We all went in to dinner. I ate, but something was bothering me. I knew Ndu. There was no way she would have left without telling Adelaide and me. And even if she got to the main road to catch a bus, how did she manage to get through the bush and find it? If she followed the dirt road that led to the camp it would be at least two hours to get to the tarred road where buses might pass. And why hadn’t she taken her stuff?

Though I wanted to believe that Ndu was safely at home, there were so many holes in the story. Too many. I wished I could call Ndu to make sure she really was at home but one of the rules of the camp was ‘no cellphones’.

But once again, I kept my thoughts to myself. Adelaide was calmed down now. I didn’t want her to get upset again.

We walked back to the cabin. Along the way we met Modise. “Hey Mimi,” he said, putting out his hand to shake mine. I felt a slip of paper move into my hand. “Glad your friend’s been found.”

I put the paper in my pocket to read later. “Yeah, we’re all happy about it.”

“He’s a nice guy,” Adelaide said when Modise was gone.

“I think he likes you,” Kgalalelo said.

I didn’t say anything. At the cabin I climbed up into my bunk and read the note Modise gave me:

Meet me tonight. 10 by the toilets.

I wondered what that was about. Did he like me as Kgalaleo said? Or was it something to do with Ndu? I knew Peggy was lying, I just knew it. There were so many questions. I hoped by meeting Modise I’d get some answers.

*****

I made sure Kgalalelo and Adelaide were asleep before I snuck out of the cabin. The moon was full so I wasn’t as scared as I would normally have been moving around the camp at night. Everything was washed in a cool blue light and I could see clearly without my torch. I found Modise at the back of the toilet block.

“Hi,” I whispered. He put his finger to his mouth and motioned that I should follow him. We walked toward the back of the camp. There were some storerooms and other buildings back there that we were not using. I was surprised to find a braai area at the back with cement benches around an open fire pit. He had built a fire already.

“This is nice,” I said.

“There’s more,” he said. He retrieved a bottle of sparkling wine from behind one of the seats. “I thought we’d have a small party.”

I smiled and sat down by the fire. It was pleasant back here. I wasn’t scared at all. Modise poured me some wine and sat down next to me. “You’re cute,” he said. “I noticed you the first day we arrived.”

I felt happy. I liked boys older than me, and Modise couldn’t have been more than twenty. “I noticed you too,” I said shyly.

Just then there was a noise in the bush nearby. I jumped and moved behind the bench. Modise laughed when a cat crept out of the tall grass and moved near the warmth of the fire.

“Watch out for the lion,” he teased, but the words were barely out of his mouth when we heard a roar in the distance.

I climbed back onto the bench and Modise put his arm around me. “We’re fine. Those lions are far off.”

“They don’t sound far. Maybe it’s Ghost.”

“Ghost?”

I explained what Themba told me. “So you know about Ghost then? It’s nothing. I’m sure it’s just a story.”

“So you and Peggy knew about it, but still brought us here?”

“It’s safe, don’t worry.” He pulled me closer and kissed me on the cheek. But I wasn’t ready for any of that, and besides I was still worried about Ndu.

“Do you think Peggy was lying about Ndu? That she’s home?”

“Why would you say that?” He finished his glass of wine and poured himself another one.

“I mean if you’re deciding to go, why do you leave your stuff? Why not take it?”

“She was walking quite a distance to the road. I guess she thought it was too far.”

“Maybe, but I don’t trust Peggy.”

Modise ran his hand along my cheek. “Don’t worry. It’s the truth. I’m actually the one who called Ndu’s house. Her mother told me she was at home. They were all confused about what was going on.”

“So you talked to Ndu’s mother? You’re sure it was her mother?”

“Yes. She said everything was fine. You’ll see her when you get home. She asked me to ask you to bring Ndu’s bag with you.”

I stood up. “I’m freezing and we need to get up early. I better get back to the cabin.”

I quickly left. I needed to get back to the safety of the cabin.

***

Tell us what you think: Why did Mimi leave so quickly?