Chapter 32 - Chapter 31

# Chapter 31
VUSI, AGE 16

Miss Nkonki, who was supposed to be invigilating this exam, turned another page in her romance novel, ignoring us all.

"You're such a freak, Hadebe," Monde Mabandla whispered behind me, and my grip tightened on the pen until it snapped. I squeezed my eyes shut, counting to ten in my head to keep my emotions under control. Now I couldn't finish my paper in time, or at fucking all.

Story of my life. I just couldn't catch a fucking break.

"Yazi, Sizwe saw your mother in town yesterday, begging anyone who would listen for money, and it's not even a week since grant day. Think she'd be keen for a fuck in exchange for some cash or beer. I'm sure I can steal some from my dad's stash."

Never mind the fucking fact that his girlfriend was seated a few rows ahead of us. Monde was an asshole who refused to leave me the hell alone. He'd been the bane of my existence at school since fucking crèche.

"Are you listening to me, freak?" He shoved my shoulder, and I tensed in response, but he wasn't done, shoving me again. "Are you deaf or something? Did your ma damage your hearing when she beat you? Yeah, we know," he taunted. "Everyone fucking knows that your ma beats you black and blue, and you're too chicken shit to hit her back."

I whirled around in my seat. "Shut the hell up, Mabandla."

"Yoh," he laughed, looking to his friends for backup. "The freak can hear, after all."