By the time my parents and brother get home, I can tell they are tired. Nobody says much about the meeting, other than it was interesting. But something tells me not to leave the pamphlets out for Melusi to find, so I stuff them into my school bag to keep safe.

The next day, for the first time in ages, I’m anxious for school to finish. I want to get home, make sure Melusi and Nandi are fine, and then talk to my parents properly.

“You okay?” Elihle asks me during break.

“Fine,” I tell her, picking at my bread. “How was the meeting?”

She smiles, picking up an apple. “Mama was excited. She thinks this is really going to come together.”

“What do you think?”

Polishing the apple on her jersey, she says, “I don’t know. But people seemed to be listening. And we all know that once my mama gets an idea in her head she won’t stop. So anything is possible.”

I nod as she bites her apple. “Something weird happened last night.”

“Oh?”

“Police came by with information on dog fighting.”

Elihle nods. “I know. They showed up at the end of the meeting and asked if they could say a few words. People got worked up about it. So much so, I thought Mama was going to get mad, with them stealing the show. But actually, she thought it proved how much we need to give the young men in our community something to do.”

“Huh?” I say. I hadn’t thought about it like that.

Even so, I rush home, wanting to speak to Melusi. Good thing, too, as the moment I step on to our street I can hear Silwane really barking. I mean barking. Understand, he never gets like that.

I start running, and as I get closer, I see Melusi and Blaze with fists raised. “Get the hell away from my sister and her dog!” Melusi yells, throwing a punch.

Blaze dodges the blow. “Right, you liked the money last week but showed up with no new dog bait. What you going to do now? Give the money back?”

To my shock, Melusi pulls out a wad of cash from his back pocket and throws it at him. “Take your dirty money and stay the hell away from my family!”

Blaze’s eyes bulge, as the breeze starts ruffling the cash on the ground. In a blink, he’s scrambling to pick it up, all the while, shouting things like, “You’re crazy,” and “You’re going to regret this.”

Melusi glances over at me. “Get Nandi in the house, now.”

I move quickly, snatching her up, whisking her into the house, Silwane following.

It feels like ages, but eventually Melusi comes inside and there is no sign of Blaze. The moment he sees me standing there, still clutching Nandi, he wraps his arms around the both of us.

“I’m sorry,” he keeps saying. “I’m going to make this right. Ndixolele. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

* * * * *

It’s been three months since that day I found Blaze and Melusi fighting.

Three nights after that incident, there was a raid at an old warehouse, and Blaze was arrested along with a number of other people. I thank God to this day that Melusi wasn’t there.

Melusi is doing better. He has gotten involved in the community kraal project. He keeps telling anybody who will listen that he doesn’t intend to make this his life. But, you see, my parents keep telling him, “Everyone starts somewhere.”

Speaking of starting somewhere, Nandi has started school. It is a small school that is used to dealing with children like Nandi. Silwane goes with her and all the children love him, but Nandi remains his best friend. He watches out for her, and it has been great to see her grow. She now waves hello and good bye to us. She has also learned the word, “Hayi.”

I am so tired of hearing the word, “Hayi.” You see, she says it all the time. “Hayi” this, “Hayi,” that. It’s like my sister found some superpower and is now using it any chance she gets.

“It’s a start,” my mama says.

True. Even so, I look forward to the day Nandi loves the word “no” a bit less. Hopefully she’ll learn “Enkosi,” next. Now that is a phrase I wouldn’t mind hearing all the time.

*****

Tell us: Have you ever had a friend change and become somebody you could no longer trust? What did you think of this story?