Chapter 3

As we walk in, there she is, on her rotating chair. We stand in her spacious office finished with an office desk with a plastic flower on it. Behind her, a wooden cabinet with glass doors showcasing her countless achievements accompanied by plenty of framed timeless moments of teachers and learners. She rotates the chair slowly letting us enjoy the view of her Peruvian wig coincidentally blowing in the air just like how Beyonce's hair has to be flying whenever she performs.

She finally graces us with her presence and sees her visage. The lady in red...I should have known.

"Please close the door, sit down, sit down, be comfortable" She flashes her expensive white teeth.

Ntshuxeko hurriedly closes the door and leads me to the black leather sofa by the large window. I turn my head up as I hear the slow sounds of the curtain moving. She is opening the curtain.

"Be comfortable" She walks back to her rotating chair.

When did she get here? I glance at Ntshuxeko, who just quickly moved his eyes away from me and sat up straight.

Ntshuxeko's lips parted but quickly purse up as the lady in red flashed her teeth at us again.

"You must be...?" She eyes me.

"Vutomi Ngobeni" I politely finish her sentence with a big smile. Is it working? I don't want to offend her.

"Uhm...Vu..." She pauses "Any English name? "

"Uhm...Paris" I fix my sitting position and dug my nails into my backpack.

"Paris! That works very well" She exclaims in a high joyous pitched voice. "Welcome Paris. Come here" She gets up and opens her arms.

Ntshuxeko nudges me, I slowly place my bag on the corner of the sofa and try my best to walk straight forward to her position. I slowly place my petite body on her arms. She pats my back and quickly moves back to her seat before I could return her hug with my arms aloft. I just brush my nose and turn, walking my way back to the sofa.

"Okay. I am Mrs Windhoek, the principal of this beautiful school, Saint Peter's Comprehensive school. This school used to be a missionary school for black people during Apartheid. This school is living history, it represents the revolution of the South African education system. From a Christian-centred education about the Bible, basic literacy and numeracy to Bantu education to BEE, to CAPS. This school has lived all decades of history. " She slowly smiles. "This is why we take our jobs seriously, we need to ensure the history of education lives on, by putting in our very best, don't you agree? " She peers into my eyes.

I nod fiercely.

"Perfect! We are all on the same page. you are ready for your induction" Her pitched voice echoes in the room. "Follow me" She gets up and strides to the door with her stilettos and pulls the door slowly to ensure her stability. She pauses, brushes off unseen dust, fixes her weave and starts walking. "Come on now, catch up"

I increase my strides which seem like I am now jogging. I turn and look at Ntshuxeko he seems to be okay, well, being tall comes with an advantage, your strides are bigger. My tiny strides equal to his and the lady's red stride.

"Paris..." She stops and we all halt to a stop. "This is going to be your workspace."

I look around and see walls. What? She pushes the door open. All the chanting voices go silent. I follow her in, while Ntshuxeko finally leaves my side and goes settle in his desk.

" Everybody we have a new educator, let us welcome Paris" She claps her hands and everybody slowly chimes in their applause. "Good, good. please make Paris feel welcome and at home" She tears her white teeth and smiles but her eyes were fixated on a group of teachers who seem to whisper something to themselves. "Mrs Grey, Miss Dube, Mrs Mathabatha please follow me" She digs her stilettos into the tile as she turns and fiercely marches out of what I think is the staff room. The three ladies, follow her with frowning faces.

"Welcome..." A voice from the corner lands on my ears and I turn to meet a young brown skin, the bearded chubby man smiling at me.

"Come on Thabo" Everybody groans

"What?" He shrugs his shoulders

"Leave her alone" Everybody protests.

"I was just welcoming her" He smiles complacently.

"Stay away from him, he is trouble. Sit next to me, he hates my guts" A young lady grabs my hand and drags me to an empty table located to a messy table. I think that is hers. I was thinking I will sit next to Ntshuxeko however I can't say no to this lady. I allow her to drag me with her.

"My name is Ayanda Khoza. Be my friend" She glared at me. I open my mouth speechlessly.

"She is good. Accept her proposal, you do need a friend here." Ntshuxeko chimes in over her shoulder. She turns and peers into his eyes. surprisingly, he smiles and urges her on with his beautiful hazel eyes. His eyes...wait! Are they a thing? Okay, this is going to be very weird real quick. But why do I care? He is off the list, plus I am here for work, work before boys.

" Okay," I gently pull my arm from her arms disturbing their staring contest. A part of me feels relieved, at least my chest is no longer feeling like it's going to explode.

"You can make yourself comfortable there" She points out the unoccupied table and turns her attention back to him.

Argh! The potential friend is into Mr Punctual, this is a serious third situation l am going to witness. I settle myself and put my backpack on the table. I wanna go home. I pout my lips. A part of me is irritated right now. Too much PDA gets under my skin, it's unnecessary for us single and broken-hearted people.