friends, my gran, and, especially, my aunt Lesego. She is the coolest person I know. She’s my best friend, confidant, and everything in-between.

Today is my first day at the new school, and I am not looking forward to it at all, especially the walk to school. Mama forced me to walk with Jason, our neighbour’s kid. I’ve known him for two years now, and he’s such a pain. Whenever I visited in the past, he used to ask me out, and I always turned him down, but the dude never got the message. Now I’m dreading the fact that I’m stuck walking with him every single day of the rest of my high school days.

I finished eating my breakfast and went to say goodbye to mama, who was still sleeping at the time. Today she’s off duty, which means no cleaning or dishes for me, and that’s at least something to be happy about.

I went out and found Jason waiting for me at his gate. He had headsets on and was dancing, and hmm, he has some killer moves. He didn’t notice me, and so I just stood there enjoying the show. When he finally saw me, he became super nervous for some reason, and I just wanted to laugh.

“Enjoying the show?” he asked shyly

“Oh, please! What show?” I can never have him know I think he has killer dance moves.

“Lesedi, you are beautiful even when you lie, can we get going now? Show is over.’’

Why am I sweating? Did he just call me beautiful? Okay Lesedi, get it together and remember your promise to Lesego: “no dating until varsity.” Why am I even thinking of dating? What’s wrong with me? You don’t even like this guy, remember?

“Earth to Lesedi,” he said, waving his hand in my face.

“Oh, sorry man, did u say something?”

“Yeah, I asked you which subject streams you chose.”

“Oh, uhm, sciences with geology and history on the side,” I replied.

“Oh, wow, same here, but with agricultural science instead. So we’ll be in the same classes most of the time.”

The walk to school was very short. We spoke about science and history during the walk, and I realised we have so much in common. Just like me, he loves sci-fi and history books, and he also low-key likes romantic comedies too. Weird for a guy, right? And, obviously, he also loves dancing and music, especially amapiano.

Talking to Jay made me feel like I’ve known him for years. He’s is really a cool guy, and while he might be super loud and such an extrovert, he’s also down to earth. Did I mention he loves food and cooking? There was a lot I didn’t know about him that I now found fascinating.

He actually promised to take me to his favourite kota place after school. But on that note, will it be considered a date if I go? I shouldn’t have agreed, but I was excited about spending more time with him, so who cares if it is a date or not?

Tell us: Do you think she should date him?