Episode 23
âWhere are we going?â she asked.
âSomewhere special. One of my
favourite places,â he said, smiling
at her. âI wanted to show you. It
means a lot to me.â That was so
romantic. It was the kind of thing
that Ntombi had read about in
books. She smiled to herself.
Perhaps he just wasnât good in
crowds. It was going to be alright.
The evening was going to end
well. But when he turned off the
tar onto a dirt track that led down
between tall trees to a small river,
Ntombi felt anxious again. It was
so isolated, so dark and remote. He
stopped the car and they sat in
silence for a minute.
âLook at the moon,â he said. âLetâs
get out. Itâs still warm.â They got
out of the car and Mzi led her
down to an old bench next to a
trickle of water. Not so much a
river as a polluted stream with
litter washed up on the bank. Mzi
put his arm around her. Ntombi
leaned back and looked up. She
would just forget the rubbish and
look at the moon and stars. At
least nobody could pollute them â
not yet, anyway.
Mzi pulled her closer. Then he
started kissing her. At first gently,
and she felt herself melting in his
arms. But then his kissing got more
frantic and rougher. And his hands
had pushed under her top and his
fingers were busy trying to undo
her bra. She pulled away. But he
stood up and pulled her back
against him. He pulled her bra off
in one jerk and his hands were
fumbling over her b—–s. Then his
hands were under her skirt. This
was getting too heavy. Way too
heavy.
âMzi!â she tried to push away. âMzi,
stop!â she said louder. âStop⊠stop
orâŠâ
âOr what? Youâll scream? Nobody
will hear you. Besides, I know that
trick. Girls always say âno, no, noâ
when they really mean âyesâ.â
âI do mean no.â But the words
came out as a whisper as he
started kissing her neck again.
âOkay, weâll take it more slowly
then,â he said. Then he stopped
and looked at her with a look of
what â scorn â on his face? âYouâre
not going to tell me this is your
first time?â he asked. âPlease donât
tell me youâre a virgin still.â Her
silence gave him the answer.
âIâm only fifteen,â whispered
Ntombi.
âFifteen! Whatâs taken you so
long?â Mzi laughed.
âI just⊠I just⊠Iâm not readyâŠâ
said Ntombi.
âYou just think youâre not ready.
What you need is a guy like me. Do
you know how lucky you are to
have me for your first time?â She
looked at the moon. She couldnât
look at his face. âDo you know how
many girlsâŠâ he stopped. âOk,
lookâŠâ he stepped back. âMaybe I
came on a little too strong⊠itâs
just that I find you irresistible,
girlfriend. Youâre the sexiestâŠâ
Ntombi didnât know afterwards
what would have happened if a car
hadnât driven down the track
towards them with the headlights
beamed straight at them. They
were caught like startled animals
in the beam.
âS–t,â said Mzi âLetâs get out of
here.â They ran to the car, jumped
in, and he reversed at speed back
along the dirt track. There was a
squeal of tyres as he spun the car
on the tar and headed back
towards the township. He turned
the music up really loud, but
Ntombi didnât mind. She didnât
mind how fast he drove either,
even though she knew it was
dangerous and that he was way
over the drunk-driving limit. The
faster she could get home the
better now. It wasnât that she
didnât want to be with him, she
just didnât want things to move so
fast. Did it have to be all or
nothing?
When they pulled up outside her
house Mzi killed the music and
took her hand.
âNtombi. Youâre a great girl, but âŠâ
There it was: that but, the word
every girl dreaded. âOkay, so
maybe tonight wasnât the right
time.â He took her hand and kissed
it. âBut I hope youâre not going to
hold out on me for too long,
because those kind of girls get
really boring after a very short
time. Those girls donât deserve
boyfriends like me. Do you get
what Iâm saying?â
Ntombi looked at him. He was
smiling at her gently. She was so
confused: how could he be so
moody? Aggressive one minute,
sweet the next? She smiled back at
him. âI had a good time,â she
found herself saying. âThank you.â
He stroked her cheek and then
kissed it, gently.
Then he walked her to the door.
âIâll SMS you,â he said. She waved
as he drove off into the night.
When she went inside her mother
was sitting on the couch. âWhat
time do you think this is?â She was
angry. âAnd who was that guy?â
âMzi, Mama. Remember, you met
him already. Has everyone gone
crazy? You knew I was going to
the party.â
âI thought you were meeting up
with your friends.â
âI did,â said Ntombi. It was partly
true. She really didnât want to get
into this now with her mother. All
she wanted to do was sleep. âAnd
anyway,â Ntombi couldnât stop
herself, âwho are you to ask me
where Iâve been and what time I
think this is?â
The slap came so fast it took
Ntombi by surprise. Her cheek
stung.
âDonât forget who is the adult and
who is the child here!â Her mother
was furious.
There were tears in Ntombiâs eyes.
All she wanted was for her mother
to hug her, and say it would be
alright. Instead her mother was
attacking her. Sheâd almost had
enough for one night â but there
was still a little fight left in her.
âAnyway,â Ntombi said, âI saw
Zakes at Mamaâs Tavern.â This
wasnât quite true, but she was so
sure that it was his laugh she had
heard.
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