Chapter 2: The Video

Julia has been my friend since we were kids.

But now? She was just some girl I used to know.

Back in Mpopoma, we were inseparable—partners in poverty and secrets. We used to walk to school together barefoot, share sadza and covo under the jacaranda trees, and giggle about boys we never dared talk to. We had dreams of a life outside the struggle, beyond the broken power lines and empty cupboards.

But that was a lifetime ago.

Here, at Girls College, she didn't fit in my world of whispered gossip, acrylic nails, and monogrammed blazers. Here, I was someone new—someone admired. I couldn't afford to be tied to the past. To her.

So I pushed her away.

Still, that stare she gave me in the library wouldn't leave my mind. It burnt.

My mouth had gone dry when she slid me the note.

"I know what you did.

Meet me at the old schoolyard.

5 p.m."

What did I do?

My hands were cold, trembling as I tried to return to my chemistry notes. But the words on the page blurred. My mind raced, skipping through memories, searching for clues. I hadn't spoken to Julia in weeks—maybe even months. Could she know… that?

No. It couldn't be.

And yet… at exactly 4:58 p.m., I found myself standing behind the old Lutheran church, near the broken fence of the abandoned schoolyard. The place still had pieces of our childhood trapped in the dust—chalk outlines, rusted tins for nhodo, the faint laughter of girls who once believed in tomorrow.

She was already there.

Arms crossed. Lips tight. Her eyes narrowed like she was still deciding whether to forgive me—or destroy me.

"You actually came," she said, her voice steady but cold.

I shrugged, trying to hide the shake in my spine. "What's this about, Julia?"

She didn't answer. She just pulled out her phone, tapped the screen, and held it out to me.

The video began to play.

And my world cracked open.

It was me. Me—in my school uniform, face clearly visible, laughing with a spray can in hand as I defaced the west wall of the school admin block. The background voices of the others in the gang were there, but none of their faces showed. Only mine. Clear as day.

I watched in frozen horror as I tagged the wall and turned, grinning. A direct shot to the camera. The clip was barely thirty seconds long—but that was all it needed to ruin me.

I snatched the phone from her, my hands shaking.

"Where did you get this?" I asked, my voice almost a whisper.

Her face didn't change. "Does it matter?"

"Who else has seen it?"

"Not many. Not yet."

Panic clutched my lungs. "Why are you showing me this? You want me expelled?"

Julia's expression softened just slightly—but her eyes stayed hard. "No. I want you to stop."

I blinked. "Stop what?"

She stepped closer, her voice low and sharp. "Stop pretending. Stop hiding. Stop throwing people away when they no longer serve your fantasy. Before this gets worse."

Then she turned to leave—but paused after a few steps.

"Oh… And maybe make time to visit your family. They miss you."

And with that, she walked away.

I stood there in the dying sun, the phone screen still glowing, the image of my own face etched in my mind.

My perfect life in Burnside had just started to crack—and it was only a matter of time before it shattered completely.