Episode 21 I looked everywhere, nothing! Finding clues in my parent’s bedroom was harder than finding a needle in a haystack, very close to impossible. I made sure I opened every envelope, every shoprite plastic bag, every shoe box. I looked under the mattress and I even mastered the lock on the trunk. I knew all my mother’s storage devices. I looked even in the pages of her bible for some letter or a receipt, something. When I was done, the bedroom looked like it had been struck by a lightning. There was no way clues were in that room. I gave up. But, if my mother surely kept a secret in it, then my father was right. She would rot in hell for being a high-class secret keeper. I was angry that she was making my mission impossible. I started to tidy up again, before my father got back. Although the room was a mess, I felt that it didn’t come any close to the chaos that was ‘my life’. I went from being too holy to date in a week, to being hopelessly in-love with two guys. I couldn’t decide which one of them was right for me. I didn’t even know if they still thought of me, if they pined for me like I ached for their love. There was just this deep empty space inside of me that needed filling. Every time I saw Mark, I could feel the emptiness turning into some kind of thrill. When Derrick and I connected at the pharmacy, it was even more thrilling because there was no history between us. With mark there had always been this anxiety caused by years of secretly burning with passion and then the ordeal with my father nearly spoiled everything. With Derrick, I could almost see a brighter future. I felt that he was the kind of man every father would be proud to have as a son in-law. Okay, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, thinking son-in-laws and all. But if I am to have a boyfriend, shouldn’t he be for keeps? Shouldn’t I make sure I choose the right one from the start? I wanted to be very sure and I wasn’t. So, in the meantime, I’ll just keep both of them. It wouldn’t hurt anyone, if I play my cards right. Then there was also a five hundred hour penalty that just hung on my shoulder like a heavy chain. As I still plummeted deeper into my chaotic life I remembered that I had my phone back. Remembering my phone gave my body some energy kick-start. I went to my room to charge it and fixed the mess I created in my parents’ room. When I finished it was midday so I fixed myself food and took my pain medication. I lay on my bed and switched the phone on. I started to listen to messages but they were all old, from Rose, telling me how she was caught between a rock and a hard place. Telling me that her mother forced her to testify against me and that she didn’t want to do it. Please, she just wanted to shift the blame. I erased the message, her voice made me sick. There were messages from Mark too, asking how I was holding up. I wanted to respond by “…since you ran away, leaving my father to beat me to death, I’m resting here in heaven, everything is nice. Thank you.” But I decided to ignore and not give him attitude. Besides, I wasn’t sure if I would be in heaven if I died that day, judging by the hell my life had been lately. I just erased his question too, it was a useless one. Boredom started to really creep up on me without that Mosa-character and his drama in the house, and I also depressed myself thinking about the Sunday that was approaching, ugh! I didn’t want to deal with members although it would be helpful to find the opportunity to dig some truth out of Pastor Gertrude. Then I thought of calling Derrick. I remembered that I gave the receipt back to Colgate-smile when I collected the crutches. She didn’t even give it back to me. I googled the pharmacy’s contacts and when they appeared, I stood starring at them for a while. Well, starring wasn’t going to help me find out if this Derrick guy liked me or not. Starring wasn’t going to get me through to Derrick senior the-Thoracic, one of the stones I intended to turn. I started to dial the number, expecting Colgate to answer, to offer me the best of her services so I can ask nicely for Derrick’s personal contact details. I waited as the call went through but then somebody picked the phone faster than I expected. It was him on the line no doubt. His voice was steady, very controlled. It was still sweet and echoed gently in my ear. I could feel the waves of its echoes travelling straight to my heart. I battled to reconcile with the fact that it was him on the line. I didn’t prepare to talk to him at all. So he was done with classes and back to work? “Hello…” he repeated and my breath got stuck in my lungs. “How can I help…?” I shivered with the phone in my hand, not knowing what to say. But, since I’m never short of words, I thought quickly. “Eh, Sir… I’m looking for someone who can help me use these crutches… I got them today and I just can’t seem to...” I sighed and pretended to be frustrated. … “I fell twice already and…” I could hear that I was beginning to blabber on but I couldn’t stop myself. I pretended that I didn’t even recognise his voice. When he started to break out into two brief fits of laughter, I stopped talking and cringed. Oh, I felt very tense. I wondered if my acting was too transparent for him to pick up. “The hopping girl with the strict father, right…?” he said guessing. “Gomolemo…” I said. How can he not know my name when I knew his name, his surname and his father’s name and profession? Mxm... I wanted to emphasise my struggle with the crutches, just to convince him that I was being genuine. He didn’t acknowledge my name or show any interest in it. He lowered his voice, whispered through the phone and into my ear. I could picture his whole face brightening up. His voice went from soft and sweet to deep and sweet, from professional to casual, no longer on the fence, but totally on my side. “…I can teach you… personally, you know?” He induced my happy tummy moment. I smiled “…well, I need the lesson right away, I mean... there’s this old age home that I’m trying to get to, and I fell twice already...and if I don’t go there I’ll be in-trouble with the law…” Eish, what was I saying now, exposing my secrets like that? He laughed again, and told me to hold for a second. When he got back on the line he asked for my physical address and asked if my strict father wouldn’t be a problem. “No” I said without hesitation. There was no way I’d jeopardise my chances with this hot guy. He promised to arrive at two. I jumped and hopped to the shower to take a second shower. By one thirty I made sure the gate was open. I stood standing at the kitchen window, on the look-out for a black mini cooper. I wore my shortest pants, the one I secretly bought at Mr Price three weeks ago. I had been waiting for a chance to wear it, in the absence of my father of course. I wanted to look cute. It was very clear that Derrick dated only the hottest chicks. When the cooper stopped at the gate I felt my knees weaken. As he hurried into the yard with confidence, I had flashbacks of my father whipping Mark. But, I knew that there was no way bad-luck would repeat itself like that, unless I was bewitched. He knocked and I opened the door for him, very happy that he came. He grabbed my hand, closed the door, and pinned me against the door. His chest hit against mine, his breath on my neck… “No, Derrick stop… Deeerick, stop!”
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 16:26:41 +0000
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