“Unathi, do you think this is too short for me?” Alice asked while fitting on a dress.

“No, it’s supposed to be short, how else do you expect Thabo to notice you?” Unathi replied.

“Yes, but my mother would not let me out of the house in this,” Alice said.

“Don’t worry she won’t know. But honestly that’s not even too short and it’s very pretty,” Unathi replied trying to be sympathetic to her friend.

“Maybe you’re right and it is cheaper than I had expected, so I’ll take it,” Alice quickly said before she had time to change her mind.

The day finally came and Alice told her mother that she would be sleeping over at Unathi’s so that they could work on their project.

The girls spent the morning relaxing and talking about what they thought would happen that night. As the afternoon came, they started to prepare themselves for the party.

Unathi had so many make-up products that Alice did not even know what to put on and which colour eye shadow went with her dress. Everything just seemed too much for her. For a moment Alice felt overwhelmed with what was happening, but when she thought of Thabo, everything seemed worth it.

When the clock struck 18:00 the girls were ready to go. Thabo came to pick them up with one of his friends, who seemed much older and who drove the car. It was nothing fancy considering all the work they had put in to look fabulous, but it was better than taking a train.

Thabo lived in Gugulethu. But Alice had never been there and she had heard rumours of how unsafe the place was. When they passed Gugulethu Square to get some drinks for the party, Alice was shocked and amazed at how beautiful the place was.

From the Mall they drove for about five minutes and they started seeing lots of cars parked and so many people walking. The sound of House music being played was getting louder and louder. Alice and Unathi held hands as they approached the house.

The smell of braai meat infused the air. People were laughing and dancing to the beat, girls in their super short dresses and guy in skinny jeans and looking fly. Alice had never seen anything like this before.

When they got inside the house Thabo introduced the girls to some of his friends. Thando was there dancing with some guys. When she saw them she ran over to greet them.

“Hey girls, welcome to my home,” Thando said.

“Thank you, I’ve never seen so many people at one place before,” Alice replied.

Before they had time to take it all in, Pedro walked in with Thabo’s brother and a girl. Unathi nearly fainted. She could not believe that he ditched her to come to a party. He whispered to the girl and then he walked over to get some drinks at the table.

Unathi was super furious because she really liked him and she couldn’t stand to see him with another girl. She took a shot of tequila and walked over to him. She tapped him on the shoulder and before he could say anything she was shouting.

“What the hell Pedro?”

“Oh! Unathi hey,” Pedro replied.

“I can’t believe you ditched me to come to a party,” Unathi said.

Pedro couldn’t believe how beautiful Unathi was looking without her uniform on.

“How do you even know these people? I thought you were new at the school. And who is she?” Unathi carried on shouting at him.

“Hey Unathi, slow down” Pedro said. But Unathi was so furious that she couldn’t even hear a word he was saying, the tequila had gone straight to the head.

Pedro pulled her closer and gave her a long sensual, slow kiss that sent shivers right through her body and left her speechless.

“Just breathe,” he whispered in her ears.

Unathi did not expect that from him at all. She was so taken aback she did not know what to say to him. But luckily he took charge and helped her to a seat. They started talking and just enjoyed each other’s company.

Alice was busy talking to Thabo when she witnessed the whole thing with her friend. But she was so glad to see Unathi so happy. Thabo asked Alice for a dance and all she thought about was how wonderful the night was turning out to be. And most of all she felt safe and at home in Thabo’s arms.

This is the best night of my life, Alice thought to herself.

The End