In order to convince the Hepworths to allow them to go to the party, Isla and Karabo may have not told the full truth. In fact, they told the Hepworths that it was a boy from their grade having a few friends over for a movie. ‘Very chilled,’ they had chimed. Karabo could tell that Mrs Hepworth wasn’t completely fooled, but sensed that she didn’t feel like digging deeper. She was on holiday and so she let the lie slide. Mr Hepworth left this ‘sort of thing’ up to his wife.

On the night of the party, Isla and Karabo were so excited and jittery, they were hardly able to eat anything. They quickly excused themselves from supper to run up to Isla’s room and get dressed. Karabo had been spoilt by her mother on their Joburg shopping trips and had a ton of new clothes. Isla began pulling out all of Karabo’s new clothes to sort them into outfits. Isla was dead set on making Karabo stand out. She wanted Karabo to have a boyfriend too. Not that Mzi was her boyfriend… yet, but she was a little bit closer to being his girlfriend – now that she was going to the matric dance with him. And when she did have Mzi as a boyfriend, she wanted Karabo to have a boyfriend too. It would be weird otherwise.

They decided Karabo should wear the black leggings and a sequinned top, with a leather jacket and boots to complete the outfit. As she twisted in front of the mirror, Karabo felt stylish and thought that this was how her mother must feel, getting dressed in her beautiful clothes every day. Karabo turned and looked at Isla. She wore her skinny jeans, a tight top that showed off her perfect breasts and a bomber jacket with fur on the collar. Her long straight hair fell perfectly over her shoulders.

‘Time for those make-up tricks I’ve been telling you about!’ said Isla as she skipped to the bathroom.

Leaving tissues and earbuds all over the counter top, they painted their faces. It was well after nine when they finally finished their ministrations with cosmetics, and began their walk to the biggest house on the beach front. Being a small seaside town, it was easy to walk to most places, and this meant that Isla’s parents didn’t need to fetch them later – although they were warned that if they weren’t home by 12:30, Mrs Hepworth would come to the house and collect them! This left Isla’s blood cold. The thought of her mother arriving at the house in her dressing gown, and finding out that the so-called movie with a few friends was actually a raging party, was too terrible to contemplate. So she set an alarm on her mobile and her watch, just in case.

The party was in full swing when they arrived. Isla couldn’t believe where all these people had come from. Kenton in winter wasn’t exactly abuzz with activity. She recognised some of the teens from her many family holidays here, but for the most part, it was as if William had bussed in a crowd of teens. The music was loud and Isla held onto Karabo’s hand as they made their way from the entrance of the house to the dance floor. There was a DJ in what was possibly the lounge, and a number of people were dancing already. Isla felt the beat thud through her and was about to stop and dance when Karabo pulled her away.

‘Let’s get a drink!’ shouted Karabo to her. Isla conceded and followed. Beyond the lounge was a patio with a pool and a bar. The cool sea air rushed at them as they stepped outside, the beat of the music only slightly less intense. Karabo’s hand slowly relaxed around Isla’s. She had felt excited, thrilled and scared by the party inside.

Outside, she felt like she could breathe again. She sucked in the cool winter air – crisp and tasting of salty sea, while the oil slick of an ocean lay beyond the end of the balcony. Karabo spied the bar across the expansive patio and walked purposefully towards it. She had never seen so much alcohol at a teen party before. Even her mother’s soirees weren’t as well prepared as this. Karabo hadn’t even seen half the drinks on offer before – and all for free too. She scanned the bottles and spotted a bottle of champagne. That would do. At least she’d had it before, so she asked for two glasses. Isla was staring longingly at the dance floor, completely disinterested in the bar.

Karabo knew Isla loved to dance – it was one of the things she loved about Isla – her crazy ability to completely let go and lose herself in music. Karabo on the other hand needed a little more encouragement than just a vibey beat. She handed Isla the champagne, and Isla beamed back at her, all her anti-party sentiment lost in the beat of the music inside.

‘Cheers Karabz, sorry I made you work so hard to get me here.  I think this could be a fab evening after all!’ Isla said, tapping her glass to Karabo’s, a naughty smile spreading across her face. They made their way to the balcony overlooking the beach. Isla leaned seductively along the bannister and looked up at the house, her back facing the sea, ‘This is the life, Karabz. Look at this place. Isn’t it amazing?’