Chapter Thirty-Seven: Azania
"You don't look like someone who should be psyched for their first big game in the Super16." Ayanda was eyeing me curiously as she nestled in the opposite seat, setting her lunch on the table. If you could call a zero-fat yoghurt and a banana, lunch.
"I am. I am just saving the theatrics for when it's actually necessary." I stabbed my bacon, avo and chicken salad with my fork and shoved into my mouth, throwing her a fake smile. Justin rolled his eyes at me from across the concrete table and looked around the massive quad. "I've never seen these people so pumped up for a sport game since I've been here." He said with an annoyed huff.
"That's because it is the first time the Varsity netball team has made it to the Super16." Ayanda explained to him, like she was explaining to a five-year-old.
"Basketball has been making it to the Super16 for the past 10 years, but you don't see them making a fuss about it."
"Aww, is Albertus feeling a wittle jealous?" Ayanda taunted with a cute pout. I laughed and looked around the buzzing quad, my eyes looking at something new every time they shifted. Throngs of students dressed in various shades of purple and red, clutching onto banners and signs of all shapes and sizes, chattered excitedly amongst themselves. The marching band were getting in their formations and tuning their instruments on the far left of the quad, the cheerleaders rehearsing next to them. Majority of the student body were having their lunch. The noise in the quad was giving me butterflies in my stomach. The ground felt like it was vibrating. The excitement in the air was incredibly hard to ignore, making me nervous. Today's game was going to be the biggest game of my life to date, and I was trying my very best to suppress my nerves, but the buzz of the student body was not helping at all.
"I really hate that name." Justin groaned, and I diverted my eyes back at him in time to see him devour what was left of his chicken burger. Poor guy doesn't eat red meat, isn't that just sad?
"Still your name though." Ayanda quipped as she opened her yoghurt, diving into it like it was the best thing on the planet. Barf. "Where's your boyfriend at?" Justin asked me after flipping Ayanda the bird. I sighed and turned my head, drawing my attention back to the cheerleaders across the quad again, who looked like they had just stepped out of a Bring It On movie.
"He said he had some meeting to attend." I tried to drown the sadness from my voice, but I heard it, nonetheless. It had been four weeks since Kevin and I spent some actual time together. He was always busy with his "prefect" stuff or whatever. We barely spoke, him being busy all the time, and it bothered me more than I let on. I mentioned it once, but it turned into this huge ass argument that literally had no reason to take place in the first place. Since then, I kind of just kept my opinions about the whole thing to myself, telling myself he would talk to me when he was ready. I mean, I had a stint like this not so long ago, so I didn't want to lose my patience with him unfairly. It hurt like a bitch though, the loneliness had already started creeping in. If it wasn't for the fact that I was working hard in school, and even harder at my sport, I would have felt his absence a lot more than I actually did. People in this school looked up to Kevin and me, only because we were the only couple who had even clocked a year together, not to mention 3. Our friends jokingly referred to us as the mom and dad of the school. We are the golden couple to them, but little did they know that there is a difference between solid gold and gold plated. I'm just trying to figure out which of the two best suits us.
"A meeting with whom during lunch? All the other prefects are here." I shrugged at the question, feigning nonchalance. Ayanda must have noticed my awkwardness because she steered the conversation in a completely different direction, taking the attention away from me. I love her so much. I scanned the quad again, trying to confirm if what Justin said was true. And sure enough, the other prefects were all accounted for. All but for Kevin. Could he be in his chambers? Perhaps the meeting is with faculty?
I didn't have time to ponder on those questions because the shrill of the bell sliced through my thoughts. My heart hammered against my chest as I felt the ground vibrate beneath my feet and ass. The quad had erupted into loud cheers from the student body. The band was playing the Azania song, one of my favourites, and not because it's my name, as the student body rose to their feet, slowly making their way to my table. It was officially an hour until game time, and it was in that moment, that I finally felt the excitement. The rest of my netball team nervously made their way to our table, with strings of the student body singing and clapping behind them. My vice-captain Tebogo was the first to reach me, flinging her arm across my shoulder to shake me.
"You ready?" she asked, a huge grin plastered on her face. "As I'll ever be." I replied with a grin of my own. The crowd had circled our table; dancing, clapping, and singing the song that had become a part of our pre-match ritual on the top of their voices. Half the school didn't know the lyrics, so they sang the English parts while the other half sang the vernacular parts. It was beautiful. It sounded beautiful. The horns and drums from the band intensified the moment, and I had to blink back tears as I stood on the table, singing along with a heart full of pride. The rest of the team joined me on the table, and we sang with our supporters, getting psyched up. When it was time for us to leave, the rugby team came to carry us on their shoulders, stating that our feet needed to rest for the big game. The theatrics were growing on me, I'll admit. As the crowd made their way to the indoor courts, with the netball girls perched on their shoulders, I gave Ayanda and Justin a glamorous wave, sending them kisses when they wished me luck. The boys deposited us in front of our locker room, wishing us luck as they whooped like animals.
We ran our warm-ups in our gear as the crowd grew larger and larger, the noise in the big arena deafening. The team from Ridgeway Girls Academy were warming up on the other half of the court, looking as intimidating as ever. They were all tall, their ankles and knees strapped up, lean machines that were surely going to give us the game of a lifetime. Kylie flashed me a huge grin from across the court, throwing me a slaughtering motion as she ran her drills with her team. I grinned back at her, blowing her a kiss in answer. Besides that, my team and I were focused, blocking out the noise from the crowd to mentally prepare for the challenge ahead. I broke my focus and looked around the huge arena in hopes of seeing my boyfriend's face, my heart sinking in disappointment when I don't. I tried to shake it out of my head and practiced my shots, missing almost everyone.
We had 20 minutes before the game started, so I rounded up my team and we headed to the lockers to get changed into our game gear. Once we finished changing, Coach Viljoen gave us a pep talk, telling us to keep a clear and calm head, to stick to our game and abolish our competition. We hooted in agreement, so loud that I almost didn't hear the knock on the door. As captain, I took the liberty to go open it, while coach did her thing. Annoyed at the intrusion, I stomped over to the door and yanked it open. Only to come face to face with the man that has been keeping me busy with lessons and the occasional midnight chat. His eyes trailed over my body before they flickered back up to meet mine, his signature smirk plastered on his once bruised face. I must say, I missed that look on him.