“He’s really cute mngani, I mean just look at him,” Lizzy said as Mpilwenhle approached.

“Nah friend you’re better off without him, I just don’t like this kid, there’s something off about him,” suspected Nosihle, Lizzy’s friend. She never liked Mpilwenhle, she always thought he was some kind of a player and that he was going to hurt her friend’s feelings.

Well Nosihle was right, there was something off about Mpilwenhle, “What kind of a guy does braids on his hair!?” Nosihle would always ask when Lizzy brought up Mpilwenhle. But not to say Mpilwenhle was a bad guy and he didn’t care about girls’ feelings; he was sweet actually, a good lover, not to mention his looks. The thing is Mpilwenhle never talked to people, well not all that much. You would always find him locked up in his room, writing books that nobody read, listening to sad hip-hop music, mostly Phora. Mpilwenhle liked Phora, he related to what he rapped about.

Well not that the girls knew anything about Mpilwenhle’s heartbreak back in Durban. Lizzy just liked what she saw.

“Hi Mpilo,” Lizzy greeted Mpilwenhle as he bought airtime at Nosihles tuck shop, well her dad’s.

Mpilwenhle was surprised the girl knew his name as he hardly spoke to anyone as Lizzy’s family just moved in at Enchanga, right next door to him.

“Hi,” Mpilwenhle replied with a little cute white smile with a silver lateral left incisor.

Lizzy just couldn’t resist thinking about Mpilwenhle that day. “He’s different” she thought. “I can’t compare his swag to anybody around this place, charming! I mean who wouldn’t die just to have a hottie right next door to kiss whenever they feel like it,” she continued. “Smart too, he studies engineering at university. Know what? Tomorrow I will woman-up, I will grab him by his neck, look him straight into his eyes, tell him straight-up I like him, then kiss him. He will not resist, I’m beautiful, yes! That’s how he will be my boyfriend,” said Lizzy to herself before falling asleep.

“Hello Gogo, is Mpilo home?” Lizzy asked Mpilo’s grandmother the next day.

“Yes my child, he’s in his room, I will show you.”

Gogo stopped at a door and knocked.

“Mpilo? Open up somebody wants to see you,” Gogo told Mpilwenhle and quickly he opened the door.

“Hi Mpilo, sorry to bother if I am. It’s just that I’m struggling with my Computer Applications Technology assignment, we were assigned to do it over the holiday. I was hoping maybe you might be able to help?”

“CAT!? Yeah, I used to be good at this back in high school, come let’s check it out.”

“Thank you Gogo,” Lizzy thanked his granny.

They both went inside Mpilwenhle’s room, it was clean, had all these posters on the wall. He offered some snacks and small talk for a few minutes and then Lizzy saw a book titled ‘Pieces of mine’ on top of the table. She stood up and attempted to take it but Mpilwenhle stopped her as she was about to open it. It was one of those confidential ‘mystery’ books he wrote.

“Let’s just get this assignment done, okay?” Mpilwenhle said.

“Okay,” Lizzy said.

Tell us: Do you think it’s okay to go through someone books without really knowing them?