Her Soldier

Chapter 5

"So, tell me," Henrietta paused, a smile coming on her beautiful aged face, "how are things with your pen pal?" 

I couldn't stop the smile that spread on my face as I kicked off my shoes and then held my knees to my chest as I closed my eyes, "amazing." I admitted in a single word and she giggled. 

"That well? Tell me more about it," she demanded in a soft voice and I opened my eyes and looked at her, wrapping my arms around my knees. 

"You ever connected with someone you've never met before? Someone who's so far away? Someone you've never seen? Yet you feel...you feel so connected and so united? You feel like, like, there's no way that this person is judging me. There's no way that this person is mocking me but this person, he, he gets me better than I get myself." I bit my bottom lip and then licked it as I scoffed, "what I told you in four years, I spilled in four weeks," I admitted. 

Henrietta smiled, "oh, I'm so happy to hear that. I'm so happy to see you like this, tell me more." 

"There isn't more," I laughed, "that's all there is to know. I've never heard his voice and I've never seen his face," I bit my lip, stopping more words from spilling.

"So, what now of this relationship with your pen pal? How do you feel about him or her?" 

"Him. I feel connected, you know, Henrietta. I feel like there's no one out there who understands me like he does," I coughed, covering my mouth and then looked at her, "he's been through so much, he's an orphan...and it's just," I kept quiet, breaking eye contact. I wouldn't say anything about his life because that was just between him and I and I refused to tell her our secrets. 

"What do you know about him?" She asked and I shook my head. 

"I know a lot," I told her and then looked at her high heels she was wearing, a perfect nude I knew my mother would've loved to own, "I won't tell you anything about him though." 

She raised an eyebrow, "it's just between us two, you know." 

"Alright," she nodded, "I understand. I'm just glad to see you've got another friend," we both nodded, "now let's talk about your Matric Dance," she paused, "it's in a month. Are you going to go?" 

Oh Matric Dance, "I'm excited," I laughed, "shockingly I'm really excited and it's because Zack said that I would surely look amazing," I blushed and then Henrietta whistled before clapping her hands and laughing. 

"Oh, so he has a name, Zack?" She teased and I nodded. 

"But it's not like that. It's like receiving a compliment from the cool kid." 

"Did you get a dress? Did anyone ask you to be their date? Is your mother letting you go?" 

"My mum and I had an agreement about trials and she said that if I didn't get at least three A's for trials, she wouldn't allow me to go for it. But luckily I got three A's so she said I can go and I'm happy, because yes I did find a dress and no, there's no date," I said honestly, "I don't think anyone would want to ask me."

"Dud-" she sighed and I held up my hand stopping her. 

"It's alright. I get it," I told her and she nodded keeping quiet. 

"I'm going to a party tonight, in just a few hours. It starts at 6 but I'll go at 7 and then stay for as long as I can stomach," I told her, "it's Liesl's party." 

"That's nice! Are you excited?" 

I shook my head, "am I supposed to be?" 

"Well, yes, it's your first party isn't it?" 

"Not really my first, but yes, a first for school." 

"Ok, you look happier." 

"That's because I am," I said and then scratched my nose as I tilted my head and then looked at the clock above the wall. 

~~~

"Ok, be safe. When should I fetch you?" My mum asked me as she sat beside me in the driver’s seat and I looked at the house where the music blasted and I looked back at her. 

"In two hours, if not, less," I said to her, hating the sight of the fully packed house.  Where I could see different people dancing, others eating and drinking and I sighed as I looked at my mum and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. 

Cars stopped around us before everyone got out, laughing and already in the mood to party, dressed in camouflage clothing and painted faces. 

I reached for the door handle and got out of mine and my mother's favourite car, the Jaguar F Type. I waved goodbye at her, unable to see through the tinted windows but she hooted in response and I walked to the house, hearing the sound of her car pulling out of the driveway and then speeding away. 

The door was wide open and I walked through, ignoring the boys who were standing outside smoking, clearly weed or something stronger and more dangerous, and looked around the place. 

Liesl's house is beautiful, and I loved visiting her but I hated being around people. Especially if it seemed like I was the only black person there. I looked around for Liesl, grabbing a closed can of Stoney and popped it open, drinking from it. 

The party was in full swing with music playing loudly throughout the house. Currently the song playing was Kwesta's Ngud' and I'd be lying if I said my body didn't sway to the beat as I smiled at one of my favourite songs playing. It seemed everyone was feeling it as well because everyone was moving and grooving. 

"Dudu! You made it!" I heard someone scream loudly, trying to go louder than the music but trust me when I say that's not possible. I turned around and was met with Liesl wearing a green shorts with a black bra, her hair in a ponytail and these cool camouflage boots. 

I was a bit more covered up though. I was wearing a pair of camouflage pants with black rubber boots with a thick platform. I wore a camouflage crop top that reached just above my navel and showed my flat stomach and my hair was braided.

"You look amazing!" I told her over the music as I leaned in and hugged her, handing her birthday present and she grinned as she looked down at the beautiful wrapped gift. 

"You look better!" She said as she took it from my hands and planted a kiss on my cheek, "come here," she took my hand and began to lead me through the bodies and up the stairs. When we got there we could still hear the music but not as loud. 

Liesl has an indoor swimming pool and most of the party goers were in there, and the rest of the area was kids sitting on chairs as they smoked from different hookah pipes. Everyone was definitely dressed for the occasion and lots went all out, but obviously still looked fashionable and amazing. 

Liesl smiled as she led me to Fricky and his crew and honestly I wanted to take my hand out of hers and run out of her house and never come back. I'll explain why. 

Fricky has a lot of older friends, friends who are studying in university. The UJ (University of Johannesburg), WITS (University of the Witwatersrand) (pronounce the W's as V's) and UP (University of Pretoria) students who really do have a reputation for being real drinkers and partygoers, especially the UJ students. 

What they are also known for is their good looks and I'll be honest and say that around them I just want to bury myself in a hole and hide because they're so hot and they know it. Their group was mixed with some very beautiful girls whose faces were always caked in perfect make up. When I say caked, I don't mean it in a bad way I mean in the fact that they do it so well and kill it. 

They all looked up when Liesl appeared with me a step behind her and smiled before everyone cheered my name and I looked at my feet shyly before waving at them. Liesl sat me down beside her and there was one of Fricky's friends, I might or might not have a crush on, by the name of Jabu. 

Now Jabu is everything I want in a boyfriend. The bad boy, the one with the fashion sense and clothing you always envy. He has the good hair and the beard that never looked less than perfect. The perfect brown complexion and teeth so white and sparkling, when he smiles you see your damn future. A deep voice and all he has to do is bite his bottom lip and I swear my legs will spread for him. 

He's slightly built due to his exercising and interest in soccer, he's got a few tattoos but they're only visible when he's wearing vests and his car...oh lord, a van (pickup truck) has never looked so great. 

He smiled at me and I held my breath, surprised I was able to smile back, "hey, Dudu," he greeted and I almost screamed because he had to lean in to say my name due to the loud talking and the loud music. 

"Hey," I greeted back, my voice small and delicate compare to his. 

"You look..." He paused, speaking in Zulu and I almost threw myself on him, "beautiful." 

"Thank you," I said as I looked down at my thighs and then back at him, noticing his earing, "you look great, like always." 

"Really?" He smiled wide, "oh, a compliment from you? I will cherish it." 

I rolled my eyes, smiling and he handed me the pipe he was smoking from, "you want a pull?" 

I've smoked hookah before, multiple times actually. Liesl was the one who got me into smoking hookah. The first time I smoked it was when we were in Grade 9 and I had come to visit her so we could do a project and she pulled me into the bathroom, and forced me to smoke. Laughing when I began to cough, but slowly I began to really like it. 

I love the flavour when you smoke, as well as the fact that I can do all these funky things like blow circles, and all of that. 

I accepted the pipe from his hands and brought it to my lips, taking a long pull and then letting out all of the smoke in a thick white cloud and then blowing through it, and watched as it disappeared. 

"I see you're good at sucking and blowing," he said suddenly, a huge smile on his face and I gasped, and began to cough uncontrollably. 

He took the pipe from my hands and began to hit me on my back as I kept on coughing and gasping in probably the most embarrassing way ever because I don't think you can look attractive by choking. 

He was laughing besides me and I glared at him as I took a long sip from my Stoney and I recovered from my fiasco. 

"I'm sorry," he said, clearly not sorry, "I'm sorry," he laughed some more and I took the pipe from him, blocking it so Fricky and Liesl could smoke from the other pipes. 

"Ok, I'm serious," he said as he placed his arm on the back of my chair and I forced my inner self to not lose her mind, "I'll make it up to you." 

I looked at him, interested, "let's dance," he said, and then took my hand in his. 

"Dance?" I asked him. And he nodded. 

He stood up from his chair and pulled me up with him and I followed as he walked through the group of people, throwing his legs over their pipes as they complained but he didn't listen. He walked me back down the stairs and when we got there, he wrapped his arm around my waist. 

The song Nalingi by Manu Worldstar was playing and I bit my lip, nervous, even though I knew I could dance I just didn't know if I could if I was dancing with Jabu, a heartthrob.

He was standing behind me with his hands now on my waist and my hands were placed atop his as he pulled me more to him and began to move his body slowly. I was smiling so hard, I'm sure my cheeks were pink. He placed his head on my shoulder, placing a delicate kiss on my neck as my breath caught but he didn't miss a beat and neither did I as we moved in the middle of the crowd. 

I wanted to yell at the top of my voice the more we danced and everyone took a step back from us. Good, we didn't want anyone ruining this dance we both were having. 

He was so close, I could smell his cologne and he smelled so amazing. He smelt like...oh I can't even put a name to it. You know how guys smell? It just attracts you? Yes, like that. That's how he smelt and the more we danced the more I moved into him even though there wasn't much more space to eliminate but just to feel his body was enough to fuel me on. 

I could hear him groan softly in my ear as I turned my head from him and then looked at him as the music stopped. 

"You still mad at me?" He asked as we both stopped swaying to the music and I shook my head slowly, as he turned me around in his arms and then I looked up at him. 

He smiled at my response, biting his bottom lip and I looked down at his lips and then back up at him. "You l-" 

"Can I borrow Dudu for a little while?" Liesl asked as she looked at Jabu who looked at me and then at her before nodding letting go of my waist as I turned and looked at Liesl and she took my hand and I followed as she led me through the crowd of bodies. 

At a distance away she stopped and faced me and we both squealed at the exact same time. Unable to stop skipping and jumping on the spot as we both tried to express how insane the moment was. 

"Oh!- And!- The!- Oh my god!" I yelled at her and she nodded. 

"Totally!- Dance!- Epic!" She screamed back with just as much enthusiasm before we both burst out laughing and then caught our breaths. 

"Jabu and I-" 

"Were dancing!" She finished off before we started squealing again. 

"I can't go back," I admitted to her, scared, "what am I going to say?" 

"It looked like you guys were about to kiss!" She whisper yelled. 

"Really? No ways!" 

"Yes, and he had his hands on your waist! And oh my god, everyone was looking! Everyone could see! I f*****g told you he likes you!" 

I couldn't help but get as excited, "you think so?" 

"Fricky told me!" She exclaimed, "even the others in the group tease him about you whenever you're not there! How many times must I tell you before you believe me? I'm telling you, Dudu! That boy f*****g loves you!" 

I laughed, shaking my head but blushing at the thought, "ok, so now what are we going to do? You took me away from him." 

"Let's go back and act normal," she suggested sounding just as unsure before she began to fix her outfit and I nodded. Fixing my outfit as well and making sure my phone was in my pocket and then took it in my hands as I fanned my face. 

"Ok, let's go," she said after some time of running her hands through her hair and I nodded, taking her hand as we both began to walk through the house again, pushing the bodies as we made our way back upstairs. 

But we took two pizza boxes with us to make it seem like we were doing something useful instead of fangirling and screaming about boys.

"Pizza!" A guy yelled out randomly from the indoor pool and I ignored him as I walked to my previous seat where I saw Jabu already sitting next to my chair like before. 

I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into this Debonairs pizza, lord knows I'm hungry. "We brought pizza," Liesl announced suddenly and everyone looked at her and I as we sat down with the pizza boxes, everyone getting up and snatching slices as we all started to eat and I was so invested in my pizza that I was brought out of it by a knee touching mine and I looked at Jabu with filled cheeks and he burst out laughing. 

"You look like a chipmunk," he stated, "it's adorable." 

I laughed, swallowing my food as I licked my fingers, "I can't help it, I really love Debonairs," I told him and he shrugged as he gave me his left over slice after noticing me frowning at the empty box on my lap. 

"Are you sure?" I asked him and he nodded. I hesitantly took it from him, praying that Liesl saw this so that she and I could fangirl about it when I got home. 

"Hey," he leaned forward, his face inches from mine, "I was wondering if you could... give me your phone number," he paused, "so that I can take you out some time?"

"You want my number?" I repeated softly, wanting to make sure that I was saying the right words and that I wasn't wrong.

"Yes," he nodded confidently, "I'd like your number so that we can set up a date."

I felt a smile come on my face and I bit my bottom lip to stop from grinning, "ok..."

"Ok?" he repeated, looking surprised. "Ok," he said more confidently as he handed me his phone.

I guess my first party wasn't all too bad.