THE ORDER OF KORES

Een

Kores and Evelyn’s tale is as old as time itself…it begins years ago, on the 17th of January, 15 years ago…

“Mrs Pattison, can I go to the bathroom, please?” 8 year old Kores Klerk Kennedy asks his teacher as he stands beside her desk. His uniform is ironed perfectly and his perfect bed of dark hair rests in a faux Mohawk that he wanted because of some superhero character he liked on a cartoon show. 

Mrs Pattison, a then 29 year old young woman smiles down at the always mischievous but just as funny and loving boy, Kores. Mrs Pattison had a soft spot for Kores, maybe it was because of the dimpled smile he’d flash at her whenever she caught him being naughty, or it was the way that he’d tell her how beautiful she looked, but she and Kores were as tight as two pickles in a jar. She gave a soft laugh and raised an eyebrow, “that’s the third time this period,” she leaned in a bit closer to get to eye level with the boy who now flashed her a dimpled smile, “this wouldn’t happen to be about the Capri sun that I told you not to have five minutes before break ended, would it?” Kores had a weak bladder, just as a lot of kids did at that age. 

He gave a sheepish smile, and she nodded, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Okay, be quick though. We’re learning how to write cursive today,” she encouraged him and he nodded his head and turned on his heels and walked out of the classroom. He closed the door behind him and was met with the hallways of the prestigious school. The halls were silent and all you could hear was the distant voices of teachers teaching. 

Kores continued the trek to where he was headed; the bathrooms. He had his hands in his pockets and he whistled under his breath as he did so, keeping his eyes all over the place. He decided to cut through the grass instead of walking along the hallways since the grass was quicker. As he walked through the grass in the middle of the large school, he noticed that the Grade R students, dressed in their casual clothes were having their break time. 

He felt like such a big boy when he looked at all of those students. They looked so small compared to him. He watched the way they played, running around, while some sat and ate their lunch. As he approached the boy’s bathrooms, he heard the sound of crying. His head turned to find who it was, and his eyes landed on a tiny girl, who sat crying, an uncovered lollipop lay on the floor in front of her and her lunchbox was open, revealing the remainder of a simple sandwich and open yoghurt. 

Her face had practically turned a bright red, which was concerning, considering she had amber toned skin. Kores was right at the door of the boy’s bathroom but he found himself sighing and walking towards the girl. “What’s wrong?” he asked her, crouching in front of her. 

5 year old Evelyn Duma’s eyes opened, and toasty topaz eyes peered into sable eyes for the first time. Evelyn’s chubby face peered into the face of the grown boy in front of her. 

He seemed so big, and he wore a uniform! He was one of the big kids. 

She lifted her finger to show him the cause of her tears. She couldn’t explain it! She just knew that it was very sore. All she could recount was that she was eating her lollipop, dipping it in yoghurt and then licking it, and then something kept flying around her. She went to hit it, but then her finger began stinging and she was in so much pain, she just cried. 

As Kores set his eyes on the finger, he realised that she’d been stung by a bee. “Okay…” he breathed out and took her tiny, chubby hand into his. He brought her finger closer to his face, and easily, he reached for the sting and pulled it out. Kores had dealt with much scarier things than a bee sting, but he knew not to tell anyone that. As he pulled it out, he brought her finger to her face, “you got stung by a bee. It’s out now, you should be okay. There’s no need to cry.”