Johnny locks the car after fetching the remaining beer. He leaves the empty in the car. A helicopter roars over our heads and vanishes over the roof of the buildings. We all stare after it.

“I almost had a heart attack,” Vanessa says, her hand on her chest. “I thought it was the police.”

That’s exactly what I’d thought, but I don’t say it.

“First stop is the shebeen for the beers, then we can move on,” Johnny says.

“All you can think of is beer,” Tessa says. “This is serious!”

Johnny bites the cap off. There’s a hissing sound. “I’m not stupid. You’re all panicking. Someone needs to use their head, and that someone is me.” 

“Let’s go,” Tessa says and links her arm through mine. It’s nice to feel the heat of her body against me; it calms me. 

Vanessa walks with her arms folded, but I can almost see the thoughts buzzing through her head. In the whole chain she looks likes the weak link. All she can think of is the police station. They argue about beer and now they want to leave me with the mess.

I look back over my shoulder towards Robert Sobukwe Road. Perhaps I should jump into a taxi and lie low with Jeremy in Leiden. My mom’s people live in Blikkiesdorp and it’s easy to vanish over there. Aunt Janet and auntie Baby. It’s better to be in a stifling shack in Blikkiesdorp than to rot in a jail cell. Should I think up an excuse and leave these three behind? But what about my studies? I want to be an engineer. What about my parents?

“Have a drink!” Johnny passes the beer to me. 

I take a sip, my hangover has left me thirsty. The sun’s rays are shining weakly on my face, but it will get hotter and nastier later.

Johnny leads us to the shebeen. Corrugated iron and brick walls. The clothes lines are sagging, so I duck to avoid them. At the back of the yard, there’s a wendy house with burglar bars in front of the small window. Johnny calls someone. The curtain opens and a man peers out, his face wrinkled and sleepy. He glances at the girls before helping us. He asks us why we’re looking so paranoid. We didn’t even greet him. Johnny spins him a story, saying that we’d argued over the beers. Partly the truth.

We walk along the street, the beers clearly visible. The people passing us probably think we live on the street. That’s the least of my worries right now. If these three betrays me, they hadn’t really been my friends. Should I face the law on my own? Johnny and Vanessa walks ahead, whispering to each other. What’s going on? Why are they whispering all of the sudden? 

Johnny stops walking and turns to us. “We’re going to Vanessa’s house, it’s closest. Our phones are all dead. We can charge it there and then we can call someone.” 

When we reach Vanessa’s house, she unlocks the gate. We climb through her bedroom window, leaving muddy footprints on her bedding. Vanessa doesn’t even skel, it’s better that her parents don’t hear us. We all sit down on her bed.

“Are you going to get us glasses for the beer?” Johnny asks Vanessa. She shakes her head, but walks to the door.

While she’s gone Johnny and Tessa plug their phones in to charge.

Vanessa returns with two rinsed glasses. “What’s the plan, you guys?” she asks. She hands the glasses to me, then connects her phone to a plug next to her vanity. 

“I’m not going to drink anything,” Tessa says and rubs her stomach. “I feel sick. We’re already in a mess, and the mess began with beer.” 

Johnny gets up and gulps down a glass of beer. “David can’t go to jail on his own. We should all go with him!”

“Idiot!” Tessa exclaims. “How would that help David?”

“Are you crazy?” Vanessa asks Johnny. “I’m not going to sleep under a dusty blanket on the floor of a cell. Someone has to man up!”

“Are you talking about me?” I ask, my stomach twisting. “I must man up? Is that what we’ve come to?” 

“If you guys want to argue,” Johnny says, “then go ahead and argue. I’m going back to the Golf. If I wait any longer, someone’s going to prop it up on bricks and steal the tyres.”

Vanessa gets up. “I’ll go with you. I need fresh air; need to clear my head.” She unplugs her phone and put it in her bag. Then she hands Johnny his phone.

“I don’t know,” I say.

“Let them go,” Tessa says. “The car can’t stay there all day. You and I can charge our phones and make a better plan.” 

I want to tell Johnny to be careful, but I don’t. I sit down on the rug with my head against the wall and close my eyes.

Tessa switches her phone on half an hour later. When she checks her phone, her hand flies to her mouth.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Facebook,” she says. “There are pics of the guy on the bridge. My God! Look at this!” She shows me the picture on Facebook. 

It’s a Facebook group called ‘Crime Watch in Bellville’. There’s a picture of the police handcuffing someone next to a Golf. Jeeze! They’ve caught Johnny!

Tell us: What should David do?