In the shadow of a colossus

Chapter 1

 The giant statue of Nelson Mandela was attracting more and more visitors. Groups of tourists posed between the giant feet, sitting on the shoes or hugging the ankles of the shiny bronze statue, while one of the group backed away across the square with a camera in their hand. Amber liked to watch their antics as she waited on tables at the open-air restaurant in the entrance to the mall. The photographers would often walk backwards without looking, their face pressed up to the camera. Sometimes they would trip on the paving stones at the centre of the big open area. Amber had even seen a few photographers fall over. The restaurant staff would laugh amongst themselves and place small bets on which photographer would fall or not. 

“I bet five rand that the short guy with the rucksack will trip up on the paving in the middle!” 

“I’ll match you the same that he walks backwards into someone!” 

It was really only the tourists who were worth watching and placing bets on. The local visitors to Sandton City were more relaxed, familiar with the surroundings and keen to appear “cool” as they wandered across the square on their way to the mall. It was winter holidays and the restaurant had been busy since the schools broke up. In the mornings it was quiet, a few people on their way to work grabbing a quick breakfast, but by lunchtime the restaurant was always busy. Times were supposed to be tough, but people still had money to spend. 

Well, Amber didn’t have much money to spend. That’s why she waited on tables, working hard to charm tips from the people lunching on sandwiches, burgers and wraps. Amber’s identical twin sister, Pearl, also needed to earn money, so she too worked at the same restaurant. There was only one job available, for two perfectly identical twin sisters, so they shared the job. The sisters looked so alike that the restaurant owner did not suspect a thing. A couple of the waiters knew that something odd was going on, but they did not bother the girls. Amber would work Monday to Wednesday and Pearl would work the remainder of the week, including Saturday. 

Saturday was the busiest day and the best day for tips. The sisters kept it fair by adding the tips for Monday and Saturday together and splitting this money equally. It was not only the waitress job and the tips that the girls shared; being identical in height and build, they also shared clothes. It was a great wardrobe arrangement, plus it helped cover their little job-sharing trick. However, there was one thing that the sisters would not share and that was a boyfriend. The two were fierce competitors and had very different personalities when it came to dealing with boys. 

Amber tended to be quieter and a bit shy around boys. Pearl was more confident and as a result, different guys appealed to the two girls. Amber usually ended up with young guys who preferred their girlfriend to take a bit of a back seat and let them be the centre of attention. She usually ended up going out with sporting types, models, actors and surfers. Pearl referred to these guys as “prima donnas” and she usually ended up clashing with them. Her choice of boyfriend was someone not so wrapped up in his own image. She preferred guys who let her be in charge.

Chapter 2

For the first week into the winter holidays, the job sharing ran smoothly, just as it had during the longer summer holidays. It was the perfect arrangement for working part of the time and still enjoying a holiday break, with money in your pocket. Pearl came home on the Saturday evening and flopped into a chair in front of the television. 

Amber looked up from her magazine, “It went okay today?” 

Pearl kicked off her shoes and rubbed her aching feet, “Yeh, fine.” She glanced over her shoulder into the kitchen, “Where are Mom and Dad?”