This Book Betrays My Brother by Kagiso Lesego Molope

Author:Kagiso Lesego Molope
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mawenzi House Publishers
Published: 2018-04-18T17:24:15+00:00

12

THE BIG SURPRISE the Saturday of Basi’s game was not the fact that Papa came. He rarely made it to Basi’s games because he was working, but I had known that he was planning to come to this one.

The big surprise was that Moipone and Kgosi were there. Well, Moipone more than Kgosi. Many times Basi had gone to watch Kgosi’s school soccer matches—Kgosi played soccer because he went to school in the location, where they didn’t have what were known as “White” sports like rugby or cricket. Even I had gone sometimes with Ole and we had all watched him together while eating sephatlho and drinking Stoney on the sidelines in the heat.

We didn’t see them when we arrived at the school and they hadn’t come with Basi. Basi had been at his school early with his team, getting a pep talk from their coach, who was also the sports teacher. We had all gone in Papa’s car and dropped him off there first.

Basi was very excited that morning when he got ready. The rest of the house was buzzing nervously around him, running around looking for this and that: “Where are your socks?” “What do you want to eat?” “Basi, shouldn’t you eat something?” But Basi had shown no nervousness whatsoever.

I was disappointed when I realized that of course Kitsano would not be there because he was still in Botswana, but he had remembered it was the day of the big match and had phoned about twenty minutes before we left. Mama had given the phone to Basi, and Basi, thankfully, had given it to me.

“Howzit?” came the deep voice through the phone that had me collapsing onto Basi’s bed. Basi had the privilege of a phone in his room, installed as a gift when he turned sixteen.

“Your brother must be stoked,” he said slowly in his confident-sounding voice. Why was it that boys were never as nervous around girls as we were around them?

I was nodding furiously and grasping the duvet cover on my brother’s bed when I realized that I was required to speak.

“Ja . . . ,” I said finally. My legs felt wobbly. “He’s excited. We’re all excited,” I added a little too loudly. “So . . . how’s Botswana?” I managed to say.

Mama yelled, “Naledi, off the phone! We have to go, now!”

I crossed my legs and clasped the phone tighter with my now sweaty hand.

Kitsano said, “You have to go?”

“Umm . . . yes. But . . . um . . . not now.” I was trying to sound cool but knew that I wasn’t quite managing.

“Botswana’s OK. It’s OK. Lots of relatives . . . ” There was an uncomfortable pause. “So . . . two weeks, huh?”

“Yes! Two weeks,” I said, shutting my eyes tightly with the realization that I sounded much too excited.

Kitsano gave an easy laugh.

“I look forward to it,” he said.

When we were all hurrying into the car, Mama stopping to examine what she thought

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