Prison life is very intricate. It is highly impossible to get used to it. Prisoners are forever smoking. There are also bullies and extremely dangerous people in prison. But people with money and many visitors, like Mrs Mngadi, survive. It was her third year in prison.

***

“What is a sole trader?” Mrs Mngadi asked with her soft voice.

Mrs Mngadi was a very good teacher. She was teaching Grade 10. She was extremely beautiful with long dreadlocks and flawless skin. She was tall and well-built with big eyes that were as bright as the snow. She was in her early thirties and had two beautiful children. Sadly, she was a widow. Her rich husband died of cancer and had left her with a mansion and two exquisite cars: a Range Rover and a Porsche Spider. Her late husband owned a mall and numerous flats.

“Wandile! Are you sleeping in my class?” Mrs Mngadi shouted.

“No! Madam,” Wandile replied.

“So tell me… what is a sole trader?” Mrs Mngadi asked again with her big, beautiful smile.

“Eish! Umuntu uzalelwe yinja endlini,” Wandile muttered. The whole class laughed.

Wandile was a fifteen-year-old boy. He was dark and tall. He was a ruby player and so was well-known in his school and had obtained many accolades for his school. However, he came from a poor family. His mother was a cleaner at the local clinic and his father, Sithole, was a drunkard. They loved their son so much though. He was their only child.

“Wandile, come to my office after school,” Mrs Mngadi spoke on her way out of the class.

Wandile did as requested by Mrs Mngadi. They met after school.

“What is eating you Wandy?” Mrs Mngadi asked.

“Nothing Madam,” Wandile replied with a doubtful voice.

“I can tell that you are not OK. Talk to me,” Mrs Mngadi touched his shoulder.

This time, Wandile spoke the whole truth about his struggling family, and the school fees that were outstanding.

“Do not worry Wandy. I will pay your fees and I am offering you a job. You can come clean our garden and swimming pool every Saturday. I will give you pocket money and support your family where I can,” Mrs Mngadi spoke softly, as she was gazing at Wandile with her beautiful eyes.

Wandile was so excited about this deal. So, he started working for Mrs Mngadi.

***

It was a very beautiful day. Birds were singing, welcoming summer. The flowers were smiling as if winter was not going to come back again. Mrs Mngadi was watching Wandile working in her garden. She was looking through her window. Wandile was sweating and had taken off his t-shirt.

“Look at those strong arms. Hmm… If I can just put my hands on that six pack… This boy reminds me of my late husband,” Mrs Mngadi drooled.

She was still wearing her extremely short night dress.

“Wandy, come here. You should rest a bit,” she shouted.

She gave Wandile a soft drink then led him to her bedroom.

“Come! I want to show you something.”

Her bedroom was so spacious and incredible. On repeat was Marvin Gaye’s sweet melody: “Sexual Healing”. She took a small box from her bed.

“I bought you this. I know that you, young boys, love ‘bling bling’,” she put the necklace around his neck slowly, as they were gazing at a big mirror in front of them. She was standing behind Wandile. Her warm and beautiful breasts were pressing on Wandile from behind. He felt her soft hands touching his chest gently. He felt her fat lips kissing the back of his neck. She uttered some careless whispers in his ears: “Relax, you will enjoy this.”

Wandile just froze. She turned him around and kissed his lips, as she was gently pushing him to lie, with his back, on top of the bed. She climbed on top of him, and the rest was history.

On his way home, Wandile was not himself. There was a part of him that was too exuberant. It had been his first time and it was perfect. On the other hand, he was full of shame for sleeping with someone he revered a lot. He, therefore, went straight to his friend, Mpho, to tell him what transpired.

“Wandy is such a big dreamer… You mean, you touched those curves…Whatever you are smoking is not good for you my friend… There is no way that a guy like you can eat that pudding. Lutho eLuthela!” Mpho spoke with a lot of sarcasm.

“Mxm! Sour grapes mentalities. I will prove it to you,” Wandile was now annoyed.

“So, you are officially a Ben 10 now… Ha! Ha! Ha!” Mpho laughed out loud.

However, Wandile’s relationship with Mrs Mngadi was slowly affecting him academically. So one day, during Mr Nyembe’s accounting period, Wandile was absentminded. He was busy watching the trees dance. Two sparrows, which were chasing each other, caught his eye as he was looking through the window. They were so in love and free. He thought of the feelings, which were gradually growing inside him. His heart jumped like an athlete every time he thought of Mrs Mngadi. They were now indulging in sexual endeavours regularly. He was no longer going to her home to clean her garden, but to sleep with her. She spoiled him with expensive gifts and money.

However, Wandile wanted to prove to his friends that he was seeing Mrs Mngadi and that they were sleeping. He, therefore, made a plan.

“I am going to make a video of us making love that will be proof to my friends,” Wandile thought to himself loud.

One day, he secretly hid his phone so it could record everything he was doing with Mrs Mngadi. Sadly, the video clip went viral. Mrs Mngadi was found guilty of statutory rape, and was sentenced 15 years in prison.

***

Prison life is very intricate. It is highly impossible to get used to it. Prisoners are forever smoking. There are also bullies and extremely dangerous people in prison. But people with money and many visitors, like Mrs Mngadi, survive. It was her third year in prison. Her skin was not flawless anymore. Because of allergies, she had ugly spots on her skin. She was the bed bugs’ daily bread and tears were her food. Because of lust, she had lost everything.

Meanwhile, Wandile was now at a university. He became a famous ruby player, but became a womanizer because he was trying to fill a void left by Mrs Mngadi. Sadly, she was irreplaceable. So, he moved from one woman to another. In the process of doing this, he became an abusive animal. He became cold and heartless.

“Wo! This is our generation. The generation of Blessers and Ben 10s,” he complained, as his mind took a long journey down the memory lane.

***

Tell us: What punishment would you give an adult who took advantage of a teenager?