Sipho

“I wonder what they want,” Gloria said, pointing to five big boys who were walking towards the benches where she and Sipho were sitting during break.

As they came closer Sipho recognised them. They were Grade 11s. They always had a group of girls around them during break, laughing and flirting with them. They were good looking, fit boys who had adoring fans who thought they were cool.

What did they want with him – a scholarship nerd?

“Hey Sipho – the new kid on the block,” said the tallest one in the group with a grin, as he shook Sipho’s hand. “I’m Jaco and this is Ricardo and this is John.”

The boys all shook Sipho’s hand. Gloria was glaring at them throughout. Sipho felt a flash of anger towards her. Did she not want him to make friends? She knew how he was trying to fit in, and here were a group of boys, the coolest in the school, being friendly, and she was staring them down. It wasn’t making things easier.

“Let’s go, Sipho. The bell has gone.” Gloria was a few metres away by now. “You don’t need to hang out with people like this.”

“People like what?” Jaco laughed. “What have we done?”

“You know what you’ve done,” said Gloria. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size for once.” Then she turned to Sipho. “Are you coming or not?”

He hesitated, torn. If he went with her, it would seem rude to these boys. He couldn’t afford to make more enemies, especially not Grade 11s. And besides, their friendship would make him instantly popular. He would fit in at last. So he just watched as Gloria stormed off.

“Don’t worry about her, Sipho,” said the one called John, placing his hand on Sipho’s shoulder.

“Listen Sipho, we know what’s been happening to you, and it’s not right. We know that your classmates have been bullying you. They are real losers; they all failed and now they are making you pay for their mistakes. We want to protect you from that. If you hang with us, no one will mess with you again.”

Sipho smiled. Those were magical words to his ears. He needed to look calm, though. These guys didn’t need to see how much he needed their friendship right now. But why had Gloria been so aggressive? What did she mean when she said they should pick on someone their own size? They hadn’t done anything to her.

So Sipho just stood there and smiled, looking unsure.

The boys gave each other a look and all chuckled. “Ag, man, don’t worry about what Gloria said. She’s just heard rumours. You know rumours. There’s no truth in them,” Ricardo said, placing his hand in a very friendly way on Sipho’s other shoulder. “We’ll look after you.”

“Yeah. We are offering you our protection and friendship. Once you’ve been initiated into our group we’ll be loyal forever. We’ll have your back.”

Sipho’s heart began to hammer in his chest, “Initiated?”

“Don’t worry, Sipho. It’s not what you think. It’s just like becoming part of a club – you need to earn your membership. Are you ready to do that?”

“So what do I have to do?” he asked, trying to sound relaxed.

“Don’t worry about it now,” answered Jaco. “We’ll show you when the time comes.”

“It will be our little secret,” said John.

The siren went off for the end of break as they walked back together across the field. When they got to the quad Jaco gave him a high-five. It was as if a switch had been flicked to ‘on’: suddenly the girls noticed Sipho. It felt good.

The look on the Grade 8 bullies’ faces also felt good. They were incredulous seeing Sipho surrounded by his new friends – boys they were frightened of themselves. At last he felt included.

***

Tell us what you think: What sort of thing might ‘initiation’ into this gang involve?