The chants were almost deafening now.

“We want Matt! We want Matt.”

Rather nervously, I searched for the ‘play’ button and with caution started the first song. After all, how hard could it have been?

I started the first song. It was defiantly a deep house track. Everyone was looking at me. The song started with the repetition of a thumping, snare like beat. Thump-thump-thump, the track started. I just stood over the dj-set and made like I was busy, when in fact my hands were hovering over the set, not daring to twist any knob or press any button.

Some people started fist pumping and a few were nodding their heads. All of a sudden the beat stopped and everything went silent. I froze in horror… Then the beat exploded back into action abruptly.

“Oh, it was only a slight pause before the bass kicked in,” I whispered to myself.

At the moment the bass kicked in everybody screamed and went ballistic. That gave me some confidence. I pressed the first button I could see on the set. That was the biggest mistake I could have possibly made because the action started a new song that simultaneously started playing with the one I had started a few seconds before.

Two songs, which were not in sync, started playing at the same time; each with its own rhythm and beat pattern – a deejay’s worst mistake. The crowd stood still as I desperately tried to rectify my error. Instead, I just made the confusing noise sound more pathetic than it was. The crowd started booing me.

My body broke out in an uncontrollable shiver. A force deep inside me that could not take the humiliation anymore, hurled me backwards as I ran away from the braai area. I ran without looking back. While running through the house I came across Mat walking gingerly from the bathroom.

“Yo! Were you off to in such a rush Thando?” he exclaimed. I did not feel worthy of looking at him in the face and held my head down as I continued to pace frantically through Mat’s house. I slammed the door and did not stop as I ran through the dark streets. The streets, which were unnervingly dark, made me think twice about running all the way home.

I stopped about half way down the road to catch my breath as I hurriedly phoned my dad. He told me over the phone to rather call my mom who was coming home from working late. After phoning my mom I sat on the pavement and reminisced about the incident that had unfolded.

My mom arrived about ten minutes later. As I got into the car I noticed my mom was looking as gorgeous as ever.

“Wow, aren’t you a little over dressed for work?” I asked amusingly.

“There is no such thing,” she snapped. It felt good to sit in a warm car after spending so much time in the chilling cold. We slowly began driving.

“You won’t believe what just happened to me now,” I confessed. Elena kept her eyes on the road.

“Mat was supposed to be deejaying tonight but turns out he was too dr…” I halted my statement. “He was too sick to play. Then all of a sudden he left me to deejay for him instead. Who does that? I mean Dad only gave me a dj-stand yesterday for my birthday. It’s not like I had any practise or…”

“What?” she interjected.

“I had no practice…”

“No, you said something about Jerry?” she inquired.

“Oh he bought me a dj-set for my birthday yesterday,” I answered. “I thought you knew – that’s weird,” I heard Elena curse under her breath as she frustratingly shook her head.

“Where will you play that? And all the noise? How much was it?” she ordered.

“I don’t know exactly,” I was taken aback. She was more interested in the price than everything that had just happened to me. I definitely had to rub her nose in it this time.

“But it looks expensive though – like, expensive. Hmm, I deserve it though. Don’t you think?’ I expressed in a sarcastic tone.

I could tell she was furious yet she remained calm.

“Oh that’s fantastic,” she lied, trying to seem happy for me. “It’s just weird because I was never informed about this,” In the rear view mirror I could not help but notice a bouquet of red roses on the backseat. I did not dare ask what they were for as I felt a little guilty for my previous cheekiness.

As Elena and I made our way the front door of our house I came to a halt while remembering something.

“Hey can you pass the car keys, I left my phone in the car?”

“Here,” she replied, handing me the keys with one hand while holding the bouquet of roses in the other. Making my way towards the car I pressed the button to unlock the car doors and began searching the Sedan. I found the phone on the floor.

I then could not help but notice a small white piece of paper on the backseat. From the passenger seat I manoeuvred my way into the backseat and picked up the note – it was the flower’s note. While sitting in the backseat I could not resist the urge to mischievously read the piece of paper. As I opened the card an instinctive grin took over me. Yet as I continued to read the card my smile vanished and my expression turned to one of repulsion.

The card read:

“Here’s to a gorgeous night with my beautiful lady.”

I sat in shock and thought to myself. Was… Was my mom having an affair?

***

Tell us what you think: What would you do if you were Thando?