It became morning after a while, and I woke up to the smell of mum making breakfast. I ran to the kitchen.
My mum never makes breakfast. She stopped making breakfast the day I learned to cook. We had our breakfast and I made my way to school. My buddies waited for me by the school gate. “Miss Ntutuko 2015 haloooooo,” shouted Thabiso. Everybody stared at me and I enjoyed the attention, so I just smiled and waved. We hugged and made our way inside. There were no classes that day because of the pageant.
Everybody wore their own casual clothes. Renielwe looked awesome, she looked like a queen already. We got ready for the pageant. My mum and Zinhle’s mum helped me backstage. Renielwe had a professional helper which didn’t bother me because she always had one.
The time for the intro came and we wore white shirts and black jeans. We formed a line and I was number 13, the last one, because I was the tallest. We first went in all together, then we went in one by one. Renielwe’s turn came, number 11, and people screamed out her name. Whistles came from every side of the school hall. My turn came, I smiled and did my walk while looking at the judges. The school screamed, it was like they were on full blast. I did my T and then I did my intro.
We made our rounds in all the other outfits until the last round. Eveningwear. I wore the majestic looking dress my mum bought me. I looked so beautiful and I felt beautiful too. We did our rounds and waited for our scores. It was the five of us, me, Renielwe, Thandi, Nkateko and Zanele. We waited in line with huge smiles on our faces. I could hear my heart beating very loudly. I felt like ripping it out of my chest and tossing it out.
The judges called on the Second princess which was Nkateko and she got her crown. Then they called the First princess which was Thandi, and she got her crown. Everybody was now quiet to hear who would win the crown. The judges talked amongst themselves for a minute. They called the three of us to come forward. They mentioned to everybody that only two places were left, Miss Ntutuko 2015 and Miss Personality.
They started by calling out Miss Personality which was Zanele. Only the two of us were left. I could see it in her eyes and smile how badly Renielwe wanted the crown. I was just thankful for making it to the top five; the rest was nothing. The judges took their time which was horrible, my legs were painful. I couldn’t wait to get the heels off. After quite some time the judges finally made their decision.
“AND THE WINNER IS… KEDIBONE MOLOI!”
Everybody in the hall went wild. I was in shock. I just stood there, still smiling. Thabiso jumped on the stage and hugged me so tight that I came back to my senses. I got my crown and prize. My family and friends were on stage hugging me and some of them were crying. I looked for Renielwe but she was long gone. We had to take pictures. My prize was a bursary to study any course of my choice in Boston College, a shopping voucher from Edgars and a five-day trip to Durban with any five people I choose, all expenses paid. I was so happy, I never thought that this day would come and that I would be a winner.
After all the excitement, my friends helped me pack my stuff. They carried the bags to the car while I changed my shoes. Before I went outside, I heard people shouting. A male and a female’s voice were so familiar. I went to see who it was and before I took a peek, the female voice said she was pregnant and her dad would disown her if he found out. The guy responded and said she should get rid of it.
He said it was over and he’s moving on to better things. I took a peek and it was Eric and Renielwe. She started sobbing. I wanted to comfort her but I didn’t want them knowing that I was eavesdropping so I ran to the car and we drove to Spur for a celebration. Everybody looked happy but I was still distracted by Renielwe’s issue. I wanted to help her but I didn’t know how. Friday came to an end and I slept it off.
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Tell us what you think: Should Kedi have said something? What would you do now if you were Renielwe?