Bulelani Khombisa was doing his final year when he met first year student, Nosiphiwo Ncikwana. It was at a Saturday night Fresher’s party. He saw her across the room and went straight up to her, with a drink in his hand. First years were easy to get into bed if they had had enough drinks – and on campus nobody was there to stop them.

“Hey! I’m Bulelani, but I’m known as Buja. What’s your name, Beautiful?”

“I’m Nosiphiwo. My friends call me Nono.” She was petite and had to stand on her tip-toes to shout into his ear because of the blaring music and the cheering students.

“Could we get away from this crowd, just for a few minutes?” Bulelani asked, throwing his empty can aside. Nosiphiwo smiled and nodded. Bulelani held her hand and lead her out of the arena.

“Where are we going?” Nosiphiwo asked, noticing that they were walking towards a student res.

“Some place where no-one will interrupt us.” Bulelani stopped in front of her, pulled her closer and looked her in the eye. “Well, here’s the thing Nono. I really want to know you and I can’t wait for any other day.” Bulelani cupped her face and kissed her moist lips. She returned the kiss with passion.

It was a few minutes to midnight and no visitors were allowed in the student residences after 11pm. But, because Bulelani had lived in that residence since he started varsity, he had forged close relationships with some of the receptionists who checked who was going in and out. For a R50 note they would let him bend a few rules.

And so it was that Nosiphiwo woke up on Sunday morning in an unfamiliar room. There was a big poster of Cristiano Ronaldo on the door. She sat up on the bed and buried her face in her hands, trying to recall what had happened the previous night. Bulelani was snoring next to her, facing the wall. She was afraid to wake him up. What if, just like her, he did not know what had happened after the party? What if he threw her out of his room? She couldn’t face such humiliation.

Nosiphiwo got out of bed as silent as a mouse. She was naked. She lifted the blanket slowly … hoping to find a used condom where she had slept. She looked on the floor and under the bed but there was none to be found, let alone its torn package.

With terror written on her face, she put on her clothes. She prayed that they had both been too wasted to have sex. She searched for her student card and found it in her purse. She knew that without it, the receptionist might not let her out. She got dressed and snuck out of the room.

The receptionist smiled at her when she presented her student card. She couldn’t remember if it was the same receptionist as the night before – she couldn’t remember anything – but she didn’t like the creepy way he was looking at her.

“Bulelani is truly a lucky boy,” he said, after handing back her student card.

***

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