‘Priscilla!’She sniffled. ‘Papa…Papa…Papa…’ she said then she stopped crying. She slowly swerved her head. Her eyes settled on Sineas. She leapt from her position towards him, her eyes speaking murderous intent.Janice was ready for her though. Stepping in front of her sister, she grabbed her arms from the front. Although being the younger and smaller sister, she was able to keep her at bay. Priscilla’s grief had obviously weakened her.She raved all the more, looking over Janice’s shoulder, ‘Say, “hello, papa! Hello, papa”! Say it! Say, “hello, papa!” ’ After a while of struggle, her body finally gave in. she collapsed into Janice’s chest, her body motionless.   ‘Is that all the information you have, ma’am?’Janice had finally called the police who had arrived with the medic team as well. The police officer questioning her was in his uniform. A blue jacket, blue trousers and black formal shoes. The two medals pinned on the left pocket of his grey s

There was no response.He heard footsteps approaching the bathroom. There was a knock.‘Sineas, are you alright in there?’He wiped water from his face. ‘Yes, Aunt Janice. I’m, I’m fine,’ he replied but he listened attentively, expecting something else to drop onto the floor.‘Good. Dinner is almost ready.’ She tapped the door twice before making her way back to the kitchen. Dinner was very quiet. It was rice and mincemeat with orange juice to wash it down. They were eating at the table in the kitchen. ‘How’s the food?’ she asked him before taking a sip from her glass.‘It’s great, Aunt Janice.’ He made an uncertain smile while he nodded.‘Good, good, my boy. Maybe tomorrow I’ll take you out for some strawberry ice-cream. I believe it’s still your favourite?’He smiled again. They continued eating but in strict silence again.   After dinner, Janice led him upstairs and just as he had guessed, she showed him into his room. He picked u

He looked at her. Maybe she had changed her mind.‘Try to be normal,’ she said with the most motherly voice she could muster. ‘Just…be yourself.’‘What if I get bullied? What if the rest of the kids make the unanimous decision to declare open season on my life? In case you hadn’t noticed, Aunt Janice, I’m probably the only black kid here. What if…’She placed a finger on his mouth. She stared solemnly into his eyes. ‘If anything like that happens, my boy, just remember that misconceptions, bad judgements do happen…and so do accidents.’He stood still for a while. He gave her a quick nod before stepping out of the car and onto the sidewalk. As he made his way along the path towards the entrance of the school building, he felt invisible. Students would bump into him over and over again like he was one of those walkthrough doors at the mall. The sign, “Welcome to Malrich High School” was now hanging over his head as he walked through the wide open wooden doors.

When the annoying, dying robot finally cried, Sineas could hardly wait to place his foot on the pavement outside the school premises. He quickly packed his books and stuffed them in his backpack and headed for the classroom door. He flexed his shoulders boldly as he made his way to the exit of the school building. His salvation was only a few metres away. He had made it halfway towards the door when he found himself facedown on the hard floor. He felt his wisdom tooth shake in gripe. He reached his index finger into his mouth to check if it was still in place as the multitude of spectators laughed.‘And the freak show continues.’He looked up. It was a boy about twice his size. He was wearing the school sports jacket; blue with yellow sleeves. It was covering a white t-shirt. Sineas thought the boy strangely looked like his father when he laughed, revealing an uneven set of teeth. He had short, black hair and a hardened face; the face that seasoned athletes usually have. Sinea

Breakfast was very quiet that Tuesday morning at the Murphy’s house. It was cereal, but this was not the cause of the silence.‘Aren’t you going to say something, Sin? You didn’t even say good morning to me.’ Aunt Janice was in her infamous nightdress. She had not taken a shower yet.‘Good morning,’ he mumbled. He was poking the cereal like he was searching for an evasive cockroach that had fallen in. He was wearing his leather jacket and a white t-shirt and blue jeans. A pair of black Nikes concluded the gear. Aunt Janice reached for his hand as it lay idle on the table. He slowly pulled it away.She sighed, ‘You know I only want what’s best for you, right?’His eyes narrowed as he stared into his bowl, as if he had finally found the roach. ‘Does this cereal taste strange to you?’ he asked her before taking a mouthful. ‘The taste is a little familiar though,’ he snapped his fingers in an effort to remember. ‘Of course!’ his eyes lit up, ‘It tastes exactly like betrayal.