
Episode 1
Busi stared at the girls on the stage. They were her friends. Why wasnât she up there with them? The answer was simple â because she hadnât entered Hamony Highâs talent competition. She couldnât sing like Ntombi, dance like Lettie, or tell a joke like Asanda. No, the only talent she had was being late for school! A loud cheer went up around her: âUsebenzile!â In front of her Unathi leapt from his seat and punched the air. âYes!â he shouted. âI knew they could do it!â He turned and grinned at Busi triumphantly. âArenât they great?â Busi looked away from Unathiâs stupid, grinning face. She turned her back to the platform where Lettie, Asanda and Ntombi stood smiling, waving and blowing kisses at their adoring fans.
âLetâs give a round of applause for our dream team. We are proud to have three such talented students at Harmony High. They are going to go on to do great things!â Busi had never seen Principal Khumalo so excited. âNtombi paved the way for Harmony High with the Teen Voice Competition. Now her two friends are proving that they are just as talented.â His words made Busi sick. She was Ntombiâs friend too â her third forgotten friend.
There were more announcements â about the soccer game that weekend and the extra lessons that were being offered after school. One of the teachers found a pair of underpants in the girlsâ toilets. âCould the person responsible please come forward,â the teacher said. The girls in front of her giggled. They were so childish, thought Busi. She couldnât wait for assembly to end.
Once the teachers left the hall everyone crowded around Ntombi, Lettie and Asanda, wanting to be their new âbest friendâ. When Lettie turned and smiled and waved at Busi, she couldnât smile back. She picked up her bag and pushed her way to the back of the hall, where she told a prefect that she needed the bathroom. â
Now,â she said. The prefect nodded.
In the girlsâ toilets she stared at herself in the mirror. âWhy?â she asked her reflection. âWhy are you so useless? Why are you so ugly? Why arenât you talented like your friends?â Tears welled up in her eyes.
The clapping in assembly finally stopped. She dried her tears and washed her face. But she wasnât ready to go back into the hall. What she needed was a way out. And there it was. One of the windows in the bathroom had been taken out to be fixed. She could see the blue sky through it.
Her bag went first. She threw it out, climbed onto the toilet and squashed herself through the narrow window frame. Good! She landed in the sand and brushed herself off. Then she picked up her bag and ran for the fence. She lay against it, her heart thumping in her chest. No one had noticed. She stood up again and pushed her way through a hole and out onto the road. Freedom!
Then she heard music â the thump, thump, thump of a bass beat as a taxi slowed down and crawled along the pavement next to her. She stopped. Should she turn and run? But where? Back to school? She had no plan. And now the taxi was stopping and the driver was leaning over and opening the passenger door. He beckoned her to get inside.
Busi looked back down the street. There was Mr Soci, the Life Sciences teacher, staggering in through the gates of Harmony High â late again, and drunk. He turned around and stared at the taxi. Before heâd had a chance to work out who she was, Busi jumped in.
âRunning away from school?â the driver asked, jokingly. His shirt was undone to show off a smooth, muscled chest and the gold chain around his neck glittered in the sun. He gave her a lazy, sexy smile. She knew the drivers who stopped at the school on their taxi route and she didnât recognise him. Why had she never seen him before? She was surprised by how handsome he was.
He turned the music down. âHey, not everyone likesLoyiso. Itâs not every girlâs choice,â he laughed.
âWhatâs that?â she said, distractedly. She hadnât heard him properly, she was worried Mr Soci had recognised her. Was he walking to Mr Khumaloâs office right now to report her? But then Mr Khumalo would smell the alcohol on his breath.
âI said,Loyiso isnât every girlâs fantasy. Is he yours?â
âHeâs okay,â she shrugged.
The street ahead of them was empty. Where was he going, and why was she the only passenger?
âDid you get bored with school?â He revved the engine and put the taxi into first. She still had time to open the door and jump out. âI donât blame you,â he said softly. âYou can have much more fun out here. How old are you? You canât be more than fourteen?â
âFifteen. Iâm fifteen,â Busi said quickly, suddenly wishing that she was older and that she wasnât dressed in her school uniform.
They were driving further and further away from Harmony High. He was taking a right, then a left, weaving between the narrow streets in the township. She would never remember the route.
âAm I so ugly that you canât look at me?â he teased. She smiled â she couldnât help it. Driving around in his taxi felt so much better than some stupid English class. He had stopped to pick her up and he let her sit up front. She was somebody in his taxi, not the untalented nobody she was at school.
âSo, which lesson are you missing?â He reached over and stroked her cheek lightly with his finger.
âEnglish,â she said. âRomeo and Juliet, actually.â
âThose star-crossed lovers â like us, baby girl âŠ,â he said softly, his voice silky smooth. She stared at him. âHow come a taxi driver knows Shakespeare? Is that what youâre thinking?â he laughed, and Busi felt herself blushing. âWell, Iâm not just any old taxi driver. I own a fleet of taxis. And thatâs not all âŠâ
So he was rich, good-looking and clever. But she shouldnât be letting him drive her around like this. And she didnât have taxi fare. âNever talk to strangers, Busi.â Thatâs what her granny always told her. âAnd if you are in trouble, call me. Day or night. Uyandiva?â
âEwe, Makhulu. Ndiyakuva,â she always replied. And here she was talking to a stranger and letting him drive her who-knows-where. She didnât even know his name.
âParks,â he said, as if he had read her thoughts. âMy nameâs Thando, but my friends call me Parks.â He reached over to shake her hand. His hand was warm ⊠and he held hers a little too long. âWhatâs your name, pretty girl?â
âBusi,â she said.
Then she heard a rasping cough from the back of the taxi. She had thought they were alone. Swinging around, she saw a man lying across the back seat. Dirty jeans and a filthy old T-shirt covered his thin body. He coughed again and his whole body shook. Then he spat phlegm out onto his hand and wiped it over his pants. It was disgusting. âDonât worry about him,â Parks said. âHeâs got a problem. Iâll have to get a new gaadjie soon.â
She wouldnât look back again, not even if the gaadjiespoke, she thought. âSo, what are you going to tell your teachers when they ask where you were?â asked Parks, as he pulled into a garage to get petrol.
âIâll tell them Iâm not well,â Busi said. Right now that was true. She was feeling car sick from the petrol fumes and the thought of the gaadjie on the back seat.
When the tank was full Parks asked her, âSo, where do you want to go?â And then, âDonât look so frightened. Iâm not going to kidnap you.â
âHome,â she said quickly, suddenly fearful of what she had done. âCan you take me home?â
âOf course.â He stared at her for a minute. âI mean, if thatâs what you want?â She couldnât look at him; she just nodded.
âHere,â she said when they got to her street. She pointed to a house a block away from their shack. The last thing she wanted was for her granny to see her arriving in a strange taxi with a man old enough to be her father. She didnât stop to think why Parks hadnât asked her for directions, how he knew where she lived.
âBye, sweetie.â He leaned over and kissed her cheek. âIâll be watching out for you. How does a free ride sound sometime?â
âGood,â she said, uncertainly.
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Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7 Episode 8 Episode 9 Episode 10 Episode 11 Episode 12 Episode 13 Episode 14 Episode 15 Episode 16 Episode 17 Episode 18 Episode 19 Episode 20 Episode 21
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