*CHAPTER 2: THE MILK SPILL*

Ma'am Ndlovu was writing X + 2 = 5 and Amanda was dreaming about lunch. "Amanda, are you sleeping?" Ma'am didn't even turn.

"No ma'am, X is sleeping ma'am!"

Class laughed. "Get out."

So Amanda is outside KHS corridor, grey skirt, blazer over shoulder, pink socks one up one down, holding milk bottle open from tuckshop. Her last R5.

Corridor empty. Only prefects checking. Kwena is on duty today. White shirt clean clean, ironed, KHS PREFECT badge shiny. Tall, slim, handsome. The popular boy.

He sees her. "Amanda, you should be in class."

She looks at his clean shirt: "Mind your business, popular boy. You not my teacher. You just have a badge."

They walk same direction. Corridor narrow near blue lockers.

BUMP.

Elbow hits chest. Milk flies. SPLASH. White milk on his white shirt. DRIP DRIP down to tie.

Silence.

He looks down. Shirt ruined.

"AMANDA!!!"

That shout echoes. Whole KHS hears.

Amanda: "Uh oh."

Then she RUNS. Kasi fast.School shoes squeaking,Amanda screaming "Sorry sorry sorry!!!" Milk bottle empty in hand.

Kwena chases. Tall soccer fast. But Amanda knows KHS corners. She turns left past RESPECT poster, past Science Club.

She sees safe zone: GIRLS BATHROOM. Pink sign.

She dives inside, slams door. Safe. Breathing hard, back against door.

Outside he knocks: "You can't stay in there forever."

"I can live here! There's water!" she shouts.

Girls inside: "Yoh Amanda what did you do?"

"I baptized popular boy with milk," she says sitting on floor.

He waits, then leaves. Shirt still stained. Goes to class, Thato laughs: "Who milked you?"

"Amanda!."

At break, KHS field full. Amanda feels guilty. She borrows R5 from Palesa, buys new milk.

Finds Kwena under big tree alone, stain still there, trying to be cool.

She holds milk with two hands: "Sorry. I was scared when you shouted. You shouted like my mom when I broke the TV and we used a spoon to change channels."

He almost laughs: "You ran into girls bathroom. Cheating."

"You chased like police. I'm small with pink socks, you are big and tall."

He takes milk. "You bought new milk? You always broke."

"Palesa loaned me . I have to pay with my lunch tomorrow."

They sit behind hall, first time together. Grass dry, ants walking. Weird feeling in Amanda stomach. Not hunger. Butterflies.

"Does it wash?" she asks looking at stain.

"My mom will shout."

"Tell her it's new KHS fashion. Milk fashion."

He laughs real laugh. She laughs loud kasi laugh.

Ten minutes talking. She says X is boring, X always hides. He says X's easy, he can teach her. She says she hates prefects. He says he hates being serious always.

Bell rings.

"Thanks for milk," he says.

"Thanks for not reporting me," she says.

Both walk back, both looking back once.

In bathroom later she whispers to Palesa and Busi: "Yhooo I think I like him. The popular boy. The one I milked."

Palesa: "You like him because you spilled on him?"

"No. Because he didn't shout again. He laughed. And he's tall slim and stain still there and he still sat with me."

In Grade 11A, Thato: "So you and milk girl?"

Kwena smiles small, looking at Grade 10C block where Amanda's leaning on a wall: "No girl ever bought me milk before."