“Cash, do you know these people?” Letti asked.
“I– I–”Cash was struck for words. He had summoned all his courage to ask Letti out. He didn’t have any left to stand up to Jay.
Jay’s henchmen began pushing Cash around.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Letti said.
Jay shoved Cash to the ground. He didn’t have the guts to look up at Letti.
“Go home, Letti,” Cash said. “Run. Now.”
“I won’t leave without you,” she said.
“You want to witness your boyfriend get beat up, ne?” Jay spat. “Be my guest.”
“Hey!” came a booming voice. “Jou bliksem! Voetsek man!”
Roy was running full speed at them, with a cricket bat. A few neighbours peeped out of their windows. Jay’s sidekicks turned and ran and Jay scowled, then skulked off too.
“Cash, my laaitie. Is jy OK?” Roy gave Cash a hand up. Cash wished the earth would just swallow him whole, right then and there.
“I’m fine,” Cash said. “How did you even know I was here?”
“Your friend called me up,” Roy said. “The weird one. That pastor’s son.”
“Excuse me,” Cash said and ran off home, leaving Letti and Roy in utter confusion.
*****
“How dare you do that!” Cash yelled. “You had no right to call Pa.”
Cash had angrily led Cap K out of the house and two streets away, where no-one they knew could overhear them.
“I saw them coming to where you and Letti were and I didn’t know what to do!” Cap K explained.
“So you called my father! Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was? I was humiliated in front of Letti! You were supposed to help me deal with things, not get my father to fight my battles for me!”
“Shhhh!” Cap K said, holding a finger to his lips. “Can you hear that?”
Cash listened, reluctantly. He heard glass breaking and a woman shouting in a house nearby. A boy’s voice could also be heard, begging someone to, “Please stop”.
A man was screaming obscenities; they could hear more objects being smashed.
“We should call the police,” Cap K said.
“Wait,” Cash said. “Remember what I told you about real life versus comics? That applies here. Let’s get a closer look. They could just be watching TV with loud surround sound.”
Cap K looked doubtful but obeyed anyhow. They walked toward the house and quietly peeked through the window. What they saw made Cash gasp. The people screaming were Jay, and a woman whom he looked too much like not to be his mother.
And the man they were screaming at was Big Vic. In his inebriated state, he was abusing his family.
***
Tell us: Do you think Cash is finding his courage? How?