Telesa - The Covenant Keeper

by Lani Wendt Young

  “Alright, class, come to attention. Let’s begin. Take out your notes from yesterday on the delta plains of India … aaah, Daniel, you’re late.” Rather than being annoyed at the late arrival, Mrs. Jasmine’s accented voice softened as she smiled at the doorway.

  “Sorry Miss, I just came from a quick meeting with the Principal.” I seethed as the familiar voice prickled at my back. Even the Geography teacher wasn’t immune to this boy’s charms?! I was so irritated I could have scratched bare fingernails on the blackboard. Ugh.

  “Come in, come in. You haven’t missed anything important. Quickly, take a seat. We are looking at yesterday’s notes … ” Mrs. Jasmine beckoned him in.

  “Ah … you mean the delta plains of India? A fascinating topic.” There was a smile in his voice as he came and pulled up a chair at the desk right next to me. I was frozen with disbelief. I was prepared for mockery and whispers – not for his closeness. I tensed as if for battle, staring straight ahead as Mrs. Jasmine favored him with a huge smile.

  “Yes, the delta plains has always been one of my particular favorites too!” Mrs. Jasmine was beaming now as she turned to the blackboard to continue with the review of yesterday’s notes. I was determined not to look his way, but was distracted from my goal by his whisper.

  “Hi Leila. Did you get home okay last night?” I couldn’t stop the answering smile as I turned slightly to face him. It was a relief to see him wearing the full school uniform – I counted on that being less distracting for me.

  He was waiting for an answer. I swallowed nervously, unsure how I would respond. What if this was a trick of some sort? A lead-up to the free-for-all mock fest that would take place later, once the team saw he really did know me? I hazarded a glance behind me where the other six rugby boys sat in a group at the back of the room. They all had blank looks on their faces as they listened to Mrs. Jasmine’s technical explanation of the monsoon rains.

  I turned back to face Daniel, giving him a brief, cool nod of acknowledgement before looking down to studiously peer at my notes. I would not give him any further ammunition, I promised myself. No matter how badly I wanted to talk to him.

  He didn’t speak to me again for the rest of the class. The period passed in a daze as I struggled to concentrate while being uncomfortably aware of his nearness. The bell rang and I stood quickly, packing my books with my head down, avoiding his very presence. He still hadn’t moved from his seat when I turned to go. Most of the class had emptied now and I wanted to be on my way in the corridor as far away from him as possible. But he stopped me.

  “Are you ignoring me Leila?” His voice held no recriminations. No mockery. Just quiet statement of fact.

  I turned to regard him, still seated, hunched awkwardly at a desk that seemed way too small for his frame. He cocked his head to one side and his eyes never wavered from mine. He waited for answer.

  “Umm. No. I … uh … I don’t want to be late for my next class.” It sounded feeble – even to me.

  He raised one eyebrow and looked at me quizzically. He was still waiting. I stumbled around further, wading deeper into a murky mire of duh-ness.

  “Uh … ah … um … I wasn’t sure if … ” I cut myself short, biting my lower lip to stop the tumble of words.

  “Sure if what?”

  “If you … if we … if I … well, if it would be a good idea to talk to you.” There I said it. Let him cut me down with that, I could handle it.

  He looked mystified. He stood to tower over me, swinging his backpack over his shoulder.

  “Why wouldn’t it be a good idea? I don’t get it?”

  Before I could respond, a voice cut through the room.

  “Yo, Danny – coach is looking for you!” It was Maleko. “You coming?” He looked expectantly at Daniel, and then turned an appraising eye on me next to him.

  Daniel sighed. He ran a hand through his hair distractedly.

  “I gotta go. We have an away game today so we’re leaving school early. Right after lunch. I don’t suppose … ” his voice trailed off as he looked at me speculatively. “I don’t suppose you wanna come watch?”

  My voice was a squawk. “Me? Watch a rugby game? No.” I shook my head firmly. “No, I can’t. I don’t have a car. I wouldn’t know where to go. I don’t know the first thing about rugby. I have tons of homework to do. I have to go home … I …” My litany of reasons ran out as he chuckled and shook his head at me.

  “Leila it’s okay. You don’t have to give me an entire book of excuses here. I get it. You don’t want to go. I’ll catch up with you later.” Still shaking his head ruefully, he started walking out of the room.

  I watched him go with a lump in my throat, watching the color of the day leaving me with black and white. The day stretched ahead of me, achingly plain and predictable. Class, lunch helping Sinalei with her Math while listening to her babble about Daniel, the bus ride home to an empty house, an evening of painful pauses and stilted conversation with my aunt. Bed. Feverish dreams and restless sleep.

  “Daniel! Umm … where’s your game at?”

  He turned at the doorway, a huge smile lighting up the room.

  “It’s at Malifa compound. We’re playing Leifiifi College at 2:30pm.” He seemed about to say more but Maleko pulled at his bag impatiently, so he threw me a half wave instead. I watched him go with a watery smile. What was I thinking? How stupid was that idea? Of course I couldn’t go to a rugby game. Just because the Head Boy suggested that I go. For what? So I could join the masses of adoring females who cheered him at every game? I was late for next period. Great. Get a move on Leila. Way to go with the reinvention. Tardy hardly fit with the new me.

  I squared my shoulders to meet the rest of the day head on. It passed in a blur. I was still getting used to the new teachers, the different way subjects were taught here compared with back home. I had to hold myself back in several classes because I had already noticed that making comments and asking questions was not something that teachers liked here. They seemed to find it a personal attack if you couldn’t understand a topic – or if you had the audacity to question something they taught you.

  Lunch was spent helping Sinalei with Math. Although I couldn’t help thinking that she would understand it far quicker if she didn’t spend so much time discussing everybody’s business. I let most of her chatter wash over me – until a name that quickened my pulse came up.

  “Hey, did you hear that Mele’s going out with Maleko now? Of course she would have preferred to have Daniel – but he’s not into that.” She sighed regretfully.

  “What do you mean? What’s Daniel not into?” I deliberately kept my tone light.

  “Oh, you know. Girls. He doesn’t go out with any.” She shrugged as if this was an obvious detail.

  “Umm … why not?”

  “Well, Daniel’s not like the others. Heaps of girls have been after him. But no deal. He just started back at school this year you know. He’s actually meant to be a year ahead of us. He took the whole of last year off after his grandfather died so he could manage the family business. Now he’s back, but he’s not quite the same. He works – so you’ll never see him apart from school and rugby games. He lives with his grandmother who’s really old and it’s just them two, so I think he kinda looks after her as well. He was offered two different full rugby scholarships to schools in New Zealand when he was only in fifth form, but he turned them both down because he can’t leave her. Or something like that.” Sinalei waved her hand dismissively, obviously unimpressed with Daniel’s commitment to such ‘serious’ stuff.

  I was intrigued. That would explain why he seemed so much older, more mature than any other teenage boy I’d ever seen. I wondered how he made the time to study and work a business. What kind of business was it? What did he do? What had happened to his parents? Why did he live with his grandmother? I knew his mother had died when he was young – but he hadn’t mentioned anything about his father. Questions swirled through my brain. Questions that I long
ed to find answers for. I glanced at Sinalei eating her sandwich. I bet she could answer some of them, but I hated to alert her to my interest in Daniel. Best to leave it be. I shrugged and re-focused on the Math problems at hand. Sinalei interrupted.

  “So, are you coming to the game today?”

  “Oh I’m not sure. I don’t have a ride and I’m not sure how I’ll get home after.”

  “Oh, that’s no problem. You can ride with us in Mele’s car. Her dad is the coach, so her mother always comes to the games. They have a van and we all ride with them. I’m sure she won’t mind another. Where do you live?”

  “Faatoia.” I tried not to stumble over the unfamiliar word. I was trying my hardest to not sound like the ignorant American that I was.

  “Heaps of buses go that way after that game. It’ll be done by 4pm, I can help you catch the right bus.”

  I was grateful for her friendliness. It was not something I was accustomed to where I had come from. Sinalei called out to the pretty girl she had indicated earlier.

  “Hey Mele!”

  Mele walked over to us – or rather she flowed languidly. She moved with a grace and stillness that I had never seen in another person before. Close up the full impact of her beauty hit. She was a stunning girl. Petite and slender – she made me feel like a bulky she-hulk. She turned deep brown eyes my way and smiled politely in answer to Sinalei’s introduction. It was a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes as she looked me up and down as if appraising the newcomer to her territory. The look confirmed what I had suspected. This may be an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean – but I had certainly met Mele’s kind before. They had been blonde with ample chests overflowing out of their skin-tight cheerleader tops, but the look was the same. Mentally, I gritted my teeth.

  I smiled at Mele and waited while Sinalei finished asking her if I could join them on the ride to this afternoon’s game.

  “Sure – no problem – Leila, is it? So you’re interested in rugby?”

  The question was casually phrased and I was careful to be equally casual with my reply.

  “Oh I’ve never seen a game of rugby. They didn’t play that back at home. It should be a more interesting way to spend the afternoon than studying for Mr. Michaels’ test.”

  “Tell me about it!” chimed in Sinalei.

  Seemingly satisfied with my response, Mele drifted away back to her crowd of friends while Sinalei and I packed up for the next class. I felt a quickening of excitement as I thought about the upcoming afternoon. My very first rugby game. I had no idea what to expect, which added to the thrill.

  FOUR

  Bodies crunched with a sickening thud. There was an answering jolt in the pit of my stomach as I stood in shock and watched the game unfurl in all its bone-crunching madness. What the hell kind of game was this?! Were these people insane? Spectators screamed all around me as an orange-garbed player made a break with the ball.

  “Go Maleko! Run! Yes!” Beside me, the graceful Mele was jumping up and down in a frenzy as the SamCo player ran the length of the field to score a touchdown – no, that wasn’t right. A try. That was it. I shook my head in disgust, wanting to cover my ears as the crowds of SamCo supporters celebrated Maleko’s score.

  “We’re in the lead! We’re gonna win this one Leila! Isn’t this exciting?” Sinalei’s face was flushed, her voice hoarse with screaming.

  I gave her a frozen smile in answer, when really my brain was screaming a totally different story. It was the last half of the game, and I had just endured an eternity of watching half-grown men inflict the most vile range of torture upon each other in their mad quest to get their hands on a ball. And take it to the try line. With no padding or any protective gear of any kind, they ran headfirst into each other – a particularly stupid part of the game called a scrum. Pushing and grunting to try to shove the combined weight of the other team further over into their territory. The ball would get passed along a line of waiting players until it got to the outer edges where one unlucky wretch got the chance to make a break for it. He would then dash for the score line, weaving and maneuvering his way through the opposition. More times than I could stomach it, the unfortunate runner would get tackled, taken down in a shattering rush by one or more of the others. Then everyone in the vicinity would get into the swing of things – by jumping headfirst into the pile up, again and again. Until I was sure the player on the ground must be completely trampled to a bloody pulp. I even saw players kicking those on the ground with their spiked shoes. Rucking, the others called it. And apparently it was tolerated by the ref, as long as they didn’t go “overboard.”

  “Are they nuts? Look at that guy smashing the other one’s head with his shoes! How can they allow that? And look at that one – I swear I just saw him punching the guy underneath him. What the hell?!” I was completely bewildered. I was asking so many indignant questions that even Sinalei was getting annoyed with me.

  “I told you Leila, that’s what happens in the tackles. Ohmigosh look, there goes Daniel! Yes Daniel! Woohoo!”

  I shut my eyes briefly, wishing for this horrible game to end. How I wished I hadn’t come. And I was furious at Daniel for asking me to. I barely knew him – but I hated watching him smash into people at full speed. I had spent the last half dreading every play, hoping that the team wouldn’t pass him the ball. If nothing else, I understood now why he was so hugely built. It was a small measure of comfort though as I couldn’t fathom how even his rock-hard body could handle being jumped on by five gigantic Leififi players. Time and again, I watched him make a break for it with the ball. Even my untrained eye could see that he was one of the lead players on the field. The entire team rallied to him and moved in unison to his instructions.

  He was surprisingly fast for someone so big. I held my breath as he sprinted down the field, sidestepping players with a grace that defied his size. Reaching the try line unscathed this time, he dived with the ball. The thought of the impact had me wincing. It didn’t seem to affect him at all as he rolled to his feet, hands raised in the air jubilantly while the entire crowd went crazy. I was so disgusted with the whole spectacle I didn’t even clap. I couldn’t wait to get out of here. I felt a sweeping wave of homesickness come over me. I thought of sports at home, where at least they wore helmets and other protective gear. Where people didn’t get so … so emotional at a game. My more reserved palagi side was definitely coming to the fore. And I was strangely sad. At the distance between me and the rest of this crowd. Between me and Daniel even. More than ever before, I knew we were worlds apart. I didn’t belong here. I shouldn’t have come. My father was right.

  Lost in thought, I didn’t notice the final whistle had blown. The game was over. There was no doubt who had won, as everyone in orange was still hyped and high-fiving each other. Mele preened as people congratulated her on Maleko’s game. Sinalei was totally pumped – in her element. I wished that Simone had come but he was playing netball at another interschool game. I wondered if maybe he would have been more understanding of my first reaction to rugby. I looked over at an excited Sinalei – she wouldn’t even notice if I slipped away right now. Turning, I started making my way through the crowd towards the busy street where I was sure I would get a bus. I was startled when kids around me started pushing and shoving forward, calling out excitedly, all jostling for a better view of something happening behind me.

  “Fight! Fight!” someone chanted.

  Oh no. I swung around, in time to see a huddle of orange and blue uniforms. A fight had broken out between supporters from both schools. It was a tangled weave of at least twenty to thirty students, people screaming as others punched and wrestled with each other. Teachers and rugby officials were running towards the fracas, blowing whistles agitatedly. They were outnumbered though, so I didn’t hold much hopes for their success. I shaded my eyes with my hand and looked around anxiously for Sinalei.

  “Leila! Leila! Over here!” Her voice was high and thin and came to me over the crowd. She
was still standing on the sidelines, far too close to the action, waving at me wildly. I ran over to her.

  “What are you doing standing here? We’re gonna get hurt – come on!” I pulled at her hand.

  “Oh Leila, I was looking for you. You disappeared.” Her voice was accusing and I felt bad that I had tried to leave without even the courtesy of a farewell.

  “Come on, lets go.” We started half running, half walking towards the road, as far as we could get from the fight, Sinalei still talking non-stop.

  “It’s those Leifiifi boys, they’re always causing fights. You should have seen last year, they fought with Avele and St. Joseph’s College and then they kept looking for people in uniform in town and beating them up. It was awful. And then today, that one Leifiifi kid threw a Coke bottle at Daniel when he came off the field. There was blood everywhere and then Maleko jumped in and … ”

  I came to an abrupt halt.

  “What did you say? What happened to Daniel?” My voice was tense with fear. All I could focus on was Sinalei’s words resounding in my mind. Blood everywhere … blood everywhere … blood … Daniel’s blood.