I am still in training. The last time I attempted to make Nshima the whole concoction was so lumpy it was unrecognisable. Somehow I just cannot seem to get my head around the science of it which Mama seems to do so effortlessly.Meanwhile I have these tests to worry about.
Mrs Mwalubemba enters the classroom and we all stand up.
'Goodmorning class'
'Goodmorning Madam' we all respond in unison. She is so intimidating. Since coming to school here, I have never once seen Mrs Mwalubemba smile.
'Takeyour seats ' she commands. We all seat as if on auto pilot. 'I have your test results and we will see who has passed number one this terms'. The whole room is packed with tension. No one utters a word for we are all thinking the same thing. If we have failed, two fates await us. The wrath of our parents and secondly the wrath of Mrs Mwalubemba which is the worst of all!
'All those who have failed, we are going to put them on which list?'
'Danda heads!!' we all respond as if getting a prize for it.
'Exactly.And we are going to make sure the whole school sees it so that next time you work hard'.
She starts calling our names in chronological order. Dante’s name is called first as usual. No surprise there. Hope follows and by now I am getting tense. Mrs Mwalubemba makes a small speech about these brilliant minds and what not. Justin time, she calls my name third and I join the rest of the gang in front beaming at the rest. The only one we hold out our fingers crossed for is Janet. By the time Mrs Mwalubemba reaches number 8 she finally calls out Janet’s name.She just about managed to escape the list of danda heads.
The rest are not even mentioned. The list goes only up to ten. I am thrilled with my results and know full well that maths is what brought me crawling in at third. No one can understand why I have no good knowledge of maths when it should be naturally in my genes.
At break time Chisanga meets us and tells me to wait for him when we are going home.
‘We are on a robbing spree today!!’ he exclaims pushing the air with both fists. Kevin agrees excitedly in the background that Mwalubemba’s house was going down.
‘That brother of yours issomething else’ Hope giggles. ‘I am going away for the holidays at my aunts’place in Northmead Lusaka.’
‘Oh that should be great Hope. Still wish you were going to stay with us tonight. It will be awesome!’
After school, we wait by the gate as instructed for my big brother. Sharon, my play mum comes over and gives us all hugs. She pulls me to the side and gives a little present and tells me to open it only when I get home. I am super excited and give her a big kiss on thecheek.
‘Bye baby shey’ she smiles warmly. I absolutely adore her. Little does she know that this playmum thing works wonders for me. Dante walks towards us. He is carrying a present wrapped in his hands. The girls are all gleeful as they watch him approach. Dante is super smart but barely says a word. He wears cute glasses that rest just at the tip of his nose. His hair is always cut especially short but very neat. He is so nice to everyone but is a tough monitor. There is no bribing him once your name hits his list which mine did yesterday after receiving a few warnings from him.
I have to admit I was so mad at him for it, for it let me spend an afternoon in the sun. Hope is the one who told me to snap out it. ‘You deserve every bit of slashing that you did because you just can never shut up Shekinah’.
‘Hi Shekinah’
‘Hi Dante’
‘I got this for you. For Christmas’ he says looking down and his shoes.
‘Thank you Dante’ the girls giggle as Dante walks away. My brother gets there just as he leaves and directshis attention to my hands.
‘What’s in there?’
‘Erm, it is a present from Sharon.’
‘Both of them?’
‘No, the other one is from Dante’ my brother burst out laughing. ‘Shy boy Dante? What is he giving you presents for? Anyway you know you cannot keep that because if Papa sees that you got a present from a boy he is going to go mad!!!’ I ignore him and pop the gifts into my bag. I only open the card from Dante which reads:
‘Have an awesome Christmas and happy new year. Dante’ I have no idea why I like it so much but it definitely makes me feel a bit special. Dante never talks to anyone so talking to me was kind of nice. I don’t know why but it was.
After robbing Mrs Mwalubemba’s barely mature mangos, Chisanga says he will treat us to some ice cream from shoprite. Hope gets onto a minibus home but we are too distracted by our pending ice cream to focus on whether or not we will miss her.
‘Where did you get the money Chisanga?’
‘Don’t ask about where. I am the Don Chi mega!’
‘Hehehehehe since when? Wait what does that even mean?’
‘It means everywhere I go I can get what I want and today I am getting you two some ice cream and then you will see how the girls always shout for me saying Mr Keep change! Mr keep changeover here Mr Keep change!’ By this time Janet and are hysterical!
When we get home, Mama is out andTrevor is the only one home minding the store. We quickly dig into the iceblock bucket and pick a green and pink one. To our delight, Mama has decided to start stocking dairy choc as well.
‘Trevor!! I passed number 3!’ Isay with a boisterous insensitive grin. I completely forget that Janet’s grade is not as good.
‘Well-done Shey your father will be very proud of you. What about you Janet?’ Janet shrugs her shoulders and mumbles as 8 under her breath. ‘ Well you have both done good and deserve a treat.’ He reaches into the box of bonbons and takes out a handful of sweets. Are we not just lucky he is here? Mama would never let us dig in like that ‘But remember it is a secret’ he says with a finger placed on his mouth. Chisanga laughs and asks who else may be home and if Trevor does not mind watching us while he goes to Kevin’s to playfootball. I intervene and tell Chisanga that Mama will be mad to still find him in his uniform but by the time my sentence is done he is already almost out of ear shot. Bana Kulu Themba is sitting on her Veranda watching us all.
‘OK girls, let me shut the store and give you your lunch. Come inside’
‘Trevor it is fine we can get it ourselves’ we protest but Trevor insists on coming with us. We walk through the garage which is by the side of the house and as we pass an almost ripe mango falls from one of the brunches that hangs over the roof of the garage. It makes such a loud thud that my heart starts to beat so fast I might faint. Trevor puts a hand around me and strokes my shoulder telling me to relax it is just a mango. God is looking after us he says with a smirk on his face that makes me a bit uneasy.
We enter the house through the kitchen door and find the meals on the table. There is the new room between the dining room and the kitchen which used to be Papa’s relaxing place. Now it is used as Trevor’s room. Since that mango fell, I feel uneasy. Janet is her normal shy, quiet ,petite self who asks no questions and does not make a fuss. Trevor tells us he has left our clothes which had just come from the wash line on the ironing board which is just outside his room.
‘Just go in there girls and get changed then you can come and eat’
Soon as we turned our backs to walk into the room, he slams the kitchen door and locks it shut.
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