Themba kicked a stone as he walked along. A jumble of thoughts raced through his head but at the same time it felt like he was thinking of nothing at all. It was 9.30 at night but the neighbourhood was still buzzing. The meat stalls were busy as hungry passers-by bought liver and beef while parents dragged their tired children home to bed, and lonely old men sat on park benches suiping from booze in old plastic Coke bottles. A group of guys Joseph’s age crouched in a circle in a corner. One beatboxed while the others took turns freestyling. They were rapping about thug life, fighting and standing up for yourself when everything is against you.

Themba clenched his fists together in his pockets. This was it! This was too much. His mom was going crazy! He knew he couldn’t fix it, but he had to do something. She made him so angry. She was acting like she was the only one who had ever loved Joseph. Joseph wasn’t just her son – he was Themba’s brother too. Themba’s eyes felt angry and hot, and he hated her for being so selfish. He managed to get up every morning and go to school, even though he wasn’t working very hard in his lessons. Why couldn’t she just get out of bed and go to work? Didn’t she love him?

He was still kicking at the stone, and the streets were dark. His hands were in his pockets, and suddenly, out of nowhere, a man bumped into him, tripped, wobbled a bit and fell on the ground in a heap. This was just what Themba needed to lighten his mood. He forgot his troubles for a second and laughed out loud.

“Ha, ha, ha!”

His heart was hard; he did not feel sorry for the man. The man slowly got up, his shabby clothes covered in dirt from the street.

“You disrespectful boy! You – you – you trip an old man like that! Watch where you’re going!” he shouted, looking at Themba with blood-red eyes. Themba could see that he was drunk, and he was sick of drunken grown-ups.

“You old fool, you should watch where you’re going. You’re the one who bumped into me.”

He turned to walk back down the street, whistling, but the man grabbed onto his hoodie and shouted at him. “I should give you a hiding! You kids these days, no respect!”

Themba wriggled free out of the man’s hold, and his anger rose once again. This time there was no holding back … “Where are your children, you good-for-nothing old drunkard? You should be ashamed; you’re just as bad as my mother. Why should I respect someone as pathetic as you?” He spat on the ground, and laughed again, turning to walk on.

The man started breathing hard, grunting like a wild animal. He ran clumsily towards Themba and spun him around by his shoulders. “I, I should kill you! Haven’t you been taught respect? You are just a little boy!” The man was holding Themba by his hoodie and was shouting, slurring his words and wobbling on his feet, unbalanced. He was close enough for Themba to smell the brandy on his breath. Themba’s eyes were huge and his heart was pounding – he could feel each heartbeat in his throat and mouth.

The old man raised his hand, about to give Themba a drunken slap across his face, when Themba yelled, “Look, it’s the SWAT cops!” The man let go of Themba’s hoodie, looking around, slow and dazed. Laughing as he went, Themba ducked and ran down the street.

“That was a close one,” he thought, and stopped to catch his breath back on the corner. He looked back at the man, far away on the street, who was waving his fist in the air at him, shouting curses.

That showed him, Themba thought, but inside he was afraid of meeting that man again when he was sober and remembered what had happened. Next time he probably wouldn’t get away so easily.

Then, out of the blue, he heard Lettie’s voice:

“Hey, what are you doing here, Tee?” He turned around and his heart sank. The whole gang was with her. He really didn’t feel like hanging out with the gang right now – he had too much on his mind. But it was nice to see Lettie. She was wearing a new pair of Lucky Jeans, tight on her beautiful, curvy legs. He gained confidence.

“Hi. You guys will never guess what just happened …”

“Ooh, what Themba?” asked Lettie.

“Well, I walked out of my house, minding my own business, and this old guy pushed me as I walked past. He was so drunk.”

“Nothing new about that,” Bust shrugged.

“And then what happened, Tee?” asked Lettie.

“So then, as he tried to walk on, I put my foot out and tripped him. As he fell down, he vomited! And then he fell down into his own vomit! Drunken fool! He called me a little boy, but I showed him,” Themba lied.

The boys laughed, and Lettie did too, a bit nervously. Prince patted Themba on the back and the group started walking along together.

“Those oldies, hey, they’re asking for it. Drunk in the streets and thinking they can still tell us what to do,” said Vusi. Themba was surprised; it was the first time since the fight that Vusi had said anything to him. He felt proud.

“So, where are you guys going?” Themba asked.

“Sorry, mfethu, it’s business,” said Prince, importantly. “I’m not sure yet you’re man enough to be part of it.”

Themba looked at Lettie; she shrugged.

“We were walking Lettie home but now that we’re here, we’d actually better get going, Tee,” said Prince. “We’ve got things to do. We’ll watch out for the vomit! Ha ha! Cheers!” The boys hugged and kissed Lettie. Themba noticed how she pulled away from Prince as he tried to give her a proper kiss.

“Wena,” she said playfully, smacking him on the shoulder.

Prince shrugged his shoulders, and then he and the guys gave Themba high-fives and handshakes.

“Bye,” said Themba quietly, as the others wandered off, laughing together about something he didn’t hear. He and Lettie stood together outside Lettie’s house. He was hurt. Hadn’t he proved himself to them yet?

“They’re stupid sometimes, Tee, don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t care,” lied Themba, but inside he was jealous and wished again that he could join in. It wasn’t fair; he had proved himself when he beat up Vusi – he was a good match against the school’s biggest bully. He had been with them when they had stolen stuff at the mall. He should be allowed into the group.

Lettie seemed to sense that he was lying though. “Well, I like you, Tee.” she said. She looked down as she said it, and hooked one foot around her other heel, hands on her hips.

“Thanks, Lettie. I like you too. You’re so …” he stopped. They both laughed nervously.

Lettie was the first to speak. She burst out, “You know, you don’t have to hurt old men to be a real man, Themba. I know he was drunk, but …” She trailed off.

He stroked her arm. “You’re right. But let’s not think of that now.”

“I need to go inside now,” she said, looking at her house. Then she quickly stood on her tiptoes and gave Themba a hug. He could smell her hair. It smelled sweet like strawberries. He held on and held tight. She was beautiful. They looked at each other, and he had his hands on her shoulders. With a flick of her hair, she spun around and ran the few metres to her front door. Only after unlocking it did she look back at him for a moment before she closed the door.