The following morning Lesedi found Kitso and Karabo already waiting at their morning spot.

“Morning, Divas,” Lesedi greeted the girls.

“So, what’s the plan?” Karabo asked, not even bothering to greet Lesedi back.

“Whatever it is, I’m in,” Kitso added, more excited than impatient. She was always ready for some ‘action’ as she always put it.

“Thanks for your enthusiasm, darlings. But this one won’t need you,” Lesedi answered her friends. Her voice was dripping with teasing and she enjoyed the looks on their faces. Priceless.

“Wait, you know I never wake up this early for anything or anyone. And now you tell me that this plan doesn’t involve me?” Kitso said, all her enthusiasm replaced by irritation. All the magazines she read emphasized the importance of beauty sleep and Kitso took that very seriously.

“Well, Kitso, do you know that if you sleep eight hours every day, by the time you reach thirty you would have slept six months of your life away?” Karabo said. She always used facts to calm herself down in a moment of panic and clearly this was one. Making plans, concoctions, and schemes was her favorite form of entertainment.

“Well, I actually didn’t ask you to come early,” Lesedi said, irritating Kitso even more.

“You know what Sedi, just tell us what this plan is and we will decide if you need us or not,” Karabo said.

“Well, you guys know that we are writing a maths test next week, right? So I was thinking … the boy who scores the highest will get to take me to the dance and we will see how it goes from there.” Suddenly Lesedi didn’t have so much faith in her plan. Now that she had said it aloud, it sounded quite silly.

“Really? Is this your plan?” Kitso said. She wasn’t exactly a fan of maths. She only did it because both her friends were doing it and she didn’t want to be stuck in the math literacy class on her own.

“Sedi, I think that this is a cool plan,” Karabo said with great excitement. Anything to do with maths made her very enthusiastic. “Wait, this is a brilliant plan. But you have to consider a few things before you announce it to the boys.”

“So, what do you think must be considered, Kay?” Lesedi asked, gaining confidence in her plan again, thanks to Karabo’s keenness.

“Well, you must be clear about what you regard as being a high score. Your maths average is eighty percent. So maybe if the boys aim for eighty-five or ninety percent. But this can backfire. We all know Tshepo isn’t exactly a maths whizz, so chances of Themba beating him are high. You must know which boy you really like. This is a win or lose situation.” Karabo spoke in her best professor’s voice. Solving problems made her feel powerful and in charge.

“Oh yes. Thanks Kay. Well, if the boys really want me, they will study hard for the test. I’m aiming for a ninety this test. So if the boys can get eighty then it could all be fun and games,” Lesedi said

“What if they get the same mark?” Kitso asked. She was less interested in the matter than the other two girls, but nothing could keep her quiet for long.

“Well, chances of that happening are slim,” Karabo said.

“Whatever. All the best with your nerdy plan,” Kitso said as the bell rang for class.

Lesedi wondered what Tshepo had in store for her today. She was worried about stepping into the Grade 12 class after fetching the register. And when she did Tshepo started to sing Nikki Minaj’s Anaconda:

He keep telling me it’s real, that he love my sex appeal
He said he don’t like ’em boney, he want something he can grab …

He sang it loud enough for the whole class to react. This put Lesedi on the spot. In fact, she didn’t like these kinds of songs. She thought they were derogatory to women and girls. But now she just passed it off as Tshepo being himself. She wasn’t going to make an issue of it and draw even more attention to herself. Tshepo was doing too good a job of that already.

After that excitement classes went on as per usual. At break time Lesedi asked to see Tshepo and Themba separately. She told each of them her plan. Themba was quite insulted, but he kept it to himself and agreed, while Tshepo bragged that he could do even better than eighty.

“Only the best for you sunshine,” he said, leaving Lesedi blushing.

Lesedi thought about what her father had said. Maybe Tshepo is my ‘soul mate’, she thought. He managed to make her laugh effortlessly and he was bold in his expressions of his love towards her. These thoughts were replaced by some of Themba. He could also be ‘the one’. She felt safe and comfortable around him and he was such a gentleman.

She went to join her friends for lunch and found them debating about something or other. As expected, Kitso was winning the argument. Not because her facts were accurate, but because she was loud enough to intimidate her opponent, Karabo.

“What did they say?” Karabo asked, using Lesedi’s arrival to escape the argument.

“They are both up for it,” she said. But she wasn’t convinced by what she was saying.

“I guess I won this argument, as usual,” Kitso said, very pleased with herself.

“Seriously, Kitso. Sometimes I wonder how Kabo deals with you,” Karabo said as they went back to class

“I love you too Karabs,” Kitso said as she sat down in their maths class, winking at Karabo.

“Good afternoon class,” Mr Mooki greeted.

Lesedi was more than excited to be in maths today. This was where she would find out who her true soul mate was.

“Sir, can you please explain those calculus sums we did yesterday. Di nshapa ding dong – it confuses me, and much is depending on me passing the test,” Tshepo said to Mr Mooki, as if he was bragging about a big secret that no-one else knew.

“That’s a first. Since when are you interested in maths, Tshepo?” Mr Mooki asked him.

“Since getting the top mark will help me get Lesedi to be my date for the dance, Sir. Themba boy, give up while your dignity is still intact. I’m winning this one.” Tshepo turned to face Themba, who was taking out his textbook from his bag.

“A bet?” Tebogo asked Lesedi.

She gave him an embarrassed nod. She should have realised that Tshepo would use the maths test to get at Themba. Why didn’t I tell them not to say anything, she thought. I’m so stupid.

“Too easy,” Tebogo said, and as he spoke Lesedi noticed his smile. Warm and beautiful were the words to describe it. How come I never noticed it before, she thought to herself.

Finally! A chance to get the girl of my dreams, Tebogo thought. He had been checking Lesedi out for ages, but he’d never had the confidence to ask her out. I can score higher than Tshepo and Themba.

“You go Tebza,” he whispered to himself as he continued with the exercise Mr Mooki had given them.

***

Tell us: What do you think of Lesedi’s plan?