The Revenge of Delilah Nzimande

Eleven

"What do you think stands out more? Cyan, metallic red or hot pink?" I asked Maddox.

The hardware store was small so it looked like the store was filled with many customers. Really, there were, like, ten people in there. Soft '80s music played in the background.

He sighed. "I don't even know what cyan looks like so . . . I guess . . . metallic red? I don't know."

I shook the can with a grin. "I was thinking metallic red, too." I practically skipped to the check-out.

By seven p.m., we were ready to put my plan into action. It took half an hour to get to Aunt Zama's house. And as we pulled up on her street, I noticed their car was gone. I mentally pumped my fist.

I exited the car and opened Maddox's boot. I grabbed the packets from the adult store and the hair dye.

"How do you suppose we get inside?" Maddox asked as soon as I closed the boot.

"Should be easy," I said, digging into my black satchel. I took out the keys my mother had given me earlier. "My mom has the extra keys to the house and I'm supposed to be checking on the dog."

"You sly fox." He grinned.

"Come on," I told him. "Let's get going."

We jogged across the road. It would have looked awesome if we jumped over their wall like ninjas but alas we weren't athletic enough to do so. I pressed the button on the remote I was given and opened their gate.

Almost immediately, I heard the yapping of their Chihuahua. The dog yapped at Maddox because he entered the premises first. Then the dog saw me and ceased his barking.

Maddox glanced at me. "Guessing the dog likes you?"

"You guess right," I said, stroking the tiny dog's head. I gave the dog one last pat and rushed to the door. My head whipped from the left to the right, making sure the neighbours weren't being nosy and peeping into the yard.

Then I unlocked the door. It seemed as though luck was on our side that night. Aunt Zama hadn't switched on the alarm before she left so we were able to enter with ease. Maddox made a move to switch on the passage light, but I slapped his hand away.

"We can't turn on the lights. I'm pretty sure Aunt Zama told the entire neighbourhood she'd be gone for the weekend," I told him, making my way to the stairs. "If the neighbours see the lights coming from this house, they'll tell her."

Even though it was dark, I could still see Maddox's cheeks flush into a light pink. He pushed up his glasses and followed me upstairs. I handed him one of the packets filled with adult toys and told him that Yandisa's room was the last door on the left.

"Make sure to hide them but not too well. We still need my aunt to find them," I reminded him.

Maddox slipped away as I turned to the left and opened the bathroom door. I used a flashlight app on my phone to help me see because there was only one window but the glass was designed with ridges. This made the incoming light distorted.

It was a fairly small bathroom. It had a bathtub, toilet and sink. A shower curtain hung over the bathtub and I pulled it to the side. The light slid over the wall near the bathtub before I found the shampoo bottle.

It was definitely Yandisa's. Even though she usually had artificial braids in her hair, she washed it regularly. I knew this because she was always flicking her hair in my face. And the smell was ingrained in my memory: jasmine and strawberry.

Tucking the phone under my chin, I undid the bottle cap and threw the contents of the bottle into the toilet. I violently shook the bottle, ensuring there wasn't a drop of shampoo left, and flushed her beloved shampoo down the toilet.

I had stashed the hair dye into my satchel as Maddox and I were climbing the stairs so it was on me at that moment. I took out the hair dye and smirked. I wanted to see the face on Yandisa when she discovered her braids and parts of her hair were a dark purple.

I poured the hair dye into the shampoo bottle without a second thought. And as I did, I thought of the humiliation she'd receive. The thought of it brought me immense joy.

When I was done with my devious act, I screwed the cap shut and placed the bottle where I found it. Then I put the empty hair dye bottle back into my satchel.

"You deserve a lot more than this," I muttered even though she was a good forty-five kilometres away from Durban.

I left the bathroom feeling vindicated. Maddox was standing outside with a disgusted look on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, thinking he suddenly got cold feet.

"I just never thought that I'd ever hold a sex toy with my bare hands." He shuddered.

A silent laugh escaped my nose. "Are you done?"

"Uh, yeah. I put some around the house-also in her closet and," he cleared his throat and said softly, "her underwear drawer. She has some exotic lingerie, let me tell you."

"I know. She was wearing a garter belt when I caught her in bed with-" I stopped speaking. I thought I would have been able to talk about it, but a deep part of me was still hurting. Realising that made my eyes sting.

"Hey, are you okay?" Maddox asked, placing his hand on my shoulder.

I shook his hand off. "I'm fine. We should leave. Jabu's house is near our houses so it's gonna be quite a drive."

Before we left, I made sure to feed the dog. I wasn't a monster.

The drive was silent for the most part-meaning Maddox and I weren't speaking. However, there was soft music from the radio. In a way, I was grateful for it. It drowned out the real silence. It kept me from thinking hard.

We were five minutes away from Jabu's house when Maddox said, "You do know you can tell me anything, right? We haven't known each other for a long time, but you can trust me."

I barely spared him a glance. "And why should I trust you?"

He was gazing at me. "Because I trust you. It should be enough."

I did look at him. He wasn't staring at me. I concluded that it was my mind playing tricks on me. It was only later that I realised he was looking at me-it was the same look he'd given me time and time again.

○○○

I just came back from my school's musical and all I gotta say is woooooow! It was amazing!

My friend in the performance basically spoke Cantonese the whole time, it was so impressive. Ahhh!

Anywho, just a warning. This story will take a dark turn in a few chapters.

Sorry, not sorry.

Love ~ blackwolf