The next day she started off to school alone. On the way she met Busi, and they walked together, chat-ting. At the school gate she saw Princess. She waved, but felt her heart beat faster. She was not prepared for Princess’s response.

Princess grinned and nudged the girl next to her, who pointed her out to the two girls next to her. Soon the whole group of girls was looking at her, laughing.

Lelethu felt her face burning. What was this about? They must have agreed to laugh at her as punish-ment. But she would cope.

She went to her first class: Maths. Usually she sat at the back and nobody noticed her. Now as she walked in the other students looked at her, some laughing, others pointing her out to the person next to them. It was like a bad dream where she had gone to school with no clothes on. Why were they laughing at her?

It wasn’t only the girls. There was a group of boys looking at her too, smiling and sniggering. Surely Prin-cess couldn’t have persuaded everyone else to mock her too? She sat down and the ripples of laughter only stopped when the Maths teacher yelled at the class. “What’s wrong with you lot today? Do you all want to fail? You know you’ve got a test coming up!”

Only then did the students seem to stop noticing her, and start working. She wiped her face in case there was something on it, but nothing seemed to come off. She wanted to go to the toilet to check in the mir-ror if there was something there, but she couldn’t bear to walk out with everyone looking at her again. Only when everyone had left for the next lesson did she get up to leave.

At break it was worse. Almost half the students in the school were pointing at her, laughing. There was no one she felt able to ask what was going on. On her way to the toilets she saw a girl in her grade showing a group of matric girls a cell phone, and that group also started looking at Lelethu, and laughing.

A boy came up to her, one of the mean ones who was one of the biggest boys in the school although he was only in Grade 8. “Hey, sexy, want to take your clothes off for me?”

What was happening, she wondered? And then all of a sudden she knew. That picture of her without her shirt. Princess had spread the photo to everyone she could. Now all people saw when they looked at her was the girl who took her shirt off.

She ran to the toilets, hardly seeing where she was going. Once she got there she closed the cubicle door and retched into the toilet bowl, but nothing came out.

She heard voices outside the door. “This toilet is the only one that works, chommie,” one girl was saying.

Lelethu recognised the voice – it was Busi. Had Busi seen the photograph? She heard the answer soon enough.

“Did you see that picture of the new girl on Mxit?” said Busi.

“Yes,” the friend replied. “I was so shocked. I knew she was trying to be cool, but I didn’t realise that she was like that. Weren’t you friendly with her?”

“I was,” said Busi. “That’s why I’m also so surprised. I can’t believe she would want to do such a thing. Just shows how you don’t know people very well.”

Lelethu felt like someone had stabbed her. Didn’t Busi, of all people, know how hurtful it was when peo-ple judged you – people who didn’t know the whole story? She waited to hear more – some words that showed Busi still liked her. But all she heard was the sound of the toilet door banging shut as they left.

*****

The bell rang and everyone slowly started moving to class. Lelethu could not go to another class. She had to find help, speak to someone who would support her. She remembered Miss Nombembe’s kind words, and the discussion they had had in class. Maybe she would understand. She went to her classroom and knocked on the door.

“I’m busy now,” Miss Nombembe said, opening the door. “My class is writing a test. I can’t leave them.” Then she saw Lelethu’s face. “Lelethu, I will see you later.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Don’t worry. I know you had a part in taking my phone, but I’m so glad you brought it back. Don’t get yourself upset. I will never tell anyone.”

Lelethu felt her stomach tighten. So Miss Nombembe thought she was a thief. There was no way she could tell her now about the photo as well. What would she think of her then: a thief and a slut? No, she had to get away, out of the school.

She walked fast to the gate, not caring if anyone saw her. She wasn’t coming back anyway. Two boys wolf-whistled at her. “Hey, Lelethu, sexy babe,” they called out. How did they know her name? Had Prin-cess put that in as well?

She imagined Bontle seeing the photo, and wanted to be sick all over again. What would Bontle think of her cousin now? Hopefully, hopefully Bontle would never see the photo. She was not friends with Princess on Mxit. But Lelethu knew that these things had ways of spreading like a fire.

Once she was outside she felt as lost as before. Where could she go now? Who would listen to her, understand her, love her, even though she was being humiliated by the whole school?

Pholisa. Where was she, and how could she find her?

She would go home and fetch Pholisa’s address. Then maybe she would phone her mother, and go home with Pholisa, back to the Eastern Cape. That’s all she wanted to do right now – to get away from this ter-rible place that had made her into someone she could hardly recognise any more.

At the house she felt so ill, she lay on the bed and buried her face in the pillow. She could hear the minute hand of the clock in the kitchen ticking. She tried to get herself up, to go and find Pholisa. But her body felt heavy.

Then she heard voices, and the sound of the key turning in the lock. It was Bontle – Bontle and her moth-er. Just from the tone of their voices, before she even heard the words photograph and bra, she knew what they were talking about.

“Molweni, Mama, Bontle,” she called, getting up quickly. She had to give them her side of the story. She burst into the kitchen as they came through the door. They both turned to look at her. Her aunt looked furious; Bontle looked sad.

“How could you do such a thing to me?” said her aunt, her voice getting shrill. “You disgusting little girl.” She sat down heavily in her armchair.

“Auntie –” Lelethu started pleading. But her aunt was not interested.

“Don’t start coming with your stories. The news has gone out everywhere. My niece, naked, on every-one’s phone and computer. With her name as well.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” tried Lelethu.

“It was definitely you in that photo,” said Bontle. “I saw it.”

“Exactly,” said her aunt. “Of course you knew someone was taking your picture. And that wasn’t even enough. No, you had to spread it everywhere to shame your family.”

“I didn’t do it,” said Lelethu.

“Get out of this room,” said Auntie. “I don’t want to see you right now.”

Lelethu ran to the bedroom. She waited for Bontle to come in.

“It wasn’t me who spread it,” said Lelethu. “You must believe me.”

“I just can’t believe you even posed for that photo,” said Bontle. “My friends are so shocked. I keep telling them you’re not that bad.”

“I’m not – you know I’m not!” protested Lelethu in tears.

“My friends are laughing at me too now,” said Bontle. “And other people at school. I can’t believe you did this.”

“I didn’t mean –” started Lelethu.

“I’m tired,” said Bontle. “I don’t want to talk any more. I wish I had my own room back.” And with that she got her school books and went out into the living room.