The cell phone on her bedside rang. Mpho jumped out of the chair and raced to get it. In her mind, she could see herself talking to her best friend, Alex. The only person that understood her completely.
Mpho had known Alex from the University of Cape Town where they both studied Public Relations. Alex was an English boy from America, but unlike Mpho, his parents never really cared about what he studied as long as it made him happy. Although they had a lot in common, there were things about one another that made them very different. However, that was what made their friendship unique.
Mpho picked up her phone and suddenly her mood slightly brightened.
“Bestie, I hope you’ve got good news for me. That’s all I need right now,” Mpho said, sitting on the bed and absentmindedly twiddling her nails.
“You won’t believe what just happened?” Mpho could hear excitement in Alex’s voice.
“Did you finally get the African Chihuahua?”
“No! I got tickets to go to the Ellen Show next month.” Alex boasted.
Mpho felt jealousy taking over, even though she was happy for him, Mpho often got jealous when Alex told her things that she was forbidden to do. She wanted to do things together with Alex, she missed hanging out with him and doing activities she actually found interesting.
“Wow, congrats! So, when are you leaving?” Mpho upped her melancholy.
“Next month. You know you can go with me, right. I got two tickets. It could be our chance to go out and hang out again like old times.”
“Really! You really want me to go with you?” Mpho sat down. The excitement was overwhelming. She instantly pictured herself running around in America with Alex. She would then have the freedom to do as she pleased.
“Yes Bestie. But you will need to stand up to your parents first. They will need to know where you’re going. For your happiness and mine too.”
“We can just run away,” she said desperately, “I’m just too tired of these dates that don’t come to an end.”
“You know that I would encourage you to drink the whole bar one night. But I would never dare make you leave your parents without saying anything.”
“Okay! I will do something about it. Just promise me that you will not change your mind and go with Mike instead. God, I hate that guy’s guts, he’s so irritating.”
Mpho stood up and walked to the mirror, she started caressing her eyelashes with her index finger.
“Mpho, we’re going to America because we are looking for our prince charming. I am not going to drag Mike all the way to America and sabotage our chance of getting hot guys.”
“That’s even better. I would rather…”
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Mpho put down her phone, she was accustomed to Alex’s calls always dropping. She knew that Alex wouldn’t spend the whole day without calling her. Even though the call would drop, they would still talk every day. It was one of the many reasons why Mpho didn’t like Mike, another one of Alex’s friends. Mike wanted Alex to always call him as often as he called Mpho, but Mike was always asking for stuff. Whether it was favours or money, Mike was always looking for something, making Alex dread his phone calls.
Even though Mpho didn’t agree with her parents in many ways, she did agree that it would be best to date wealthier people. Mpho found that people who were not in the same economic class as her family were only after her family’s money and not her.
Looking at the watch on the mirror table, Mpho took her phone and headed to the sitting room.
It’s only 8:00 a.m., Mpho thought, realising she still had two more hours in the house alone to do nothing. She took the TV remote and switched it on. She rested on the sofa and closed her eyes. Listening to anchor man reading news, she slowly drifted into a tired, soundless nap on the couch.
***
Tell us: Do you know anyone like Mike, a friend who always wants things from others? How do you handle them?