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During the third term, just before the Grade Seven exams, a Kombi of nuns arrives at the Protestant mission. The teachers dismiss regular lessons for revision, sending groups outside to memorize facts. The nuns, dressed in ordinary blouses and skirts, surprise the pupils and dismantle the myth of saintly seclusion. The class performs a poem, dances, and presents a short play for the visitors. The nuns then administer an unexpected entrance test covering Louisa May Alcott, arithmetic with acorns, and identifying the odd footwear. Tambu, having studied intensively, recites the poem flawlessly and scores highest on the test, impressing the nuns. They explain that the examination is for a scholarship to a prestigious multi‑racial convent, the Sacred Heart, which offers a strict uniform of pleated Terylene skirts, gloves, and a blazer. The girls gossip about alleged convent practices, but most are eager for the opportunity.
Nyasha, Tambu’s cousin, opposes the plan, warning that the convent will “assimilate” Tambu and erase her identity. Babamukuru, seated opposite the narrator, argues that the small boy at home (the future brother) needs the family’s resources and that white‑educated girls become “indecent.” Maiguru intervenes, defending Tambu’s moral character and questioning the notion that educated women are automatically loose. After a prolonged family discussion, Babamukuru reluctantly agrees to let Tambu go, noting the scholarship will cover most expenses.
Soon after, Tambu’s mother falls gravely ill with diarrhoea after baby Dambudzo (her nine‑month‑old son) develops a severe watery stool. The father, fearing the baby will die, spends his limited money on bus fare to the mission and learns from nurses that the illness may be caused by an unsanitary teat. He threatens to take the mother to a “medium,” but Tambu stops him. The aunt, Lucia, arrives and forces the mother to walk to the Nyamarira River, wash herself and the baby on a rock, and then sit in the sun while her clothes dry. Lucia prepares a thick meat stew and strictly instructs that only the mother may touch the food. After Lucia’s two‑day care, the mother recovers enough to return to her garden, though she remains weak and increasingly silent, fearing curses from Babamukuru.
With the mother’s condition stabilising, Babamukuru sends word that he cannot fetch Tambu; she must travel alone to the mission to prepare for the convent. She buys a bus ticket with thirty cents from her father, sits beside an older woman, and tells her about going to her uncle (the headmaster) and then to Sacred Heart. She spends only one night at the mission before departing.
On her way back to the mission later, Tambu stops at the school’s netball field, where she finds friends Jocelyn and Maidei practicing. She joins the game, scores a goal, but is teased for being a newcomer; the other girls dismiss her, urging her to focus on “whites” sports. They warn her not to forget them, and she leaves the field feeling excluded.
Tambu then seeks her cousin Nyasha at the Form Four A classroom. Nyasha, engrossed in her studies, greets Tambu briefly, then returns to work. The two exchange a brief, strained conversation in which Nyasha admits she will miss Tambu. They walk home together in silence. At dinner, Babamukuru chastises Nyasha for returning home after quarter‑to‑seven, accusing her of neglecting curfew and threatening to withdraw her fees if she disobeys. Maiguru attempts to defend Nyasha, but Babamukuru persists. Nyasha finally eats, then retreats to the bathroom where she confesses to Tambu that she feels angry, inadequate, and unable to conform to the expectations placed on her by Babamukuru and the household. Tambu comforts her, and they discuss the upcoming departure to Sacred Heart before retiring for the night.