When Siya and Njabulo are in their Maths class they try hard not to fall asleep. Otherwise, they would have to deal with Mr Mabuza's wrath.
'If you're going to be mad about students falling asleep, here's a suggestion, DO NOT BE BORING!'
Siya lost count of how many times Njabulo would say this during maths. There were no exceptions. Maths was not Njabulo's forte so it made sense that oftentimes he would spend class time outside, which is where Siya found him sitting when break time came.
Siya huffed lightly when he saw him. "When are you gonna take Maths seriously?"
"I failed to take it seriously all throughout high school, why would I start now?" Njabulo responded and got up from his seat so they could go eat lunch elsewhere. Elsewhere being under the tree on the bench with Sihle and Zola.
"Hi ladies," Njabulo said with his hands in his pockets as they approached the spot.
"Hey you two," Sihle said to the boys as she sat and unwrapped her perfect sandwich and took a small bite.
"Hey." Njabulo nudged Zola who looked at him and smirked lightly. Siya looked at them from the corner of his eyes.
"Is that Matthew?" He said and pointed at a boy who looked nothing like Matthew.
"That looks nothing like Matthew bro," Njabulo responded.
"Who's Matthew?" Zola asked.
"He's-"
Siya cut Njabulo off, "One of Njabulo's many conquests," He said.
"Oh," said Zola, "You're a conqueror. Huh."
"He is making it sound way worse than it is," Njabulo said.
"Oh okay, so he's not some guy you have casual relations with?" Zola asked.
"Okay, that is exactly what it is." He chuckled.
"Uh-huh." She chuckled and shook her head, confusing Siya. "You okay Siya?" Zola asked him. Siya could swear that Zola knew what he was trying to do, it was in her eyes. Did that then mean she knew that Siya saw them?
"Yeah yeah I'm good. I'm gonna go buy a sandwich," Siya said and scurried off toward the tuckshop.
"I'm coming with you," Njabulo said and followed his friend. They stood in line with the other seniors waiting to be serviced. It was great that the seniors had their own line so they never had to wait for too long. The boys stood in silence until they got to the front where they each got a cheese and bacon sandwich.
Njabulo broke the silence before Siya tried to escape him, "So I'm guessing you know about Zola and me huh?"
Siya sighed, "Yeah. Should have told me yourself don't you think."
"How did you find out?" Njabulo said, ignoring Siya's previous statement.
"I saw you on the field the other day," He replied.
"Right, after your rehearsals," Njabulo said.
"Mhm." Siya sighed and avoided Njabulo's gaze.
"Well, it's a good thing you said you said you don't really like her like that. I wouldn't want us to fight over something so trivial," Njabulo said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"Trivial?" Siya asked, a bit shocked at his friend's words.
"Well it's not like I'm serious about her man, come on." He replied and rolled his eyes.
"What?" Siya's face fell flat, "What the hell is that supposed to mean, are you just leading her on!"
"What? No, she knows that we're just messing around!" Njabulo said, "In fact, she suggested it, what are you getting mad at me for? You don't even like her!"
"She what?" Siya asked.
"You heard me. I don't know why you're being like this over someone you don't even like." Njabulo insisted, "I need to go, but Zola told me to tell you to free up your Saturday, we're all going out."
"What?" Siya asked, still puzzled by the revelation that Zola was the one who asked Njabulo out, and that she suggested that it be casual, "Uhm sure, I'll go," he said once the request registered in his head.
¤¤¤
"I'm excited for Saturday, I cannot wait for you to meet Noah," Zola said to Sihle when they were left together.
"Noah the genius? You have been going on about him since you got here, he sounds a bit intimidating," Sihle said to her friend.
"Oh please, Noah is anything but intimidating, I'm more intimidating than him," said Zola
"You're intimidating? Please, you're just a big goofball." Sihle replied as if it were obvious.
"Hey! A lot of people find me intimidating, why do you think I have no friends?" She asked.
"You have no friends because you have a horrid attitude." Sihle retorted, simply speaking her truth.
"Wow, I am offended." She laughed, "Anyway, Noah was the only person who was my friend. The rest were either acquaintances or people from the theatre club." Zola said, with a look of deep nostalgia on her face, even though it had only been a few months since she last saw him.
"Damn, this Noah must be something. You look like someone ran over your puppy." Sihle said as she gently rubbed her friend's back.
Zola suddenly stood up and rubbed her eyes, "There's something in my eye."
"Okay..." Sihle said, seeing through Zola's fake excuse, "You know it's okay to cry right?"
"Well yeah, of course, I do. What? Do you think I'm afraid to cry in front of people or something? Because I do not. I mean that is so dumb. Crying and feeling emotions is normal and I happen to be the normalest of all. It's not like I go to my room and lock the door before I break down and cry." She laughed.
"Uhm... I never thought I would miss your word vomit but Zola, are you all right?" Sihle asked out of concern for her friend.
"What? Me? Yeah, I'm good. Fantastic."
"Okay, I won't push if you don't want to talk about it but you should know you can talk to me about anything," Sihle said.
Zola didn't respond, she instead looked down and kicked non-existent rocks around.
"Aren't you late?" She asked Sihle in an attempt to change the topic of conversation.
"Late for what?" Sihle asked.
"I don't know, you're usually gone by now."
"Oh that, nah he's around today." Sihle blurted out before she could think it through.
"I'm sorry what?" Zola asked, suddenly perked up, "Who isn't around today?"
"What?" Sihle said, "What are you talking about?"
"Oh no missy, you're not gonna play that game with me!" Zola cackled and wagged a finger at her friend, "Who is he?"
Sihle sighed.
"You were gonna tell me eventually anyway, let's just do it now instead." Zola suggested, her face beaming, "Wait, is this what you wanted to tell me on the phone the other day?"
"Uhm, yeah," Sihle said as she gave in.
Zola sat down, crossed her legs and placed her hands under her chin, "I'm all ears."
Sihle sighed once more before telling Zola the story of how she and Lloyd met. She stared off uneasy but as she kept talking she started smiling, looking back on her little love story.
"He sounds so cute," Zola said through a heavy sigh when Sihle finished. Ncooh, was written all over her face.
"Yeah," Sihle said sadly. She thought about how amazing this boy was and how he must feel having to hide this relationship, it felt as though she was doing him an injustice and was being a burden.
"What's wrong?" Zola asked her friend.
Sihle thought about how she was hiding Lloyd because she was scared. Although it was a valid fear because she knew her parents and what they were like, she knew the possible consequences that would come from the revelation of her relationship.
"I'm not sure how long we'll hold out," She said honestly. Although it hurt to think about, she constantly reminded herself that at some point, Lloyd would get tired of being kept a secret. Zola held her friend in her arms and gently stroked her back.
"We might be breaking up soon."