Precious' mother had been adamant that her daughter finish her schooling at the high school in Springbok. She wouldn't be able to offer the same employment opportunities to her sons, now that her husband had left, but one way or the other she would see to it that her daughter got a decent matric. She started; she was going to finish it, even if she was a girl. She took on extra ironing work and there were days at the end of each month, before payday, when they had nothing to eat, but Precious' school fees never went unpaid.