I had a doctor’s appointment the next morning and I only got to school to catch the last period before break. Just my luck it was Mrs Groenewald’s class. I wasn’t scared, even though I was a little nervous of what news might have passed along the corridors of the school. But Mrs Karl was with us, and as she hinted, there were other teachers she could rally to our side.

Class had started when I walked in. Mrs Groenewald had just done the register and was checking homework.

“Excuse me, Ma’am. Sorry I’m late, but I had a doctor’s appointment,” I said, handing her my pink slip.

“Oh yes, the Principal did mention that you might be late,” she said, taking the paper to sign. “Take your seat and let’s see your homework.”

What? She didn’t bark at me. I walked to my desk feeling a bit dazed. I had expected her to shout and kick me out. But she seemed in a good mood. Something wasn’t right. They must know something I didn’t.

Maybe she heard of our meeting yesterday and she knew we would be expelled. Yes, that must be it, I thought. She was happy that she would forever be rid of the trouble maker with the ‘unruly’ hair.

The class was pleasant. For the first time I saw Mrs Groenewald laugh and smile.

“We have the results for the Maths quiz first round,” she announced. “It was a close one but only three can get through to compete with the other classes.”

I knew I had aced it. I tried to hide the smile on my face. But it was quickly erased when my name wasn’t called. I was shocked.

“Could the top three come and stand up here, please?”

I couldn’t believe it; one of them was Danielle, one of the bitchy girls. How could she have beaten me? Everyone knew she struggled at Maths.

At break time we met at the soccer field, Alice, Lona, Jasmin and me.

“Did you guys notice anything strange today?” I asked. “Mrs Groenewald wasn’t her usual angry self.”

“Yeah, something is happening, but I don’t know what,” Alice said as she settled down.

“Well, it might have something to do with our parents phoning to ask for a meeting,” Jasmin said.

“Yeah, my mom said she’d call today,” I said remembering Mrs Groenewald’s mood. “And BTW, who got in for the Maths Olympiad in your class?”

“Do you even have to ask? It was one the pets. I don’t know why she was chosen though because we all know nobody’s supposed to get better marks than Letitia.”

“Whoah, what does that mean?”

“Geez kid, where the hell are you from?” Alice started. “Letitia runs the crew and nobody can make her look bad, so whatever mark she gets, you better make sure you are behind her if you want to stay in the crew.”

I shook my head in disbelief. This school was just rotten.

“Does that mean I should let this Olympiad thing go, even though I know that I should be in the top three of our class?”

“For now, yes. But tell your mom about it and see if she can get someone else to check the marks when she comes,” Jasmin suggested. “You could ask Mrs Karl.”

It was a good idea. It beat having to try to sneak a look for myself and giving them something to expel me for.

“So what happens if the Principal doesn’t take time to see our parents, or if he feeds them some nonsense?” Lona asked, taking the thought out of my head.

“Well, I know someone who works for a newspaper,” Jasmin offered. “I could tell them the story and they could follow it themselves.”

“And our names? What if Graham finds out it’s us and expels us? He would have a good reason.”

“I’ll make sure our names stay out of it. Besides, my mom said she’d go to the top if the Principal doesn’t change his tune. She made so many calls yesterday … I think this is the calm before the storm.”

I couldn’t help but agree with Jasmin. I knew what my mom was capable of and by the sounds of it, both of mothers were like that. So there was really no way to hide these things. The truth would be out soon. We just had to wait.

“Do any of you guys want to come to my ceremony this weekend?” I asked, realising that I hadn’t thought about it since the heat with Groenewald started.

“What ceremony?” Lona shot first.

“It’s my imbeleko ceremony. You must come – there’ll be lots to eat and lots of dancing,” I said smiling, knowing that these must be new friends if I was inviting them along.

“Is it the one where they check your virginity?” Alice asked, wide-eyed.

“No, dummy,” I said laughing. “It’s a coming-of-age ceremony. We slaughter a goat, eat some meat and dance,” I tried explaining, but Alice still had a blank face.

“They are basically introducing her to the ancestors to get her blessed,” Lona also tried.

“Cool, maybe your blessings could clean up this mess we are about to start.”

“Yeah, maybe. I’ll just come out with a bracelet and a new name.” Again Alice was blank-faced.

“Like Lona said, introduction to the ancestors, that’s all.”

“Sounds fun.” Alice finally seemed sold.

It was good that I would have something to distract me this weekend.

***

Tell us: How do you think people can become more tolerant of, and embrace, each other’s cultures?