I take a plate from one of the kitchen ladies whose job it is to make sure that the food is distributed in the right amounts. Full-fee-paying students get generous helpings while the poorer students get smaller ones. Delia says that’s how things are, and we can’t change the situation. There are rules. If your parents pay full fees, you get a full plate. If your parents pay less, well . . . That’s how it’s always been, she says.

I scan the length of the girls’ table for an opening close to where I need to be. There’s a prime spot one down from Delia and almost opposite the other three girls in the group. Talking my way back in with them will be hard, and, once I’m back inside, keeping on Delia’s good side will also be hard. But that’s all right. I’m used to laughing at her jokes and agreeing with her opinions. Being on my own is uncomfortable, and I’m not ready to give up my coveted spot inside the circle of top girls.

I take a short breath and move slowly. My instinct is to run and claim the seat, but I can’t appear too eager for their company. I may not be the ‘diamond’ daughter of a Christian marriage but I’m their equal when it comes to pretty dresses and pocket money and canned goods to trade. I am no beggar. I wander over and slide my plate down onto the table like I have nothing but time.

“How is it?” The greeting is meant for all four girls, but I speak directly to Natalie van der Sell, who is pretty but stupid and who I’ve let copy off my tests for years. “Were the holidays good?”

Natalie is also a boaster, so there’s no way she’ll ignore the question or fail to embellish all the wonderful things that happened to her over the four-week break.

“We stayed home, but guess what?” Her brown eyes bug out. She’s got big news.

“What?” I say, and spoon up some potatoes. The cuts on my hands sting, but I ignore the pain and act as if this morning’s punishment didn’t happen.

“Daddy says that this coming Christmas, he’s going to take us to Mozambique for sure. I’ll get to see the ocean and play on the sand, and Daddy says we might even take a boat to an island.”

“You should definitely come to Maputo,” Sandi Cardoza says before I get a chance to answer Natalie. “We have a big house there, right on the beach, and sometimes we see dolphins in the water. You three should stay over during the holidays. There’s room for everyone, and my father likes visitors.”