Too Young to Die
Page 8
“Go inside,” said Olwethu to Linkie, slowly, softly.
But she shook her head. She wasn’t going to leave her brother.
“Go inside and get some money.” Olwethu’s voice was louder now. “He just wants money, Linkie. Be a good girl and go and get the money from the tin.”
Linkie edged away from Olwethu back into the shack.
Olwethu put out his right hand. Fear was written all over his face. “Don’t do it, Mzi,” he said. Mzi could hear him trying to control the fear in his voice. Even facing death, Olwethu was trying to do the right thing.
He heard Themba’s voice. “Don’t do it.” He heard Thandi: “Let it go.” He saw that bird from the card flapping its wings but it wasn’t flying, it was stuck on the ground, broken, trying to rise but dying in the dirt.
Then he thought of revenge, of honour. He felt his finger start to squeeze the trigger.
Chapter 20
It was like a frozen moment from a movie, him standing there with his finger on the trigger, Olwethu looking at him, pleading with his eyes, with his face. But he wasn’t running away, or shouting. He was just standing like a man, his shoulders back.
Linkie came rushing out of the shack. “We only have R24,50,” she said breathlessly. “Is that enough?”
“Stay back!” shouted Olwethu. But Mzi knew then that he couldn’t do it. Not now, not ever.
He heard footsteps behind him, and saw Olwethu’s eyes flicker over his shoulder. There was someone coming up behind him. Mzi lowered the gun.
And then Olwethu was walking towards him. Mzi couldn’t move. The tears were pouring down his face now, but he couldn’t even wipe them away.
“It’s OK,” said Olwethu as he came closer. He held out his hand. “Give me the gun,” he said softly, but urgently.
Mzi waited for the shame to flood his heart because he hadn’t done it, hadn’t followed through. But instead he felt a wave of relief. For now his life could continue. Not as a murderer in jail, not as a drug pusher, but maybe a person whose sister would call out happily to see him. He just needed to get home safely.
“What’s going on?” he heard a voice behind him. He knew that voice – the familiar voice of his probation officer He couldn’t believe it. Just as he had decided to go one way, life was taking him on another ride, now there would be no chance for him at the court case. There would be one verdict. No diversion programme for him, he would go straight to jail.
“Give me the gun,” Olwethu said again. Mzi looked down and saw both of them were holding it. He dropped his hand quickly, and in a flash Olwethu had tucked it into his pants.
“Is everything OK here?” The probation officer walked towards them, looking at Mzi suspiciously.
“It’s fine,” said Olwethu. The guy was next to them now. He looked from Olwethu to Mzi. “Are you sure? He wasn’t bothering you? He shouldn’t be out on the street so late looking for trouble.”
“I’m sure.”
“I’ve been looking for you.” The probation officer put his hand on Mzi’s shoulder. It felt heavy, it weighed him down. He could run. He should run. But his feet wouldn’t move. “I am not happy to find you here,” the probation officer said. “This is now going to –”
“It’s OK, he was with me. He just came to give me an important message,” Olwethu said calmly. “Don’t get him in trouble now.”
Why was he doing this? Mzi wondered. Why? Olwethu should be turning him over to the police right now, showing them the gun, telling them that Mzi had threatened him.
The officer’s voice lost its angry tone. “You need to come with me. Your sister is really worried. She phoned the social worker when she found you were missing, and she phoned me. Yes, people do worry about you,” the probation officer said, looking at the disbelief on Mzi’s face. He smiled. “We know there’s good in you somewhere, it’s just hard to find sometimes.”
Normally Mzi would have been humiliated by these words. But now he just looked back at Olwethu. He didn’t know what to say. He looked at Linkie, a small terrified girl, the whites of her eyes big in the darkness.
Then he turned away and started to walk next to the officer. As they turned into Ntombi’s street he saw the door to her house open and Ntombi come flying out. Zinzi must have told her that Olwethu was looking for her. As she ran past them Ntombi turned and stared, her mouth open in shock. Mzi shook his head, he tried to tell her it was OK, but she was running from him, to Olwethu. She was going to see if her boyfriend was alive.
Chapter 21
It should have been a walk of shame but Mzi was still feeling a strange lightness in his heart. When they reached his street corner he heard an engine revving. The BMW came around the corner and stopped next to him. The music was playing loudly. Priscilla rolled down the window. “What’s up, pumpkin?” she asked. “Got a babysitter again? Didn’t manage to do your business? You are messing up these days.” She looked at the probation officer. “You have to grow up sometime, Mzi. Anyway, got to go … Mzobbish is having a party. And you know what his parties are like, you don’t want to miss one.”
Just then Thandi came round the corner with Ntombi’s friends, the giraffes. They were talking animatedly. Mzi could guess what they were saying – this juicy piece of news would spread faster than a veld fire – but strangely enough he just didn’t care.
Priscilla saw where he was looking, and started shouting. “Give me my shoe, you little bitch! I’ll call the police to catch you, thief!”
“Madam, you are drunk,” the probation officer started saying, but Priscilla got out of the car and pushed past him, still screaming at Thandi.
Mzi put his hand on her arm. “Chill, Priscilla, what are you talking about? Have you gone mad? Why would she have your shoes?”
Priscilla threw off his hand. “Ask her. She’s the one who took it.” She flew at Thandi with her nails. Thandi gave a cry of pain, and without realising what he was doing, Mzi had Priscilla’s arms behind her back.
“Who’s side are you on?” she spat at Mzi. “Aren’t you man enough to stand up for my rights? You can’t even deal with Olwethu, and now you protect this skolikazi!”
Thandi had blood pouring down from where Priscilla scratched her. But she didn’t seem to notice it. She foraged in her bag and brought out a stiletto. “Take it,” she said. “You’re nothing without your fancy shoes, your fancy car. So take it, since it’s all you’ve got.”
Priscilla snatched it out of Thandi’s hands. She lurched again towards Thandi, but this time Thandi was ready for her and dived behind one of the giraffes. Mzi caught Priscilla’s arms again. “Stop it now, Priscilla,” he said. “You heard her. Get in your car and go.”
Priscilla twisted her body so she was facing Mzi. “How dare you!” she said. “How dare you talk to me like that, you coward of a boy.” She wrenched her arms out of his grasp and spat in his face before she flounced off back to her car.
There was silence as everyone looked at Mzi. Then slowly Asanda walked towards him, holding out a tissue. He took it and wiped his cheek.
The probation officer had been watching the whole scene.
“I’m not sure what’s been happening tonight,” he said. “But you seem to have decided to do the right thing.” He patted Mzi on the back. “You will need to report to me tomorrow. But I think it’s safe to let you go home now.”
“Bye,” the giraffes said. “We’re going too.” Thandi and Mzi watched as they all walked off into the night.
“I got your SMS,” said Mzi. He couldn’t think of anything more to say.
“Hurry,” she said. “You should tell your sister you’re safe. She’s worried, you know.”
As Mzi entered his house with Thandi he was expecting his sister to slap him, or even worse, to scream and throw things at him. But she took him in her arms and hugged him to her. Then she pull
ed away and looked at him.
“You didn’t do it. You didn’t hurt Olwethu.”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t.”
“Something’s changed in you, Mzi. I could see it. But then I thought it was too late. I thought you would do this crazy thing and I would lose my other brother.” She looked at him nervously after she mentioned Themba, but he didn’t respond.
“I should go,” said Thandi.
“No.” Mzi held out his hand. “Would you stay? Just for ten minutes. If it’s OK.”
“Yes, you’re welcome,” said his sister. She left them there in the front room. “Now I’ll be able to sleep,” she said.
Mzi could feel the words. The shape of them in his mouth. They were strange, unfamiliar words that he couldn’t get his lips around. But he wanted to. He had to.
“Ndiyaxolisa,” he said. It came out choked. “I’m sorry for everything.”
Chapter 22
When Thandi had gone home, making him promise that she would see him at Harmony High the next day, Mzi went through to his room. It felt like a year had passed since he left the house, earlier in the evening. The world had changed for him. He had made a choice.
He switched on the light and saw a piece of paper on his bed. It was bits of paper, dirty and scuffed but carefully stuck together. He picked it up. It was the bird let loose from the cage. It was flying into the sunlight. It was the picture Thandi had drawn for him. Someone had found it in the dirt and fixed it.
* * *
In the dark a message lit up his cell.
U r 2 young 2 die, Mzi. U hv evrythng 2 live 4. T
Mzi smiled to himself. Yes, he said to himself. Thandi is right. He thought about the last few weeks, the crazy journey he had been on. There was one person who he needed to tell. He tore a piece of paper out of a school book and found a pen.
He started to write.
The End
Copyright © Cover2Cover 2012
ISBN 978-0-9870150-2-0
e-ISBN 978-0-9922017-3-9
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher, except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act, Act 98 of 1978.
Cover design: Robin Yule
Cover model: Mcebisi Mnyakeni
Proofreading: Sean Fraser
Cover2Cover is an exciting publisher producing novels for African teens. If you enjoyed Too young to die, look out for other titles in the Harmony High series:
Broken Promises
From boys to men
Jealous in Jozi
Sugar Daddy
Two-faced friends
Find out more about Cover2Cover at: www.cover2cover.co.za or by email: info@cover2cover.co.za
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