A Tale: Bad Liars Have No Peace...Grrrl!

A short story series based on my life stories, with a dramatic twist.

Part 1 - A Buffet of Lies

I visibly gulped and tried to look as natural as possible. Never in my life, did I pray for super sonic hearing, than when watching a group of my friends, hovering in the corner of our class room, whispering and stealing glances at me.

My heart threatened to beat out of my chest, no one's going to find out, right? I groaned internally feeling overwhelmed as the thousand horses galloped inside my chest, as my heart threatened to jump out.

I'm in big big trouble, they know. My white lie has become the classroom gossip…I looked up, blinking constantly to keep the tears that threatened to fall at bay. My grade 8 heart simply could not take the pressure of such a lie.

Everyone knows!

What should I do?"

---

So you’re probably wondering how I got here?

Well like any ordinary kid, I wanted to fit in. That’s right. In the 'Real' harsh corridors of High school, different lent itself too close to weird, so I preferred to fit in.

I was 13 and I was doing my best to fit into my new surroundings. A few months ago I had lived in a different township, going to a rural primary school where everyone walked everywhere and we spoke my native tongue of Zulu.

Suddenly when I was accepted to what we term a ‘Model C’ or effluent high school, I had to leave my township and start using whatever little English I knew, every single day. I stuck out like a sore thumb. Whenever someone spoke of their primary school, I would hesitate, because the reaction was always “Oh, never heard of it.” awkward silence and then a change of topic.

So one of those days in grade 8, me and a group of my classmates were talking about our dating lives. Well they were talking and I was listening intently. To tell you the truth, I didn’t have any interest in guys yet, so the topic was very foreign to me, however… I was tired of feeling different.

So when everyone had shared their boyfriends or past experiences, one of my classmates turned to me.

“So, wena? Do you have a boyfriend?”

I looked around and figured, this conversation would never leave our little group and I thoughtlessly went for it.

“Nope. Well I mean, not anymore, of course. I had a boyfriend. His name is Danielle, he’s mixed. We met before we got to high school and we were together, not for long and then we broke up sadly.” I rattled off a whole melodramatic fictional love story. - Lie number #1

My classmate’s eyes all perked up, after hearing me speak up.

“Really, which high school does he go to?” A classmate next to me asked.

“One in Newlands west, you wouldn’t know it if you don’t live by my house.” - Lie #2

“Okay, so you broke up, you wouldn’t mind if any of us dated him?”

What? I whipped my head around and found the classmate, who had asked this absurd question and they had what I could only describe, as a slight upward quip to their lips, in a taunting manner, as if daring me to keep up this façade.

I let out a breath, keep it cool Samu, you did well, you said, ex-boyfriend, so you don’t have to keep up the lie. I told myself.

“Yeah sure, go ahead.” - Lie #3

“Wow okay, can I have his number then?” The same classmate, miss absurd, let’s call her, doubled down.

I let out a slight awkward chuckle, already feeling the weight of 3 lies. I couldn’t keep going, but I trusted that after one or two more lies, it would be a thing of the past.

“Okay, but ask me for his number after school, since it’s in my diary.” - Lie #4

I was terrified… so many lies.

I had gone from 1 or 2, to a whole buffet of lies, in a matter of seconds.

To be Continued...