Crashing into Dane.

22

The movie was terrible. Absolutely terrible, I still can't believe our Will Smith agreed to featuring in it. Well, to be fair, it was a bit old school and not one of us was paying attention. Teenage hormones raving all over the place. What everyone loved though, was the dinner after. Gosh, the food was incredible and the little restaurant was a big surprise. I thought I was the only one who knew where to find little secret, hideaway places in this province, Dane surprised me.

Last night was a fun night, he was the sweetest, driving everyone home and being careful not to let conversation dwell for too long on my dad's illness. He really is the best, but I don't think he likes me as much as I was starting to think he did. I guess he's just a nice guy, accommodating me well in his mother's house. He didn't even try to make a move last night, apart from the occasional back touches he did as my "date." I appreciate him not being invasive, but I'll stop seeing things now. We're just friends...at most.

I turn in bed to face the ceiling, with my arms behind my head and sigh. Dane and I, must be the weirdest friends ever then, considering I felt fevers run up and down my back when he touched me. Maybe it was just the heat of the night, you know? I wonder if he felt it too, the slight change in the atmosphere last night.

There's a knock on the door as I slide out of bed and decide to go answer it. It's pretty early, I'm sure I'm the only one who's fully awake. I head out of my room into the corridor and rub my eyes as I walk into the foyer and open the front door, my heart almost jumping out of my chest. What the heck?

I open the door to find my aunt Thandie right before me.

"Ah, mainini? What are you doing here?" The sleep escaping my eyes like a fleeting antelope.

She stands there, her face twisted into something that could be a smile or an expression of a person who's just swallowed lemon juice. Stretching out her arms, she pulls me into her thick self, squeezing me briefly before letting go. "Cheryl, mwanangu. My baby"

Blank as it could ever be, my face before her eyes. I have no idea what's going on and I don't want to know. The last time I saw her she was making moves at my dad, via the chiramu route, of course and I was five years old, but I couldn't have been more disgusted. What the heck, was she doing here? Pretending to be an actual person I know? Did dad know? I wouldn't want him to know, it would stress him out for nothing.

Defense rising quickly inside me I straighten up and ask, "Mainini, what are you doing here and how did you even know I was here?"

Her face quickly quits her pain of a smile and she responds, "are you not even going to invite me in?"

I raise an eyebrow and fold my arms over my chest, "this is not my house...how did you even know I was here, mainini Thandie?"

Footsteps approach us from inside the house and Dane's mom is standing beside me with an inquisitive look spread all across her. "Makadini henyu?"

"Tinofara, makadiniwo?" Thandie responds and I roll my eyes as I turn to Mrs Mapanzura.

"This is my mom's little sister, Thandie...I didn't know she was coming," I shrug to back my innocence and move out of the doorway as Mrs Mapanzura invites her in. Trouble.

*****

As I sip my tea in the kitchen, listening to aunt Thandie tell Dane's mom that she didn't know dad had gotten worse from the living room, I can't help but wonder. Why was she here? What was she doing here? I scratch my head through the doek on my head and blow on my cool tea.

I can't believe this side of my family is "reaching" out.

"Good morning,"

I'm stuck in my thoughts when Dane moves closer and says, again, "good morning."