Beckoned Through The Dark

07 // Lesego // Hide & Seek

The next day, fortunately, my mother did not drive us to school, Jack did.

And trust me when I tell you this, the ride was so much fun. It was filled with chattering and laughter. We all felt so free. Duncan, Dineo and I were busy arguing about who the hottest person was from the telenovela Santa Diabla. Duncan said, "those people are not hot." Which caused Dineo to close her novel in pure determination.

"What are you talking about? Those people are hot, especially the guys." Dineo said, and to this, Jack chocked on air. "Wh-what do you know about hot guys?" He had asked, but Dineo refused to back down, and said, "I know enough to know that you are not hot."

"Ouch!" Jack feigned mock hurt, and we all laughed. "But, Dad, did you see Aaron Diaz? The guy is hot! He looks so innocent and is so charming; I still can't believe he is the bad guy." Dineo said enthusiastically as if she was talking about candy like girls her age should. I looked at her shocked that she understood what was happening on Santa Diabla, she didn't say it out loud, but it was there. But then again, why am I even surprised? This is Dineo we are talking about here.

"That guy is not hot; he is good looking, but not hot." Duncan argued. I feigned mock surprise, placing my hand on my chest dramatically, and said, "Excuse me, check Wikipedia for the new definition of hot, sweetheart, it has Aaron Diaz written all over it! Now swallow that!" I said as Dineo and I laughed, followed by a high five.

Duncan groaned and turned to his father, "dad, aren't you going to help out over here?" He asked.

Jack just laughed, and gave him a quick glance over the rear-view mirror, "no, son, I wouldn't know about hot guys, but I can tell you about hot ladies, say for instance, Gaby Espinõ, Aracely Arambula, and Catherine...what's her name again?" He asked.

We all stared at him in silence before we burst into fits of laughter. "Dad, you should be glad mom is not here to listen to this, otherwise you'd be dead." Duncan said.

"True, you were still saying Catherine...?" Dineo said. "Who is that?" She asked.

"I forgot her surname; it is that woman from Queen of Hearts." Jack said.

Dineo and I shared a knowing look. "Reina?" We asked in unison.

"No, the other one?" He said as if we should know.

Dineo and I looked at each other with questioning looks, but Duncan clarified things for us when he muttered under his breath as if he were going to regret it, "he is talking about Estefaniã."

"Estefaniã?!" Dineo and I exclaimed the same time as Jack said "yes, that one! The Queen of Diamonds!" We were no longer surprised that Jack knew all these things; after all he spent the entire day at home. I looked at Duncan who was looking outside the window and looked at Dineo who winked at me with a smile of her own. As much as I would have loved to tease Duncan, I didn't. Duncan acted as if he hated Telemundo whenever Dineo and I watched, and he always said that it was a girls' channel. I smiled and shook my head.

We dropped Dineo and Duncan at their school, and they were early compared to most days. After dropping them off however, the ride to my school wasn't as comfortable. Honestly speaking, I wasn't used to Jack. Jack Ngoma and my mother have been married for over ten years, but somehow, within those ten years, I have never been open with him. He was like a stranger to me.

Unlike my mother, Jack dropped me inside the school yard. I hopped off and took my bags from the backseat. I was about to walk away when Jack called me over, and I walked over to the driver's window. "Look, your mother was worried about you yesterday." He said, and I groaned. I should have known that he was going to talk about her.

"Really?" I asked and he flinched visibly. "She would have saved a lot of trouble if she had called me, or Clay." I said, and Jack shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Ha! Why start something if he can't complete it. "And maybe, just maybe, you would have saved us all the trouble if you had been at home yesterday." I remarked. His head snapped up, his eyes wide open from shock. I walked away from him before he could say anything.

The rest of my day was a blur, and before I knew it, I was walking out of my last class, more like dragging myself out. Sihle laughed when he saw me, I must look awful. "You look awful." He pointed out. "Gee, thanks." I said sarcastically and hugged him.

"So…" He trailed off. "So?" I asked. I knew Sihle wanted to ask about the previous day, I wanted him to ask me directly. He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "What happened yesterday?" He asked.

I sighed and took a step back. "Uhm..." I started, suddenly regretting being so pushy. "Uhm...I –"

"Lesego, just the person I wanted to see!" My friend, Helena, said breathlessly. I would be lying if I said I wasn't grateful for the interruption, I'm not sure of what I was going to say to Sihle. "Helen, hi!" I said with a sheepish smile, earning me a glare from her.

"The guys and I are going to see Zack, so I was wondering if you could tag along." She asked, eyeing Sihle as if daring him to object.

"Helen, I don't know..."

"He asked to see you. We will be waiting for you outside the front gate." She said, leaving no space for argument. "No, it's fine, we will catch up later." Sihle said, dismissing us, and then he left without any further words.

"Okay?" Helen said. "I know I don't like him; he probably doesn't like me either, but he didn't have to be such a jerk." She pointed out dramatically, and I just shrugged and watched as his car pulled out of the parking lot.

"Did I miss something? Is everything OK between the two of you?"

I nodded timidly, "yeah, let's go!" She looked at me suspiciously but didn't say anything. We walked to the main gate, and not even halfway there, Helen ran to the bathrooms, leaving me stranded in the garden after she'd decided that we take a shortcut, only for her to make me take pictures of her, because she wanted to update her statuses and post on Instagram or whatever that app was.

I wouldn't know what those apps are because am forced to be asocial in every way possible, my phone is just a simple phone, couldn't have cost my mother more than R150; it has no camera, it was one of those small phones used for calls and SMS's, but thankfully it had a memory card slot and came with a free memory card and headphones, so I had a couple of sappy love songs.

There's nothing fancy about me, nothing to envy, except of course, for my shoulder-length brown hair, bright brown eyes, my handsome brother, my beautiful and smart sister, my E-reader, my two boyfriends, my crazy friends, and maybe my overprotective mother? I don't wear fancy clothes, unless you think PEP, Jet, Ackerman's, or Mr Price are fancy, although Mr Price is fancy to me. My wardrobe is just plain simple, no labels, nothing to steal… you get the image.

I spotted a figure at the corner of my eye, thinking maybe it was Helen, but when I looked there was no one. I glanced at my watch and groaned. She's been gone for over fifteen minutes, who urinates for that long? I took out my phone and turned on the screen, but the stupid thing decided to go off the moment Daniella called me. "Damn it!" The poor guys are probably waiting for Helen and I. I groaned in frustration and ran a hand through my hair. I could walk to the gate, but what if Helen comes looking for me?

A movement on my peripheral vision sent me on edge. I caught a glimpse of white hair and a dress. Everyone around here minded their own business and did their own thing, so it really shouldn't bother me that there is someone else in this section of the school, sneaking around the garden.

I really shouldn't, but my conscious wouldn't let me be. "Hello?" I took slow steps towards the figure.

The gardens around here were like a maze with parallel trees and other plants.

My heart hammered against my chest, threatening to break out of my ribcage. I took in a shaky breath, my feet refusing to stop. I turned at the corner of the first row of trees, certain that I would find someone as soon as I stepped out of the corner, but to no avail. I sighed and turned to leave but a fast movement ahead of me stopped me in my tracks.

A cold sweat ran down my spine, and I swallowed the lump that grew in my throat, and then I started following the person. I don't how many times I've turned around or ran around, but what I knew was that I always came to a dead end. Where was Helen?

I sighed from frustration and walked back to where I was standing before, but not long after that I felt some presence behind me. I could see the figure from the corner of my eye, enough to spot her long white hair, her pale skin, and long white dress.

I turned my head slowly so that I could see her clearly, but as usual, by the time I turned around, she was gone. I just stood there and stared at the spot she'd previously inhabited, wondering what exactly was happening. Someone tapped me on my shoulder, and I froze, a shiver running down my spine. I turned around swiftly, but there was no one.

A loud shriek broke out, and it took a while to realize that it was coming from me as someone spun me around. "Les! Les, it's just me!" A familiar voice said. Thanks to my hair, I couldn't see anything. "It is me, Daniella," She shouted, and I felt my body relaxing.

"Daniella?"

"We have been waiting for you to join us at the gate, Helen had to leave because she received a phone call, her mother is in hospital."

"I hope it's nothing serious." I said, running a hand through my hair.

"Me too," she murmured. "Do you need a hand?" She forwarded her hand towards me.

Only then did I realize that I'd fallen on my knees the moment I realized that it was Daniella who pulled me.

"Thanks."