The man’s conversation halted for a split second as he turned to look at Karabo. Curling up his nostrils in distaste, he turned back immediately to Mr BS to continue his discussion. His eyes had been ice-cold pin pricks in his large square face. Karabo felt unsettled, as if he had turned her into stone with his icy glare. No parent had ever completely ignored her like that. For a Grade 10, she was tall, shapely (as Isla put it) and athletic, and in fact most people looked at her twice. Karabo swallowed her pride and stood up straighter, peering around the big man to see who was behind him.

Karabo had never seen anything like him. He too was tall, like the big unfriendly man, but slim. Dressed in black skinny jeans, his t-shirt stuck to him from the rain and his hoodie hung open, barely covering his shoulders. His pitch-black hair hung across his face and his large green eyes shone out like emeralds. He leaned against the pillar with his hands in his pockets. Everything about him said bad. Karabo stopped breathing. A smile edged up from the corner of his mouth as he watched her stare at him. She quickly looked away from the boy.

“Need any help, Mr. Barnard-Smyth?” she asked, eyes sparkling and voice echoing across the cavernous entrance hall. Mr. BS looked at her, relief spreading across his face at the sight of her.

“Aaah, Karabo my dear. Meet our latest student, this is…” he said, his hand extending towards the boy on the other side of the hall.

‘William,’ said the bad boy. He didn’t move a muscle, his big eyes still watching Karabo.

“Yes. William,” confirmed old Mr. BS. “Welcome William. Karabo here can show you to the boy’s wing, where one of the senior boys will escort you to your room,” explained Mr. BS to William, before turning to Karabo. “Karabo my dear, William is a Grade 12, so be a good girl and show him the way, won’t you?” he said in his posh accent that all the parents loved.

“Of course, sir,” she said as she walked towards William, eyeing him up and down. He made her tingle. Flicking her braids in mock confidence she said to him, “Follow me…William.” Peeling himself off the pillar, he threw his bag over his shoulder.

“Bye Dad,” he said to the big scary man.

“Goodbye William. We will be in touch,” responded the man, his voice as cold as his stare.

Karabo raised her eyebrows at the bizarre scene between father and son. Not even a pat on the back for William. Poor guy – he was either in a load of trouble or his father was a machine.

Karabo turned away and picked up the pace towards the boys’ dormitory, followed by William. The girls’ and boys’ dormitories were on separate sides of the main building. Because they’d been added on later, the dormitories weren’t as stately as the main building, but by Karabo’s standards they were still pretty old. Looking out the corner of her eye, her curiosity once again got the better of her, and she asked – as casually as she could – where he was from.

“All over. Just got back from overseas. My father travels a lot for his work,” he said. His accent sounded like a mix of South African, with British English and American twangs.

“Cool,” responded Karabo even-toned, as she led William down a long passage. The passages of the ground floor led to some classrooms, with administrative and sports offices on the other side. Old and heavy brown wooden doors, with teachers’ names posted on them, indicated the various classes. Additional buildings, like the dorms, had been added to the back of the college, allowing for more classroom space, without interfering with the colonial frontage of the building. At the end of the passage, Karabo led William up a flight of stairs where they bumped into a junior.

“Go and call one of the seniors; they need to come down and show the new guy around!” she commanded.

The junior seemed to want to defy her, but as she drew herself up and glared at him, he thought better of it. As he left, Karabo turned around to look at William once more. His skin wasn’t as pale as some of the other boys in the school. He had an olive-skin complexion, yet he was sallow and clearly hadn’t seen the sun for a while.

“Well, here you go. Welcome!” she said, raising her arms in mock welcome at the entrance leading up to the dorm.

“Thanks, Karabo,” he said, eyes twinkling. Was he mocking her?

“Hey,” said a tall lanky teenager, interrupting William and Karabo. “You the new guy?”

Karabo turned away from William, frowning.

“That’s me,” said William, turning his charm in Buzz’s direction.

“Hey Karabz,” said Buzz, grinning at her. “Nice of you to grace us with your presence. Someone said you were around, but I haven’t seen you all week,” noted Buzz, clearly fishing.

“It’s a pleasure Buzz. I aim to please. Didn’t realise you cared,” she teased, before turning and walking back to her room. “Bye guys, have fun,” she said, waving playfully.

***

Tell us: What do you think of the new boy, William?