Beep…beep…beep…

Jenny looked down: it was a WhatsApp from Carlton.

Am sori 4 all de bad stuff I sed

abwt drake, n also 4 kissin u, i just

wanna b wit u sooo bad ryt nw.

Jenny smiled as she texted back.

I enjoyed de kiss. Drake

cn go 2 hell 4 all I care

Lol mit me @ my room on 3rd floor.

Carlton lay back on his bed waiting for Jenny. He took a sip of Hennessey. He could hear his friends having fun down below his room, splashing as they jumped into the swimming pool.

I really hope that those idiots all know how to swim Carlton thought, as he walked over to his cupboard. Now where did I put those condoms?

*****

For days after the party the Grade 11 pupils gossiped via Facebook about the fact that Drake cheated on Jenny with Alice while Jenny cheated on Drake with Carlton. It had gone viral.

Jenny is a slut

Wat daz dat make Alice?

Agg wat abwt Drake n Carlton,

wat daz dat myk dem?

Check your spelling and grammar before

you post on facebook

Eh ppl wat happenz in vegas stays in vegas

Tsek. U slept wit an ugly chick in vegas

At least I didnt drown myself wit booze lyk u

Drake felt so down. He started to beat himself up mentally.

I shouldn’t have had so much to drink. I felt like I was someone else, that’s how drunk I was. I hate this feeling. I shouldn’t have gone to that party. And now I’ve lost Jenny.

Then he thought of Jenny kissing Carlton. Wait, no, it’s not my fault. Jenny is the one that kissed Carlton. She fell for his wealth like the other girls he’s screwed over. I guess all girls are the same.

I shouldn’t have allowed Carlton to kiss me, thought Jenny. What if Drake saw me and decided to go after Alice because of that? No don’t stress yourself like this, Jenny told herself. He couldn’t have seen us. He cheated on me with Alice because he had a crush on her all along. It was Drake who cheated on you and you slept with Carlton to get back at him. He did it first.

Jenny checked her WhatsApp messages. Since the party Carlton hadn’t called, nor sent her any messages. It was now Sunday. Tears fell down her cheeks.

Days passed, and the pain subsided a little for both Drake and Jenny. They didn’t talk to each other at school.

The following Tuesday came and Drake saw Jenny walking with Sandy.

“Hey Drake, there’s Jenny,” Arnold said.

“I have eyes, fool! I can see her,” Drake replied.

“Hey, don’t take out your frustrations on me,” Arnold said.

“Sshhh.” The two guys approached the girls.

“Hi Jenny,” Drake said, but Jenny didn’t respond. She continued to walk and talk with Sandy as though she hadn’t heard anything.

Then Sandy turned and gave Drake a mysterious look. He couldn’t tell if Jenny’s friend was angry or happy.

Later that day Drake got a text message and he was surprised by it.

We nid 2 tok @ next break.

u hav bin distracted.

It was from Sandy.

An hour later, Drake was making his way to a place behind the classrooms to meet Sandy. I really hope that this isn’t a trick, he thought.

“Hi.”

“Yes Drake, nice to see you,” Sandy said.

There’s something about her beauty that makes my skin crawl. Especially those eyes of hers. They’re full of chaos, Drake thought.

“What did you mean by I was ‘distracted’?” Drake asked, referring to the WhatsApp message.

“Wow. You don’t waste any time. I like that,” she said with a smile.

“Answer me!”

“Well, you can yell all you want but you can’t force me to tell you,” Sandy said.

“If you know something that I don’t know please tell me,” Drake said.

“Alright, since you have now asked nicely, I will. Alice slept with you so that Carlton could sleep with Jenny,” Sandy said.

“What? How do you–” Before Drake could finish Sandy cut in.

“Carlton paid Alice R4 000 to sleep with you. The whole thing was a set-up. When Jenny left you while you guys were dancing it was because Carlton texted her. Carlton told her that you liked Alice, and that you’re going to cheat on her by sleeping with Alice. Then Carlton kissed her on the lips. He took her by surprise,” Sandy said.

That was the moment when Alice told me that Jenny was cheating on me, thought Drake. That was what the dream was about when I saw Carlton kissing Jenny.

“How do you know all this?” Drake asked, shocked.

“I was part of the plan. All I had to do was to tell Jenny that you were in bed with Alice,” Sandy said.

“I thought that Jenny was your friend,” Drake said.

“She is, but Alice is my childhood friend. We go way back,” Sandy said.

“Really? Then why are you telling me all of this?” Drake asked.

“Because Alice was supposed to split half the cash with me, but she only gave me a thousand, so I had to tell you,” Sandy said.

“But why?” Drake asked.

“Because you and Jenny belong together. We distracted your love, and personally I’m sorry. I didn’t think that Jenny liked you that much. She doesn’t speak to anyone nor laugh anymore,” Sandy said.

“So the whole thing with Alice saying she likes me is an act?” Drake asked.

“No, Alice likes you for real – but she likes money more,” Sandy said.

I guess some things will never change. It was the same thing when I approached her last year, Drake thought.

“Thanks for the info. I won’t tell Jenny what you’ve just told me,” Drake said.

***

Tell us what you think: R4 000 is a lot of money to a schoolchild. Do you blame Alice for being tempted into the deal?