The room is dark as Sthe clocks his cellphone. The light shines bright on his face. It is 23:34 and he cannot sleep. He can’t stop thinking about Thabang and Naledi. He cannot get her out of his mind. Why can’t she be like other girls he thinks. No girl has ever said ‘no’ to him. She had got him spinning. He had told Thabang that he didn’t care about her – but he does. Why?
And why does she choose Thabang when he, Sthe, has money and can take her to cool places and show her a good time?
He punches his pillow, throws the blankets aside and heads to the kitchen. He pours water into a glass and gulps it down.
“I’ll show him,” he mutters. The light from the fridge illuminates the kitchen table. He sees his father sit up with a jerk. He must have fallen asleep working. There is a pile of documents on the table and an open decanter of whisky.
“Dad! What are you doing here in the dark?”
“I must have fallen asleep.”
Sthe switches on the light.
“I need superpowers to fix this mess,” his father moans, and shuffles the documents in front of him.
“What’s going on, Dad?”
His father motions for him to sit down.
“How are things at school?”
“Not, bad. Marks are good.”
“Where is that friend of yours … what’s his name again?”
“Thabang.”
“Yes, I don’t see him a lot these days. Is everything all right?”
“Ya,” he lies. “Everything is cool.”
His father nods.
“His father is a miner at your mine, Dad.”
“Oh, yes, that’s right. He’s one of the scholarship kids.”
“Is everything all right at the mine?” Sthe asks.
His father stares at him and shakes his head.
“No! Things are not good, my son.” He pours more whisky from the decanter and takes a gulp. “The miners are still on strike. They don’t listen to reason.”
“What do they want, Dad?”
“More money, son. They want more money. I would give it to them, but I have profits and shareholders to think of and they will not allow it.”
“Can’t you reach a deal? You sacrifice one thing for another. That is what we learned at school. One must be willing to sacrifice one thing for another. I’m sure it wouldn’t be a big deal if the miners got a little more, right?” Sthe asks.
His father smiles. “You are good, boy. However the world is not exactly black and white. We sometimes have to deal with the grey. At this moment there is a lot of grey. But now … time for bed. Otherwise you will struggle to get up tomorrow morning.”
Sthe leaves his father alone brooding.
*****
In the classroom the next day, Sthe watches as Thabang texts under his desk. Naledi smiles as she sees a message flash onto her screen. Sthe watches as she looks up and smiles at Thabang. She texts back.
A few moments later, Sthe sees Thabang slip his phone into his school bag before he asks to be excused to go to the toilet.
As soon as he is gone Sthe reaches over, slides his hand into Thabang’s bag and brings out the phone. His heart is racing as he quickly reads the last message.
C U at the movies, Sat 5.30
He slips the phone back just in time as Thabang comes back into the room.
Sthe doesn’t speak to Thabang all day, but inside he is seething. All he can think about is Thabang and Naledi at the cinema. He has to be there. He has to see it for himself.
*****
On Saturday evening Sthe sits in the games room at home and plays on his PlayStation, but he isn’t interested. He tries to watch a movie but he switches it off halfway through. He checks the time. It is crawling as he waits to go to the cinema to find Thabang and Naledi. He changes his outfit again. Dark clothes that will blend into the night. He checks himself once more before he grabs a cap to hide his eyes and dials a private taxi.
His mother is watching TV in the lounge. She calls to him to join her. “Where are you off to?” she asks, surprised at seeing him ready to go out.
“Movies.”
“Do you have enough money? Lucky girl to go to the movies with my handsome son,” she teases.
He can’t wait to leave the house before his mother asks him anything else.
Then the news comes on; he watches the TV screen. It’s about the strike at the mine. There is his father speaking. He can hardly be heard as the miners hurl accusations. And there is Thabang’s father. Right there in the front of the crowd, waving a knobkerrie.
Sthe’s mother grabs the remote, shakes her head and switches it off. “When will it end?” she says to herself.
Sthe leaves, slamming the door behind him.
He lurks outside the cinema, like a predator patiently waiting for its prey. It starts getting dark and cold. He checks his watch. It is almost eight; the movie should be finishing soon. He feels stupid, humiliated, as he paces up and down. Then he sees Thabang and Naledi coming out in a rush of people. They’re holding hands and laughing. He feels sick.
They stop and turn to face each other. Then he runs towards them.
Thabang needs to know how much it hurts to be lied to, he thinks.
***
Tell us what you think: Is Sthe being rational? What is he about to do?