Teenager's Tale

by Tyler Majaga

PRETTY GIRL ROCKS

  As we continued catching up, I noticed a group of girls standing a few meters away. They were attractive, all of them. I immediately assumed they were the classy girls who didn’t speak to just anyone so I tried to ignore them. But being a guy, when I looked at them again, they waved at me with smiles. I shyly waved back and turned back to the boys who had noticed the girls as well. For a moment there, I was on top of the world.

  ‘Did those girls just wave at you?’ asked Kago.

  ‘Yeah, I guess. Who wouldn’t wave at me?’ I said disdainfully.

  There was one of the girls though who outstood the others. She was this mixed-race girl – labelled as “Coloreds” locally – whose eyes said it all and her brunette long hair was tied into a ponytail with a blue ribbon. Every detail of her body defined perfection and I still remember it all so vividly. As she laughed with her friends, her lips were so well-defined and her teeth perfectly lined. Her skin tone was just fine too. I knew right then that she was the girl I wanted. I was lost in imagination, seeing her turn to look at me in slow motion before blowing me a kiss. But it sure wasn’t happening. Bagomotsi joined us again just as I was in my own little world.

  ‘What did I miss?’ he asked.

  ‘Maybe if your girl didn’t matter more than us you’d know’ said Kago teasingly.

  ‘Yeah, whatever’ He noticed I was looking at the girls and placed his arm over my shoulder. I didn’t even turn to look at him for I was literally hypnotized by the beauty of that girl. He must have also noticed this as he gave me a pat and I snapped out of it.

  ‘I want to tell you something Bagomotsi so can we talk, in private?’

  ‘Sure, what’s up?’ and we left the guys and moved aside before I continued.

  ‘Those girls just waved at me’. He looked at them and they were still looking at us, murmuring. I couldn’t get what they were saying but I knew it should have been about me or us.

  ‘So?’ asked Bagomotsi with a chuckle and I pulled him further away and sustained my explanation.

  ‘I think I like one of them’. He looked at them again and this time they waved at him and he waved back before turning back to me.

  ‘I think they are still checking you out and one of them is actually a cousin of Masego’

  ‘So what, you’ll hook me up?’

  ‘Which one exactly do you like?’

  ‘The colored one bra; the one with a blue hair ribbon and matching wrist band’

  ‘I think her name is Winona or something and she was in 7A. Well, yes, she is a nice girl. I’ll ask Masego to get her number for you’

  ‘Actually, I was thinking that maybe you could teach me that. Teach me how to approach a girl; what to say and stuff like that’.

  Bagomotsi burst out laughing and if I were him I’d laugh too. It was surprising to find a guy like me clueless on how to approach a girl.

  ‘Well, are you going to help me or not? And please stop laughing, you are embarrassing me’

  ‘I will; of course I will. It’s just that the way you asked made me laugh. Anyway, here’s a little strategy you could use’ and he started telling me a few moves to carry out right then.

  Even though I doubted them, I just agreed to try them out due to my naïveté. I started walking towards the girls and took in a deep breath. They noticed me and turned to look at me. I couldn’t believe I was actually going to do this and thought of turning back but something pushed me on. I mean when you are a no-confidence type of guy like I was, talking to a group of girls can be quite hard and it really was hard for me. I was almost reliving the walk I had taken five years before when I approached the love of my life, Esther.

 

  ‘Hey girls, I was wondering…’ and I lost track of the rehearsed line. They looked at me as my mouth froze open. The girl I liked, Winona as Bagomotsi had come to say her name was, smiled.

  ‘Don’t worry girls, my beauty made him silent’.

  I took another deep breath when she said these words. I was impressed by her accent, which sounded a bit British. She sounded like one of those nurse girls who served wounded American soldiers tea in occupied France during World War II. And she was right because her beauty had numbed me. From that close, I would steal that line David Livingstone had used to charm Mosi-oa-thunya – Victoria Falls as he would come to call them in honor of his Queen – any day. I pulled myself together and continued.

  ‘I was…I was wondering if you guys found where the toilets are?’

  Of all questions, I had to ask about toilets. They all laughed but Winona did not and this kind of made the embarrassment less felt. I was almost sweating.

  ‘Guys, stop it; that’s rude’ and she directed me to the toilets.

  ‘Thanks, I really appreciate your help’

  ‘Anytime’ and this beautiful smile lit up her face again. She was indeed a real beauty. We looked at each other for a while before I turned away but she introduced herself, ‘By the way I’m Winona, Winona Simons’.

  Meet Winona Simons, my future girlfriend and one of the school’s most popular girls, mostly because of her group of friends’ popularity. Little would I come to know of her family, but the little I would know was that some part of it had its roots deep in the city of Manchester. She was the girl with whom I would go through the good and the bad and get all the fame with. The group, made up of four girls including her, was popular for being beautiful and, well, more beautiful.

  Her friends included Nicole Richards, a white girl whose dad was a member of the school’s Board of Governors and she was the quietest of the girls. This did not mean, though, that she didn’t have magic too. Next on was Sethunya Mothibi, the most intelligent amongst the girls and quite a flirt. She was your typical all-cute girl in the public eye but behind closed doors, she turned in to a book worm and there was no stopping her when it came to that. She was also cousins with Masego.

  Last on the group was Tamara van de Merwe, who was what I could call the most promiscuous. She was alleged to have dated every hunk in the school football team and she was still counting. From the onset though, you wouldn’t imagine it like that. I mean, she was the shortest, had this baby-face and was just a kid. But hey, they say dynamites come in small packages so yeah, that was Tamara.

  ‘…and I’m Brandon Chidzala’

  ‘You are Brandon, from 7B?’

  ‘Yes, that one’

  ‘It’s so nice to meet you Brandon. Heard all about you’ and again she smiled. I had once heard that if a girl likes you, she smiles a lot on the first conversation so I hoped it was the case with Winona. Or sometimes when she does, it is just to intimidate you; make you look and act like the fool you could be so I guess I went with option one.

  ‘Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you around Winona’

  ‘Ok then, it was nice talking to you’. I turned and walked away. I could hear her as she told the girls, ‘He’s kind of funny…and a little cute. Even though I just met him, I think I like him. We ought to meet again’

  ‘He looks a bit inexperienced if you ask me’ said one of the girls, Nicole, embarrassing me further.

  ‘Don’t worry; we still have him under our radar’ said another.

  I walked over to Bagomotsi and the other guys who looked shocked at me. I mean, I was shocked at myself as well. He came to me and curiously asked, ‘What did you say to her? Hope you did not embarrass yourself, right?’

  ‘No, I didn’t; she just introduced herself and I also did’

  ‘Was she smiling when you guys talked?’ and I nodded. ‘She likes you man. All you have to do now is show her you like her too. Ask for her number and the rest is up to you afterwards’

  All I could do was smile as Bagomotsi bent over and took out something from his school backpack.

  ‘Because I am your best friend and care about you, here is a little something to guide you’

  He gave me this old-looking notebook with a big heading on it: St. VALENTINE’S PROTOCOL, or simply the
Protocol, which his brother had passed on to him. He had been keeping it since Grade six, learning everything about dating from it. It was yet another Hollywood inspired initiative, apparently passed down from as far as the Mater Spei College’s class of 1996.

  ‘Oh please, really Bagomotsi? What is this anyway?’

  ‘That my dear friend is your recipe to success. Almost every trick in the book is in there and say, the little piece of art has helped a lot of guys, the big man Mike being one of them. As a matter of fact, even his contributions are in there.’

  ‘Wow! Are you seriously giving it to me bra?’

  ‘It helped me so why not?’

  ‘Sure thing, thanks bra’ I said with a smile as I held it in both hands, feeling its significance before I could even read whatever was inside.

  Just then it was announced that we had to get in the hall. The masses all headed for the state-of-the-art facility and we followed suit. I looked at the girls and they were laughing at this dude who waved at them and fell.

  Meet Morris Nametsang, the school’s laughing stock. There is always that one guy in every school and he was that guy. The guy had been the school’s most scorned and bullied kid since primary school and even though I had mocked him once myself, it did pain me to see people do what they did to him. He had never reported anyone in a bid to make them see he was a nice guy but the abuse never stopped. I had also heard the guy could really sing but since I was used to lies and rumors about the poor guy, I assumed it was just one of them.

  ‘Did you here? Morris died but was given CPR by his tooth-less grandmother so he woke up retarded’

  ‘Morris was caught talking to Lacey Chabert in a magazine’

  ‘Morris’ parents are divorced and his dad asked him to act like the fool he is to avoid custody of the guy’

  ‘Morris is half Somali; he was adopted at six’.

  These were some of the lies and rumors commonly heard about the guy so yeah. You make a choice whether he really could sing or not. Besides school being all fun and grand, being the school laughing stock can be one of the most traumatizing experiences. You end up resenting school and it has led to some kids leaving school, failing to perform well academically and worst of all, commit suicide. No matter how it is done, bullying is just not cool at all.

  After a few minutes we were all in the multi-purpose hall seated. The school head had not arrived yet so the chatting continued. I noticed that Winona and her friends were sitting two rows in front of us. She saw me and waved with a smile donning her pretty face and I nervously waved back. I saw her search inside her backpack and took out a piece of paper and a pen. I took out my music player and listened to some music to avoid looking at her. Bagomotsi was busy with Masego as they sat next to me so I didn’t want to disturb them. The girl in front of me passed a piece of paper to me and it read:

  Hey you, it’s Winona. That was kind of cute when you were all shy earlier. I kind of have a weakness for shy guys like you…

  I looked at the paper in disbelief. She did like me. I looked at her direction before replying, making sure I said the right thing:

  What a coincidence! I also have a thing for open and confident girls despite the fact that I am shy.

  Afterwards, she did not write anything back. I was so happy at that moment and couldn’t believe my eyes. Winona had actually told me she liked me; well, sort of. I hoped right then that this was the beginning of great things. When you are inexperienced in these things, you never know what is what but I hoped it would lead to something great. I was starting to see the light.

  The headmaster arrived a few minutes later and there was an opening prayer by the school head boy, Leonardo Cooper Jr. The Caucasian was one of the school’s playboys and as I was to learn, almost all the girls were crazy about him. He was a nice guy and was also famous for defending offenders where he saw it fitting. He was also one of the few that brought cars to school, which explains, partly, why the girls liked him. The headmaster, a middle aged white man, took to the podium to address us. I hoped it would not be one of those boring, same old speeches.

  ‘Good morning everybody; I welcome you all to John Mackenzie Junior High. My name is Mr. Ridden…’ and what followed was a twenty minutes speech, mostly about how we were all expected to behave and stuff like that.

  Headmaster Ben Ridden was the best headmaster you could ever have. He was known for his tendency, like the head boy, to advice you when you expected a yellow letter. Born in England, his family had moved to Botswana in the late 1970s when the economy of the country was making a turnaround due to the discovery of diamonds. Bred in a family of administrators, he followed path and became a teacher before eventually becoming school head. He was married to a black woman, the result of which was more assimilation in to the local community.

  Most of the students were not really listening though as he spoke, including Bagomotsi and Masego and to some extent, myself. As he spoke, followed by the Head boy himself and the school bursar, I read the Protocol. Written in blue, black and red ink, the book looked really old and I could not agree more that its origins went as far back as the mid-1990s. There were about six different hand-writings that had penned it and Mike’s was one of them. It was helpful though and the following extract was the part I took more in to consideration as I read. Just in case there is a guy out there who needs a little guidance, this part may be for you too because you are yet to learn how it helped me.

  So you have asked her out, been on a couple of dates with her, and you have both gotten along so well. You know that you really like her and you think that she feels the same way about you. Your friends have already assumed that you guys are together; there they have seen you out together laughing and joking; probably even holding hands. But hey, friends can hold hands, right?

  Asking her to be your girlfriend shouldn't be difficult but fear of rejection is always there at the back of your mind even if you know that she is crazy about you too. It’s an inevitable thought that hits every guy no matter what. Expect Except if you are Hayden Christensen or any of those so-called “hot” actors.

  Once you have made your decision to ask her to be your girlfriend, take action. Don't wait for the right time or the right moment (still the same thing). You can't afford to wait too long because if you miss your chance, you could lose her to someone else; probably the guy she’s been eyeing. Make sure you act quickly to turn her focus unto you and not him. On the other hand, though, don't run up to her in the middle of the Blue Jacket or the (romantic) St. Patrick Street and shout out in front of all of her friends, ‘I love you! Will you be my girlfriend?’ Yes, it does sound romantic but then again, it would embarrass her and she probably wouldn't want to see you ever again; ever!

  Try not to think of what you are going to say because no matter how many times you rehearse it in your head, things never go according to plan. You are definitely going to tumble over your words and probably say the opposite. Whether you take her out for a meal at a romantic restaurant or cafe, a walk in the park or a walk along the Shashe Dam, it doesn’t matter. What does though is what you say to her.

  Test the water before you spit out the question. “I’ve come to realize I really like you a lot” is a great start and if she replies with something similar to that, then it's the perfect time to pop out the question, “Will you be my girlfriend?” Creativity can also come in to work here, with lines like “Can I have a role in your heart’s happiness” or “Will you be the one I say ‘I love you’ to you and get the same genuine respond?” or something else you can think of.

  Girls are very emotionally-sensitive creatures; she definitely would like a small personal token from you after she gives you the green light. Don't jump up screaming “Yes!” because she can change her mind. Give her a cuddle and kiss her to seal the deal.

  About the token, it should not be something that you have run out and bought, the chain that you wear around your neck or the sweater that you are wearing; a necklace could do; keep it
shiny, if you know what I mean. This token item is to prove your willingness to stay committed to her.