“What was that?” Amanda says quickly, as we hear a scratching noise outside my window.
I shrug. “Probably a dog or something.”
“Oh…” She stares out the window for a moment. “Okay.”
“So, how does this one look?” I parade around the room in the silver strappy top I’ve just put on.
“Hmm…” Amanda watches me thoughtfully. “It’s nice, but it hasn’t really got enough va-va-voom. This is Operation Wow Jayden, remember? One look at you and he must forget that he came to the party with Refilwe.”
“But she’s so pretty!” I wail. “And she dresses really sexy and everything. I can’t compete with her, I just can’t.”
“She is sexy,” Amanda admits. “But, you know what – don’t play her game. Play a different game. She’s got such an obvious look. Everything’s on display all the time. You want to be a bit mysterious – leave something to the imagination. She can be the Fong Kong and you can be the real deal.”
There’s a big thump outside the window. This time, both of us rush to look.
“What on earth was that?” I say, as we press our noses against the glass.
The view is not exactly five-star. My room looks out on a well-swept yard and a dusty road that leads to some old warehouses. I don’t see anything that could have made a noise like that.
“Maybe its burglars,” Amanda says her eyes wide with fear.
I have to laugh. “Any burglar who wanted to rob us could just walk in the front door – it’s unlocked most of the day. And we don’t have much that’s worth stealing anyway.”
“Well, that definitely sounded human. It was too heavy to be a dog.”
“Do you see anyone running away?”
“Nope. But don’t those look like footprints to you?”
I open the window and stick my head out to see what Amanda is pointing at. Okay, I can see what she means. There are footprints and scuff marks in the dirt just outside my window. But the thing is – there are footprints all over the yard. A lot of people cut through our yard to get to the taxi stop.
“Let’s go and have a look around.”
We open my door and step out into the kitchen. Kabelo is standing at the kitchen door, wiping his feet on the mat and holding a watering can.