Chapter one - First day

“I’m so late for work” James said as he checked the time on his new wrist watch that Latoya had given him on his 39th birthday two weeks ago. This was going to be his first day at work since the big move and he couldn’t afford to spoil it.                                                                                          
“I told you, you didn’t have to drive me to school. I could have taken the bus or got a ride from Felicity” Latoya said as he parked the car by the school parking lot.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
“This is your first day and I wanted to be the one to drop you off and wish you good luck” he responded.

“Come on dad it’s not like it’s my first day at preschool, this is high school. Don’t worry about me I have gained enough experience to survive in the teenage jungle of high school” she said as she watched a large number of students rush in through the school entrance.

“If you say so” he smiled.

“Bye dad. See you later” she said as she got out of the car and closed the door. She then turned to face him with a huge smile on her face.

“And dad...Good luck at work”  

“Thanks” he responded before rushing off and disappearing behind the old flat by the corner.

Latoya took a deep breath before she gazed at the huge double story building before her. She assumed the building had been built at least 50 years back but it still looked perfect because of a recent paint job. It had been painted mostly in cream and maroon about a meter from the ground and by the window seals. The only thing that sold out the building was the old rusty fence which most probably the school couldn’t afford to replace. It made her wonder how the inside of the building was like.

“New town, new school, what more could I ask for” Latoya said before taking the first steps into the old building that would determine her future.

Felicity was waiting for her by the school entrance. She had promised to help Latoya find her way around the school on her first day. Latoya was glad she wouldn’t have to go through first day drama on her own.

She knew she couldn’t stick to Felicity the whole day because she was in Upper 6 and Latoya was still in Form 4 but the bit of familiar human interaction was appreciated. Felicity was leaning against the wall just beside the main entrance doors. Her hair was waved down her back, a sea of black curls that somehow brought out her bright green eyes.

That is one thing Latoya sometimes envied. The way white girls had beautiful long hair that didn’t need relaxer to be straightened like the bush on her head.

You would think because one of her parents is white, specifically her mom, she would at least have inherited beautiful hair, but lucky for her, her dad’s genes gave her a bushy afro.

“So how has your day been so far” Felicity asked with her usual beautiful smile as if it had artistically been painted on her face.

She was tall and slim, more like the runway models that you see on fashion TV. She was just more into the casual emo look as compared to the high fashion look her twin sister Fiona always rocked.

“Too early to tell” Latoya responded as she forced a smile. The truth was she wasn’t happy and she hated being a new comer not only at school but in the whole town.

She felt like she had no reason to feel positive at all. As they walked to the administration office Latoya realized the walls had been painted in cream, the same shade used outside but the metal rusting lockers told a different story.

The building was really older than it looked and she even considered asking Felicity how old it was but decided to make it her own personal mission to find out for herself.

“Morning Mrs Wellington” Felicity greeted the lady by the reception as they entered the room and the lady looked up from her old fashioned desktop computer in response.

She wore a huge pair of glasses, with sharp points on each end which obviously had a thick lens. She was white and had short brunette hair but Latoya could see the very clear grey roots, and with the amount of wrinkles on her face Latoya assumed she was between 50 to 55 years old. She wore a big bright blue dress with pink flowers on it which was so from the eighties. To complete her outfit she had a necklace which had huge pink and blue beads around it.

“Morning girls” she spoke as she adjusted her glasses and got a better look at Latoya “You must be Latoya Carter”
“Yes sir, sorry I mean madam” Latoya forced a smile in an attempt to stop herself from laughing because you could have sworn a man had spoken.

Mrs Wellington had what we call a deep and I mean really deep manly voice. Felicity had been at the school since she was in form 1 but Mrs Wellington’s voice still made her laugh. She was trying her best not to burst into laughter.

“Okay” she had obviously been offended and Latoya guessed that she wasn’t the first to make that mistake.

“Just go through that door, Principle Long has been expecting you” Wellington directed her to the door on her left.

“Thank you” both girls responded and at that moment the bell rang signalling that lessons would begin in 15 minutes.

“Got to get to class, will catch you later” Felicity said as she turned to face Latoya.

“Cool wouldn’t want to get you into trouble” Latoya responded trying to cover the disappointed look on her face. She didn’t want to be left alone but she had known Felicity would have had to leave her sooner or later. She was now on her own.

“If you need me I will be in class 6B and...”

“Don’t worry; I will be fine” Latoya didn’t give her a chance to finish her statement. As soon as Felicity left she headed for the huge dark brown wooden door with a black sign written ‘Principal’s office’ on it.

Principal Long didn’t move an inch when Latoya silently entered his office. He sat comfortably on his wooden chair as he buried his face into his newspaper taking a sip of his coffee at 10 second intervals.

Latoya silently stood for a few minutes not sure if she should speak, which would ruin his concentration and which could result in her provoking him on her first day, or she could stay quiet and stand there in silence forever which will result in sore feet.

His office was plain. All he had were a pile of papers and files on his huge black desk, an old looking desktop computer, a filing cabinet on the left side of the room and a book shelf on the right side.

He didn’t have any flowers, paintings or just anything to brighten up his office. The only bright colours in his office were HB pencils which were neatly organized in a black cylinder shaped container. She didn’t feel welcome or comfortable at all.

“Good morning Sir” she finally built up enough courage to speak with a faint voice which she almost couldn’t hear herself. She almost thought she had just imagined herself speak but he immediately lowered his newspaper revealing his ice cold stare. She regretted her decision and wished she had stayed quiet.

“Good morning sir” she repeated, this time a bit louder than before.

“Morning Miss....” he finally responded after analysing her from head to toe.

“Latoya Carter sir” she quickly informed.

“OH!” he relaxed his facial expression and didn’t look as scary as he did the first time. He was white and she assumed he was at least 40years old “You are late the school term began two weeks ago.”

“I know I’m late and I’m really sorry about that we just had a moving delay but I’m here now sir” as soon as she spoke his cold stare returned and he silently looked at her for a few seconds.

“Yes you are and it’s Principal Long” he said as he stood to get a file from the top shelf.

He was definitely LONG Latoya thought to herself as she saw the tall skinny giant make his way to the top shelf. She never thought heights like that could be reached in reality. To tell the truth as much as he was as skinny as a crack in the wall Michael Jordan was a midget compared to Principle Long. Latoya smiled wondering what more to expect because it seemed as if so far the staff members could be paid big bucks for the worldwide records they have broken.

“You can get your locker key and timetable from Mrs Wellington” Principal Long said as soon as he sat down and she snapped back to reality

“I hope I never see you again in my office Miss Carter because that would mean only one thing 'trouble' and I do not tolerate trouble makers is that clear” He gave her a weird look she did not succeed in decoding but the truth was it scared the hell out of her.

“Yes sir, sorry I mean Principal Long” his words had totally wiped the smile off her face.

He reminded her of 'Principal Banger' from her previous school. The only difference was that he was fat, short and black. He was actually Principle Bangane but had been nicknamed “bang” because whenever they was something going on “BANG” he would slam his fist against a desk, chalkboard or even the wall. It was his trademark, a sign of his presence and it meant trouble.

Latoya knew from personal experience that whatever came after the ‘bang’ wasn’t pleasant at all. She remembered when her, Nandipa, Thembie and a couple of friends both female and male played spin the bottle in the one of the lower 6 classrooms. Bella had dared Latoya to kiss Washington because she knew Latoya had a serious crush on him since forever. Just when they were about to lock lips “BANG” they got busted. If only they had been given a few more seconds the punishment would have been worth it.

She shook her head in an attempt to erase the memory of that one unpleasant experience that still haunted her till this day. She wasn’t ready to find out how bad Long was so she was definitely going to be on her best behaviour.
As soon as Latoya got out of Principal Long's office Mrs Wellington passed her time table and a key.

“Raven will show you around and help you if you have any problems” Mrs Wellington said as she introduced Latoya to a girl who looked like she was at a party last night and had a serious hangover and hadn’t touched or treated her hair for so long it now looked like a permanent  scruffy style.

'WASSUP” Raven said with so much enthusiasm as they left the room and entered the empty passage way. The second bell rang while Latoya was with Principal Long so everyone was in class.

“Okay new girl you are on your own” Raven spoke when they were a safe distance from Mrs Wellington.

“What?” Latoya responded in shock.

“Look I just needed an excuse to skip class so if you don’t mind I haven’t had my daily dose of medicine” Raven said as she slightly revealed a miniature pack of weed, “Keeps me going. Got a lighter?”

“No” Latoya quickly responded and stood in disbelief. She actually carried weed to school. This girl obviously had serious mental-institution-type-of problems. Latoya had heard that coloured girls were crazy but because she was one she never believed that statement, but at that moment she thought the person who had made that up had met Raven.

“Whatever see you around new girl” Raven said before she walked away leaving Latoya all alone to fend for herself. Lucky for her Mrs Wellington thought the best candidate to show her around was the drug dealer of the school.

The lockers were so old that only a handful still had clear numbers in cream but made no sense. She got so confused and couldn’t find locker 202 as written on her key, so she decided to try her keys on all the possible candidates.

“What the hell are you doing?” Latoya turned in shock wondering who had spoken to her so harshly since she hadn’t seen anyone for the past 10 minutes .She had assumed everyone was in class.

“Tell me what the hell you are doing? Are you trying to open my locker? Actually are you trying to break into my locker?” the girl repeated looking crossly at Latoya. They were almost the same height, she was black and was slightly light in complexion and had black thin plaited braids. She wore a white shirt, red tie and scotch pleated skirt like every other girl at school, but had decided not to tuck in her shirt.

“Sorry I...”

“Just want to steal my stuff” she didn’t give Latoya a chance to explain.

“No I’m not a thief “Latoya quickly responded in her defence.

“Yeah like I am supposed to believe that. That’s what they all say when they get caught” the girl accused.

“I’m no thief. If I am guilty of anything I am guilty for trying to find my locker. Is that so bad?” Latoya was getting angry and didn’t want to be known as a thief on her first day or get into trouble with Principal Long. She didn’t want to get detention or something worse in less than 30 minutes into her first day at school.

The two girls silently stared at each other for a moment. Latoya was about to say something when her accuser burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Latoya lashed out in a state of confusion but her accuser did not respond but kept on laughing her lungs out. She laughed so hard she couldn’t stand up straight anymore and leaned on the lockers for balance.

“You...you...”she was laughing so hard speaking was a challenge.

“What?” Latoya was still confused and needed answers. Who accuses you of a crime then laughs that hard about it.

“You should...have seen...you’re... I mean the...look on your face” she was able to get a few words out.

“I don’t get it” Latoya was getting irritated.

“You looked sooooo...freaked out... it kills me...you were so easy” she took a deep breath before she went on.

“Anyway I’m sorry about that I just saw you all alone and confused and I couldn’t resist the temptation”

“Okay” Latoya tried to put the pieces together.

“I’m Cleo, you must be new” she smiled.

“Yeah” Latoya just smiled upon realizing that Cleo had just pulled a prank on her “I’m Latoya”

“Nice to meet you... and sorry about ...” Cleo apologized again.

“No its okay I’m just a bit lost. Could you please help me out?” Latoya asked.

“Sure it’s obvious Mr Wellington didn’t give you much to work with” Cleo said as she took the locker key.

“Mr Wellington?” Latoya reacted in shock.

“I think you would agree with me that that’s a man stuck in a woman's body” Cleo answered and Latoya giggled.

“Let me guess he got Raven to help you out.”

“She turned out to be more trouble than help” Latoya informed.

“Don’t worry about Raven she’s got issues” Cleo advised.

“That girl needs serious help” Latoya still couldn’t get over the fact that Raven had weed. Not just anywhere but at school.

“Her parents have taken her to so many different therapists and she’s been in and out of about 15 schools. She even got kicked out of 8 boarding schools. Believe me when I say that girl is beyond redemption” Cleo explained as she attempted the lockers on the opposite side.

“Maybe she needs spiritual healing” Latoya suggested. If men can’t solve a problem only God can.

“Maybe but the funny part is the girl is a genius. The only reason she’s still doing her 'A' Level here is because Principal Long is her godfather and he seems to be the only one who hasn’t given up on her...found it” Cleo said as she smiled and struggled to open the locker that seemed to be stuck.

The inside of the locker had old books that were connected to spider webs and a carpet of dust that made it seem as if a cloth had been placed on the books. It all sat together and seemed as if it was all meant to be. Latoya almost felt as if she was destroying something important as she tried to remove the spider webs with a ruler Cleo had passed her.

“When was the last time this thing was opened? In stone age or something” Latoya complained.

“Look at the bright side” Cleo said as she removed a text book which was followed by a waterfall of dust which caused both girls into a coughing frenzy.

“At least” Cleo cleared her throat “You don’t have to buy any new books”

“True” Latoya responded “That’s if the pages don’t turn to dust when I touch them” they both laughed. At that moment the bell rang signalling the beginning of second period.

“Hurry up we are late for class” Cleo said as she checked Latoya’s timetable. Not only was she also in form 4 but they were in the same class. They were lucky because the first period was a free period.

“Okay I guess I will clean this up later “Latoya said as she locked up and they rushed to class.

As they entered the class 4A everyone silently looked at them. Miss Hadebe the English teacher was already there and had a bunch of papers in hand she was just about to pass to the students.

“Miss Dlamini late as usual and I see you have made a new friend” Miss Hadebe calmly spoke but she obviously wasn’t happy at all. The way she looked at both girls was as if she had swallowed a bitter pill. She was slightly shorter than both girls and looked like she was in her late twenties. She had a long straight shoulder length black/brown weave, brown eyes, a small rounded nose and thin lips covered in red lipstick. She wore a black long sleeve jacket and knee length skirt with a cream blouse that matched with the walls and to top it all off she wore black pointed heels. This had to be the most stylish teacher Latoya had met so far at the school.

“I’m Latoya Carter I’m new and Cleo was helping me find my way around” she didn’t want to be in any of the teachers bad books on her first day so she had to think fast.

“I’m Miss Hadebe your English teacher” she said as she placed the papers on the table “You may take your seats”
Cleo led Latoya to the two empty seats at the back of the class and she hated the way all attention was drawn to her.

“Thanks for saving me back there Miss Smarty pants had promised me detention if I was late for her lesson ever again” Cleo whispered and she realized Miss Hadebe was looking at her.

“As you all know I had all promised you a test today but it wouldn’t be fair to Miss Carter ...so for today she will present an oral presentation about herself” Miss Hadebe ignored Latoya’s shocked expression as she further told her to stand and give her presentation as she relaxed on her front desk.

“Here goes nothing” Latoya said to herself before she took a deep breath and stood.

She hated the way Miss Hadebe had just put her in the spotlight and made everyone ask whatever question they wanted. But she did get quite a laugh when one of the boys asked her if she was single and searching because he was available.

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Thank you for reading my first chapter. Do comment and tell me what you think of the story so far.
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