When Nelly was in the streets, she finally managed to stop a taxi after some of them drove past her raised hand sign. Cold stares popped up at her when she entered the taxi, and her greeting got responded to with a few empty “sawubona”. The taxi looked fully packed, but with struggle, she pushed herself to the back, where there was only one seat left. The front and middle passengers hesitantly shrank their bodies to the side for the Model C school-girl with a big bag, which made it extra difficult as it brushed some of the people, to move along.

Nelly finally found a space in the back and sat down. She then let out internal sigh of relief.

“Hey,” a familiar voice said.

Nelly looked up and saw a guy wearing her school’s uniform. He also had on a tailor-made white blazer matching hers. “Thabo, good morning,” she said, fixing her glasses properly and looking at him. “Didn’t know you also take a taxi,” she said.

“It’s only for now. I still need to update my bus card,” Thabo said, whose words were followed by an uncontrollable goofy smile.

“Oh,” Nelly responded, and the she swallowed and nodded. “I see.”

Thabo was also eighteen years old. He was a tall, dark nerd who was popular for achieving high grades – grades which were not obviously higher than Nelly’s, since she always came out number one.

At school, during break, in the midst of passing or running learners, Thabo would always stare at her from a distance, and he would instantly turn his head away when it appeared like her eyes were about to look at his direction. When it was time for all the learners to be gathered at the hall to worship and sing, he would always find a space close to her and stand there, but in most occasions, she would not notice him.

Thabo would always try to create small talk with her every time he would get the chance to, and the staring thing was a habit he had picked up right after he had seen her in a red velvet dress. It was the outfit she had worn for Valentine’s Day celebrations that year. Since then, Thabo was infatuated with her. The school uniform hid many things.

“You’re also a Frank Ocean fan? Wow,” Thabo said with his eyes on her phone’s screen, where a Frank pic was the wallpaper.

“Yeah,” Nelly responded, nodding again. “He’s amazing, and I like him,” she said, turning off the backlight.

Right there and then, Thabo decided that Nell’s face was not the only thing he would never forget about her. A unique, fresh strawberry scent hit his nose as he adjusted himself to sit properly in his seat because they were congested at the back.

From that moment on, the two straight-A pupils started chatting, picking at each other’s brains on their school subjects. The nearby passengers had no idea what they were talking about, but they knew that, whatever it was, it sounded deep, important, and educational. They talked until the taxi reached Hepville High School, where they both entered the school gates.

Once Nelly and Thabo were in the schoolyard, they reached the passage where they needed to part ways because they were in different classes with different first periods.

“Bye, I enjoyed the chat,” Nelly said, waving, but before she could walk away further, Thabo called her back.

“Look, How about … we go again together after school? Same taxi?” Thabo said.

Before responding, Nelly paused. “Oh, unfortunately, I don’t have money,” she said.

“I’ll give you some, I don’t mind,” Thabo said, then he shoved his hand inside his pocket and handed her a R10 note, which she took slowly.

“Thank you,” Nelly said.

“Don’t mention it. Bye,” Thabo said, and then he pulled his bag up and off he went.

***

Tell us: What do you think is going to happen between Thabo and Nelly?