Nangomso is outside Leroy’s house, pacing while talking to Samkeliswa on the phone.

NANGOMSO: Clearly this is a big mistake. I should leave. I have never bunked school before. Why did I agree to this? No wait – I didn’t. (Panic evident in her voice.)

SAMKELISWA: Don’t you dare leave. My Uber is literally two minutes away. This is a good thing – you get to spend time with Prince, like you always wanted. Don’t chicken out now.

The gate suddenly opens behind Nangomso, making her shriek in surprise. Leroy comes out.

LEROY: Are you coming in? You’ve been standing out here for some time. I thought you would ring the bell, but you didn’t, so I came to get you.

NANGOMSO: (Whispering into her phone before hanging up.) Hurry up and get here. (Louder, squeaky with nerves.) Leroy, hey … I am just waiting for my friend to get here. She is literally a few minutes away.

LEROY: Well, you can wait for your friend inside if you like.

NANGOMSO: Uhm …shouldn’t you be wearing a mask?

LEROY: (Touching his chin absentmindedly.) Oh damn, I didn’t think to grab it on my way out. But we won’t be out here for too much longer, right?

A car pulls over in front of them and Samkeliswa jumps out. Nangomso is so relieved to see her she hugs her immediately.

SAMKELISWA: (Pulling away from Nangomso’s desperate embrace.) Maybe a little less touching, friend. Now, let’s get this party started!

LEROY: Yeah let’s! (Enthusiastically, looking admiringly at Samkeliswa.)

The moment they walk into the house they are met with loud music and people having a good time. A lot of matrics have skipped school to be at this party. Not even one student has a mask on and several are dancing close together. Leroy ushers them to the pool area where there is a table with an assortment of alcohol, including a huge punch bowl. He hands them both a plastic cup of punch.

LEROY: Well ladies, I for one, am very glad that you could make it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at a party, Nangomso.

NANGOMSO: Uhm … yeah … I’m not very social.

LEROY: Well, I hope you enjoy yourself. Welcome to ‘the lockdown extravaganza’!

The girls giggle.

SAMKELISWA: The what?

Prince appears behind Leroy, smiling broadly, looking directly at Nangomso. Nangomso stops laughing too abruptly, turning her laugh into an uncomfortable cough. Samkeliswa is still giggling when Prince joins them.

PRINCE: I don’t know why you insist on naming every single one of your parties or get-togethers. You are terrible at it. (Laughing)

SAMKELISWA: (Catching her breath) Wait – you name all your parties?

Leroy: (Embarrassed) No not all of them.

Prince mouths the words: “He names all of them” to Nangomso, making her laugh out loud. Leroy blushes in embarrassment while Samkeliswa pats him on the shoulder in mock sympathy.

NANGOMSO: So I notice that nobody is wearing masks or keeping their distance. Is that wise?

LEROY: This is a party, girl! We can’t be uptight and have Bridget rules. Plus, there aren’t that many people here.

SAMKELISWA: There are definitely a lot of people here.

PRICE: There are far fewer people than we usually have at these things.

LEROY: You girls need to relax. Plus young people don’t actually get sick from Rona. Isn’t it like getting flu for people our age?

NANGOMSO: I don’t think that’s how it works Leroy. In fact–

PRINCE: (Interrupting) Lighten up Nangomso. This is a party! We’re here to have a good time. Look there is probably a really small chance that anyone here has the virus, so let’s just enjoy ourselves.

LEROY: And have you seen how all those American TikTok stars throw parties and merchandise and give away pop-ups with hundreds of people there? This is nothing like that. We are pretty low risk.

NANGOMSO: You have to realize that there is so much wrong with that whole statement.

LEROY: Come on Nangomso. Be chill. We got almost zero to worry about. And you’re with the cool kids so if you freak out, we got you.

As Nangomso is about to say something she stops herself and looks at Samkeliswa for reassurance.

NANGOMSO: I guess I can relax a little, be cool.

SAMKELISWA: Yeah, we’re cool. And I guess if we don’t get too close to people, we’ll be fine.

LEROY: That’s the spirit. Now ladies, how are you going to enjoy my special cocktail concoction with those stuffy masks on?

Samkeliswa and Nangomso exchange nervous looks then take off their masks, put them away, and take a sip of their drinks.

LEROY: It’s good right?

SAMKELISWA: (Clearing her throat.) It’s a little strong but for the most part it’s really good.

PRINCE: Hey, would you like me to show you around, Nangomso?

LEROY: You going to give them a tour of my house?

Prince throws his empty plastic cup at Leroy, making Nangomso giggle some more.

NANGOMSO: I think we would love a tour.

SAMKELISWA: No, I think I’ll stay here with our host, so he can explain how he comes up with his party titles. (Winking)

Prince leads Nangomso into the house. She is feeling nervous now that they are alone together. They walk into the living room, where they find a lot of people hanging out. Nangomso spots Amanda talking to a group, not too far from the stairs.

AMANDA: Could you idiots try a little harder not to breathe on me? My gosh Leroy – invite the whole damn school! We are literally walking all over each other.

LERATO: It is really stuffy in here. How about you and your groupies get out of the way Melvin, so we can avoid touching you. Nasty – we should have worn gloves!

AMANDA: We’re definitely not staying long. Anything more than an hour around all these people and we’ll catch Rona for sure.

Nangomso tries to shrink herself next to Prince, hiding from Amanda.

NANGOMSO: (Whispering) Please don’t see me. Please, please, please.

PRINCE: What did you say?

NANGOMSO: Nothing. We’re going upstairs, right?

PRINCE: Yeah.

NANGOMSO: Great, let’s go.

Prince is about to lead them upstairs, when someone calls Nangomso’s name.

AMANDA: Nangomso, is that you? Well would you look at that! It took a pandemic to get Miss Goody-goody to come to a party.

LERATO: Are you sure you’re at the right address? This isn’t a study session you know.

They snigger.

PRINCE: Don’t the two of you have anything better to do?

AMANDA: I am surprised that you’re here with Nangomso. Was Thabile too busy to escort you? Oh right – she dumped you. Too bad your taste in girls hasn’t improved.

NANGOMSO: You really like the sound of your own voice, don’t you Amanda? FYI nobody asked for your opinion, so you can keep it to yourself.

Nangomso walks up the stairs, leaving Amanda stunned. Prince runs after her, catching up just as she enters one of the bedrooms. She looks around, lost, then turns to leave and almost bumps into Prince.

NANGOMSO: I have no idea where I was going.

PRINCE: (Smiling) Yeah, I was wondering when you took over as the tour guide.

NANGOMSO: Well, you were doing such a horrible job I figured I’d show you how it’s done. (Laughing)

PRINCE: (Amused) Rude! I was trying to be hospitable and this is the thanks I get?

NANGOMSO: You need a lot more practice. At this rate nobody will want you to show them around the corner, let alone a large house. (Laughing harder)

Prince grabs her hand and pulls her closer to him, while she tries to control her fit of giggles. Their eyes lock for a moment and Prince leans in as if he wants to kiss her. Nangomso quickly pulls away and takes a few steps back.

NANGOMSO: (Surprised) What are you doing?

PRINCE: (Closing the distance between them and taking her hand.) I am trying to kiss you.

He pulls her into his arms, not giving her a chance to run again, then kisses her. After a few moments she pulls away, shocked.

NANGOMSO: (Stuttering) I … uhm … need to go. That was nice … I mean, thank you … uuuh no I … bye. (Runs out the door and heads downstairs to find Samkeliswa.)

She spots Samkeliswa in the living room talking to Leroy. She grabs her hand and drags her through the nearest door she can find, which turns out to be a bathroom.

NANGOMSO: (Pacing nervously, talking more to herself than Samkeliswa.) He actually kissed me. Lips on mine, tongue action the whole 9. He kissed me, face up against mine, and his arms around my waist … full on kissing.

Samkeliswa is listening to Nangomso in disbelief.

SAMKELISWA: That’s a good thing, right? (Noticing the panicked look on Nangomso’s face.) So it’s not a good thing? Did you want to kiss him?

NANGOMSO: No … yes … I don’t know. It all happened so fast. Truth is, I wasn’t expecting this. Like, when did he start liking me back? In fact, I just ran out and left him standing there like–

SAMKELISWA: (Interrupting) Whoa … wait! Didn’t we say we were going to be careful coming here? Kissing a guy wasn’t part of our subpar safety protocols.

NANGOMSO: It’s hard sticking to those protocols when the cool kids aren’t even worried about wearing masks here. And what was I supposed to do – dodge the kiss? I like this guy, remember.

SAMKELISWA: I guess we’ve gone too far down this rabbit hole. Okay, uhm, maybe we’re still cool as long as we stay outside for the rest of the party.

NANGOMSO: What do I do about ‘the kiss’?

SAMKELISWA: I mean, I don’t think he gave you covid if that helps. He seems clean. Maybe they have mouthwash in here. (Looking around)

NANGOMSO: Samkeliswa! Really?

SAMKELISWA: Oh you mean about the kiss, not the risk, right. I think you should go talk to him and–

Samkeliswa is interrupted by voices just outside the bathroom. Amanda is shouting at someone in outrage. Nangomso opens an interleading door that leads to a very messy bedroom. She and Samkeliswa duck inside just as Amanda and Lerato enter the bathroom.

AMANDA: How does this day just keep getting worse? And can you believe Nangomso spoke to me like that, in front of everyone?!

LERATO: Yeah, one day dating Prince and now she isn’t little Miss Goody-goody who is too shy to string two sentences together.

Amanda: You know, maybe Thabile should be alerted about who is taking her place. Let me send her a text.

For a moment they are silent. Samkeliswa and Nangomso exchange curious looks.

LERATO: Wait! Before you send it, be sure to add that Nangomso was all over him and totally bad mouthing her to everyone here.

AMANDA: (Typing rapidly for a few seconds) Alright. Message sent. Let’s get out of here. This party is lame. Might just call the police with a noise complaint. Or better still, an illegal gathering complaint. Defs more than the legit number of people crowded in here!

They both leave the bathroom, laughing.

NANGOMSO: Can you believe her?

SAMKELISWA: Forget about her. You need to go sort out your awkward moment with Prince. Here drink this. Leroy gave me a stronger drink earlier cos I said the punch tastes fruity. (Nangomso eyes the cup suspiciously.) For courage.

She takes the cup, downs the drink then Nangomso rushes out to find Prince. She heads to the pool and bar area where there is the most noise. She spots him sitting by the pool with his feet dipped in the water. She walks over and sits next to him.

NANGOMSO: Hi. Er … turns out kissing makes me act weird.

PRINCE: In your defense, you’re a very weird girl.

They both laugh and Nangomso puts her hand over his.

NANGOMSO: I might really like you.

PRINCE: I think that cat has been out the bag and wandering around the room for a while now.

NANGOMSO: You could just say you like me too, Prince.

PRINCE: I think you know that I like you too.

NANGOMSO: (Muttering) Screw the protocol.

PRINCE: I didn’t catch tha–

Cutting him off, Nangomso pulls him closer, takes a deep breath and kisses him. They are interrupted by Leroy running into the pool area, yelling.

LEROY: Pack it up! The police are here. Someone called the pigs. Get it moving peeps!

Prince springs to his feet and holds out a hand for Nangomso to help her up.

Prince: Come on, let’s get out of here. I’ll drive you home. (He waves at Leroy to get his attention.) Bro, please make sure Samkeliswa gets home okay.

Leroy gives him a thumbs up and heads back into the house. Prince and Nangomso sprint out the back gate with a crowd of people on their heels. When they get to Prince’s car Nangomso stops and stares intently at the car.

PRINCE: Get in the car Nangomso, so we can get home before the police catch us. What’s wrong?

NANGOMSO: (Panicking) I can’t go home. What if someone here has covid and now I have it? I don’t want to give my parents covid. They’re older; they could die. We could all die!

PRINCE: Relax. Nobody is getting covid. You’re just freaking out cos of the police and this chaos. Trust me, you’re fine. Now let’s go.

Prince opens the car door, nudges her in and they leave.

***

Tell us: Do you relate to the virus like Prince (Nah – I won’t get it, and even if I do, it’s nothing serious), or like Nangomso (I could get it, and pass it on to more vulnerable people)?