I must have been 10 when I got robbed.
This particular year, our school had been selected to take part in a mass display for World AIDS Day. The mass display was us using our bodies to spell our different words and our school’s name abbreviation. It was exciting because it was the first time our school had been selected. We were not going to perform at a national level like the Independence celebrations but still it was a lot of fun. We got to perform at the Independence celebrations the next year doing something else and that was a lot of fun too!
My parents’ tenant, was teaching us and it felt good to have a teacher I knew. I felt like I was a teacher’s kid for about a month. He taught us the routine and after practice I would carry his notebooks for him home.
Outside of school everyone was making “watches” with a handle from the Calypso drink. Calypso drink is a cordial that you mix with water. This was one of the adverts they used to run.
The design of the bottle had a handle that could be detached from the bottle. When you took it off carefully it would fit around your hand like a bangle. This is what the handles looked like.
To make the “watch” we would put the bottle top inside the ring, put it around your hand and snap it close. My mom had bought me proper working watches before that I had either lost or broken. But this was everything because it was the “in” thing and everyone had it, well looked like everyone. I begged my mom to buy the drink and waited impatiently for the drink to run out so I could wear my “watch”.
The day came and I made my watch during lunch before returning to school for the mass display practice. I felt like a million dollars with my fake watch. Practice was good and like every other day, I took Baba Rorisang’s books with me.
I don’t remember who else I was with, but most definitely Florence my friend from my first day at school. We were walking home and we decided to take the route that would take us behind the shops, paAreno if you know the place. It was not busy yet as most people would have been still at work.Around 4 pm.
So we are walking, talking and laughing about whatever 10 year olds talk about.
We did not even see the boys come towards us. They must have been waiting for us in the space between two shops. They just came cornered me and took my “watch” and ran away. I was devastated, angry, embarrassed and probably a little hysterical. I threw the books down and screamed and cried.
I could not believe it because our neighbourhood is safe especially during the day. Sure houses get broken in at night but you don’t get attacked like that. I knew the boys they went to the same school as me. I can’t even remember their faces just what they did.
My friends helped me pick up my things and we went home.
I can not even remember whether I told my parents about it or not. When I say robbed it sounds serious but the watch was not really that important. It did really scare me and losing my “watch” hurt me really bad. I loved that “watch”.
And that is how I got robbed aged 10.