Entwined (8 page)

Wiki frowns. He’s thinking – no, I don’t know what he’s thinking. My telepathy is flickering again, like a light about to go out. I reach up to rub my temples.

Lebz puts her hand on my shoulder. “Thuli’s not worth your tears.”

“I’m not crying.” I raise my head. “My head feels funny.”

“Another headache?” asks Wiki warily.

“No, but…” Now the switch is back on and I can see and hear everything as clearly as ever. Strange. “Never mind, I’m fine. Forget Thuli. It’s about time I got over him anyway, right?”

“Right,” says Lebz, a little too eagerly.

I get to my feet. “I’ll be back. I need some water.” I feel strange. Not sick exactly, but not quite well. As I walk towards the standpipe near the school gate, the thoughts in my head flicker again. When I return, Lebz and Wiki are dead quiet and the other realm is hazy.

“Do you have feelings for Black Lizard?”

My heart jumps out of my chest, into my throat, then back down behind my ribcage with a thud. I gape at Lebz. “Are you crazy?”

“Are
you
?” she counters in dismay.

“Rakwena and I are barely even friends,” I point out in my most sensible tone. “Where did this come from? Weren’t you just telling me to forget about Thuli?”

She gasps and shoots a horrified glance at Wiki. “You were right! She’s already thinking of him as the rebound guy!”

“Rebound?” I’m completely confused. “Don’t you have to break-up before you can go on the rebound? And you need a relationship to have a break-up, so…”

She carries on as if I haven’t said a word. “God, it’s worse than I thought! I understand you’ve had a lot to deal with – telepathy, being disappointed by Thuli – but chasing strange men is not going to make you feel better.”

Chasing? Men? I let out an incredulous giggle. “Lebz, really…”

“I get the whole bad boy thing,OK?” she goes on, taking my hand. “We’ve all been there. It’s part of life and you grow out of it. I accepted Thuli, even though he’s weird and annoying, but Black Lizard is another story.”

“Lebz-”

“He’s creepy. It’s not even about the tattoo or that ugly-ass scar. He’s just freaky, you know? The way he watches you and says nothing, hiding in corners… Maybe he seems exciting to you and you feel like you can handle it because you’ve got powers and stuff, but trust me, you’re only going to get hurt.”

I glance at Wiki, who lifts his shoulders in a sheepish shrug. Then I turn back to Lebz. She’s genuinely concerned. “Lebz, relax. At least let me get over one guy before you start matching me up with another! I’m not interested in Lizard. We just… we have some things in common, that’s all.”

“Like what? Is he a telepath too?”

“No…” I sneak another look at Wiki, but he’s hiding behind his book. “He just knows a lot about this stuff. I can learn a lot from him.” I give her a reassuring smile. “And he’s really not that scary. You just have to get used to him.”

She’s not convinced, but she’s willing to let it go for now. “Hmm. I’ll keep my eyes on him,” she promises, wagging a finger at me. “If he messes with you…”

I have to laugh at that. Lebz can be feisty, but she’s all talk. “Thanks.” We don’t do mushy girl-bonding, so I poke her affectionately in the ribs. “What about you, Wiki? Can I count on you to slay dragons for me?”

“You mean lizards,” Lebz cuts in with a sly grin.

“The pen is mightier than the sword,” Wiki mumbles. Ri-ight.

I rather like the idea of someone defending my honour, but as the bell goes I remember that my honour isn’t in danger. As my encounter with Thuli has proven, I’m the kind of girl guys consider for just a fraction of a second. Ouch. I need to think about something else before the humiliation cuts too deep.

I try to zone in on the thoughts around me. Nothing. Wait, there’s a vague… no, nothing. What’s going on? Is something getting in the way of my telepathy, or is this just how it works?

I start to sense some vague sounds as bit by bit the clarity returns. Suddenly it hits me full force, making me stop in my tracks. Unfortunately I’m behind a rowdy group of boys. Sigh – I’m sick of hearing about Xbox and boobs. I push past them, inching towards my classroom, and come up behind a guy with earphones on. There are many downsides to telepathy, but nothing’s worse than being subjected to other people’s music. I can’t take any more lewd lyrics or brain-numbing beats. And what kind of a name is T-Pain, anyway?

I shake my head and take a deep breath to settle the noise in my head. I wish I knew where it went all of a sudden, and what made it come back.

There are a lot more students in the library than I remember. More books, too. I come here occasionally to do research or look for the odd novel; it’s just been a while since the last occasion. Wiki leads the way, winding through the shelves without even glancing at the signs.

“Over here,” he whispers, pointing me in the direction of the books on Setswana proverbs. You might wonder why Wiki, who can barely greet in my second native tongue, knows where to find Setswana books. It’s not that he’s partial to languages or proverbs, he’s just partial to books.

“Thanks,” I whisper back.

He replies with a distracted wave, and I watch him run his fingers thoughtfully across the spines of the books as he turns the corner. He’s already forgotten I exist. I reach for the thinnest book and flip through it. It seems to have been written for primary school. It’s perfect.

My Setswana isn’t what it should be. After my mother died the only person I spoke it with was Lebz, but not often. My only close relative from my mother’s side is Ntatemogolo, and he was off dancing with wolves in Peru or someplace. When he finally came home, he was appalled by my cultural ignorance. He took me to the cattle post for a weekend and made me sit up all night listening to crickets chirp so I could get in touch with the earth. I learned a lot about crickets and cows, but not so much about culture.

“I didn’t know you were such a lazy student.”

I almost drop the book. My chest fills with a mixture of annoyance and relief, and I’m careful to wipe the smile off my face before I turn around.

Rakwena’s lips are curled into that smile that pisses me off, but some of his usual vibrancy is gone. “No self-respecting Form Four student would use
that
for an assignment.” He taps the book’s cover with the tip of his forefinger.

I snatch it away and glare at him. “Setswana is hard; everyone knows that,” I snap. Nevertheless, I slide the book back into its place on the shelf. “Where have you been?” I hope that sounded casual. I hope it didn’t sound as if I’ve been driving myself crazy wondering whether he’s avoiding me.

“Sick.”

“Sick?” I frown at him, suspicious. “What was wrong with you?”

“Flu.”

“It’s summer.”

He smiles and runs a finger along the side of the shelf. “Were you worried? You sent me a million messages.”

“Not a
million
,” I protest in indignation. A few students send curious glances our way. I lower my voice. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t backing out of our deal. You remember our deal, don’t you?”

“How could I forget?”

“So? When?”

He hesitates, as if he wants me to make the call. What is it with boys? I thought they were supposed to take charge.

“Today,” I suggest. “Lunch time.”

“After school. The usual place.”

I get a little shiver when he says that – the usual place, as if we’re having a torrid affair. I study him for a moment. He doesn’t look quite like himself; some of his swagger is gone. Maybe he really
was
sick.

He reaches over my head and pulls down a book. “Here. If you want your teachers to take you seriously, you’d better use books like this.” He hands it to me. It’s a thick monster of a book with a ghastly brown cover. The font is so small I might need to borrow Wiki’s glasses, and it’s written in grammatically correct traditional Setswana – the kind I get a headache trying to decipher.

My jaw drops. “It’ll take me all day to read the first page!”

“Good. It’s about time you learned to challenge yourself.” With that snide statement, he slinks away.

No wonder Lizard doesn’t have any friends. He’s a smug, self-righteous know-it-all. I march to the check-out desk with the book in my hand. I’m not taking it out because he suggested it; I’m taking it out to prove a point. Besides, I don’t have to read the whole book. Skimming was invented for a reason.

By the time the final bell goes I’ve worked myself into a state. I’m distracted, my telepathy is still off and I’m almost terrified to find out what Lizard’s skill is. What if it’s dangerous? My hands are shaking so badly I keep dropping my pen. Eventually I get my act together, pack up my things and head outside, and then I remember that I haven’t told my friends about my plans for the afternoon.

For a moment I consider just disappearing and dealing with them later, but Lebz emerges from a classroom nearby and spots me. Damn, damn, damn!

“Listen, I have to hang around for a bit,” I tell her before she can open her mouth. “I have a very important meeting.”

“Meeting?” Her eyes narrow. “You’re not part of any club and you don’t play sports.”

The lie is poised on my tongue. A group assignment for Development Studies. We get them all the time; it’ll be completely plausible. But do I really want to spend the rest of my life lying? I unzip the front compartment of my bag and pretend to check for something. “I’m meeting Rakwena, so you should go on without me.”

She grabs my arm and drags me to a corner. “What? Already?”

I pull my arm out of her grip. “Ouch! Already what?” Switch. Everything in her mind is clear again, for the moment. This back and forth is starting to make me dizzy.

“Meeting in secret after school! Does Wiki know about this?”

I sigh. Lebz is such a drama queen. I wish I couldn’t see the ridiculous thoughts running through her mind. Rakwena is not going to hurt me, and he’s not going to shove me up against a wall and try to stick his hand in my shirt. “We’re just going to talk.”

“About what?”

“Stuff.” I raise my eyebrows. “You know.”

“I’m coming with you,” she declares.

“No!”

She stares suspiciously at me. “Why not? What are you up to?”

“Lebz, please. Do you come with me when I go to talk to my grandfather?”

“No, but –”

“And why not?” I fold my arms across my chest, challenging her. My head is starting to throb, the telepathy is flickering again and I’m in no mood for this. “You know this stuff just freaks you out – you hate hearing about it. You can just switch off and go back to the normal world, but I can’t. Rakwena understands. I don’t have to explain things to him. He just… he knows, OK? Try to put yourself in my shoes for once!”

The look on her face tells me I’ve said too much. “OK,” she says quietly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Wait, Lebz… I didn’t mean…”

“Forget it. It’s fine.” She shrugs. “I have a lot of work to do anyway.” She walks off towards the gate.
Eish
. Me and my big mouth.

I walk slowly towards the “usual place”, making a promise to myself to call Lebz when I get home. I don’t like it when she’s upset with me, but I don’t have time to brood because Thuli has appeared out of nowhere and is walking towards me. I don’t think I can deal with this. My chest is heaving. I’m rooted to the ground. I don’t know what’s come over me; I’m standing there like an idiot. I should get out of his way. I should ignore him and just keep going. But what if… I know it’s crazy and silly and probably impossible… what if he’s coming to talk to me?

He walks past, taking long, easy strides, so close that I could have touched him. He doesn’t even glance at me. My heart twists. He was never coming towards me. He was going towards the gate, where Simon and Mothusi are waiting. Oh, stupid Connie. You’d think I would learn.

“Are you OK?”

I snap out of my heartbroken daze and turn to Lizard.

“You look upset.” He looks at me, then at Thuli’s retreating back, then back at me. “Did he say something to you? He’s an idiot.”

I sigh. “No, he didn’t say a word to me. He doesn’t even know I’m here.”

He gives me a funny look, then glances at Thuli again. “I don’t know about that.”

“Hmm?”

“You said he doesn’t know you’re here. But…” He frowns. “He’s staring at you.”

There goes my heart again. Connie, come on. How many times do you want to be disappointed? “Don’t be stupid,” I croak, a terrible mixture of hope and doubt rising inside me. “He’s probably staring at
you
.” But I turn around anyway, just in case. And my breath catches in my throat. Thuli
is
staring at me. Not in the idle way he looked at me at the tuck-shop. He’s looking at me with… I can’t believe it… curiosity.

I could stand there forever, but with superhuman strength I tear my gaze away and start walking on shaky legs. I imagined it. I must have.

“Are you friends with him?” asks Rakwena, with unmistakable distaste.

“No.” Wow. Wow.
Wow
. “Is he gone?”

“Yes.”

Once we reach the usual place, I lean back against the wall to catch my breath. I’m being silly. Thuli wasn’t looking at me, he was looking at Black Lizard. Obviously. Somehow that thought is comforting – it makes so much more sense. I turn to Rakwena and notice the bag slung over one shoulder. It’s a basic schoolbag, black with green piping, and, like everything else on him, it’s spotless.

“I don’t understand how you go all day without getting any dirt on you,” I marvel as he leans against the wall beside me.

“Simple. I don’t roll around in the sand like my peers.”

Serves me right for mentioning it. And, like a glutton for punishment, I go on. “Your pants look like they were ironed five minutes ago. Your shoes are still shiny. And I’m sure you get your hair cut every day.”

“Every week,” he corrects me with a slow smile. “I like being clean. I know you kids find that strange, but you’ll grow out of it eventually.”

Aaaahhhh! I should punch him; he’s begging for it. “Does your Mummy do your laundry?” I tease.

His face closes up and his voice turns cold. “My mother isn’t here.”