The year Zinande dreamt about all her life had came and it couldn’t be much better as she saw her best friend enter her class room door smiling and screaming up her name with joy to hug her.The school holidays had came to an end and the new year had started with every one so happy to see each other and tell their Christmas and new year’s celebrations events stories.

Zinande had nothing much to say because as usual, in her house she was “too old “to get presents or clothes or any thing new her aunt would say as she handed her cousins new christmas clothes and presents.Sometime back she was very hurt and hated her cousins but gradually got use to it and she felt nothing and didn’t care to stay up till presents time in her house.

Sandy would bring her friend new pretty and girly things everytime when she got back from the holidays because she knew she did not get anything from anyone .Sandy avoided to talk about the holidays and rather she used to tell her friend gossip about her family and they would laugh and be happy.

First two days after the holidays were tough for Zinande, these days were all about talking ,engaging with each other of which Zinande hated to do but forced to participate by her teachers.

She would be forced into a group and had to share how her holiday were,everyone in her class knew she was very poor so she didn’t share much just books she had read and plants she planted during the holidays. Besides that was all she could share otherwise if she was given a chance to share her holidays she would’ve been a laughing stock for the whole class and pitied by her teachers which was the one thing she hated to “be pitied”.

Days passed the holiday joy also vanished it was study mode and every teacher made sure of it.”Matric year requires focus,hard work and dedication, ” her teachers would say.