Chapter 5

Oh dear Lord help me. All the tables are occupied besides the one next to Ayanda. Fuck!!!! I am screwed. I drop my body on the chair. What to do at this point?

Ayanda and Ntshuxeko walk in with smiley faces.

"I still can't find out what is happening with those two. You know she broke up with her lover because of him?" A presence stations itself next to me. I look up and I meet these beautiful sky-blue eyes obscured by a pair of round stainless glass spectacles. The mustache protrudes from the beautiful pink thin upper lip and thick bottom lips. My eyes move with the oval shape visage. I meet the eyes again.

"Oh, it's rude to share some tea without introductions. I am Lucas Windsor, you can call me Luca" He stretches his hand to me.

I gently shake the hand. I look at myself as I remove my hand from his.

"Yes, yes, they are too soft. I must consider being a hand model, what do you think? " He stares at me with anticipation.

"Yeah...They are beautiful and soft. I feel like mine are too rough for you" I comment.

"I love yours..." He smiles. "They are soft compared to a lot of hands here" He nudges his head. " Nice to meet you Paris. If you are stuck, or bored. You can visit me in the corner" He points to his table situated farside in the corner.

"Okay, I will surely do so" I smile at him as he moves away.

Whew! I can breathe. This white man's presence was overwhelming.

I take the phone from my pocket and slide it open. I tap my Whatsapp widget. Let's see if somebody said something to me. A "hi" or a "hello". I patiently stare at the screen. Nothing, nothing, no-thing!! No text, I thought maybe I would get a good morning. But I guess that is what happens when you secretly relocate and spend away your hours binge-watching Korean dramas, going to web search what " oupa" means after seeing so many scenes of " oupa" with cutesy faces, you end up falling into the trap. I now have my personal favourites, what's wrong with Secretary Kim? I still don't remember how this acclaimed Korean Italian man Vincenzo had me falling over heels for him. Yep, die-hard fan of Song Ki. Yes, addicted to K-drama and everybody around me thinks I am insane for watching a drama with subtitles. They don't know, it is a skill only a genius can master. I smirk at my thoughts. I can only fantasise, the dream is too far away. I pout my lips in despair.

"Good Morning..."

I look up to identify the commanding voice. It is her, the lady in red. Wait...Red again? Does she only wear red? Today she wrapped her lean tall curvaceous body in a red leather body con, accompanied by her red high stilettos decorated by a ribbon of white pearls in the centre. She invests in her wardrobe.

"I hope everyone is well" She pauses as she observes everyone. "Amidst us, we have the new Geography educator, she will be replacing the former teacher Mrs Ndlovu. So I hope we assist her where she struggles, she is a newly qualified teacher. "

Everyone turns their heads towards my direction, some with cold gazes, some with warm gazes. I meet Luca's direction, he pushes his spectacle.

"So...Miss Ngo-be-ni, Paris! Mr Windsor is responsible for assisting with the induction and settling in" She turns her gaze to Mr Windsor. "Take good care of her" She swifts her gaze around the room " It goes for everybody. Paris, you are always welcome in my office, if need assistance or any clarification. I guess that is it for today. Everybody should prepare themselves to go to class. Remember punctuality, be in class before 10 minutes the period starts. That goes for every class and everybody. Let us carefully show Miss Paris our good culture. " She pauses and moves her hands on her body. She turns and leaves the room.

"Argh! Every period? How is that possible though? I have six periods!"

"I bet tomorrow she will say 20 minutes"

"Only she can change her suddenly made rules according to her mood"

"What mood is she in today? Can U slack around" Thabo, Finally a voice I recognise

"If you want to be fired. Remember, you are a contracted educator, your contract can be terminated for different reasons just like Pearl"

All of sudden all the eyes land on me. Does Pearl have anything to do with me? I try to fit my chubby body on the chair. I slowly move my gaze to see if Ntshuxeko is looking my way. I see him chatting with Ayanda and I guess he doesn't even mind anything. There goes my commune mate, I am all alone.

A hand hovers over my shoulders.

"Are you ready?" I meet Luca's eyes and quickly look at his shoulder. His broad shoulder lightly mapped his white t-shirt.

"Luca! Do you want to lose your job because of sexual harassment too? "

"Come on..." Luca groans

"Yep, this time you are the perpetrator. Be careful" A lady wavering her two fingers at us squinting her eyes and vacating the staff room.

"Don't mind her, let's go" He removed his arm around me.

I push the chair back and stand. I follow his lead.

"Hey..." Ntshuxeko hails at me. "Good luck!"

I smile and continue walking following Luca. I quickly catch up and walk by his side. We leave the teacher's block and walk on a cracking pavement that leads to the other blocks. I am assuming we are heading to the learners' classes.

He stops "This first block, moving from your left to right, it's Grade 11 and 12 classes. The second block behind it, it's the Grade 9 and 10 classes" He resumes walking. He walks straight passing two blocks and stops. "The building on the far right is Grade 8 and the one far left, those are detention rooms. So that's it" He looks at me to read my face and I nod to show comprehension of the situation. "So lucky you, you will only teach FET. Isn't that great? " He grins at me.

"It is" I force myself to smile. Why is everyone always smiling? It is tiring.

"Let's introduce you to the learners"

We walked back to the blocks we passed and started with the second block. We entered each class and I was introduced. Some kids showed enthusiasm for the idea of having a new Geography teacher while others twisted their mouths and looked away. Some seemed too tired to comprehend the situation, and some just wanted us gone so they continued with their mischievous act. Other learners jolted from their sleep and desperately wanted to continue sleeping to recover the time lost or spent. The introduction for me was a drag, I left like little bacteria under magnifying glass where every learner could scrutinise me and find all the faults. My hair, my body, my dress, and my shoes, are typical of these young learners. A teacher is supposed to dress fancy and boujee for the new generation of teachers.

"I am tired" I drag myself

"But you have not started teaching yet" Exclaim Lucas in Surprise

"Am I teaching today? " I ask in horror.

"Noooo, Tomorrow. Today, I am handing over the files left by Pearl, I mean Mrs Ndlovu" He explains

"Okay. I was not ready" I chuckle nervously.

"Obviously. but don't stress I got you. I also teach Geography" He tears a tiny smile

"Oh really? That is great. For a minute, I thought I was teaching the whole FET" Whew! I am relieved.

"Nah...We are in this together" He pushes the door open to the staff room. "I will bring the files to you" He leads me to his table and I head to mine.

I sit down extending my legs under the table allowing them to stretch a bit.

"Here is everything you need. Any more questions don't be afraid to ask" He purses his lips and walks away.

I gaze at his walk to his table. I can't help but notice the aura of the room has changed. And there are few teachers, I guess they went to classes. Anyway, I got my bargain to stress about. Sifting through these files and LTSM. This is too much work. I rest my head on the table. Just a quick two-minute, just a shut-eye.

glossary

LTSM- Learning Teaching Supporting Material

FET- Further Education Training