Sihle was a hard worker, there was no doubt about it. She was either studying in the library or at hockey practice as a member of the 1st Girls Hockey team, not to say they were the first hockey team of the school but they were the main one and were, therefore '1st'. And as the school president, she had presidential duties on top of getting the highest grades for all her subjects at school. She was quite the juggler. Which means she often came home long after regular school had ended.
Although, on this particular day she had no hockey practice, no duties, and she was not doing any studying. She was with Lloyd. Why was Sihle with him? She had no clue. Was it because he was the nicest guy she'd ever met? That she didn't have to keep up the image she had built? Or that they had so much in common and they got along so well? Whenever she was alone she would question her actions and decide there and then that she would end it, he was in grade 11 after all. But then she would see him, and she would forget all that she had told herself the night before. It did not help matters that he was so handsome, with his dark skin, tall stature and somewhat lean physique.
They met on the hockey field a year ago due to a schedule mix-up. The girl's team was supposed to only come on Tuesday afternoon and the boy's team on Wednesday, but there they all were one Wednesday afternoon, shouting and telling each other to get off the field. The captains of both teams worked hard to defuse the situation with no luck. And that's when it happened, when she saw him for the first time. He was hard at work telling everyone to calm down because surely there was a misunderstanding.
WE TOOK WEDNESDAYS! YOU NEED TO GET OFF THE FIELD!
HEYY! NINA BAFANA! DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE TIMETABLE? DO YOU?
YAH, TAKE IT OUT VELE SO WE CAN PROVE YOU WRONG!
Everyone knew why the girl's and boys' 1st hockey teams did not get along. They were always competing. Each team always working hard to one-up the other, and the competition produced beautiful results on the field against other teams. Problem was, there seemed to be no end in sight for the competition because both teams were so good.
Sihle was not taking part in the chaos that was ensuing, she was too mesmerised by the enemy that she just stood there with a weird smile on her face.
The coaches of the team arrived and sorted out the matter and the girl's team moved to a different field.
Sihle, like the brave individual that she is, wrote Lloyd a note and put it in his gym bag. And that is how they began.
The problem was, her parents would kill her if they knew. She could not even date him freely at school because the deputy principal was her mom's personal friend. So they were keeping the whole thing under wraps per Sihle's request.
Her relationship with Lloyd was the only stable one in her life, other than the recent addition of Zoleka. She told Lloyd everything, she could trust him, and she could lean on him. It was a bit sad. She longed for a more open and loving relationship with her mother but she knew that it would never happen, not while her mother still hated her, not while she constantly had a bottle at hand.
Needless to say, Sihle was disappointed when she came back from school to find her barely conscious mother sprawled across the living room couch.
"Great." She muttered under her breath.
She grabbed a nearby blanket and draped it over her mother, who reeked of Sweet Red. The two empty bottles clinked together after she accidentally kicked them. She sighed and picked them up, she stood there, staring at the bottles for a good minute. Slowly, she lifted one of them to her lips and gulped the last few sips of the liquor.
¤¤¤
Zola and her dad were sitting on the living room couch watching Deadpool together merely half an hour ago. Now both of them were mad at each other. They were both sulking in their rooms over someone who was hundreds of kilometres far from them, all the way in Canada.
Zola had only ever texted her mother ever since she left over a month ago. No calls, nothing. It was not from a lack of trying from her mother, Sivuyile called Zola every day, but she never once picked up. She even knew what time she was going to call because it was the same time every day, 5 PM on the dot. Zola assumed this was the time she got home from work at the University, seeing as she is a Linguistics professor. She would sit by her phone awaiting the call, but she would not pick up.
Daluxolo had asked, no, told, his daughter that they were video calling her mother. She declined, claiming she was tied and that she needed to sleep early because she had school tomorrow. Her father quickly disproved that claim by telling her it was Saturday tomorrow and that she unhealthily slept at 2 AM every day.
"We are calling your mother!" He told Zola.
"Noooo, you are calling her. I am going to bed!" She protested and stomped up to her room.
She banged the door and grunted, throwing herself onto her bed. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she slid it out. It was a text from her mother, she scoffed. Zola had changed her contact name to Sivuyile Tyaliti.
Your father told me you're mad at him.
I'm sorry, I've asked him a dozen times to stop forcing you to video call me. I'm hoping eventually you'll answer when I call though.
I love you, to the end of the universe.
Tears fell from Zola's eyes because she missed her mother dearly as much as she acted against the notion. Sivuyile did not know this because Zola never told her.
~~~
AN
DOUBLE-DIGIT CHAPTER!!
I am excited.
~•Ndelwa
YOU ARE READING
Between Us
一般小说This story follows four high school students during their last year of high school. Hidden secrets will come to light. Personalities will be exposed. Fights will be had. Tears will flow. And emotions will swallow us whole.
