The guard blew his whistle and used his walkie-talkie to alert the other security guys at the parking exit. But I wasn’t that stupid. Instead, I opened one of the lattice ventilation grids and climbed out through it. It opened onto the area at the back of the mall, where there was always lots of chaos with delivery trucks coming and going. It was easy to run from there unnoticed to our secret place close to the BP garage toilets.

And yes – there was Modise, holding his new boots in his hands, crying. ‘Put them on, man!’ I said.

‘You are a real friend, Mbu!’ he answered, still sobbing.

‘You, too, Modise!’

From that day on, I gave up stealing. It had been too much of a close call and I knew I would be pushing my luck if I continued. Mr Mafrika, our principal, would never allow me to continue at school if I was found to be a thief and charged with shoplifting. But going to school hungry and in a torn uniform wasn’t easy. There were times when I could not even stay at Atie’s place because his father was around and wouldn’t have approved. At my mom’s shack it was worse than ever, as the small space was even more crowded since little Aphelele had joined the family.

There were nights when I just walked around in Masi, trying to avoid meeting anybody as I was so ashamed of my life. Sometimes, I slept in a corner between shacks, wrapped in a blanket, trying to get away from the cold wind.

The worst night was when I couldn’t find anywhere to sleep and a heavy downpour began. The only shelter I could think of was the row of small, stinky public toilets, where I locked myself in. It was so small that my back was against the door and my legs were up on the toilet. I don’t know how I could fall asleep there. But I did. When I woke up, the bad smell made me vomit. I felt just so bad, so horrible. So much like shit myself.

That was the first time I wasn’t sure whether I really wanted to continue with my life. I thought: enough is enough. Maybe death is better than this life. Who knows? Maybe.

Tell us what you think: What should Mbu do?