Andiswa, Julian, and Bongi sat and waited as the SAPS detective they had gone to tried to understand what they were telling her.

“Let’s go over this again,” she said. “Xavier Buphoto is employed at EezyLoans!. He is running a scam.”

“Two scams,” said Andiswa.

“OK, but let’s start with the first. He takes people’s information but denies them university loans? So far, so good?”

“Correct,” they said in unison.

“He also somehow gets Matrics who have failed into university, for a small fee, of course.”

“Correct.”

“And you have proof of this?”

“We have enough proof that something illegal is going on there,” Andiswa added. Look…my friend Bongi is proof right here. And her form with some other girl’s photo on it was just the first on a big pile.” She handed her phone over to the officer, who started to scroll through the pics of the documents.

“And then there’s this,” she scrolled down and showed the woman the pic of the page with the insurance company name written in bold at the top.

“Can you send me these?” the detective asked. “We’ll definitely look into this. Identity theft is a serious crime. And it looks like your Xavier might have been doing more with the information than just getting students into varsity. It looks like he was selling their data to this insurance company, who might have been selling it on further. We’ll file a report to the Information Regulator, and they can start the investigation, ” the officer reassured them. “We will go after Xavier and whoever his trail leads to. He might just be part of a bigger syndicate.”

“And what happens to me?” Bongi asked the question she had been asking herself since this saga started. “Do I get to go to university? I have my Matric certificate.”

“I will put your case to the university admissions. There is some young woman who is set to go to university. She is registered with all your details and when they find out that they are not hers but yours, I am sure we can sort this out.”

“And the loan?” asked Busi. It was no use being accepted if she couldn’t pay the fees.

“You are in luck,” said the officer. “There were technical problems this year, so the NSFAS closing date has been extended.”

The trio left the office hopeful. Bongi looked up at the sunny sky and dared herself to dream again.

(One month later…)

The day had finally come. Bongi was so excited she was floating on air. Andiswa had even convinced her to choose an outfit that set the tone for her new journey.

She stood at the registration line, ready to take her picture for her student card. She watched as lines of new hopefuls snaked around the room. The room was abuzz with chatter. Everyone was excited about their new beginning.

Since the investigation, Andiswa had she partied less and studied more. She spent most of her time at the library with Julian. Or at the park with Julian. Or in her dorm room with Julian.

Bongi walked off the university grounds with a sense of belonging. She watched a group of students standing around their cars in the parking lot. Some were sitting on the ground, eating, reading, and cuddling. University life was exciting for all of them.

As the taxi pulled off, she caught the eye of a sexy boy she’d met before. Thato was sitting on the bonnet of a car with his friends, smoking a cigarette.

Bongi had heard he was pulled out of uni pending the investigation. Thato wondered if he was happy this way; perhaps left to him, he would choose a path for himself now that his parents’ dreams of him going to university were over.

How is registration?

Got your student card yet?

Julian needs my help with something

call me later with update 😉

After reading Andiswa’s WhatsApps, Bongi closed her phone and her eyes. She had recovered her dream, and a new future stretched before her.

Tell us: what do you think of the story?

***

 Epilogue

Law enforcement brought Xavier Buphoto to justice. He is alleged to have taken bribes worth hundreds of thousands from parents willing to pay him to get their children into varsity. He did this by using other students’ personal information that they gave him when they applied for loans. Not only this, but he was running a double scam and selling their information to an insurance company that collected their data to sell them insurance, and sell their information to other interested parties. He was arrested this morning at…

There was a photograph of Xavier in handcuffs being led away. He was looking longingly over his shoulder to the Mercedes EQS in gunmetal grey that was no longer his.

Tell us: do you think this story is interesting — and believable? Why/why not?