Zinhle feels sick hearing Mr Hlophe saying these horrible words. Hot tears well up in her eyes.
She wonders why he has suddenly changed from being such a sweet man less than an hour ago.

He turns up the gospel music on the radio and hums loudly. The car pulls into the driveway and Mr Hlophe gets out and opens the car door for her.

“Come with me,” he says.

They enter the house. It is gloomy inside. She realises that the curtains in the lounge are drawn. It seems strange to have closed curtains in the middle of the day.

Mr Hlophe heads down the passage. Not wanting to follow, Zinhle waits in the lounge. She casts her eyes around hoping to see a telephone. At times like this she wishes she had a working cell phone, with a stored number for Emergencies.

“Zinhle!” he calls out impatiently.

Zinhle still does not move.

He returns and takes her by the arm, then pulls her forcefully down the passage to the bedroom.

“No, Sir, this is not right!” she shouts as she tries desperately to free herself. His grip is strong. The door closes behind her.

The ugly, hungry look that was on his face before is back now. He grabs Zinhle and pulls her close, forcing his tongue into her mouth and fondling her breasts under her T-shirt before pulling it over her head. Then he pulls down the zip of her jeans and she feels his hand fumbling between her legs.

For a moment Zinhle is paralysed with fear. But then her survival instincts kick in. She fights him off, screaming in rage and disgust: “Get away from me!”

She thinks of her sister and brothers, and how she has taught them to stand up for themselves. Her own teachings motivate her now as she squares up to Mr Hlophe.

“Shhh, Zinhle. Relax,” he says.

Zinhle screams even louder, loud enough to burst Mr Hlophe’s eardrum. Then, feeling a strength she has never felt before, she plants her knee into his crotch.

The smirk on his face turns to shock. He takes a step back.

“No! No! I said no! I want to leave right now! Right now!” Her eyes are red with rage.

The anger in Zinhle’s eyes has unsettled Mr Hlophe.

“Please relax,” he says.

“I’m leaving!” she screams at him, pulling on her T-shirt.

“Wait,” he says. “I’ll take you home. Just calm down.”

He tries to sweet-talk her but Zinhle is already out of the room. She runs to the lounge and opens the front door. She looks around. The gate is closed. He has the remote control. The walls are high and electrified.

Mr Hlophe staggers up behind her.

“If you try anything I will scream so loud that all your neighbours will hear me! I would rather scale this wall and get electrocuted than be your victim!” she says.

“Relax, Zinhle. Let me take you home,” he says.

Reluctantly, Zinhle gets into the back seat of the car. She wishes she could call the police. She rolls down her window and is ready to scream if the car takes her in the wrong direction.

The car stops a few shacks away from hers. Mr Hlophe takes a two hundred rand note from his pocket. He turns to hand the money to Zinhle, but she is already out of the car and running.

She runs full tilt until she gets to Ma Mdluli’s house. She sees Ma Mdluli’s kind face and only now does she allow herself to cry.

“What’s wrong, Zinhle?” asks Ma Mdluli.

“Mr Hlophe,” says Zinhle.

Ma Mdluli has known Zinhle since she was born. She knows all about the young girl’s suffering. Ma Mdluli also knows that she has never seen Zinhle this upset.

“What did he do? What did he do to you?”

“He touched me, kissed me, forced himself –”

Ma Mdluli gasps. “What? Mr Hlophe? We are going to the police right now, Zinhle!” she says. “We need to do something. Too many children are too scared to report abuse. I will be here for you. You need to be brave.”

Tell us: What do you think of what Zinhle did? What does it tell us about her character?