Free Dragons & Butterflies: Sentenced to Die, Choosing to Live by Shani Krebs Page B

something of a victory all things considered, although one of us was not entirely unscathed, it had to be said. I explained to the others that Colin had been shot and we proceeded to inspect his leg. True to his word, we could see with our own eyes that some damage had been done. A mixture of shock and surprise came over us as we crowded round to examine the wound. There was a hole in the rear of his jeans covered in blood, just below his right buttock. We guessed that the bullet had exited on the other side, travelling straight through his thigh. Colin pulled his jeans to his knees, and we all stared silently. It wasn’t a pleasant sight. Red and white flesh was hanging out of the wound.
    By now Colin was definitely in pain and we knew we needed to get back to the Arc before we could make an intelligent decision about what to do next. We also assumed that whoever had shot at us would have called the police by now. We quickly made our way through the back of The Wilds, which was quite a climb, and ran along the outskirts of Killarney and around the Oppenheimers’ property.
    It wasn’t very late, around 10pm, when we got back to the Arc. We sent the junior boys back to their dormitories while we smuggled Colin into the toilets under the stairway that led to the senior girls’ section. I rushed up the stairs to call Joan, who just happened to be coming out of her room. I’m sure I was quite a sight, covered in blackjacks, panic-stricken and sweating like a pig. She asked what the hell we had done this time. I blurted out the story. Her expression was a mixture of anger and confusion. Then, without saying anything further, I grabbed her arm and pulled her back down the stairs with me.
    Down in the toilets, Sammy explained in a controlled tone what had transpired. I’d always known Joan to be squeamish, but, to my surprise, she took charge of the situation. She started assigning duties: Sammy and I were instructed to keep a lookout for Vicky; Eric and Sandra Newstead were told to fetch towels, a bowl of hot water and some bandages; and Colin was ordered to remove his pants so that Joan could perform some basic first aid on him.
    Despite our vigilance, we didn’t hear Vicky coming. He appeared to have been making his way to the area that adjoined the toilet. As soon as we were aware of this I thought we were surely busted. Not only would he have a clear view of Colin’s naked bum, but Joan’s profile was in full view, too, through the slightly ajar toilet door. And then suddenly Vicky was right there, stamping his feet and demanding to know what was going on. He tried to push his way into the toilet, and instinctively I grabbed the handle and pulled it closed. Sammy and I told Vicky that Colin didn’t have his pants on so he shouldn’t come in. Vicky was startled. He had obviously seen Joan in there. He looked at us suspiciously, quite sure that something was wrong but not able to figure out what it was.
    ‘Well, then finish whatever it is that you’re doing and get back to the dormitory,’ he said, and turned and left, while we sighed with relief.
    By this stage Colin was in great pain, and Joan strongly suggested that we get him to a hospital. So we phoned a close friend of Colin’s, Steven Penn, whose father was a pharmacist and lived in Greenside. Within 15 minutes they’d arrived and whisked Colin off to hospital. Fortunately he recovered without any complications, and even though we may literally have crossed the line that night, at least no one had got arrested. The incident didn’t deter us from future escapades, however, and Colin remained a staunch friend.

    In 1977, my matric year, I was the so-called head boy of Arcadia. Being a keen sportsman, I never smoked cigarettes, nor did I have the slightest inclination to experiment with marijuana. By now I was a strong and confident youngster. I didn’t care what any of my peers thought of me. The kids at King David, the high school I attended, who were often