Sello and Toby made their way to the school’s kitchen where the free food was served. Sello came from a well-off family, so that meant he carried money to school. Sometimes he would buy lunch for both him and his friend, but that day was an exception.

After collecting their plates, the two friends went to sit at their usual spot, which was beside the parking lot, and they talked some more.

“Bro, I’m telling you, that burglar guy got burnt to death,” Sello said with a spoon in his hand.

“Burnt by the mob?” Toby asked.

“Of course! People are tired of having their things stolen from their homes, and the police are not doing anything about it,” Sello responded. “They found the culprit and beat him up before pouring some petrol on him and setting him alight. The whole street was watching, where were you?”

“I was at home writing lyrics. I heard some shouting outside, but mama said I shouldn’t go out,” Toby said as he shoved a spoon into his mouth.

“Your mom wouldn’t let you go out, yet she was one of the leaders of the mob? Your mom is something else. Man, it was wild! It was my first time seeing someone die. He was crying, sadly, his tears were not enough to put out the fire. I felt sorry for the guy,” Sello murmured.

Sello had seen the guy rolling on the ground, screaming his lungs out while he was on fire. It was a week ago, on a Friday night. Doris, Toby’s mother, and four other guys were the ones who fuelled the residents of the neighbourhood. But the people just stood there and watched the man scream until the fire silenced him to stillness. As soon as a siren sound came from the corner, people ran away and dispersed to their homes, leaving the black dead body on the street.

The two finished eating, and two hours later, school was out. They met at the school’s main gate and went to register for the talent search competition. It took them five minutes to get there, since the community hall was close to Hepville High. On their way, Toby took out his phone and sent his mother a happy birthday message along with an audio file. When they got to the community hall, they found a lot of people at the venue, and some of them had just arrived from school. There were four blue tents there and each had a table and a person behind them. There were also four separate queues which lead to each of the tents.

“Yep, this is it bro, let’s join the same line,” Sello said as he positioned himself ahead of Toby.

While they were in line, two young short girls, one black and one white, walked past them. They were from the front of the queue.

“Hey, Naledi,” Sello called out. He recognised the black girl, and Naledi looked up at him. “You are Naledi Mapula, right? My little sister can’t stop talking about you,” Sello said.

“Your little sister?” the girl asked.

“Her name is Joyce. You attend the same Sunday school with her. She says you are an amazing reader, and that she would like to be just like you,” Sello said with a smile.

Toby was frozen. He was also looking at the girl, but it was like he was looking at the younger version of his classmate, Nelly. Her eyes, her nose, and her hairstyle. She looked exactly like Nelly. The only difference was that the girl did not have any glasses on.

“Oh, Joyce,” Naledi said, remembering. “Tell her that sister Mampho is mad at her for not showing up at last week’s service,” she said.

“I will. So, who is your friend? You also came here to register?” Sello asked.

“Fortunately for you and all these other prospective competitors, the answer is no. We are not here to register,” Naledi responded, and Sello laughed while Toby giggles. “I’m yet to discover what my talent is, so I can’t enter this thing. I was just here to see my mom. She was hired by the event organiser to help with cleaning up the place and preparing it. This is my best friend, Cindy,” she said, laying her hand on her white friend’s shoulder.

Cindy Bronwyn waved to the two boys, and they waved back. Then girls marched away while holding hands.

Toby jerked his head a bit. “I didn’t know Nelly had a little sister,” he said.

“Well, she does. And she’s way cooler than Nelly,” Sello responded.

***

Tell us: Do you think competitions are important for the development of young people’s talent?