Chapter 5 - Blou Maandag

MAIN PLOT

• Brand wakes up and rushes off for school. In the car, he discusses with his sister the sign boards that they need to make for the bulls that will go on show in August.
• When they get to school, Hugo makes fun of Brand for inviting teachers to his house to stay over. He says that Brand is advocating to be headboy and that he is buying votes.
• Martin encourages Brand to hit Hugo and Brand makes the statement that he will not stoop down to Hugo's level. He says that if people want to believe Hugo's statements, they are not his real friends and don't know him at all.
• At athletics practice, Brand is in a bad mood and doesn't want to talk to anyone. He goes to the grade 8 concert practice where Hugo antagonises him again by saying that he is sucking up to the grade 8's to become head boy. Or that he has his eye on a grade 8 girl and is trying to impress her by playing the piano.
• Brand doubts his decision to play in the grade 8 concert and tells Lindie to find someone else. She eventually convinces him to still play.
• Brand remembers a fight he had with Martin in grade 6. Martin was growing tired of waiting for Brand to finish piano lessons and said that Brand should rather play with the other girls in their class and with dolls. They have an altercation and Brand ultimately wins. Martin then has to say that Brand is not a sissy.
• The next day Martin and Brand need to paint the athletics hurdles for interhigh. They start a paint fight and are reprimanded by mr. Vorster. Their punishment is that they must take part in the school's debating evening - Martin as a speaker, Brand to play the piano.
• That night, his father says that he heard gunshots the previous night but didn't find anything near the fence that morning.

HOOFSTORIE

• Brand word wakker en haas skool toe. In die kar, bespreek hy en Lizelle die borde wat gemaak moet word vir die skou waarna hulle bulle heen gaan in Augustus.
• Wanneer hulle by die skool aankom, spot Hugo brand omdat meneer Vorster daar oorgeslaap het. Hy meen Brand werf stemme vir hoofseun en probeer stemme koop.
• Martin moedig Brand aan om Hugo te slaan, maar Brand meen hy sal homself nie so verneder nie. Hy sê dat as mense Hugo se aannames wil glo, hulle of nie sy regte vriende is nie, of hulle ken hom nie werklik nie.
• By die atletiekoefening is Brand in 'n slegte bui en nie lus vir gesels nie. Hy gaan daarna na die graad 8-konsertoefening en daar tart Hugo hom. Hy meen Brand probeer stemme vir hoofseun werf by die graad 8's of dat hy 'n ogie op 'n graad 8-meisie het en haar probeer beïndruk deur klavier te speel.
• Brand twyfel in sy besluit om aan die konsert deel te neem, maar nadat Lindie hom oorreed, stem hy weer in.
• Brand dink terug aan 'n geveg wat hy en Martin in graad 6 gehad het. Martin het verveeld vir Brand gewag om klaar te maak met klavierles en toe gesê dat Brand eerder met die meisies moet gaan speel. Die twee het baklei en toe Brand wen, moes Martin sê dat Brand nie 'n sussie is nie.
• Die volgende dag moet Martin en Brand die atletiekhekkies verf vir interhoër. Hulle begin mekaar met verf smeer en word gestraf deur meneer Vorster. Hulle straf is dat beide aan die skool se debataand moet deelneem: Martin moet 'n toespraak lewer en Brand moet die klavier speel.
• Daardie aand vertel Brand se pa dat hy die vorige aand geweerskote gehoor het, maar niks langs die draad langs die teerpad gekry het toe hy daardie oggend ondersoek ingestel het nie. 

Chapter 4 - Meneer Vorster op die plaas

MAIN PLOT

• Brand wakes up and decides to go jogging, joined by his teacher, mr. Vorster, who stayed over at their farm. He is helping Brand's mother edit her short stories.
• On the way, they eat maroelas. You eat a maroela by biting a hole in the bottom part of the fruit and then sucking the whole fruit out of that hole.
• Brand asks mr. Vorster if all boys must play rugby and he responds by saying that it is the tradition in their community but that one should decide for themselves.
• They inject the animals on the farm. Brand learns that mr. Vorster grew up on a farm near Alldays.
• Brand thinks back on the day when he shot his first buck. He didn't really want to but no one in his class believed that he stayed on a farm and never hunted before. He was made fun of for saying that he could, but didn't want to, hunt.
• When he did in fact shoot his first buck, he felt sick and shocked. He did not feel any pride or sense of victory for his accomplishment. He realised then that the expectations of others influenced him negatively.

HOOFSTORIE

• Brand word wakker en besluit om te gaan draf. Meneer Vorster gaan draf saam met hom omdat hy oorgeslaap het op die plaas. Hy is besig om Brand se ma te help met die redigering van haar kortverhale.
• Oppad eet hulle maroela-vrugte. Jy eet 'n maroela deur die onderste pit af te byt en dan die hele vrug deur daardie gat uit te suig.
• Brand vra meneer Vorster of alle seuns veronderstel is om rugby te speel. Hy antwoord deur te sê dat hoewel dit tradisie in hulle kontrei is, dit van elke individu afhang wat hy wil doen.
• Hulle spuit die vee op die plaas in. Brand leer dat meneer Vorster op 'n plaas net buite Alldays grootgeword het.
• Brand dink terug aan die eerste keer wat hy 'n bok geskiet het. Hy wou nie regtig nie, maar die kinders in sy klas kon nie glo dat hy op 'n plaas bly en nog nooit gejag het nie. Hulle het hom gespot toe hy sê hy kon, hy wou net nie.
• Wanneer hy wel sy eerste bok geskiet het, het hy siek en geskok gevoel. Hy het geen trots of sin van oorwinning gevoel vir sy prestasie nie. Dis toe wat hy besef dat die opinie van ander hom negatief beïnvloed.

Chapter 3 - Oom Pieta gee raad

MAIN PLOT

• At the beginning of this chapter, Brand and Hugo have an argument because Hugo thinks Brand sucks up to teachers to become head boy. He calls him a "kruiper" (suck-up).
• They have an athletics practice and mr. Vorster encourages them by saying they will do well at interhigh in a few weeks time.
• Mr Theron, the rugby coach, and says he is happy they are training so hard as preparation for the rugby season that year.
• Brand tells him that he will not be playing rugby that year and mr Theron laughs and think he is making a joke. He later becomes angry and aggressive when he finds out that it is in fact true.
• Brand says that he doesn't want to play because they live far from town and that he has a lot of school work to focus on.
• Brand's whole family has played provincial rugby and it would be a disappointment if he did not play as well.
• Brand's dad goes into town and he is given the task of closing the back gate by the watering hole. On his way there, he runs into uncle Pieta.
• Uncle Pieta tells him that the right decision depends on your motivation behind it and that you always have to be honest with yourself. You cannot let anyone else choose for you, you have to do it yourself and then live with the decision.
• Brand does not want anyone to know the real reason - piano-playing - for him not playing rugby. He is scared that people will say he is a sissy.
• Uncle Pieta also says that the task of a teacher is to teach subject matter and then secondly to develop the talents of their learners. If the teacher is only concerned about winning, he does not take the learners' welfare into account anymore.
• When he goes back home, he finds mr. Vorster on the porch with his parents. Mr. Vorster agreed to help his mom with the sub-editing of her short stories.

HOOFSTORIE

• Aan die begin van hierdie hoofstuk, stry Brand and Hugo omdat Hugo meen Brand kruip by die onderwysers om sodoende hoofseun te word. Hy noem hom 'n "kruiper".
• Die seuns oefen atletiek en meneer Vorster moedig hulle aan deur te sê dat hulle 'n goeie kans staan by die interhoër wat oor 'n paar weke plaasvind.
• Meneer Theron, die rugby-afrigter, sê hy is bly hulle oefen so hard om fiks te bly vir die rugbyseisoen.
• Brand vertel hom dat hy nie daardie jaar rugby sal speel nie en meneer Theron lag, omdat hy glo dat dit 'n grap is. Hy word later kwaad en aggressief wanneer hy uitvind dat dit waar is en dat hy werklik nie gaan speel nie.
• Brand gebruik die verskoning dat hulle ver van die skool af bly en dat hy baie skoolwerk het.
• Brand se hele familie het generasies lank provinsiale rugby gespeel en dit sal 'n teleurstelling wees as hy nie ook speel nie.
• Brand se pa gaan dorp toe en los 'n instruksie vir Brand. Hy moet die hek by die suiping gaan toemaak en oppad soontoe loop hy vir oom Pieta raak.
• Oom Pieta vertel hom dat die regte besluit afhang van jou motivering agter die besluit. Jy moet altyd eerlik wees met jouself en nie toelaat dat ander mense vir jou kies nie - jy moet dit self doen en dan saamleef met daardie besluit.
• Brand wil nie hê mense moet die regte rede agter sy besluit om nie rugby te speel, weet nie. Hy is bang hulle sal hom spot en sê hy is 'n sussie.
• Oom Pieta sê ook dis die rol van 'n onderwyser om te onderrig en ook die talente van hulle leerders te ontwikkel. As dit slegs om wen gaan, gee die onderwyser nie meer om oor die kind se welsyn nie.
• Wanneer hy by die huis kom, is meneer Vorster daar. Dié het gekom om te help met sy ma se kortverhale.

Chapter 2 - 'n Nagmerrie en 'n dooie slang

Main plot

• Brand has a nightmare that he gets kicked out of school for not playing rugby.
• In this dream, the whole school shouts "sissy" at him while he walks to the gate.
• Martin brings a pofadder to school and places it into a schoolgirl's bag. When catastrophe strikes, Martin gets into trouble when mr. Vorster takes him to the office and he also needs to clean all the girl's books.
• Brand's mom decides to ask mr. Vorster to help edit her short stories, especially because he is a language teacher. Lizelle does not like this idea and protests.
• Brand and his father talk about poaching on the farm. His father notes that the poachers should know the area well because they poach all year round.
• The artwork of Kruger Braun is introduced in this chapter as a symbol of the crossroads Brand faces.

Hoofstorie

• Brand het 'n nagmerrie dat hy geskors word omdat hy nie meer rugby wil speel nie.
• In die droom, skree die hele skool "sussie" vir hom terwyl hy na die hek stap.
• Martin bring 'n pofadder skool toe en plaas dit in 'n skoolmeisie se sak. Wanneer die moeilikheid ontrafel, word Martin gestraf en moet hy al die meisie se boeke weer van voor af gaan oortrek.
• Brand se ma besluit om meneer Vorster se hulp in te win om haar kortverhale te redigeer, veral omdat hy 'n taalonderwyser is. Lizelle maak beswaar, want sy hou nie van die idee nie.
• Brand en sy pa praat oor stroping op die plaas. Sy pa merk op dat die stopers/wilddiewe die area goed ken, want hulle stroop die hele jaar lank.
• Die kunswerk van Kruger Braun maak sy verskyning in hierdie hoofstuk en dien as simbool van die kruispad waar Brand homself bevind.

Chapter 1 - Brand neem 'n besluit

MAIN PLOT

• In this chapter, Brand and his friend Martin are training for athletics with their coach, Mr Vorster, who is a teacher and stays in hostel.
• Brand makes the decision that instead of playing rugby this year, he will rather focus on his piano playing.
• We are then introduced to Hugo, the antagonist/bully in the book. Hugo is found bullying a grade 8 pupil, Stephan. Hugo, Brand and Martin are all in grade 11.
• Lindie (Martin's younger sister) asks Brand to play piano for the grade 8 concert and he agrees. Martin does not want Brand to participate.
• Lizelle (Brand's older sister) fetches Brand, Martin and Lindie from school. She is a dentist's assistant and is blonde, with blue eyes. She thinks that Mr Vorster is too arrogant but it is possible that she just likes him.

HOOFSTORIE

• In hierdie hoofstuk oefen Brand en sy vriend Martin atletiek saam met hulle afrigter, mnr. Vorster, wat 'n onderwyser is en in die koshuis bly.
• Brand maak 'n besluit om eerder hierdie jaar rugby te los en op klavierspeel te fokus.
• Ons word dan bekendgestel aan Hugo, die antagonis/boelie in die boek. Hugo is besig om 'n graad 8-leerling, Stephan, te boelie. Hugo, Stefan en Martin is al drie in graad 11.
• Lindie (Martin se jonger sussie) vra Brand of hy die begeleiding sal waarneem vir die graad 8 konsert en hy stem in, teen Martin se wense.
• Lizelle (Brand se ouer suster) laai vir Brand, Martin en Lindie by die skool op. Sy is 'n tandarts assistent en is blond met blou oe. Sy dink meneer Vorster is te arrogant, maar dit is moontlik dat sy eintlik net van hom hou.