Karabo nodded in response and motioned to Isla to continue.

‘And then on one of the weekends Jonno and his folks came to visit,’ Isla said, watching Karabo closely.

Karabo’s eyes widened and because her mouth was full, she shrugged her shoulders.

‘Oh, it was fine. Actually, he is rather sweet, our dear Jonno. His hair is a little longer now that he is in matric and he does that flicking thing with his hair, which can be irritating but also quite hot,’ explained Isla.

Karabo raised an eyebrow at Isla. William always used to flick his long dark fringe out of his face and Isla used to get insanely annoyed. She’d even offered William a purple hair clip on one occasion.

‘I know, I know. It’s that thing that Will used to do. But Jonno is hotter and nicer, so it’s not as irritating, AND he doesn’t do it like every 20 seconds,’ retorted Isla defensively.

‘Sure,’ said Karabo, unconvinced, after she managed to swallow her mouthful of food.

‘So…what happened when they came to visit?’ asked Karabo, intrigued to hear if Isla had managed to kiss Jonno again, despite his jealous girlfriend.

‘It was cool to see him again. He is still nice and when I told him all about our trip, to Madagascar and the festival and all that,  he was mesmerised. I reckon he thinks we’re like this band of adventurers. His mouth was eventually hanging open,’ said Isla.

‘Mhm…so, did you kiss him again Isla…and don’t lie to me?’ warned Karabo.

Isla sighed and even in the dim light, Karabo could see Isla’s cheeks reddening. ‘He kissed me,’ she eventually said.

‘I see,’ said Karabo, licking her fingers clean. Isla had only managed to get away with a plate of food, no cutlery or serviettes.

‘It was just a few times. Meaningless, Karabs. He likes his girlfriend  and  it  was  just  a  silly  holiday  thing.  Besides,   I’ll probably never see him again,’ said Isla, speaking quickly without taking a breath.

‘Whatevs, Isla. Look, I’m not his girlfriend…but if I was, I’d be hurt that he’d kissed someone else on holiday…a few times,’ said Karabo.

Isla looked down at her hands and mumbled something under her breath.

‘I can’t hear you,’ said Karabo.

‘He should be the one who is guilty,’ said Isla, looking up and daring Karabo to defy her.

Karabo smiled.

‘I’m sure he does feel guilty or maybe not. Maybe he likes having a girlfriend and then kissing other girls. Who knows what he   is really like Isla. You actually don’t know him at all. He could be using you to boast to all his friends that he kissed you in the holiday, even though he also has a girlfriend,’ shrugged Karabo.

Isla swore softly and hit her thigh with her fist, before looking at Karabo.

‘It won’t ever happen again,’ she said to Karabo earnestly.

‘I know,’ said Karabo. She knew Isla meant it, but she also knew Isla had a weakness for pretty boys and kissing them. She hoped Isla, who was always hardest on herself, could live up to her resolution.

‘So here we are,’ said Isla. ‘You look like a mess and I’m making a mess of things. Great way to start the second term of matric,’ she laughed.

Karabo chuckled with her. ‘Anything but ordinary, right?’ she said to Isla.

‘Anything!’

Day and night flowed into one another, with small chunks of sleep in between. Class discussions were always about the dreaded ‘final exams’. Sport — especially hockey — held some relief and respite from the teachers, but  that  changed  when the provincial trial dates were announced. Soon all the joy and pleasure of a great goal were replaced by comments like, ‘I hope you can pull that off at trials’. Isla’s usual flirty demeanour vanished and she refused to look at the boys for too long — such was her commitment to her resolution. Karabo had even been tempted to start a rumour that Isla was going to become a Catholic nun when a boy she always flirted with asked Karabo what was wrong with Isla. Thinking better of it, she shrugged the idea away. Besides, Karabo knew that Isla wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. She liked boys and they liked her.

One Saturday morning during mid-term, when most of the school had gone to town, Karabo went to the gymnasium to play some basketball. She didn’t have much time to play these days and still hadn’t found anyone worth playing against. Buzz and Will had been worthy opponents, but they were no longer at Dayeton College. Tying her braids back into a high pony, she started to bounce the basketball. As the ball began thudding in her hand, she found her mind switching off, losing herself to the rhythm of the game.

After an hour, she paused and realised she was exhausted. She’d shot over a hundred hoops and was dripping with sweat. Tossing the ball into the basket, she walked over to her jumper and could feel her heart rate slowing down as she picked up her phone. As she scrolled through her messages, the last message caught her off guard and her heart stopped dead. William.

“Karabs. Got just enough battery on this phone to let you know I’ve got a way to get them. I need you to get a hold of Cedric. Get me his number and send it to this phone. I’m going to need some help for my plan to work. How you doing? Hope that matric is treating you OK. It’s tough but you’re smart, so it’ll be easy. I miss you. W”

Karabo stared at her screen. He was still OK. William had a plan. She re-read the message, again and again, to be sure. He missed her. It actually felt like he’d stuck his hand through a hole in time and space and was pulling her heart out of her chest. In truth, she knew she missed him more. The craziness of the year had helped stave off the wondering about him. But at night, when she drifted off, he was always the last thing she thought about. Realising she hadn’t breathed in a while, she finally opened her mouth and gasped for air as she typed her reply:

“Cedric’s business card is attached. Do you want me to get in touch with him too?”