In my room, while I was lying in bed that night, my body hurt. Shokwakhe was a big man, in more ways than one, and while I was giggling at the thought of how the day had rolled out, my phone rang.

“Baby?” Shokwakhe said on the other side of the line in his husky voice.

“Okwakhe,” I responded, giggling.

“You didn’t get in trouble?” He asked.

“No. I wish I could spend the night with you, I miss you,” I responded with my eyes closed.

Before saying anything, Shokwakhe laughed for a bit. “I have a plan,” he finally said.

“What plan?” I asked, sitting up, then he told me all the details, and you can call me crazy, but I agreed!

**********

The following morning, I woke up and found my parents getting ready for work.

“Baba, ma, there’s a camp at school, and it’s the whole weekend,” I said, lying.

Instead of saying anything, both my mother and father stared at me like I was an alien. My sister, on the other hand, gave me a sharp look, and my little brother continued digging in his cereal.

“I’m in matric!” I shouted.

“You are, honey. Okay. How much?” my father asked.

“No money needed. But, you can give me some pocket money,” I responded, shrugging. They both laughed, and my father handed me R600.

***********

“I know there’s no camp,” my little sister said while we were in the taxi later that morning.

“What?” I asked, shrugging.

“Mike says there’s no camp,” my sister repeated. “You’re going out with your boyfriend, aren’t you?” she went on, giggling. Actually, Ntandokayise was only a year younger than me, and she was in the eleventh grade.

“Your boyfriend’s a loud mouth,” I said, laughing.

“Where is he taking you? You’re so lucky!” my sister asked, shrieking.

“I don’t know. He says, it’s a surprise,” I responded, blushing.

“Is he older? Cause I know a school kid cannot afford a weekend away,” my sister asked.

“He’s in tertiary,” I responded, lying.

My sister nodded in response as we stepped out of the taxi and walked the short distance to school. The week that followed went by fast, but Shokwakhe still would not tell me where he was taking me. I guessed it was some beautiful five star hotel, but I honestly would have cared less if it was a motel, because all I wanted was to be in his strong arms.

***

Tell us: How do you think Sizwe’s relationship with Shokwakhe is going to continue?