"What is done with love is done well"
-Van Gogh
"Siphokazi, I'm very impressed with your marks. I was comparing your report cards, this is a huge progress" my Maths teacher, Mr Lancewood said.
"Its some skills I picked up while I was still schooling in Ndwedwe" I said.
"You should start your very own tuitions cause looking at your grades, you won't be needing mine anymore" he said. I grinned and ran out of the classroom with a huge smile on my face.
As you may remember, I was in a school in Ndwedwe last year. I learnt a lot of new methods that boosted my marks in a way I could never imagine, but I had to come back to Umhlanga because I now lived with my father.
The travelling became too much for me because I had to wake up much more earlier which meant less hours of sleep.
After my Maths class I walked to the school grounds where I would meet my friends. It was a Wednesday today, which could only mean one thing.
STEERS!!
I arrived to my friends with a huge smile on my face.
"You're in a good mood- for once"
"You're in a bad mood. My cousin isn't taking you out on dates?" I asked Nathan.
"No, Siphiwe hasn't come out of the closet yet. We can't really be seen together. He said his dad is very 'Zulu' and I dont know what that's supposed to mean"
"Trust me, it's going to be very hard to get Malum' Bongizwe to understand that his son is gay. I dont even think that word is a part of his vocabulary" I said
"I feel sorry for my baby" he said, pouting his lips. I rolled my eyes but pulled him in for a hug anyway.
Andile and Charmaine finally arrived after what felt like an eternity of waiting.
"Were you guys making babies?" Nathan asked.
Charmaine's cheeks instantly turned red and we all laughed at her.
"Come on guys, let's not put her in the spotlight. You know how hard it is to ge out booth at Steers. We once had to walk around the whole of Gateway mall so we could wait for that group to finish" I reminded my friends.
They all agreed. We used Nathan's family car. Mel and Dad knew that I came back late on Wednesdays because of my love, steers. I have to be quick today because after eating I have to visit the hospital. I dont want to miss the visiting hours.
We finally arrived at the mall, and thanks to the heavens above; our booth was empty. We all ran towards it before some other people came and took our seats.
"Hey Kids, the usual?" Tommy asked us, he was a waiter who has worked here for quite some time now.
We nodded our heads and watched him write it all down his notebook before he walked away.
"So what did we miss, everyone should share something that happened to them over the week" Andile proposed.
"Since you came up with the suggestion, you should start" I said
"I'm cool with that, since you guys know how hard I've been working on my football career-"
We nodded our heads.
"The Pietermaritzburg United Coach noticed my talent during a game we had with some local team and he took my number, he said he'll be in touch"
Charmaine squealed in excitement and she started planting kisses all over his face. We laughed at her reaction and clapped our hands.
"I'm so proud of you baby"
"Well done dude"
"We're proud of you"
"Next" he said.
"Well, I only shared this news with Ads over the phone but I didn't give her the full details. This has been going on for over a month now, Siphiwe and I are dating" he said. We all clapped our hands again and now it was my turn to plant a proud kiss on his cheek.
"My baby is finally growing up" I said pulling his cheek.
"Next"
"Well, I'm actually on the right track with my school work, Mr Lancewood suggested that I actually start my own after school classes because he's really proud of the new methods I've learnt" Eveeyone clapped their hands. I left out the details of what was going on back home because I didn't want to spoil the positive energy.
"Next".
"Uhm, I don't have anything to share. I just want to say, I'm so thankful for you guys. Last year I had nobody but look at me now, I've found a family in you guys" Charmaine said.
Andile pulled her in for a kiss, Nathan and I made gagging sounds.
After we finished eating our food, we parted ways. I requested for an Uber and made my way to the place I called 'home'.
It didn't feel very homey anymore which is why I spoke to Langa and asked him to please take in Mihlali for a few days, we arranged for her to go with her nanny because she needed a familiar face around.
Langa only came back home at the end of the month and some of the weekends, which meant that he was currently not home yet. He did speak to his father though and he didn't mind his granddaughter staying with him for a couple of days.
I opened the door and almost knocked over a wine glass with my school shoe. I picked up the half empty glass and poured the red content down the sink.
Melinda was sleeping on the couch, a movie was playing on the television. I looked at her sleeping form, if she carries on like this she might lose the baby, and also her job.
I could tell that shes going through a tough patch with dad because from what I heard, he didn't take the pregnancy news lightly. He was not as excited as everyone expected him to be.
His elder brothers tried to organize a meeting so they could talk some sense into him but he cancelled during the last minute and said he had some work related stuff to deal with.
It's been a week since Mel threw that party, it's been like this since that day. My dad wakes up very early in the morning and comes back after midnight. I hear him from my room because I study at night.
After washing the dishes, I cooked a quick meal: macaroni and mince. I didn't want to be late.
I took a shower and wore warm clothes, I came back downstairs and placed a throw over Mel's sleeping body.
I borrowed her car keys and made my way to the hospital.
On my way there, I decided to call at KFC so I didn't have to stand in the queue and wait for the food when I arrived. I remember how much Tumelo loves the dunked wings.
When I arrived, I went straight to his room where I found his sister sitting next to his bed. I don't want to say were the bestest of friends right now, but we tolerate each other. I called her sometimes to check up on Tumelo's recovery and she surprised me one day when she called me. I think Tumelo is the reason behind it.
"Hey, let me give you guys some space" she said walking out of the room.
I thanked her and went to take her seat.
I brushed his forehead with my thumb and his eyes slowly opened.
"Ada, baby you're here" he said with a small smile on his face.
"I'm sorry I couldn't make it this week. I had a test I had to study for" I said.
"I had a surgery today, something to do with the internal bleeding" he said.
"I'm so sorry you have to go through this all because of a reckless driver" I said.
"You do know that it's not your fault, right babe?" He asked. I nodded my head with tears burning my eyes, I had to be strong for him. I didn't want to cry in front of him.
"I brought you wings" I said giving him the brown paper bag. I helped him sit up straight and watched him open the bag.
"How did you know I like these, it was my sister neh? She told you?"
"No, you told me when we had our date. We watched the sunset in that beautiful yacht" I said.
"Oh? Did we do that?" He asked
"Yes, we did" I said worriedly. Was he losing his memory.
"How much do you remember baby, when last did you see me?" I asked him.
"The last time I spoke to you, you were very angry at me. You told me to drop you off at Siyanda's because my baby momma came and told you about how I killed my son" he said as a tear fell down his eye.
Oh my word, that happened so many months ago. The accident really did affect him.
___
I arrived home and put the keys on the table. Melinda was still sleeping on the same spot I left her in.
My phone vibrated, indicating that I had a new message. I swiped up and opened it.
Gogo♡: Be here this weekend. We have a family meeting.
***
Chapter 43 bazalwane! Thanks for 17k reads. Aveningijabulisa😪❤❤❤❤ I'm back home so expect more updates. Less than 5 chapters left and then...this book is coming to an end. It's been long overdue.
I actually wanted to stop somewhere around chapter 30 but then I was still to attached. I'm only realizing now that since I'm in Matric...I might not get a lot of time to update so rather just finish the book now 🦋🦋 thanks for reading.
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