Amanda is a sixteen-year-old grade 10 pupil experiencing peer pressure. One of her ‘coolest’ classmates, Ella, will be hosting a house party, and the rest of the class is excited and looking forward to it. Amanda is constantly trying to impress Ella in the hopes that they will become friends one day, even if it means disobeying her parents sometimes. Ella is literally Amanda’s role model. She is very pretty—her hairstyle always on point, and her miniskirt is always ironed and clean.

The big day arrives sooner than Amanda anticipated. She is still trying to figure out how she is going to make it to the party without her parents noticing or knowing that she went. Amanda knows that if she doesn’t show up, everybody is going to regard her as a weak little girl who still needs permission from her parents, and Ella doesn’t befriend that type. Ella is not scared of anybody at school; it’s the other way around—everybody is scared of her (well, the learners). She gives teachers an attitude and even talks back to the ladies who clean the school toilets. Some learners don’t like Ella because she’s a mean girl. She’s only nice to her friends and rude to everyone else.

Amanda finally manages to put together a plan. Sneaking out of home is the only option she has. “Getting out of that jail I call home shouldn’t be a problem, really,” she thinks to herself. Her parents knock off quite late, so by the time they get home, they are very tired and go to bed early. “They should be fast asleep by 9 p.m. I can leave then.”

Amanda then realises that she will have to steal some cash too. She cannot just arrive there empty-handed—that is not cool! Sure enough, her parents arrive late as usual. They eat the supper Amanda has prepared, then go straight to bed. An hour after they fall asleep, Amanda gets ready for the party. She puts on her best dress and takes it up a bit to match Ella’s style. The goal is always to impress her.

Amanda first sneaks into her parents’ bedroom. Her eyes quickly meet her mother’s purse. She goes straight to it and steals five R20 notes. She then heads to the main door, which is always locked by her before they sleep. She opens it slowly without making a sound, locks her parents inside, and leaves with the key—hoping she will be back home before they get up for work. She posts in her class group chat where the ‘transport’ should pick her up.

As Amanda is in the car, a lot of negative thoughts start racing through her mind. The worst thing that could happen to her as a result of this dishonesty is getting into serious trouble while her parents think she is at home sleeping. She starts worrying about the possibility of an accident because apparently Ella’s boyfriend is driving his parents’ car without a license—and he is so drunk. She thinks she could get kidnapped and never see her parents again or, even worse, be mugged and brutally killed. Amanda quickly channels her mind back to her plan. She convinces herself that she is going to have fun and unwind from schoolwork.

“I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

The speed at which the car is moving is insane. Amanda is scared for her life but manages to keep her cool. They get to Ella’s house. It’s already so packed. Amanda is in a rush to get tipsy so she can lose all her shyness.

To a lot of people’s surprise, Ella is so nice to them. She keeps checking on everybody, asking whether they’re still good or if they need more drinks and snacks. At some point, the teenagers run out of weed for their hubbly pipe. Amanda quickly offers to get it, as everybody else doesn’t have cash. That really gets Ella’s attention, and it impresses her.

Ella accompanies Amanda to go buy the weed. On the way, Ella contacts someone and asks the person to meet them at the street corner. They get to the dodgy corner and buy from the guy there. The guy is creepy. They return to the party, chatting with each other. They drink, smoke, and dance—everybody gets lit!

Two days later, Amanda finds herself in a hospital ward. She wakes up to nurses, doctors, and policemen. She is then informed that her drink was tampered with and that four guys forced themselves on her. Her memory comes back slowly, and she tries to give the police her statement.

As she connects the dots from what happened at the party, she remembers chilling with Ella’s best friend and the ‘big boys’ the whole time. The friend goes to school with them and is known for dating older guys. Amanda recalls going to the bathroom and leaving them with snacks, drinks, and everything.

“That’s when they might have gotten the opportunity to do me dirty like that,” Amanda realises.

She starts crying. She regrets everything. No one is going to suffer the consequences of her actions for her. She made her bed, so she has to lie in it. At least she is not pregnant.

Amanda now feels terrible for lying and putting her parents through so much stress. In an attempt to fix the mess she has created, she comes clean to both the police and her parents. She exposes everything and everyone involved at the party—the guys who brought the alcohol and drugs and those who drove without licenses. She apologises to her parents and later gets a job. She repays the money she stole from them with her salary.