“I’ve really messed up, haven’t I?” I say.
“We all did, bru,” Kent says. “We all did.”
The guys and I are sitting in my lounge trying to figure out how to clear up this mess.
“I don’t understand how the papers got a hold of it,” Mervin thinks.
“Well, the other day when Khanyi came over, I took it off the wall and threw it in the bin after the incident.”
Vusi smacks his forehead. “Son of a gun. Those bloody reporters were going through your trash cans!”
“Fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” I say.
“You can say that again,” Kent agrees. “What’s our plan of action?”
“I don’t think there’s going to be one,” Mervin says. He’s busy on the laptop. “Look at these comments. Feminazis left right and centre.”
“Do you blame them?” I ask. “We were jerks.”
I’d also read the comments and memes. It was disturbing to say the least.
“How shallow are we? We only give girls the time of day if we think they are ‘hot chicks’, but we don’t even think how it’s going to affect them,” I say.
“We make like the only thing girls are worth anything for is their looks,” adds Merve, suddenly looking enlightened.
“We think we’re the good guys. But are we really just bad guys?” Vusi asks.
“No,” Kent says. “We’re good guys! Bad guys don’t repent.”
“Speaking of that, there’s something I’ve got to do,” I say, getting up. “I’ll see you guys in a bit.”
This was supposed to be the first thing I should have done. Better late than never.
* * * * *
“I am so sorry, Khanyi. I never meant for that list to go public.”
She slams the door in my face.
“I understand that you’re angry and believe me, I know how you feel–”
She opens the door.
“No, you don’t, JT,” she starts. “It didn’t happen to you. Imagine all those things you said, out there for everyone to see. I feel like everyone is talking behind my back … pointing at me … saying, ‘Isn’t that the girl …’”
“I feel terrible. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. What do you want me to do to fix this?”
“Well, there is one thing …”
“Yes?”
“Buy a time machine, go back and undo all the stupid things you’ve done!”
She slams the door again. That went better than expected. At least I didn’t get slapped. Although, strangely, it felt as if I deserved one.
***
Tell us: What do you think JT can do to undo the humiliation for Khanyi, and to repair his own reputation?