Grade 12, Ikageng
Chapter 1
Thandeka is a 16-year-old girl, living with her mom and dad and her two little brothers whom she likes spending time with. Her mother is a cleaner at a government clinic next to where they live and her dad is always home because he is sick. Every day after school she has to rush home to help her mother with the house chores, feeding her little brothers and giving her dad his medication.
One day she woke up very early and got ready for school. After she was done, she said a quick prayer and rushed to meet her best friend so that they could walk to school together. Her best friend’s name is Masego. As she was approaching Mr Mnisi’s shop she saw Masego coming towards her so she decided to wait for her at Mr Mnisi’s shop.
“Hello, Thandeka. I can see you are early today,” said Masego as she giggled. “What do you think? Today’s the first day of school so we have to be ready.” They both walked to school. When they got to school, they attended the school assembly and they were told to divide themselves according to their home languages and the two best friends found out they were getting separated. Thandeka was Zulu and Masego was Sotho.
Thandeka and Masego felt lost and felt that the school was so unfair and they did not understand anything that was said. They went to their different classes. Thandeka was in 11C and Masego was in IIA. Mrs Maseko was Thandeka’s class teacher. When she entered the classroom, she saw new students and Mrs Maseko introduced them but Thandeka only heard Sizwe’s name. Sizwe was one of the new students. He was wearing a pure white shirt, a pair of grey trousers and shining school shoes. He was a tall, handsome boy with one dimple and shaved hair. As he came and sat next to Thandeka, suddenly there was light in her day. For a minute she forgot about her friend and the unfairness of the school.
At lunch-time she rushed to tell her friend about Sizwe and Masego was surprised to see her friend like that. She had never seen her like that before and also couldn’t wait to see this guy she was being told about. Thandeka went on and on about Sizwe. She forgot about her life problems and she enjoyed how she felt.
Thandeka promised to show Masego the guy after school and the two best friends enjoyed their lunch.
After school they went to look for Sizwe on the sports field but they couldn’t see or find him. They kept on looking around the school yard but there was no sign of Sizwe. “Friend, are you sure you met this guy and he is in your class and he sits next to you?” asked Masego. “Yeah, he is in my class and he sits next to me, but anyway, you will meet him tomorrow,” said Thandeka.
The two best friends hugged and went their different ways. On the way Thandeka was asking herself where Sizwe could have gone to. She got home and told her mother about her day but didn’t tell her about Sizwe. She helped her mother with the chores as usual. After she was done, she went to the bedroom to see her father but her mind was not there. She was thinking about Sizwe.
That night she was helping her mom to dishup and she was making a lot of mistakes. Her mother could see that Thandeka was distracted. “Thandeka, are you okay?” asked her mom. “Oh yes, Mom. I’m sorry for the mess I’ve been making,” said Thandeka.
“You know that you can talk to me if anything bothers you, right?” asked her mother. “Yes, Mom,” answered Thandeka. “Oh, look, it’s time for your dad’s medication. Finish up there. I’m coming,” said her mother. “Ok, Mom,” answered Thandeka.
The next morning Thandeka got ready and dished up soft porridge for her two siblings and she was off to school. Her mother was left at home preparing to take the boys to school. Thandeka met with Masego and they walked to school. “Friend, today you will definitely meet Sizwe,” said Thandeka to Masego. “Okay, I can’t wait,” answered Masego. Thandeka got to class and Sizwe was not there. She sat down, took out her English book and started to write the notes that Mrs Maseko wrote on the board.
Lunch-time came and Masego ran to Thandeka, “Friend, where is Sizwe?” asked Masego. “Ahh friend, I don’t know. He didn’t come to school today,” answered Thandeka. “Let’s go and eat then,” said Masego. “Okay,” said Thandeka.
Days went by and Sizwe was still not coming to school and Thandeka was wondering what happened to him. Did he quit school? Did he switch schools? Is he going to come back? Those are the questions Thandeka asked herself.
Chapter 2
Schools were closed for the first term and Thandeka and her family were sitting in the dining room, listening to the President’s speech on the radio. The President announced a national lockdown, meaning no school, no work and the shops would be closed. Thandeka felt more depressed than ever. “Mom, did you hear what the President said?” asked Thandeka “Yes darling, I heard him. We have to stay indoors or else we will catch COVID-19.” “No, no, Mom. Dad is sick already. If we are supposed to stay indoors how will Dad get his medicine when it’s finished?” asked Thandeka. “Shhh, you are shouting. You will wake your father. And don’t worry, his medicine is far from being finished,” answered Thandeka’s mom. “Mom, everything is closed. How am I supposed see my friends or even go to school and how are we going to survive? Mom, you are not going to work because of this COVID-19. How, Mom? How?” asked Thandeka with watery eyes. “Look at me, sweety. Everything is going to be okay. Just stop stressing. We just have to obey and everything will be okay,” said Thandeka’s mom. The mother gave her daughter a big hug and kissed her forehead. “Now go to bed, Sweetie. I will take care of everything,” said Thandeka’s mom. “Okay Mom, good night,” answered Thandeka.
Weeks went by and Thandeka and her family were carrying on okay. “Mom, today the President is addressing the nation,” said Thandeka. “Yes, he is. Switch on the radio. Today he is going to give us a way forward,” said Thandeka’s mom, sipping her hot coffee. “Yes, I pray he opens the schools,” said Thandeka. “We will just sit and wait to hear what he has to say,” answered Thandeka’s mom. At eight o’clock that night the family gathered in the dining room and listened to the President’s speech when he announced that people would then be able to go work and schools would now be opened, under a few conditions. Firstly, they had to wear face masks everywhere, sanitise their hands and maintain a social distance. Thandeka was happy but didn’t understand the mask part. How am I going to socialise with my classmates with social distancing? How is Sizwe going to notice me when my face is hidden in a mask? How will he see my smile? These are the questions Thandeka asked herself. Thandeka’s mom could see that her daughter was bothered then she said, “Baby, it’s going to be okay.” Thandeka nodded as she went to the bedroom and collected her school books, trying to see where they left off. Then, she started preparing her school stuff.
Chapter 3
Days went by and Thandeka was still going to school and luckily Sizwe was attending school, too. Things were different. They were forced to wear masks all the time and they could hardly see each other’s faces. Sizwe was now very far from her because of social distancing. Everyone had to sit in their different blocks, but Thandeka didn’t give up on Sizwe and also wanted to know what the reason behind his absenteeism was.
Lunch-time came and Thandeka went to look for her friend when she noticed that Sizwe was sitting alone, under a tree. Her heart started beating fast as she walked closer to him. When she got to him, she started to sweat a bit and she decided to say “hi”. “He… hello,” greeted Thandeka in a shaky voice. “Hi, and you are?” asked Sizwe. “Thandeka. Well, we are in the same class so I thought I should come say ‘Hi’,” answered Thandeka. “Okay, thanks. Do you want to go for a walk?” asked Sizwe. “Yes,” answered Thandeka. She took a walk with Sizwe and forgot that she had to find her friend. On the way they got to know each other better and that’s when she found out that Sizwe’s dad had passed away the previous term because of COVID-19 and that he had had to go under quarantine. That’s why he did not come to school. Sizwe felt so free when talking to Thandeka because he ended up telling her that when he was five-years-old he lost his mom in a car accident and now he was living with his mom’s sister.
Days and months went by and their friendship grew and they became more than friends. They started dating. Although it was hard because of the pandemic, they managed to make it work. They texted each other, called each other and most of all- supported each other.
Now at lunch breaks it was no more Thandeka and Masego- it was the three of them, including Sizwe, and they enjoyed themselves. Masego was happy for her friend, that she found love. On her side, she wasn’t ready for any kind of relationship and thought she should focus more on her studies, but she always had hope that one day she would also find love.
The End.