A Mother's Pride

Chapter 28

Mmampho's POV

It is two days before the new school year starts and we are waiting on Thabo to come and fetch Naledi and also bring the kids' report cards because I had not fetched them last year. We agreed that Naledi will live with her father and only come home during the weekends unless they have plans together.

I took my mother to the home three days after Christmas and have not seen her ever since. I should really go and check up on her on Thursday when Lesedi is at school.

Lesedi will be attending at the school that is twenty five minutes away from here if one walks.

Ugh this child. If only he hadn't lied to me and said that he forgave his father. If it wasn't for the secret he had to keep in December, I would still be oblivious to it. I chose not to talk to him about it though, I guess he had his reasons for lying about it.

One can tell by the way I am so wet that it's hot. I am sweating and I hate it when I sweat. No matter how many times I drink cold water or use the magazine that I got from Mavis as a fan, the sweating won't stop.

Lesedi has his t-shirt off, he is even lying on the tiled-floor to cool himself. Naledi is done bathing and took a nap because "waiting on his dad is useless, he is never on time." Her words not mine.

I really need to buy a fan, even if it's small because I cannot handle this heat. Can't it just rain then? Because that would really be helpful.

My days have been the same since Christmas; I was always in the house or hanging out with Mavis at hers because she has a T.V that I could entertain myself with. Otherwise I would be bonding with the kids. It feels like the shack all over again, only this time; my friend is a domestic worker instead of a nurse and her name is Mavis.

I hear a hooter at the gate and I wake Naledi up. She wakes up and rushes to the car, forgetting that we have to open the report cards while she is here.

"Thanks for fetching them."

"It's okay," Thabo replies as he enters the door.

I open Naledi's report card first. Her lowest mark is Natural Science and Technology with fifty seven percent, while her highest mark is Life Skills with eighty three percent. I don't focus on the subjects, I move straight to the bottom to check whether she is going to the next grade or not.

Promoted- Written in bold.
I do not take time, I just hug her and kiss her forehead.

"Congratulations my dearest daughter."
She jumps up and down and says thank you. She gives her father a high five and shouts to her brother that's still in the bedroom to tell him that she did well and is going to grade five and the brother comes out to the living room to congratulate her.

Now to open his. He is obviously going to grade nine, this is Lesedi we are talking about and he always does well.

I open the report card and without wasting time on analysing the subjects individually, I move my eyes to the bottom to see if he is promoted or not. Still with the anticipation that he is promoted.

I gasp when I notice what is actually written and my smile turns to a frown, then to a scowl then my brows get furrowed then I squint my eyes. I look at it again, unsure if I am seeing right.

"Ma, let me see. Don't be surprised by my Technology, it will be bad, if that's the reason you just scowled."

"The technology is not why I am scowling, if anything, you did good in it."

"Then what did I do bad in?"

I am furious now. Shouldn't a child know? Don't they feel it when they write that they are writing crap? Then why is my son filled with so much hope or let alone excitement? It's clear in his eyes that he thinks he did well. I thought they are supposed to know these things, they are supposed to know when the exams were good or not.

"Everything." I say and he seems confused.

"What do you mean everything?" I throw the report card at him and pour myself a glass of water. I really need to sit down. I have no idea how I am going to approach the conversation that I am about to have with him, I have never had to go through this before. He's always set high expectations for me.

"Uh...we have to leave." Like the coward that he is, Thabo leaves me again to deal with one of his children.

Funny how he is taking the girl, thinking that raising her is going to be easier than raising Lesedi. But no, Naledi is turning eleven this year and it might be triple as hard to raise her now. But anyway, let's see how he does it.

They exit the door and when I look at Lesedi, his face is full of disbelief. What disbelief though? Wasn't he the one that wrote those papers?

"So...I didn't make it." He coos.

"So it's a shocker huh?" I sass him, folding my arms in front of me.

"Yes. Kinda."

"How do you fail Lesedi? Weren't you up in that room studying every single day? Or what were you doing when you closed yourself in that room? You've been playing huh?"

"Wh...what? Why are you quick to blame me?"

"Isn't it your report card?"

"It is but honestly, you do not have to be so harsh." His voice almost breaks.

"I did not give birth to a failure Lesedi. At least I can console myself with your sister's results. I now know I can never count on you to make me a proud mother."