Page 93 - The Mending Season

decided that I would pretend that nothing had happened. I would ignore everyone but KB and go on with my life at Ascension without ever looking at the other Black girls again. I did not want to be involved with a crowd that had been branded as troublemakers. I wanted to enjoy the school as much as possible. This decision eased the panic and I felt more ready to walk through those gates.When we walked in, Mmamane Malesedi reminded me, “Speak up when they ask you. Tell them what you heard. Even ifthey dont askyou, tell someone.The principal is full ofshit. Forget her. Tell your other teachers.” I frowned at her. She knew what I was thinking.“We didnt teach you to be a liar,” she said, wagging her finger at me.“Fm not going to lie.”“You are. Ifyou keep quiet, you’re lying.”She was still glar­ ing at me, her eyes a warning, as she walked away. I sighed and resisted the urge to tell her that I would do as I pleased. In the end, I reckoned, it was my choice. In any case, this whole thing did not rest on me. Veronica didn’t even care if I spoke up or shut up. Mrs Tanner had not even thought my state­ ment meant anything.As I walked along the driveway, the usual crowd of girls were standing and chatting loudly, waiting for their friends to arrive. The whole school had heard about the incident. No- one said what exactly it was that Beth had said, just that it was “a racist word”.Some of them looked at me and cupped their hands over their mouths, saying God-knows-what to their friends. The younger girls pointed. Two even ran up to me and asked, “You heard her? Did she say it to you?”The story had reached the broken telephone stage. Everyone had their own version. Some said that Beth had turned to Veronica and said it to her face. Some said that Beth93