“So from what I understand, the calculus exam is going to be brutal,” Boipelo said.

“Yeah, I think that too,” I said. Boipelo and I were about to take GCSE. We both wanted to go to university overseas. I wanted to go to London, maybe the London School of Economics, but that meant passing. And to do that we were studying like maniacs.

“You’ll pass; you’re good in calculus. I’m going to have to do a lot of praying,” she said. We both laughed. The combi slowed down for Boipelo’s stop. “See you tomorrow, Mimi.”

“Bye Boipelo.”

I watched out of the window as we pulled away. As usual, she turned and waved. I smiled and waved back. I sat thinking about how great it would be if we both passed and we both went to London. In my imagination, London was a world of excitement where my real life would finally begin.

Four stops later I got off and walked toward our house. As I came nearer, I saw that both my mom and dad were home, their cars in the driveway. That’s odd, I thought. My mom was an English teacher at my school, Sunrise High, and never got home before six. She liked to finish her marking at school. And most days she’d drive Aunty E home. Sometimes they’d stop for a drink on the way, or Aunty E would have her in at her house. They’d been friends since university. Aunty E was my godmother. She was the school librarian and we all called her Emelda. Outside school, she was Aunty E – at least to me. She was just Emmie to my mom.

And my dad was lucky to get home by seven. He was a civil engineer and owned his own company here in Gabs, Phakedi Construction.

Now they were both home, and I walked up the drive with trepidation. Such an odd occurrence could only mean bad news. I tried to remember if I’d done something so bad that it would require my parents to be home early, and at the same time, so as to present a united front when attacking me.

Then I got scared something had happened to my big sister, Leah. She worked up north in a hotel near the Chobe Game Reserve in Kasane. She was a hotel manager. What if she’d gone into the bush and got killed by an elephant or a hippo? I didn’t even want to think about it.

By the time I got to the door I was ready for anything. My heart was beating hard. I listened carefully and it was quiet. I got nearer and I heard a sound I couldn’t place. We were a close family but not very emotional. Both my mother and father frowned on dramatics, so Leah and I learned early that tears would get us nowhere. But someone was crying. I thought it was my mother. Now I knew something horrible had happened. I’d never heard my mother cry before. Even when my grandmother died, my mother didn’t shed a tear in front of me. I suspected at that time she did a lot of crying in her car though. Away from me and Leah. She never would have wanted us to see such a thing.

I walked up to the door, even though all I wanted to do was run. I knew that what was waiting for me behind it, was going to change my life.

Unfortunately, I was right.

 ***

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