I hid the clothes deep in the wardrobe before my mom could see them. But I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I have never been so happy in my entire life.

“Lwandle.”

I hurry to the kitchen where I find my mom standing there with her hands on her hips.

“Awuphekanga? (You have not cooked?)”

I literally forgot about cooking, “Uh- I was at the library studying for the upcoming test.”

I have never lied to my mother before. I push the guilt away and give my mother the most honest look ever.

“Oh I see,” says my mom taking out the ingredients that she will use to cook our supper. “I have a present for you,” she says turning to look at me just after she has placed the pots on the two plate.

She searches through her bag and comes out with a box. She hands it to me pushing me to open it. And when I see a phone I quickly wrap my arms around my mother.

“Ngiyabonga (Thank you)”

“You had passed your June exams so well that I thought I should buy you something. I hope you like it.”

I looked at the Huawei Y3 2019, making me smile even more.

“Mama I love it.”

I gave my mom a hug. I skip to the bedroom and start downloading things since mom bought me 10GB of data. Once I’ve finished downloading I take pictures and put one as my wallpaper.

I open my WhatsApp and tell Buhle that I have a phone now. She instantly texts me with all the emojis depicting love making me laugh out loud. She tells me she can’t wait to see my new phone.

***

Tell us: How old were you when you got your first phone?