by Haden, Ross;
Sam knew that he shouldn’t be going to someone like Bra Frank, but his sister needed medicine. She wasn’t getting better, Siphiwe had told him. He needed to get her away from Mam’Gqwashu and to a safe place where she could get proper treatment.
When Zinhle saw Sam talking to Xolani in the school yard she could tell that something was wrong. His face looked pale and he was pacing up and down after Xolani had left him. She waited until he was alone then walked over to meet him.
“Hey, what’s going on?” she asked.
“What’s going on is that I would like to take you out on Saturday evening,” he said, smiling. He didn’t want Zinhle worrying about him. “Yes or no? Simple.”
He held his breath for what seemed forever, then she replied.
“Yes.”
“That’s good.” Sam could hardly contain his excitement. Zinhle looked at him then smiled and quickly ran off before any of her friends saw her talking to him.
~•~
“Boys, please have a seat,” Bra Frank said, and nodded at Sam and Xolani. He was sitting by himself in the middle of the shebeen with just a big glass of beer in front of him. The shebeen was dark and dingy and house music pumped in the background. Sam knew the song very well as he had heard it in the taxi many times: ‘Black Coffee Remix – Falling’. Some young girls were dancing for a drunk old man in order to get money from him.
Sam hesitated. His whole body was telling him to turn back now, and never return to the shebeen. But his sister was in such pain. He sat down.
“What can I do for you makwedini, boys?” Frank took a sip from his cold beer and called on one of his boys to light a cigarette for himself and to order drinks for the boys.
When Frank passed Sam a bottle of cola he couldn’t refuse. Frank was not a person who took no for an answer. As he took the bottle, Sam saw the number ‘27’ tattooed in green ink on Frank’s knuckles. Sam knew exactly what a tattoo like that said about the kind of person the bearer was. He thought of what his mother would say if she saw her son in such a place meeting a true gangster. He felt ashamed but he couldn’t back out now. Xolani had helped him – if he walked now, his friend would never help him again.
“He needs a loan,” Xolani said quickly.
Sam looked at this short, old man sitting in front of him, his hat tilted to the side and with so many rings on his fingers. He looked around. There were also so many preying eyes – eyes staring back at him. Now he was sure he couldn’t just walk out of the shebeen even if he wanted to.
“How much do you need?” Frank looked directly at Sam.
“I need R10 000.” Sam’s voice sounded like he was choking. He had spent the last few days estimating how much he would need on top of his small support grant if he was to rescue his sister. This amount would have to be enough for him to pay off Mam’Gqwashu. He knew money was the only thing she cared about. It would have to be enough for both of them to live on in their own place, at least until he found a better-paying job.
“Kwedini, this is not child’s play. That is a lot of money for a boy,” Frank responded. He didn’t look happy.
“Will you give me the money or not?” Sam burst out.
Frank looked at him and then grinned. “I see you have guts,” he laughed. “Maybe we could use someone like you.” He turned to the guys around him and they laughed too. “I like you. You remind me of me at that age. Yes, I’ll give you the money, but I will also give you six months to pay me back, with interest of course. In my line of work you can’t trust anyone; people will lend money then disappear. So I give them a short time to pay up then all is good. You look like a smart young man, so I think six months is good for you.” He raised his almost empty glass and one of his boys came running with a bottle to top him up.
“Come and see me tomorrow. I’ll have your money.”
Six months, that’s not long, but I can do it, Sam thought to himself as they left the shebeen.
~•~
With Bra Frank’s money in his pocket Sam went to a distant relative to ask if he could rent the shack in his back yard. He could move in at the end of the month, the man said as Sam handed over the deposit. The end of the month was one week away. He dreaded telling Mr Sotshononda, but he would think of a way. He was turning eighteen soon anyway. He couldn’t stay in the home forever.
Mr Sotshononda was alarmed, but went with Sam to see the room. He talked to Social Services. As Sam’s eighteenth birthday was coming up they agreed, after meeting his relative, that Sam could stay there. They needed to do the paperwork but it would be in order. Sam assured Mr Sotshononda that he would stay at school. There was a waiting list at The Children’s Haven. He felt it was right that a younger child could take his place. He couldn’t tell Mr Sotshononda about his sister though. Not yet. What if the Social Services didn’t agree to let her stay with him? They would protest that he did not have the money to be his sister’s guardian. What if they didn’t believe the stories about Mam’Gqwashu? No, that had to stay a secret.
The following weekend Sam went to get his sister from Mam’Gqwashu’s home.
“You can’t have her.” Mam’Gqwashu blocked her doorway and then continued: “Unless you give me something.” She smiled then, a horrible, insincere smile, and nodded to his school satchel. “You must have somewhere to stay if you come asking for that useless girl. How did you pay for that?”
Reluctantly he took out R500 and held it out to her. She grabbed at it. He noticed her fingers with their bright red nail polish that was chipping off. “Fetch Sinethemba!” she shouted at one of the small children who had come out from behind the house. Mam’Gqwashu slapped the child as she ran inside, yelling, “Khawuleza!” Then she turned back to Sam. “It will be good to be rid of that ungrateful child. All she does is cause trouble for me.” She walked back inside, not stopping to say goodbye to Sinethemba, who came running down the passage.
Sinethemba was overjoyed by her brother’s bravery and how he had kept his promise to rescue her from Mam’Gqwashu. She flew into his arms and clung onto him. Sam was shocked by how thin she was. And she coughed all the time.
Sam took Sinethemba to the room he had rented. He had come every afternoon after school with some item to try to make it look welcoming for his sister. He had managed to get some cheap furniture from the local second-hand store and had even put up a beautiful butterfly poster that he knew his sister would like.
That night they talked and talked. Sam had done it: they were a family again. A family of two.
~•~
That Friday Sam decided he could leave Sinethemba alone so that he could take Zinhle out on the promised date. His relative was around to keep an eye on her. Sinethemba urged him to go and had made him promise to let her meet Zinhle soon.
Sam took Zinhle to buy some fish and chips. They sat in the local park under a tree. It was a beautiful, warm evening. Sam had even brought a small blanket for them to sit on.
“Mmm, this is just what I felt like, thanks,” Zinhle said, and gave Sam a hug.
Finally they were alone without the prying eyes of Thando or Xolani.
“You’re so beautiful,” Sam said, admiring Zinhle’s figure in her floral summer dress. “You look especially beautiful without the school uniform,” he said, winking at her.
She couldn’t help but blush. She felt shy and yet didn’t want him to stop telling her how beautiful she was. She had spent all morning trying on clothes and when her mother pointed at that dress and told her how gorgeous it was, she knew she had to wear it.
Sam opened a bag he had brought and handed her a cooldrink.
“How is your sister doing? Have you spoken to her lately?” Zinhle said as she leaned to the side to open her cooldrink without it spilling on her dress.
“She wants to meet you.”
“But I thought …”
“I did it, Zinhle!” He was gri
nning. “I rescued her from Mam’Gqwashu’s. We have a place now. When I’ve fixed it up a bit more we will invite you for supper.”
“Wow,” said Zinhle. “That’s great.”
~•~
She was happy for Sam that his sister was safe. But she was also worried. She couldn’t help wondering how Sam had got the money for a place of his own. Rent wasn’t cheap and he would need to provide for everything. She felt sure that Xolani had had a hand in it – and that was dangerous for Sam. Still she kept quiet. She could tell that he did not want to talk about it. But she felt scared for him. She felt cold suddenly and wrapped her jacket around her.
~•~
Five months had passed and Sinethemba was healthy again. She had joined Sam at Vulamasango High School, in Grade 8. Zinhle and his relationship grew stronger by the day. But Sam knew that time was running out to repay Frank, who was no doubt counting down the months before he would come to collect his money. Sam knew if he couldn’t pay up Frank would make an example of him to all the other people who still owed him money. Bra Frank would have no mercy.
Sam continued to work at Mohammed’s. But the money was just enough to pay for them to eat and for transport.
One morning at break time Sam noticed a car parked outside the school fence. Two men were leaning against it, smoking. Frank’s boys – he was sure he recognised one from the shebeen. The same guy had been hanging around the supermarket where he worked. At first he thought they were just messing around, trying to scare him, but now they seemed to follow him everywhere he went.
“Eish, do you see them?” Sam said, turning to Xolani.
“Yeah, bra, those boys are either looking for trouble or Frank has sent them to intimidate you,” Xolani said as he stubbed out his cigarette.
“Everywhere I turn they are there.” Sam was terrified of what Frank might tell his goons to do.
“Have you managed to find some money to pay him back?” Xolani asked as they walked to the spaza after school. He knew full well that Sam could not have managed to find so much money in such a short time.
“I tried to save some of that money he gave me, but the rent is eating it up, and then there’s food and …” Sam stopped. On the street next to the spaza were Frank’s boys, but they weren’t alone. Zinhle was there, and they were standing really close to her.
“Mabhebeza, uyababa sho, you’re beautiful,” one guy leered, winking at Zinhle then inhaling from his cigarette and blowing a perfect smoke ring.
“Don’t worry, we won’t steal your girlfriend from you,” one of them said as Sam came up to them. “But maybe we can borrow her for a little fun time,” he laughed as Sam pulled Zinhle away from him.
“You better watch out, wena,” Sam threatened, standing between them and Zinhle. He wished he could punch the man who had said that in the face. But obviously he would then be in even more serious trouble with Bra Frank. He felt trapped.
“Thanks! That guy was a real jerk,” Zinhle said and took Sam’s hand when the guys had walked off. “If something’s wrong, Sam, you can tell me.”
“Nothing. It’s nothing. How was your day?” Sam changed the subject quickly, forcing a smile.
“It was great. I finally finished my English paper and handed it in.”
Oh shit, Sam thought. He had forgotten about the paper. He had been falling behind with all his assignments. All this constant worrying about how he was going to pay Frank back, working weekends and trying to buy food for him and his sister was distracting him. He couldn’t concentrate at school. He thought about how much faith Mr Sotshononda had in him. What would he say now if he saw me like this? Sam thought.
“Have you finished yours?” Zinhle asked.
“Don’t worry about me, everything is good,” Sam lied quickly. He felt ashamed because his mother never raised a liar.
As they turned the corner he saw another of Frank’s boys. He had to get Zinhle away from himself. Being with her was getting dangerous for both of them.
“I have to go,” he said quickly.
“Wait, what do you mean? I thought we were gonna spend the afternoon together.” Zinhle was disappointed.
“Maybe tomorrow, but I really have to go now,” Sam called back, already halfway down the street.
“Sam, what’s going on?” Zinhle shouted after him. But he was gone.
~•~
“Hey, so have you come up with a plan yet?” Xolani had come round to visit Sam.
“Eish, I don’t know what to do and I know time is running out,” Sam replied, scratching his head.
Xolani well knew that Sam would be in big trouble if he did not come up with the money on time. He knew he himself would be in trouble too as it was he who had recommended Sam to Bra Frank. But even Xolani was running short of ideas on how they could get out of this mess.
“Look, I’ve got to go now but I’ll think of something, don’t worry,” Xolani said to Sam, in an effort to calm him down.
~•~
The next Monday afternoon Xolani had been joking around with his friends, talking about the movies they had watched over the weekend. Chippa was going on and on about this great movie he had seen on his brother’s computer.
“Njonga neh, iqhawukile, look, that movie was amazing.” Chippa could not stop talking about it.
“Wena, you like to exaggerate too much,” Xolani said, and punched him playfully on his shoulder.
“Have you seen it? It’s called The Bank Job,” and Chippa started explaining the whole movie from start to finish, with such excitement.
As he was explaining, Xolani kept thinking of how Sam could pay Bra Frank back.
“Chippa, usis’khokho bra, my brother you’re a genius.”
Xolani had to find Sam fast. He was grinning when he told Sam.
“I have a plan …”
~•~
Sam looked at the calendar in Mohammed’s office in the supermarket. It was six months to the day that he and Xolani had visited the shebeen. His palms were sweaty. Would Xolani’s plan work? It was dangerous. But it seemed like their only chance.
Sam had been out of school all week. Now it was Saturday and he was in the supermarket. Frank’s guys were everywhere. They would come for him soon. Exams were also on their way and he had so much work to catch up on. Everything suddenly felt overwhelming – way too much to handle.
“Hey, how are you doing?” Zinhle had found him packing tins on the shelves. “I haven’t seen you all week. Where have you been?”
Sam had been cutting classes to avoid Frank’s goons and to also catch up with some homework he had not done. Xolani had told him he was figuring out just how to put their plan into action and that he must try to keep calm.
“I’ve just been busy with … stuff.”
“Exams are starting soon. I could come round and help you. I make quite a good study partner. I just want you to know I’m here for you.” She held his hand and smiled. Then her expression became serious. “Are you in trouble, Sam?”
“Everything’s fine. I’ll be back at school on Monday, promise.”
To Zinhle’s relief, on Monday Sam was back in class. It felt so good to be near him again. She had been worried that something bad had happened to him.
During break Sam found Xolani. “We’ve got to do it soon, bra,” he told his friend.
That afternoon they went over the plan one last time.
First Sam was to go to Bra Frank and tell him that he did not have his money and if he wanted it he could take it himself. The plan was simple. Frank and his goons could rob the supermarket where Sam worked in order to get the money. Sam was going to get all the details of where Mohammed kept the safe and signal Frank and his goons to come in and grab the money just before Mohammed left for his usual trip to the bank.
Sam had been reluctant when Xolani had first told him his plan. “Ha
yibo, do you want to get us both killed?!” he had asked.
“Nobody needs to get hurt. It’s an in-and-out job, bra,” Xolani had assured him. “Besides, it’s the best plan we’ve got. Unless you can think of another. You must do it tomorrow. Bra Frank will be in the shebeen by six.”
On the way home Sam could not stop thinking of all that could possibly go wrong with Xolani’s plan. He could not sleep all night, he was so worried. He kept having nightmares of his sister being taken away again – and this time him never getting a chance to see her after he was arrested for stealing.
When morning came, he was sitting with Sinethemba having breakfast and thinking that this could be the last meal that they would ever share together. He watched her take every bite. He tried to capture every moment of this time together. Then an idea suddenly hit him.
What if he personally didn’t get involved with the robbery at all? What if all he did was tell Frank about the safe and alert him to when to come? Frank and his goons could do the rest. That way Mohammed would never know that he was a part of the whole thing.
“Mohammed has more than I owe you in his takings for the week,” Sam told Frank as they stood together in the dark shebeen. “At least R15 000.”
“I knew you were a smart boy,” Frank said to Sam.
~•~
Friday mid-afternoon was the set date when everything would take place. Sam showed up at the usual time for his shift. He noticed Mohammed going to the back to start the stock take before he took the money from the safe.
Sam looked out of the window. Frank and his boys were sitting in a black VW car with black-tinted windows outside the shop, waiting for the signal.
Then, just as Sam was about to close the shop doors for the usual short lunch break, Zinhle came running in to buy some groceries. Sam wanted to rush forward and push her back out of the store to safety. He wanted to protect her from what was about to happen. But he couldn’t. How would he get her out of there in time before Frank and his boys came in?
“Hey, sorry, but we are closed now,” Sam said, trying to stop Zinhle.
“Please, Sam, I just need to buy something. I’ll be out of the shop in one minute,” Zinhle insisted, pushing her way past him.