The boy sitting next to me is Adriaan van der merwe. He's one of the few white people who still attends the majority black and colored school, reasons being either his parents can't afford to send him to a private school or they live too close to move away.
I don't particularly like Adriaan and I don't like being involved or knowing about anything that has to do with him. He's the type of person that just draws attention and bathed in it, there have been so many scandals that he has carried on his back, and I know the name Adriaan is synonymous with trouble. Just the last week he was involved in another scandal that made the maths teacher cry, I never bothered with the technicalities of the situation because knowing our maths teacher's loose screws and Adriaan's troublesomeness, they were bound to have complications, there was only the question of why it didn't happen sooner.
I don't blame him though, he's very popular and he just has this magnetism that just draws people to him. A lot of girls like him including Sisanda and when they describe him they always say "unalasomething", He's probably using a spell over them with his white boy voodoo. He also has a very loose mouth so he mostly says the first thing that comes to his mind.
I liked him better in primary when he was whole lot more quieter, but he was also a lot more podgier and then he suddenly lost a lot of weight in grade 9, and all of a sudden he couldn't shut up. He has a huge ego now but I don't think his will ever be able to surpass DaVinci's, my goodness that guy.
I sometimes wonder why Ronaldo is friends with such awful people, compared to them he's gracious, handsome and strong and he smells nice, I sigh out loud while openly staring at the back of his head, damn he's even handsome from the back. He's hard at work scribbling in his notebook, unlike me he actually listens in class and he's not rude to teachers, he's just so perfect.
I look to my books to find the pages blank, with the date scribbled lazily at the top as if it had zero effort put into it, just done for the sake of being done. I look to Adriaan's book to find it as hopeless as mine, he's asleep now which is what got him in trouble last week too but I think the maths teacher is too busy on he phone to pay attention to what he's up to. I don't even understand why she got mad, she barely teaches us half the time and how she expected him to know the work? I don't know.
I was still staring at Ronaldo when he suddenly turned around, I shift my gaze from his head to my blank book, I open my maths textbook and start on the work that was given to us in the first term, my heart is beating loudly in my eyes, I don't want Ronaldo to know I'm a lazy piece of shit. I hear a chair scraping followed by the sound of footsteps and then silence. I'm looking at my books as Ronaldo stands over Adriaan.
"Hey, wake up" he says as he taps him on his shoulder, Adriaan wakes up immediately and starts looking around the classroom before looking up at Ronaldo
"Yessi maan, I thought you were the maths teacher" he slurs in his thick Afrikaans accent "you somer gave me a fright" he says, rolling his r's and speaking as though his tongue is too thick for English, at least that's how it feels for me when I speak English, the words just dissolve in my mouth, almost as though they're too delicate for my Xhosa tongue
"I need your maths book really quickly" he says I finally master the courage to look up at him and I think I almost die because he's just standing there looking very tall and dominant, he has this hulking aura that I just love. He notices my stare and looks towards me, it takes about two seconds for his face to form to one of recognition. He smiles immediately which triggers my own grin
"Hey you" he says and I have to stop myself at smiling wider at the familiarity he's addressing me with
"Hi" I say shyly. My hands are already clammy and I'm already on overdrive, he's about to say something (probably about those damned poets) when the disrespectful Adriaan cuts into our conversation, I see this is a trend in this friend group
"You said you wanted my maths book?" Adriaan says handing Ronaldo his empty maths book "her you can have it" he says smirking, when Ronaldo opens the book to find it blank Adriaan pisses himself with laughter and I roll my eyes at his childishness
"It's empty sidenge" Ronaldo says lightly hitting him with it on his head, he turns to me and my heart drops to my feet, shit. "Can I borrow yours instead umm..."
"Ayanda" I say quietly, my book is blank besides the scribbles of the dates and headings I've made on different pages telling myself I was going to go back and do my work, if Ronaldo sees this then I'm shitted
"Nah her book is as empty as mine" I still, not knowing what to do with the revelation Adriaan just made. What I do know though is that I'm beyond pissed. Before either me or Ronaldo has a chance to respond the maths teacher finally looks up from her phone and kindly asks Ronaldo to sit down, the favoritism. However in this case it's understandable. I turn to Adriaan and stare at him mentally strangling him and burning him alive. I really want shout at him about making me look stupid but I also don't want to reveal to him that I care
"Stay out of my business Adriaan" I say cooly and he gets the most confused look on his face, he looks as though he wants to object but my look shuts him up. I turn back to my maths book and scribble harder desperate to fill the blank pages, I can see Ronaldo glancing back at our table and I'm washed with embarrassment, he probably thinks I'm the dumbest person ever.