Scene 1
Spotlight stage left on the three boys who are still hangover from the night before.
Tam: Boys boys boys
Mike: Aright son
Tam: Ye man, last night was cray cray
Mike: We were fucked, still can’t believe you got kicked out of the
club bro
Tam: Ahaha leave it out man
Jacob: Fucken knob, I had to take care of you all night
Tam: Ey? That’s what bros are for boy!! , Next time I
will be taking care of you ‘get me’
Jacob: ye ye ye of course you will
Hold on my name is Tam well my actual name is Thamsanqha but no one can
get their tongue round that so they just call me Tam. Somehow I have ended up a thousand miles from
home but I guess this is my home now. Let me go back in time so you can
understand more about me.
It’s my first day at school in England, boy had I longed to be in this place.
I got more and more nervous as my eyes observed the new environment. The
building was quite just like it was back in Zimbabwe just before school
started. It was only a matter of minutes
before the students started to crowd the place. I sat in the reception having
lots of people pass by and look at me as if I was from another planet. This of
course was not a new experience because I had been in this situation were I had
to change environment. This was a rather taunting experience because there were
so many white people, not that I was not used to white people because back home
I had a few white friends in my school. Finally I see another black students
who walks past me and goes ‘wagwan’ a
word that I had no fucken idea what it meant. It was ten minutes before the
first lesson and the reception was now packed full of students. I felt like I
was getting smaller by the minute as students crowded the reception. A woman who
worked at the reception walked up to me and asked if I was new to the school of
which I replied ‘ yes madam’ which made her smile as she pointed out that I was
polite. I followed her to her desk from which she checked on a computer and
then printed me out my timetable and map of the school. She then shouted
‘Carlton’ from which boy with a hideous looking pony tale came to the desk.
She asked him to be my ‘buddy’ for the day and he was the one to take me round
school the whole day.
Carl: Alright mate, come with me
Tam: sh –sure
Carl :I’m Carl, what’s your name?
Tam: My name is Thamsanqha
Carl: What?
Tam: Thamsanqha
Carl: T-a-m-e-s-a-n-y-a
Tam: no Tha-m-sa-nqha
Carl: you should teach me how to click , it sounds well cool
Tam: you can call me Tam
Carl: you are in the same English lesson as me, which we will have
after tutor
Tam: oh
Carl: come this way bro
SCENE 2
We arrived at room 108, this was my tutor room. I walked into the class
and the whole class stopped what they were doing and glared their eyes at the
new kid. Carl told the teacher that I was the new student. Mr Mans seemed very
happy to have a new student in the class and for him his only black student in
the class. Mr Mans asked for my name and I had to go through the same process
of explaining my name like I did with Carlton. He then told the class to be
nice to me as I was new to the environment. I sat next to Carl and a girl named
Lily who seemed to be obsessed with my hair, and it was only a matter of
minutes till all the girls wanted to have a feel of my hair. It was strange but
I guess I didn’t mind the attention. Half an hour later tutor was over and I
had to go to my first lesson. My new friend and I took a lift to the floor
above which was something new because in my old school only the teachers could
use the lift. We arrived in English and Carl once again introduced me to the
teacher who then asked me my name and introduced me to the class. At this point
I was starting to feel like a burden to Carl because he seemed a bit fed up of
walking with me even though the fucker was getting an awful lot of attention
from walking with me. Strangely everyone
in the English lesson had laptop to themselves and we were given the option to
either use a laptop or write by hand. I was amazed of how nice the teacher was
to the class and I hadn’t heard him raise his voice to the class till Carl was
on his phone playing games.
Mr Westbrook: Excuse me can you put your phone away
Carl: Fuck off
Mr west brook: Get out of my class NOW!
Mr west brook: Get out of my class NOW!
Carl: (while sitting down he replies) Ok I’m leaving, I don’t give a
shit about your shitty English class anyway, I can speak READ and write it so….
Mr West brook: (interrupts Carl before he finishes his sentence) That’s
enough, come with me now!
With the use of split staging we see carl and the teacher talking outside the classroom
Westbrook: This is your warning Carl if you go on your phone again I will have you on an amber then if it continues it will be a red card for you then isolation and your parents will be informed. Now go back inside and behave yourself.
Carl: ok
They
return back to the class and the teacher continues to mark the homework from
the previous lesson then the bell shortly rings for the next lesson.
Break time it was ,as we walked to the playground that they called a ‘MUGA’
because you could play different sports in it
Tam: Did it hurt?
Carl: Nah mate it doesn’t hurt probably hurt her though cause I went
hard
Tam: what? I mean did sir Westbrook hit you?
Carl: what?
Tam: Did the teacher smack you for going on your phone?
Carl: Ahaha are you nuts? , if he did I would bash his head with my Xbox
controller anyway teachers cant hit you because they would get done and spend
some time behind bars
Tam: Really?
Carl: ye man
Tam: Wow in my old school we got whipped by nearly all the teachers and
not to mention the ultimate pain if you ever ended up on the wrong side of the principal
Carl: No shit?
Tam: I remember Mr Themba we used to call him the terminator, he had no
mercy towards students because he believed he was there to better their future
and anyone who messed around in his lessons would feel the wrath of God. Once
he set us homework of three math past papers for us to complete the next day
because we had an exam four weeks later. Only two people in the whole class
managed to complete the homework and the rest managed to do two papers and some
completed only one. Minutes before class everyone was down trying to finish the
homework and in walked the terminator.
Terminator: well well well , what have we here ?
We all dropped our pens and no one said a word. My knees started
shaking and gradually so did the rest of my body because I knew shit was about
to get real.
Terminator: Everyone who hasn’t done the homework line up here in a straight line.
Terminator: Everyone who hasn’t done the homework line up here in a straight line.
The majority of the class of course hadn’t finished the work and we queued
up to get smacked in the face as the terminator asked for one side of the cheek
then the other. He then demanded those who had received their beating to join
the back of the line for round two. Round two was when the wooden stick
surrounded by a thick rubber from a hosepipe came into action, everyone had to
bend over and receive two shots of this lovely medication. It was always funny
when we received beatings as a class because while crying you got to laugh at
others that were receiving the stick.
Carl: Fuck man that sounds mental, I wouldn’t take that shit .
Carl: Fuck man that sounds mental, I wouldn’t take that shit .
I think I would just not go to school because its shite anyway … come
on let’s go we are going to be late.
The bell rings for the start of the second period to start
scene change
The bell rings for the start of the second period to start
scene change
Mike : Lads I need to go for a cigeratte , you two wanna come with ?
Jacob: Nahh im never gonna smoke as iv said in the past
Mike: Allow you lil girl , Tam fam you coming with?
Tam: Nahh bruh your alright
Mike: ohhh Jacob don't smoke so im not going to smoke, ohhhhh Jacob ,ohh Jacob , (impersonating
Jacob ) 'if you don't smoke I will give you some water my young African pet'
Tam: Really bro ?
Jacob: Just piss off and go slowly kill yourself, will you.
Mike: Couldn't give a shite, we all gonna die anyway.
Tam: His such prick that kid man
Jacob : I know lad
Tam: Still love the twat , You know just like Jesus he still loves those who turn against him no matter what ..get me ?
Jacob : Cant believe your a Christian bro, how can you believe a man in the sky created the universe
Tam: Think about , scientists and all them atheist fuckers believe that an explosion started everything and till this day it is still going on making universes and planets. The bible describes God as omnipotent and if is he was to say let there be light the big bang is the sort of thing you would expect to happen. You cant tell me that the light appeared from nothing lol.
Jacob : Guess that does make sense in some way but still don't understand why if he is all loving and knowing yet people are suffering in most parts of the world
Mike: Alright you two tits ,what you talking about ?
Tam: Religion
Mike: FFS really ?, the way I look at it you are born you live and you die.
Jacob: Ye Ye whatevaaaaa micky, Do need a lift or your gonna go back with Tam?
Mike: I will go back with Tam man
Tam: Micky was the softest kid I knew, all that swearing and trying to play the alpha male role was not really him. Micky and I had a similar dream to go to dance school and make a living doing what we love but life doesn't always pan out that way. I at home did not have supportive parents to my dancing but micky on the other hand had all the support but no funding to help him get to where he wanted to be. That's kind of the way life works , your always missing something ........
scene change
Jacob : Afternoon dad
Chris: Hello my son ,how was your day at school
Jacob: Very good sir thank you, how about yours ?
Chris: Very much pleasant just a bit tired from work, but a man has got to do what he has to do to keep the family running. One day your gonna have to take over these big boots on that have been passed down the family over the last 55 years.
Jacob: But Dad I don't wanna be a....
Chris: Son listen , this oil company has served our family name for centuries and we have to keep it going and pass it down to the next generation. Do you ever imagine what life would be like if we had no money -- you would not be able to eat what you like, wear what you like, attend holidays and events at your liking, son even your friends would be different.
Tam : See Chris wanted to be a musician unfortunately his father never heard him play and his lack of support pushed Chris to keeping his talent to himself ......on the other end of the scale we have Micky, working class family working to survive.
Marry: Mickeyyyyyyyyyy
Mike: Yes mum
Marry: Come on open the door ..... you need to eat something , you have been in your room dancing for hours
Mike: Fine im coming
Marry: The food is on the table .....hows your day been hun
Mike : .....Fine , yours?
Marry: Ye its been alright , your father is going to be home soon
Mike: His not my father........ mum why cant I go to dance school , why cant I have decent clothes , why cant I drive , why can't we eat out , why this why that SWEAR this is all there is to this home. just questions and no answers.
Marry: Mikel you know I try to give you what I can , its not easy for me to make money from advertising a weight loss company. Son you know I have been there for you in all your performances. I have borrowed money to enter you in competitions cause I believe in you. We will get the money for you to go to dance school just not now , but I promise you will...
Dan: Marry!!
Marry: Your father is here now , finish your food and we will talk about this some other time.
Scene change
Tam : Dan was a nasty step father , he didn't love micky like his own son. His drinking problems certainly did not help the situation. My encounter with Devil Dan was not the most pleasant , well .. me and micky went round his to play Xbox after college, all was well for a few hours THEN in walked micky's step dad and all of a sudden the atmosphere in the room changed almost as if the fucken terminator had walked in. Mike's body language changed and he curled up to a little ball as Dan called him to the other room. All I had was a loud clapping sound ,then Micky slowly walked back into the room and talked me I had to go home. On the way out micky for the first time opened up his heart and talked me all about Dan. Which built up a lot of respect for the lad because fuck knows how I would have reacted.
Mike: Cuz don't you wanna stay behind and rehearse instead of going home now?
Tam: im with that , the auditions are in 5 months time so we need to keep rehearsing to have a better chance of getting in
Mike : ye I have been working a tonne of hours to try build the money up but its not going very well for me as I have to give my mum the money for bills and food in the house. Its difficult for her, after that cunt Dan left she has to do it all in the house therefore I need to help her out. Its my fault she is in this situation anyway.
Tam : Come on man , don't be hard on yourself Dan was a prick ...he didn't treat you right and he deserves to be serving time behind bars.
Mike : But look where calling child line has got me , I could have been taken away from my mum at this point if they found out we were struggling. Dance schools is my dream but I don't know ..like I don't know if I should actually go because that would my mum on her on receiving next to nothing from weight watchers.
Tam: Bro its tough but we cant put all these months of practice to nothing , and your mum would be happy if you make something of yourself and not just work in Mcdonalds for minimum wage
Mike: Its fucked up working there but it pays, and currently pays enough for me and my mum to survive when added with whatever she can put together.
Tam: Ey don't worry man , things can only get better.
scene change
Tam: Mama I have decided to go to dance school next year
Crystal: What ?
Tam: I want to be a performer
Crystal: Tamu , what kind of life will your family be having with a career like that? ..you need to take everything into consideration not just how it will affect you but how it will affect the ones around you and yourself. Dance is a great hobby to do alongside your architect or engineering and doctor job. What would happen to you if you brake you leg , your life would be a misery because you will have no income.
Crystal seen miming on the background as Tam begins his monologue, the light dims on her as Tam continues to talk.
scene change
Tam: 12 years without my parent for this? Does she not think how it was for not to know what its like to have a mother as you grow up. Someone to cover the wounds after you fall off. someone to drive me to and from school. someone to tell me its going to be fine when I have bad dreams. Someone to make me breakfast, open things for me, take me shopping or help me find my lost sock. No I had to do all that by myself but you don't fucken hear going on about it every now and then.
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