Page 120 - The Mending Season

season for change/ Its also a season for mending fences, isn’t it? Why cant they just let it go?”She shook her head and raised her hand for me to stop. “Change is difficult for everyone, especially change that peo­ ple feel they cant control. But this is something people feel they can control. They can make phone calls and write letters and they are giving money to the school, so ... Its not the whole country, but it’s not only about this one school.”“But Black people can go to the school and protest, cant they?”“Tshidiso, when people first moved from the townships to the suburbs there was a story about some people being attacked by their White neighbours and being forced to move back. People could have protested, but thats not the first thing on' most peoples minds. Not to say they were not angry, because we all were. You know, people want homes instead of living in shacks, but they are not about to go and march so that someone can go and live in a bigger house. In any case, we could say whatever we want but the school will look at the people they have known the longest. Black people have just got there ... I don’t know. This is a hard one.”“You really don’t think Veronica will come back?”“I don’t know, but I doubt it,”she said, holding my hand. “I think the other girl has a better chance.”“The school claims to be so proud ofbeing the first school to let Black people in - and Veronica was in the first group of Black people to go there - I think they should want her to stay, maybe just for that.”My mother shook her head, doubtful. She usually calmed me down and made me believe that nothing was as bad as it seemed. Mmamane Malesedi was the one who never said any­ thing positive, so my mother’s negative attitude worried me even more. She was not helping. “Ifpeople can say the school is unsafe because their children could get attacked by this one girl ...”She bit her lip.120