The matric boarders would spend their last night in the hostel and then be collected or taken to the airport the next day. Karabo and Isla agreed to try and meet Mzi and Buzz after dinner to end their relationships with the boys. Secretly, Karabo didn’t believe that Isla would do it. In fact, she wasn’t sure she would be able to break up with Buzz.

Since telling Isla it was the right thing to do, she had slowly started to convince herself that maybe it wasn’t a good idea. Her heart started to overrule her logic which, deep down inside, she knew was spot on. Like Isla, Karabo had no plans to meet with Buzz in the holiday and he was also going to university next year. There was no point in dragging this on and pretending it was going to work out.

Leaving the dining hall Karabo caught up to Buzz. ‘Hey, can I talk to you quickly?’ she called to him.

‘Sure!’ said Buzz; his friendly boyish grin stretching across his face. With the weight of exams off his shoulders, his easy enthusiasm for everything had returned.

‘So, I just wanted to find out, are you going to Plett Rage? asked Karabo, trying her best to sound casually curious. Buzz turned and looked at her, squinting slightly as he sized up the reason for her question.

‘Ya, Mzi bought me a whole week golden ticket, the works,    as a birthday present ages ago. It’s going to go off!’ said Buzz enthusiastically. Realising how this may sound to Karabo, he tried to back track. ‘Well, you know… It will be fun and stuff, but probably just a lot of hype. Plett weather can suck at this time of year. Why do you ask?’ he said.

‘Just wondering,’ said Karabo. ‘Can we go for a walk?’ she said, her mind made up as to what she had to do, despite the fact that every fibre of her being was fighting against her logic. As their feet crunched along the gravel, Karabo reached for Buzz’s hand and their footsteps became softer as they walked onto the lawn, soft and lush. ‘Buzz, I think we should break up,’ said Karabo looking down.

‘What?’ said Buzz, clearly shocked. He stopped walking and held Karabo’s hand tighter, his eyes wide with surprise. ‘Buzz, you’re going on Rage. I know what happens, it’s a huge party. And well, it’s not fair to try and hold onto you. Go have fun and stuff and next year we can see. I don’t do long distance stuff,’ Karabo tried to explain.

‘I can’t believe it. We have just got together. Is this to do with William?’ said Buzz annoyed.

‘Definitely not!’ said Karabo, her face angry. How could he be so foolish.

‘OK, OK,’ said Buzz, shaking his head and starting to walk again.

‘Damn it Karabz. I wasn’t expecting this,’ said Buzz, his voice croaky. He dragged his feet. Karabo couldn’t look at him. She didn’t want to see in his face, what she felt in her heart.

‘But you get it right?’ she said. ‘You know what I’m saying is logical and fair?’

‘Yes,’ said Buzz, his voice barely audible. He stopped and drew her towards him, hugging her hard. ‘This sucks!’ he whispered into her ear. ‘I know,’ she said back to him.

Once back in her room, Karabo climbed into bed and hid under her covers. Tears ran down her cheeks as she felt the hurt of ending something so amazing, so soon. It reminded her of the puppy she’d been given as a child, which had died in the first week of having it. She hadn’t even had a chance to be bored with her puppy before it was gone. All the excitement, adoration and love, gone.

She heard Isla coming in and wiped her eyes before peeling the duvet off and sitting up to see how Isla had fared. Isla’s hair fell around her face. Her big eyes were bright red, and her skin blotchy. She walked to Karabo’s bed and sat down. ‘How did it go Isla?’ Karabo asked.

Isla didn’t answer, she just hung her head and began to cry, trying her best to cry quietly as the other two girls in their room were asleep, or maybe pretending to be asleep. Karabo put her arms around Isla, trying to comfort her, barely able to stop herself from sobbing.

That night, her usual ancestral dream was replaced with a new dream. She found herself in the smoke of the sangoma’s hut, surrounded by the invading pirates who were fighting alongside Rhodes’ army. Every single pirate had William’s face, and all the Matabele warriors were Mzi. As the Matabele ran towards the pirates and red coats, Karabo found herself in a wooden boat, floating on water, between the two. They were running towards her and, as they closed in on her, the water around her boat became smaller and smaller until she threw her arms over her head and screamed. As they dived towards each other, the sound of their war cries filled her head. Karabo sat bolt upright, her breathing heavy, trying to calm herself, rocking and hugging her knees into her chest. Slowly her breathing returned to normal and she could hear the sound of the other three girls sleeping soundly. Karabo lay slowly back down. She was fine. Everything was fine. It was just a dream.