Chapter Three: Oh Snap

I sluggishly dragged my feet through the front door, tossing my school and sports bag into the coat closet. I am so tired. Practice was everything short of brutal, and the fact that I had to walk home after all of that didn't help either.

Dad wasn't home, considering the lights were off and the eery silence around the house. Half walking, half dragging I made my way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. My dietician says I drink too much water. I didn't even know that is a thing. What did they say about too much of a good thing again?

As I was taking small sips of my cool water, my eyes drifted to the piles of mail that were scattered across the granite counter. My dad never checked his mail, he argued that he never had time to read mail about a sale on baby diapers and hampers and that people who needed to inform him about a certain issue will send an email like people in modern day society should. But then the amounts of envelopes in our kitchen irritated me so I always opened them, checked to see if it was important and then chucked it away. I skimmed through the various envelopes, in all shapes and sizes and rolled my eyes at the amount of junk mail in this pile. I was about to throw everything away when I caught sight of an envelope with a red stamp on it that read 'URGENT!'. I opened it wearily, not knowing what to expect. And after reading it twice to make sure that what I read was correct, I chucked everything away, except that letter. I left it on the counter, lonesome, grabbed an apple and headed to my room. I didn't know what to think, I didn't want to jump into conclusions either, so I had to wait for my dad to get home.

I was doing my math homework when I heard dad's car pull up. I put on my slippers and gathered my hair in a quick bun and headed to the kitchen. I could hear him whistling and we made it to the kitchen at the same time.

"Hey sweetie, I knew how tired you would be after the first practice of the season, so I got us some pizza. I couldn't choose between BBQ chicken & mushroom, and pepperoni fiesta so I got both." He said all of this without looking at me, he was gathering the crockery and utensils that we would need for dinner. I didn't answer, instead stared at him and waited for him to notice the letter on the counter. He turned around to look for glasses, but the letter finally caught his eye. He looked at me and frowned when he noticed how I was standing there in front of him, in my bunny pyjamas with my arms crossed and a scowl on my face.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" He asked and picked up the letter, reading through it. I kept quiet and waited for him to finish.

"You tell me tata." I whispered softly, but it was loud enough that he heard me.

"I was going to tell you." He said cautiously, almost like he was approaching a bomb and any sudden movement would set the bomb off.

"When were you going to tell me? When the feds showed up to evict us?!" I screamed, my hands flying up.

"They are not going to evict us." He said calmly, and this just made me angrier.

"We're behind on payments tata, 13 months behind to be exact. Do you know what happens when people are behind in payments? They get evicted! It says so in the letter!"

"I know what it says Azania. But we're not going to get evicted."

"How are we even behind in payments? How on earth did that happen?"

"Money has been tight."

"So tight that we couldn't pay for the house?" I asked, astonished.

"Yes Azania. You go to a very expensive school, and you do a lot of things in that school that require money. I know how much you enjoy doing those things and sacrifices had to be made." He explained.

"Wait, so we're in debt because ... of me?"

"No, we're in debt because I invested in a company that folded and lost a lot of money. I wasn't going to let you suffer for my foolishness."

"But you could have told me pa. I could have cut back, not buy unnecessary things. I could have missed a couple of netball tours, and not buy expensive clothes. I could have-"

"No Azania. I couldn't take all of that from you. I know how much you love netball and I wanted you to live through every possible experience out there. Don't you dare, for one minute, think that this is your fault. Okay? This is my problem to fix." He said and walked towards me, trapping me in his warm arms. I rested my head on his chest as the warm tears flowed down my cheeks.

"We're going to be okay baby girl. We're going to be okay." He soothed and rocked me back and forth until I calmed down and wiped my tears.

"Come on kiddo, food's getting cold." He said and I chuckled through my unshed tears and helped him prepare the pizza so we can eat. We watched Wipeout as we scuffed down the pizza like we haven't eaten all week.

Life with dad was always complicated, but we somehow managed to make it work. We weren't rich, but nor were we poor. My dad is a chartered accountant, earning an above average salary. We lived in a two bedroom house with one bathroom, an open plan kitchen, with a living room and a study area. It has always been the Zany (I hate this nickname but my dad loves it) and Daddy show since I was 12, when my mom decided she no longer wanted a black man and a black baby, and left us to play the pretty trophy wife to her boss. Dad took it harder than I did, he drowned himself in alcohol for a year and a half. He stopped drinking when he almost died from alcohol poisoning. He realised that he was all I had left, and didn't want me to suffer without parents, so he fixed himself up and we've been happy and comfortable since then.

After we finished eating, dad retired to bed, saying that he was tired. He kissed me on my forehead and told me not to worry about the fact that we had a month until we were to be evicted. I sighed and cleaned up our mess.

After cleaning up, I flopped down on my bed and immediately, my eyes fluttered closed. I was on the verge of falling asleep when my phone beeped, signalling a text. I searched around for it and swiped the screen to reveal a text from Kevin.

'Mr Head Prefect says he's sorry and promises to not be an asshole anymore. Kevin says goodnight, he loves you.

Xx

Kev.'

I smiled and locked my phone, too lazy to reply and dozed off.

The next morning, I woke up and took a long scorching shower and got ready for bed. I had some cereal before dad took me to school. Ayanda was waiting for me at our usual spot with Justin and Kevin. Kevin smiled at me and pulled me in for a hug and planted a peck on my lips. I greeted the others and the bell rang, signalling the start of the day. We walked to homeroom, listening to Ayanda and Justin bicker about the laws of attraction.

Mr. Stewart walked in seconds later and the chatter seized. He was taking register when the door of his classroom opened and Principal Jackass walked in, looking delicious in a navy suit with a matching tie.

"Shit." I swore under my breath the same time Kevin threw me a nervous look.

"Morning Mr. Stewart, sorry to disturb you, but I am looking for Miss Azania Wyatt." He said and all eyes darted in my direction.

"Uh sure Principal Matthews. Azania?" He called out to me and I raised my hand. Their eyes found me at the same time, making me wish I could shrink.

"Ms. Wyatt, care to explain why you weren't in detention yesterday?" Principal Jackass inquired with a stoic face.

"I had practice sir." I answered feebly.

"Did I, or did I not tell you that you are to report to detention and would be wise enough not to slip because you would live to regret it? " He asked with his hands in his pockets.

"Yes sir."

"So, you deliberately disobeyed my order then?"

"Uhm, sir I-" I started but he cut me off.

"Step into my office Ms. Wyatt." He said with finality, nodded at Mr. Stewart and walked away. I was so embarrassed; I literally hung my head in shame.

"Azania, you heard what he said. Off your ass." Mr. Stewart bellowed. Defeated, I shot a desperate look at Kevin and stood up slowly, walked out of the class and in the direction of the office.

My heart was thumping violently against my rib cage the moment I stood before his office door. I was trying to gather my wits before I got enough courage to knock. After taking a few deep breaths, I put my fist to the wood and knocked three times. I heard a stern 'come in' before I twisted the knob and walked in. My palms were sweating as I sat in the chair opposite his desk. He was busy looking through some papers, so I just sat there twiddling my thumbs and waiting for him to finish.

Seemingly, five-minute silence was his thing because five minutes passed when he finally spoke up,

"Do you usually go against the principal's word like that Ms. Wyatt?" He asked.

"N-no Sir." He made me nervous for some reason, and I couldn't comprehend it.

"Then why did you choose to go against mine?"

"I just thought you were being unreasonable. I couldn't miss the first practice, I'm the captain." I said softly.

"Aaaah, so I was being unreasonable? Did you expect me to look past your transgression and let you walk out of my office feeling like you can do whatever you want in this school, just because you're captain of a sports team?" He asked and didn't even give me a chance to answer when he continued,

"Tell me Ms. Wyatt. Will netball put As on your report card at the end of the year?" He asked again and I had the urge to roll my eyes.

"Detention won't do that either Principal Matthews." I said defiantly.

"Don't be sassy with me Ms. Wyatt. Detention teaches discipline. It teaches you the basic values of life, to take responsibility for your actions because actions have consequences; and you can use that discipline for the rest of your life."

"Netball teaches you discipline too." I argued back and he banged his fist to the table.

"But will it put As on your report card?" he pressed. I rolled my eyes, and his face darkened. Every ounce of amusement gone.

"Do you know what will put those As on your report card? Discipline. If you are disciplined, you come to school on time. You pay attention in your lectures. You ask questions when you don't understand something. You do your research. You take responsibility for yourself and your actions. You study. You commit. You apply. And yet, the only thing that you can do is throw a ball through a hoop and that's enough for you. It isn't enough for me. If you're going to be a captain of any team in my school, you will need to learn to have discipline. And believe me, you will learn. But since you're convinced you can't get discipline in detention; you will get it at home. As of right now, you are suspended from Westerbridge Academy for 7 school days." He said and my eyes widened.

"And during these 7 days of your suspension, you will not be permitted access to campus or any campus related facilities. That includes the netball courts." He finished; his face unchanged. My heart sank. No netball?

"No Sir! Please don't do this. I'm so sorry, I promise I will never do it again!" I said with desperation. I was short of going on my knees to beg him to change his mind, but I would rather chew a jean jacket than beg. He wasn't moved by my plea anyway. A freshly printed paper landed on the tray as he printed what I assume to be my ticket for an ass whooping. He signed the paper and folded it into an envelope and sealed it. He then scribbled something on top of the envelope and handed it to me. It was addressed to Mr and Mrs Wyatt. Bold of him to assume my dad has a Mrs.

"Have your parents sign this so they can know what is going on. Bring the signed letter with you when you come back to school. It is the only way you'll be permitted back into the school. You have my leave to go." He dismissed and got back to his work. I sat there dumbfounded, not believing what just happened. I stood up slowly and made my way back to class. The bell rang the second I walked through the door and everybody scrambled to get to first period on time. I packed my stuff angrily and slung my bag over my shoulder.

Kevin and Justin were nowhere to be seen and Ayanda was talking to some girl that's on the gymnastics team with her. She rushed over to me when she saw me.

"Hey, what happened? Where are you going?" She asked cautiously.

"Home. I've been suspended." I answered nonchalantly and walked out of the door, ignoring her calls. I was out of the school gates in seconds and walked home, absolutely furious about what just happened. I guess that's what happens when you angered a jackass. My dad was going to kill me.

I slept for the entire day, and dad had sent me a text telling me that he was going to be home late so I didn't even bother myself by making dinner, just settled for cereal. I heard his car pull up in the garage a couple of hours later, it was well past midnight and I was catching up on missed episodes of Pretty Little Liars.

"Zany?" He called out.

"In here." I replied, my heart beating faster.

"I got a call from school today. Wanna tell me what that's all about?" He asked and sat down on the couch next to me.

"Uhm, oh about that. It's a funny story actually-" I tried stalling, but he knew me too well.

"It's a good thing I love a good joke then. What happened?" Why was he asking me when he already knew?

"I got suspended." I said with a sigh.

"Yes I know that, but why?" He asked. He doesn't sound angry. That's good. That is very good.

"I was late yesterday, so Principal Jackass gave me detention and I didn't go. And he didn't take it well."

"Principal Jackass?" He asked with confusion.

"Matthews."

"Why didn't you go to detention?"

"I had practice dad. You know I couldn't miss that."

"Yes you can if you were given detention Azania, haibo."

"Well ..." I tried to say but I was blank, had no excuses left.

"How long are you suspended for?" He asked after a while.

"A week."

He sighed and stood up.

"I don't like this Azania. This better be the last time. And you're grounded. So I would like your phone and laptop before I go to sleep. And since you have an entire week of doing nothing, you can help me pack."

"Wait, what? Pack what?" The fact that I was grounded didn't seem so important to me anymore.

"Pack up the house. We'll be staying with a friend of mine for the time being until I can get us another place to stay." He said with a sigh.

"A friend? Who is this friend? And how big is his house if he is letting us stay there with our stuff?"

"You don't know him. Yet. And it's pretty big. We'll be living in the cottage in his backyard, it is the same size of this house really so it shouldn't be called a cottage. Go to sleep. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow. And I need your gadgets Azania."

"Even the Kindle?"

"Nah, you can keep the Kindle." I jumped up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Have I ever told you that you're the best dad ever?" I said sweetly.

"Well this best dad is waiting for your electronics. Cough it up." I groaned and gave him my gadgets, kissed him goodnight and we went to our separate rooms. Sleep consumed me shortly thereafter.

Three days later.

"Tata, what's your friend's name again?" I asked him as we climbed out of the car. We were parked outside our 'new home' on a Friday afternoon. Packing up didn't take as long as we thought it would, so we decided to move in earlier than planned.

"For the fourth time, his name is Anthony." My dad replied. I linked arms with him and we both walked to the front door of the gigantic mansion that was in front of us. Dad rang the doorbell and we waited anxiously for someone to open. And when the wooden door finally opened, my jaw dropped to the ground. I was stunned into silence, you know why?

Because the handsome man standing before me was Principal Jackass himself.