The Interview

Right after the bell rang, Lebo quickly gathered her books and rushed out. At the gate, she bumped into someone.

“Hey! Watch it!”

“I’m so sorry,” Lebo apologised quickly.

“Lebo? Where are you rushing to?” T-Touch asked.

“Oh – it’s you! Sorry about that. I have to meet Mbali at the stop sign. We have an interview to get to.”

“Interview? What interview?”

Lebo realised that T-Touch was in the dark about their plans, and it was her fault. Ever since she had been banned, she had cut ties with her teammates. And it wasn’t fair to them, especially to T-Touch. He cared about her.

“Can we walk? I will fill you in on the way,” she said by way of reaching out.

“Cool.”

* * * * *

At the stop sign, Lebo and T-Touch waited, and two minutes later, Mbali’s taxi arrived.

“Oh! Hey, Thabo, it’s been a while.” Mbali seemed surprised to see him.

“Yeah, eish,” he replied awkwardly.

“So, she has told you everything?”

“Yeah, aren’t you guys scared?”

“We are, but what can we do?”

“He also wants to be part of the interview,” Lebo told Mbali.

“Really?” Mbali turned to T-Touch.

“Yeah, if we are going do this, we might as well go all the way. As captain of the team, I think my input will carry some weight, don’t you?”

“Aren’t you worried that Mr Dlamini will gun for you?” Mbali looked at him with intent.

“That’s what I told him,” Lebo said.

“If it gets to that, then it gets to that.”

Both Mbali and Lebo fell silent.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m a big boy. I know how to take care of myself. Now let’s go and do this. Come on!”

The girls laughed in disbelief.

There was a white van parked outside Lebo’s house. “It must be them,” Lebo said, and they all picked up the pace.

“Sanibonani,” the trio greeted in unison as soon as they stepped inside the living room. Lebo’s mother was sitting with two people. A woman in a white shirt and grey trousers had a notepad out. Lebo assumed she was a journalist. Beside her was a middle-aged man with a potbelly. He had a camera on a strap hanging from his neck. He must be the photographer, Lebo thought.

“Afternoon. I’m glad you have arrived,” Lebo’s mother welcomed them. “Please meet Dineo. She is a journalist, and this is Sipho, the photographer. They are both from Sonwabo Mail.”

They shook hands. Lebo was nervous. It was finally happening. She didn’t know whether to feel excited or feel scared. What they were about to do was huge in the world of local soccer. So huge that it could make powerful people angry. People like Mr Dlamini. But it would all be worth it at the end of the day.

“Do please sit down. It is lovely to finally meet you,” Dineo said, and smiled at the three of them.

“Let me pour you a juice.” Lebo’s mother stood up and went to the kitchen, returning with three glasses filled to the brim with orange juice on the small tray. She placed it on the table.

“Thank you.” Mbali and T-Touch each took a small sip.

“Now that we are settled, let’s get straight to it.” Dineo flipped open her notepad. “According to our communication the past few days, Lebo, you have been banned from playing in the tournament that is currently underway. And this is specifically by the chairman of the Sonwabo Football Association. You believe that your ban is unfair and unjust. Care to elaborate?”

Lebo’s mother nodded in affirmation when Lebo looked at her. Lebo cleared her throat.

“Yes, the ban placed upon me is unjust, and is, in fact, discriminatory against me. In Sonwabo there is no soccer division for girls, only boys. Why is that? It is known that every sport must be divided into two – one league for boys and one for girls. So if I wanted to play here in Sonwabo, I had no choice but to play with boys.”

“And how was the experience?”

“It was … unexplainable,” Lebo smiled at the memory. “Thabo here can tell you how well I played in that first match.”

Dineo turned to T-Touch. “How was she?”

“Uhm-mhm,” T-Touch started nervously. “She was good. She was the star of the team, actually. She provided good passes, and she was the one who scored the two goals that made sure we won 2–1.”

“Have you guys requested Mr Dlamini to create another division?” Dineo asked.

“I have,” Mbali came in. “Two years ago, me and some other girls actually talked to him, and the rest of the Association, about the need of establishing a division for girls. But they weren’t cooperative.”

Mbali continued to tell Dineo her story, including how it forced her to go to another school. Lebo described how this had badly affected her, denying her the sport she loved and for which she had real talent. T-Touch told Dineo how they needed Lebo for their upcoming game, and how he really hoped this gets resolved soon.

Dineo turned to Lebo’s mother. “As a parent, what do you want to say to the Sonwabo Football Association, and to the community at large, about this?”

“When we moved here from Germiston, my daughter was playing brilliant soccer. I knew that the change, the move, wouldn’t be easy on her, and it really wasn’t. After she found out that in Sonwabo they play soccer, I was excited because my daughter would get to find her joy, happiness, and spark in this new place. Turned out I was wrong, because the Sonwabo Football Association has taken that joy, happiness, and spark away from my daughter. So I just want to plead to them to be fair. It’s not only to my daughter, but all to the other girls in this great township who love to play soccer. It’s either they let my daughter play, or they create another division for girls. I mean, are we asking the impossible from them?”

Dineo took down everything. While she was scribbling something on her notepad, Masesi ran into the living room from outside.

“Mama, what’s that? What’s that, Mama?” Masesi asked, excitedly.

Her mother picked her up. “It’s a camera, Sesi.”

“Camela? I want it, Mama. I want Camela.”

They all giggled.

“Well, that is all for now.” Dineo stood up. “We will contact the Sonwabo Football Association and Mr Dlamini for further comments, and we will send you the article before publication.”

They nodded. Lebo thought that it had all gone well.

“Sesi is right about the ‘camela’! Let me take a few photos now, please,” laughed the photographer, standing up and preparing his camera.

“Oh, absolutely!” Dineo laughed. She seemed to have forgotten about the pictures.

Lebo’s mother stood beside T-Touch and Lebo and Mbali were seated in the front, while Masesi marvelled at the camera, pointing at it repeatedly, as the photographer snapped away.

***

Tell us: Do you think Thabo will be punished for going against the Association’s opinions?