Page 40 - The Mending Season

fiveThat night I did not watch TV. Instead I sat on our sofa in the living room and answered all the questions the aunts put to me about my day. How were the other students? Were they welcoming? How did the teachers seem? What was the school like? How were the White students? How did they treat me? Did I speak to them?It was exciting, overwhelming and bizarre. It was the first time the aunts had ever asked how other people treated me. I had always been trained to expect to be excluded and, when I was, not to come home and talk about it. Now here they were, sitting on the opposite sofa, hungry for information, acting like it would be cruel for me to leave out any details of my day. They had not even given me a chance to change out of my uniform. Mmamane Malesedi was the only one telling me to go and wash my socks and polish my shoes before going to bed. She had no questions for me except, “Did you behave?” and “Take a brush with you tomorrow for that hair.”“Many girls come from such rich families,”I told them.“Hmmm. Do you have just as many regular teachers as the nuns?” Mmamane Malebone asked, ignoring what I hadjust said.“There are more regular teachers than nuns. And manypeople come in expensive cars! A lot of the Black girls come from rich families. Theres this girl ...”“How are the Black girls? Do they only speak English?” Mmamane Mabatho asked. “I see some of them in town40