Mbeko thinks about all the unemployed people he met at the Waterfront. Most of them would have read the ad. Most of them would probably want to get a bursary and do the course. Will he succeed this time if he tries?
Still in the library, he makes a few changes to his CV and sends it straight away. On his way out, his cellphone vibrates in his pocket. He darts out to answer it. It is from Xolani.
“Hey, bro. How are you doing? I have not forgotten about you. Just have been too busy learning new things here.”
“Oh, please save it. It is like we’re already living two worlds apart.”
“Sorry, bro. I know you’re angry with me. I should have continued to support you in your search. But I am back now. Anything I hear, I will let you know.”
“Do not worry. I may get something nice soon.”
“You sound very positive. What have you hit now?”
“I may get a bursary for a one year solar heating course. I have just sent my CV.”
“I will keep my fingers crossed. We will talk more later. I was just having a short break. I have to go back to work.”
“OK. See you then.”
Mbeko sprints home, his hopes high.
His mother is already there, checking on their last reserves of food, fully absorbed in what she is doing.
“Hi Mom. I thought you were–”
She is startled by Mbeko’s greeting.
“What are you doing here, Mbeko? Look, this is all we have left. And you continue playing games getting a job and refusing to take it?” she says, showing her display of scarce provisions she has laid on top of the small cupboard.
“The manager told me my job is already taken by someone else.”
“What did I say? Know what? I cannot continue to live with someone like you. You are a shame to my family. You must pack and go live on your own. Maybe you will learn to take responsibility. And of course, you will be one mouth less.”
Mbeko is taken by surprise. His own mother chasing him away? Can’t she see he is trying hard?
“Who will get your phone charged now?”
“Are you serious, Mbeko? So you agree that you are only good at getting phones charged? I do not care about phones. I do not need one.”
What can Mbeko do to appease his mother? Tell her that about the course and the bursary? What if he does not get selected?
In the end, he decides to tell her. This could perhaps buy him time. Something else might come up in the meantime.
“The way you behave! There is no more food in the house, and you tell me about studying? Who can I turn to for help? This is way too much for me to bear,” she finishes her words and slumps into the brown couch behind her.
Mbeko does not even ask his mom what happened on the trains. It is obvious. At the moment, he is feeling really powerless. It is like he is choking and longing for fresh air to revive him. There must be something that can take him out of the shack.
“I do not know about your phone, but I am going to get mine charged.”
His mother looks at him and shakes her head. Mbeko is not sure how to interpret his mother’s gestures. Yeah, thinking of him as a good-for-nothing. Is she categorically refusing to let him get her phone charged?
How he wishes she would say something. Still without a word, she drops the phone on the small table.
Mbeko takes their phones to Tony’s.
***
Tell us: Do you think this story gives good insight into how hard it is to be unemployed?