After class I caught up with Precious at the cafeteria.

“Hey Precious,”

“Benard… Hi,” she greeted in a low voice. She didn’t look quite happy.

“What’s wrong? And where’s your boyfriend by the way?” I asked. Tears started to fill her eyes. I placed my hands on her shoulders.

“Hey what’s wrong? Talk to me,” I offered.

“Justin cheated on me,”

“What, are you sure?” I asked confused.

“I saw him kissing another girl at a party. And when I asked him what he was doing he swore at me,” she explained.

“Perhaps he had too much to drink,”

“He doesn’t drink,” she responded as tears started to slowly flow out of her eyes. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen him drinking beer; ever. I gave her hug.

“I really loved him,” she cried.

“Don’t cry. You’ll find someone again,” I comforted her. “Maybe this will cheer you up; I wanna buy my mom a present, fancy going to the mall? You can help me to choose, because I’m totally clueless about gifts,” I offered.

She wiped the tears off her eyes, “Okay… you’re planning to go back to Stallian during this
holiday?” she asked.

“Yeah. It’s been a while since I’ve gone there,” I replied.

We headed off to the Lokarion Mall in Saint Moreno. It was the biggest mall of the city. It had two cinemas and all the well-known retail stores like Game, CNA, Incredible Connections, Dion and many more.

“I think I’ll buy her a necklace that’s got a heart in it,” I said.

“Well, there’s a Jewellery store,” Precious pointed to a store and we went to it.

We got in and started looking for a necklace. “There are so many of them. Which one should I choose?” I asked her.

“This one,” she pointed to a necklace which had a gold heart as she picked it up. I looked at its price and I raised both of my eyebrows.

“Perhaps it would be better if I buy food. After all, it’s the thought that counts,” I said.

“Why?”

“Look at the price,” I showed her and she placed the necklace back in the small black box.

“Food is a better option,” she agreed with a nod. We went to Pick ‘n Pay and bought some groceries.

“I’m exhausted,” I said. “If I knew that you were gonna make me buy this much I wouldn’t have come here with you,” I added jokingly and we both laughed. “It’s always good to see you laugh,” I exclaimed looking into her eyes. There was something about her eyes that curiously sent me to the unknown world.

“Yes. Thanks for bringing me here. I really needed to take my mind off things,” she said.

“Don’t mention it,” I responded. We put the groceries in the back of my car. While heading back to the residential area of the university, I told her that Pam wants her father to know that we’re together.

“And what did you say?”

“I told her I wasn’t okay with it,” I said.

“I can imagine. Pam’s dad can be a bit intimidating,”

“I don’t know why she insists on telling her father about us. Our relationship is about us, not him,” I exclaimed.

“Pam loves you Benard. For her to want to tell her father about your relationship means that she’s serious about you,” she said.

“I know. It’s just that… It’s just that I’m not ready yet,”

“When will you be ready? What if tomorrow never comes? It’s better to do things while you still have time. Life’s too short Bernard,” she explained expertly.

“You’re right. I was busy concentrating on myself and didn’t even think for once how difficult this will be for Pam too. Thanks for making me realise that, Precious,”

We arrived at the university and I parked outside of the res.

“By the way, where are you gonna spend your holiday?” I asked.

“Uh… well I haven’t really thought about it,” she said with a sigh. “Perhaps I’ll go to Durban,”

“Oh… well I guess I’ll see you when university reopens,”

“I guess so,”

There was an indescribable silence for a few seconds before she broke it.

“Have a lovely night,” she said as she walked away.

“You too,” I watched her going until she disappeared out of sight. I should’ve invited her to come with us to Stallian to see my mom. Nah, that would’ve been weird; why do I still feel weird around Precious? Not nervous but weird. After all these years, one would think that I wouldn’t feel weird around her.

Perhaps I still have feelings for her, I thought to myself.