A Beautiful Mess.

4.

I impatiently tapped my fingers against the desk, waiting for Mr Neilson to start handing out our chemistry papers so that I could start.

"Alright, you have 45 minutes to complete this test, read your questions carefully and answer them diligently. Good luck and your time starts now"

***

"Five minutes remaining", Mr Neilson announced, drawing me out of my slumber. I finished my paper within 33 minutes, a new record, giving me a good amount of time to catch up on the sleep I missed while trying to prepare for this paper.
I checked my paper for what felt like the hundredth time until finally I was satisfied with my answers.

"Times up"

Mr Neilson went around collecting everyone's answer sheets and when he got to mine he blankly stared at it before turning to me, with that same blank stare which always managed to make me uncomfortable. I hated when he did this.
"I hope you guys carefully read through the questions like I asked you", he said before collecting the next answer sheet. I sighed at his comment and grabbed then left.

***

"Didn't I tell you that it would, I told you. We should've bet money on it, R200, I would've been R200 richer by now", Mak bragged.
"As if you need that R200", I said while biting into my toasted chicken and mayo sandwich.

"But didn't I tell you though?", Mak asked and I remained silent continuing to chew on my sandwich.

"I'm going to take that as a yes."

Today we decided to spend break outside again because I still wanted to practice my speech for the last time before our last practice this afternoon.

"Okay, are you done gloating now, I want to practice?". I stood up from the bench and stood right in front of him.

"You now I keep saving your a—"

"Okay fine Makalo, you told me so, okay? Thank you for advising me to go through that table, now can you listen to my speech", I interrupted before saying my speech about gender bias within sport.

" You should learn to relax more", he suggested while chewing on a gummy worm.

"And you should learn that it's bad manners to speak with a mouthful of gummy worms", I snapped back taking the entire packet from him and munching on some of them. I scrunched my face when I realised that they were sour worms and Mak bursted out in laughter.

"You should've seen you're face", he said. His face wet with tears.

"Bye Makalo", I said leaving.

"Ha?! You only call me by my full name when you're mad at me", he followed.

"Well maybe I am mad at you"

"Really? Can you really be made at this face Melo?", he pouted and I let out a little smile.

" Hamba kini (go away) Makalo" I said waving him off as the bell rang and everyone headed off to their next class, mine being history.

***

I sat in class trying to look like I was paying attention, doodling in my textbook to keep me from falling asleep as Mrs Dladla went on and on about the Bantu Education system.

I genuinely enjoyed history. It's been quite an interesting subject, the only problem was Mrs Dladla who tended to over explain it or go completely off topic. Her way of teaching was as if she was also bored of what she was teaching and because of the energy she was radiating we would also be bored in her class but somehow we managed to do well in her subject.