Miss Hippy

12 May 2058 (In the classroom)

The worst part about attending class was the 'attending' part. I had been in that school for the past 5 years, but still never got used to the suffocating conditions of the classrooms. There were at least 40 girls in each classroom. In other words, the girls in the classrooms were like millions of ants fitted into a small jar. I could barely breathe as I sat in the middle of the class, surrounded by the loud chattering damsels and gum-chewing chicks. The thick air of various perfumes blocked my nose. Not to mention how toxic the silent (but deadly) farts of girls who never admitted to farting.

It was often Kenia who did it. She was this tall, skinny girl who always ate gum before breakfast. We all knew that it was the gum that caused her to unintentionally release air from her behind, but she couldn't help it though.

"Gum just helps, y'know," she said one time, "These beauty pageants are stressful, so I need the gum to ease me down. It's my breakfast anyway."

I felt really bad for her, especially since a lot of girls made fun of her for her farting. One of those girls being Seraphine du Plessis.

"Maybe wear a diaper, just in case you accidentally let out more than just air." She commented the last time Kenia farted out loud, making the whole class laugh

I never laughed at such jokes. In fact, I never participated in anything that had to do with class. I kept my lips sealed and observed everyone. I barely spoke to anyone, for I knew I had nothing to speak about. My strongest form of expression was mainly through my writing. Getting a diary was the best thing that had ever happened to me. With it, I am capable of expressing how I feel within my environment, and when I'm around people.

When I'm with people, I get to see a different perspective of life, for they (the people) gave me access to those perspectives. Amara is one of those people. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also well-built, almost like a man. She was tall and the sporty type of person. She always walked around the corridors chin up and chest up right, as if modelling to show off her boobs. People thought it was cocky of her, but I merely thought she was just being herself. She's always been like that since preschool. It's only now that people judge her, since she is prettier than them.

It made me proud sometimes, for just existing in her life.

"Alright, settle down ladies!" Our Afrikaans teacher walked in, her wide hips taking up at least a third of the class's space.

I hated Afrikaans as much as I hated that bloody teacher. The language just never made sense. No matter how much I practiced it with Amara or Juliet, my sentences would always end up sounding like gibberish. My teacher found it 'unlady-like' of me to not speak the language she taught. What was her name anyway? Mrs. Smith? Mrs. Naudé? Was she even married? I doubt. But anyway, I'll just call her Miss Hippy for the sake of no confusion.

"My Lord! Is Anati absent today?" Miss Hippy asked, her eyes widened behind her moon-shaped glasses.

"Ja. I think so, teacher." One girl in the front said. (Ja, pronounced as 'yaa' means 'yes' in Afrikaans)

"It's a relief, right? That brat isn't here to ask unnecessary questions the whole time." Seraphine commented, receiving nods from the other girls

"Hey, who are you calling a brat?" Juliet asked, feeling offended for Anati.

"Awww! Juliet is trying to defend her girlfriend, people. Isn't that cute?" Jojo said sarcastically

"Anati is not my girlfriend! I mean, not yet that is."

"What makes you think Anati likes a shorty like you?" Seraphine asked

"Yeah. Isn't she straight?" Jojo said

Just then, Miss Hippy slammed her teaching stick on the table, catching everyone's attention.

"Have we forgotten the rules, Jojo?"

Oh no. What has she done? Jojo was going to get it bad this time. She mentioned something that no girl was supposed to speak of ever in their lives. It was the concept of heterosexuality. If a girl ever mentioned anything about being straight, they would get a beating from the principal herself, Mrs. Strict-face. I didn't know her name, but I knew that she was married to a woman, and that she was very scary-looking. The concept of heterosexuality meant being attractive to the opposite gender, whether it meant sexually, romantically,etc. And by the 'opposite gender', I meant men. Any mention of men in anyway meant punishment. A very painful punishment.

"Ma'am, you must understand. I didn't mean to say anything like that. We were just having a normal conversation." Jojo defended herself, holding her hands together in a pleading manner

"I don't care what you have to say for yourself. You disgust me! Get out and go to the principal's office." Miss Hippy yelled

"Ma'am, please don't do this to me. The principal hits us really bad." Jojo was at the verge of crying. I couldn't help but feel so bad for her.

"I said get out, Jojo."

"Girls, please help me out. I beg you." Jojo looked around her, hoping for one of us to save her. There was no saving from there. If one of us dared to defend her, we were destined to go down with her. None of us wanted that. The girls in the class avoided eye contact with her. Her eyes met mine for a second, but I also had to look away. I was far to scared of the principal. It was every ma- I mean, girl for herself.

"That is it!" Miss Hippy stomped over to Jojo, her hips crashing into every table she walked past, grabbed Jojo by her braids and pulled her towards the door. Jojo cried in pain as Miss Hippy devilishly pulled her braids. When they reached the door, Miss Hippy opened it and pushed Jojo out, closing the door after she did.

Jojo deserved justice. There was no need for her to be mishandled like that. No girl deserved that, not even a girl who just got her hair plaited not so long ago. Newly plaited hair was painful on its own, having it pulled was a whole other level of pain. I felt offended by the fact that us, girls, were no longer allowed to mention anything related to men. I mean, I liked men. I wanted to get married to a man. I wanted to have children of my own one day. I didn't care whether there were abusive men out there. Not all men are abusive. That was like saying all girls liked pink. Pink, my foot!

"Is there someone else who would like to follow her? Is there?" Miss Hippy threatened

"No, ma'am." We all said in unison

"I'm glad. Now, can we please carry on with the--"

Before Miss Hippy could finish her sentence, the door opened again. My heart started racing, for I thought Jojo had returned to backchat the teacher, but no. Someone else walked through the door, looking tremendously different from what I knew her as.

"A...Anati?" Miss Hippy said as Anati walked through the door

I couldn't believe my eyes. I don't think anyone could. Never in my life had I seen Anati so different before. Her face had become chubbier than last week, and her hips were almost ( and I mean, ALMOST) as wide a Miss Hippy's hips. Anati wore a huge pullover, almost too big to even fit anyone, and she also wore her blazer on top of it. Her skirt showed just a little under the pullover, proving the size of it.

"OMG! Look how fat Anati looks." Seraphine laughed, the whole class, excluding me and Juliet, bursting into laughter as well.

I looked over to Juliet's size and couldn't help but notice the shock on her face. Anati was not that fat last week, and her clothes were not of such indecent sizing. Something was not right at all. I could even see it on Anati's face. The amount of acne masked on her face, the strange shaking of her hands, the bags under her eyes. I had a feeling I had seen those symptoms before, but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"Anati, why are you dressed like that? And...have you been working out lately?" Miss Hippy asked, a confused expression on her face

Anati let out a fake laugh, making me cringe in my seat for her, "Thanks for noticing. I- um- have been going through a bit of puberty lately. My doctor told me that it is totally normal for me to go through this at a late age."

"I see..." Miss Hippy said, "Well go now. Take your seat. We don't have all day."

Anati made her way to her seat, which was right next to me. I noticed how tired she became just walking to the chair. I really wondered what was wrong.

"Anati," I whispered to her

She turned and looked at me.

"Are you okay?"

She shook her head no, her eyes filling up with tears.