Love And War Season 1

Chapter 1

GUGULEZWE

November's here, and exams are finally over. Thank God! I quit my job at Spar, thinking I've saved up enough to enjoy the festive season. Philasande? Let's not even talk about her. We buried her, and she's in a much better place now.

We were too late. She had lost too much blood, and a womb infection took her life quicker than it should have. That day, I not only lost my first child and my first love, but I also lost myself. My life was never the same again.

Grief has a way of changing people. I started distancing myself from my old friends and hanging out with a new crowd—people who weren't exactly good influences. Despite everything, I never lost sight of what's important, and that's school.

I make my way to Hillcrest Township, where my new friends reside. On my way, I bump into Dylan, one of our squad members.

"Ekse Dylan, sup?" I greet him with our secret handshake. He's coloured, the craziest in our group, and also the most dangerous.

"Ya bruh, what kind?" he responds.

"I was coming to check you guys, what's new there?" I ask, turning around with him as he puts his arm around me.

"Nie maan. Daar's a bitch ek kan seen daar by Ncambedlana. Biae lekker by die eye," he says, and I can't help but laugh at his broken Afrikaans.

"Stick to English and Xhosa, fam. You don't want to scare her away," I say, still laughing. He laughs too.

"Yah, you right. Tonight we hitting that shop on the third street. Heard that one makes over a R1000 a day," he says.

"Why don't we hit the Chinese? I mean, they make way more money, and I've managed to hack into their security system. Trust me, it's weak!" I suggest with a shrug. He looks at me and smiles.

"You see why I like you, pretty boy," he says. That's what he calls me. I used to hate it, but now I'm okay with it.

"You up for a smoke?" he asks, taking out his cigarette and a lighter. I nod. Yeah, I smoke now.

"Sho," I say. He takes out another cigarette and gives it to me. We light them up and start puffing, chatting lightly about tonight's plans.

Eventually, we part ways, and I head to meet the rest of the squad. We all greet each other.

Tino is like the second in command. He's been in and out of juvie a couple of times. He doesn't really like me much, thinks I'm here to take his place, but I've got nothing against him.

Daniel is the go-to guy for weapons and anything that can inflict pain. There's nothing he doesn't have.

Lukhanyo can steal any car, anywhere, at any time, and he's never been caught.

Then there's me, the self-taught IT guy. I can't really say I'm adding much value to the squad, but they seem to think they need my brains, and who am I to argue?

We chill in the corner, and I update them on the plan.

"Does Dylan approve?" Tino asks, biting on a matchstick. I nod.

"Met him on the way here. He's down for it," I say proudly.

"Plan sounds lekker, and the money we'll be walking away with," says Lukhanyo, all excited.

"Do you even have a plan for how to do this? That place has cameras, alarms. We could get caught," Tino says.

"Listen, I've planned everything out. Got all the things we need. We're good, don't worry," I say, patting his shoulder, knowing how much he hates that.