The Swirl

Ep. 6

The phone vibrated in Mabea's hand as she made her way out of her class and she answered it.

Some time later she was seated in the Principal's office, an irritated Oratile standing beside her with a bleeding lip which he kept dabbing a toilet paper on to stop the flow of blood. On her other side sat a middle aged man that looked like he would rather be anywhere but here, a sour expression on his face as who Mabea assumed was his son stood next to him. He too had a cut on his eyebrow which split the eyebrow in half.

The principal looked at her and the other parent gravely. "I'm sure you can see the reason why I brought you here." he said. "Boys, please tell your guardians the story from the very beginning."

The boys talked at the same time and the principal stopped them. "We'll start with you, Monwabisi." He gestured to the other boy.

"Well, principal, I was talking to my friends when this stupid boy attacked me and he hit me in the eye for no reason-"

"YOU'RE LYING!" Oratile yelled but Mabea quickly calmed him down as the principal told him to shut up, he'll get his chance.

"And then me and my boys decided to beat him because he attacked me and I didn't even do anything to him, sir."

Anyone could see that the boy was not telling the truth but the principal gave them all a resting face. When the boy was done telling his side,  it was Oratile's turn.

"Sir," he said, wiping the blood from his mouth. Mabea noticed that his lip was busted pretty badly and her blood boiled. "I was walking with Nthabi, my friend, from class and when I passed Monwabisi and his friends, Monwabisi stepped in front of me and began insulting my sister..." he looked like he wanted to hit the boy.

The principal encouraged him to go on.

"He said that she was a Chinese loving whore who liked little dicks."

Mabea glared at the boy but he crossed his heart, swearing that he never said that. Knowing her brother, Mabea knew that Oratile would never ever make such things up and she rose from her seat, looking at the boy's father. So this is what he meant when he said that her relationship with Hiroto would bring him problems.  They weren't even dating but he was already being bullied.

"Sisi, please sit back down," the principal said while Oratile continued telling how he reacted and fought with the boy.

Mabea was seething as she looked at her brother who wouldn't even look at her. The principal made the decision to suspend both boys for 2 weeks and dismissed everyone. Oratile wouldn't talk to her all the way to their house and he locked himself in the bathroom.

When he eventually came out, he had calmed down and he silently sat beside her on the bed. She looked at him and being the sister she was, she got her first aid kit and helped him clean his wound then put a gauze on it.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"It's not your fault-"

"Don't be nice. It is in every way my fault. If I hadn't gotten involved with Hiroto, you'd never have been suspended from school and-"

He gave her a smile, wincing afterwards. "Whether it was China or not, I still would have gotten into trouble. You know I can never stay away from trouble. Don't worry. I'm fine...I've looked far worse. You, have made me look far worse."

She didn't look convinced that he was fine. "I can ask Hiroto to stop coming, I'll cut him out of our lives and-"

"Mabea, I was being selfish when I said that. Hiroto makes you happier and a lot more bearable honestly." he laughed. "People talk and they'll always talk. You do you and if you wanna date him, go ahead. I'm a big boy that used to be in a gang. Trust me. I can handle myself. Your happiness is what's important to me and it's not like I have a choice really. You're not what Monwabisi said you were and I know that. You're my sister, whether you date China or not. In fact, China is like a hundred times better than all your exes. He's a cool guy."