Balaclava Boy (school edition). Jenny Robson

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      Balaclava Boy

      School Edition

      Jenny Robson

      Tafelberg

      In memory of Matt, my best friend

      Pre-reading

1.	Can you remember your first few days at a new school? What did it feel like to be the new girl or boy in your class? Were you excited? Nervous? Or just plain terrified? Try to imagine how the new child in this story is feeling.

      During reading

2.	Notice the interesting information the author gives to help us to form a clear picture of the main characters. These details also add a touch of humour and fun to the story.

      1. Comprehension

      “Torture!” said Dumisani, my best friend in the world. “Why must we have such torture?”

      “Yeah,” I whispered back. “Stupid boring Comprehension!”

      There we sat in the front desk in Grade Seven SV, not feeling happy. First we had to read this story about some stupid boring boy called Markos. This Markos person was on his way to market. To buy fish or something for his mother.

      The Comprehension questions at the end were also stupid and boring. Why was Markos walking to market? What did he have in his pocket? Why was he worried?

      “Hey, Doogal,” Dumisani whispered to me. “I know why this Markos guy is walking.”

      “Why?”

      “Hey, because his Lamborghini’s got a flat tyre!”

      I laughed. Dumisani is the funniest guy in the world. It’s great sitting next to him! But then I thought of something too. “Hey, Dumz. Do you know what’s in his pocket?”

      “What?”

      “His pet baby elephant. Called Spaghetti Nose.”

      Now Dumisani laughed. “Spaghetti Nose! Good one, Doogz. Okay, so why is he worried?”

      I started to answer. “Because…”

      But then our teacher Miss Venter got on our case. “Doogal! Dumisani! Shush!” Miss Venter is always telling us to shush. That’s why we have to sit in the front desk. Because we’re too talkative. But it’s hard to be quiet when you sit next to someone like Dumisani!

      Now Cherise stuck her nose in. “Yes, shush, you two! How can I concentrate?” Cherise sat right behind us, all by herself in her double desk. No one wants to sit next to her. She’s very clever and very bossy.

      So of course Dumisani and I had to turn round and pull our worst faces at her. But that got Miss Venter aka the Dragon Lady on our case again.

      “Doogal! Dumisani! Face the front! Dear! Dear! Dear!” Miss Venter is always saying Dear! Dear! Dear! Each time she says it, she pats her chest. Then big clouds of white talcum powder rise up from the top of her blouse.

      Just then the door opened. In came our headmaster Mr Rasool with some new pupil just behind him. All of us forgot to stand up. Well, except for Cherise. Mostly, we were in too much shock to be polite. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing!

      “This is Tommy MacAdam, children,” said Mr Rasool aka Mr Mosi. “Remember, at Colliery Primary we do our best to make new pupils feel welcome. So be kind and thoughtful.”

      But we all forgot to say “Yes, sir”. Even Cherise. We were too busy staring at this new guy Tommy. He was wearing an ordinary green Colliery Primary track suit. He had ordinary brown eyes. But that was all that was ordinary about him. The rest of his face – his nose, his mouth, his cheeks, even his hair – was hidden under a balaclava! A red-and-orange-striped balaclava! How about that!?

      The poor new boy had to sit next to Cherise. That was the only empty seat. Miss Venter gave him a book so he could do the Comprehension too. Cherise kept bossing him around and explaining on and on about Markos and his fish.

      But Dumisani and I had stopped caring about this Markos and his stupid boring market-trip. We had more interesting things to think about. Like: why, why, why was the new guy wearing a balaclava?

      “That is so weird, Doogz,” Dumisani whispered.

      “It’s – it’s bizarre,” I whispered back. My big sister is always calling things bizarre when she comes home from boarding school. I don’t know exactly what it means. But it sounded just right.

      “Hey, Doogz, maybe he’s got a big red birth-mark on his cheek. You know, like Transformer in Grade Eight.”

      “Or maybe,” I whispered back, “Maybe he was in a fire and his face got burned. Or he was in an accident so he’s got scars all over. Like Mr Davids in Aloe Street.”

      But Miss Venter aka the Dragon Lady was on our case again.

      “Doogal! Dumisani! Dear! Dear! Dear!” Pat pat pat, went her hand on her chest. Puff puff puff: three clouds of Lily-of-the-Valley powder covered her face. It’s the same powder my mom uses sometimes. I know the smell well.

      Still Dumisani held up his Comprehension book so he could whisper behind it. “Break-time, Doogz. He’ll have to take the thing off to eat his lunch, right? Then we’ll see what’s underneath.”

      *

      And that is when it hit me.

      It often does, suddenly, with no warning. One minute, I’m laughing and joking with Dumisani. The next minute, I get this horrible feeling of sadness and my mouth goes dry and my chest feels empty.

      I tried my best to hide it. I always do. I nodded and said, “Yeah, break-time, Dumz. I can’t wait.”

      Post-reading

1.	Why do you think the school is called Colliery Primary?
2.	How does Dumisani make the Comprehension more interesting for Doogal and himself?
3.	Why is Cherise unpopular with Doogal and Dumisani?
4.	We sometimes use acronyms or abbreviations (SABC, for example.) Doogal uses the acronym “aka”. What do you think it stands for?
5.	Doogal and Dumisani try to work out why Tommy is wearing a balaclava. Write down three of their suggestions.
6.	This book is written in informal/colloquial English, because the narrator is Doogal who thinks and speaks in this way. One example is the word “stuff “ instead of “things”. Write down some other examples of colloquial language.
7.	What do you think is going to happen in the next chapter?

      Pre-reading

1.	We all have a right to our privacy. This means that others should respect our personal space and be polite. Is it polite to ask someone personal questions in order to satisfy your curio­s­ity? Is there a better way to make a stranger feel at home?

      During reading

2.	Notice how the children feel when they play a game of soccer and the way in which this sport helps them to feel happy and relaxed.

      2. Break-time

      We walked around the playground with the new boy, one on each side. After all, Mr Rasool said we must be kind.

      “My name’s Dumisani,” said Dumisani. “And this guy’s Doogal. Or you can call us the Doo Dudes. That’s our aka.”

      Tommy nodded his balaclava.

      Then we started asking him question after question. Did you live in a city before? What school did you go to? Is your dad at the Coal Mine or the Power Station? Most of our dads work at the Coal Mine or the Power Station. Some of our moms too. Way off