It was finally Saturday, the universal day where people slept throughout the day, some caught up with their work that they missed and some would do their hobbies that relieved all the stress that built up throughout the week. I would've been one of those people who slept throughout the day but it was unfortunate that I had to take over the business for the day as they moved all of the furniture into the home since my uncle just arrived.
"Bye," I shouted to my uncle who rubbed his bald head in thought. My uncle, Kathlego, who liked to be called KG was a young man who was in the prime age of 28. He was the golden boy of the family because he was the only son of my maternal grandmother and always got whatever he wanted. He had potential to be great, it could be seen from his impressive report and how everyone thought that he would be a businessman since he could influence people with his jolly nature or a great engineer. As you always know that life never really went the way you expected and my uncle was a pure representation of that. Just before he joined university, he came home with a classmate of his that he had gotten pregnant and due to the tight finances, he was forced to drop out of school and get a job to take care of them.
I loved my uncle, adored him actually even though the whole family gave him side eyes every once in a while because the memory of that day repeated in their minds. He was the fun uncle who snuck me off to clubs and parties when I was 15, made me try alcohol and cigarettes whenever I wanted to and allowed me to do whatever I wanted. He would always have my back and kept the most deepest of secrets. Some people would call him an irresponsible adult but he was the best uncle that ever lived.
"You're seriously wearing that?" He asked as he looked down at the black piqao that I wore. I thought that the dark black piqao suited me perfectly and was actually my favourite since it wasn't too much in people's faces. My father nudged him by the side with a frown but my uncle continued laughing in disbelief. "Don't you think it's inappropriate to wear it? But you know what? I should leave stuff that don't involve me alone."
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You could say that my uncle found my mother weird because of what she liked but I don't think that he should be the one to talk. He liked wearing extremely tight jeans that were lowered until his mid ass where he would show his underwear that nobody wanted to see, a worn down black bucket hat sat on the edge of his head and wore the most weirdest of tops that I'm sure he got from the dump. He also liked weird hairstyles that were questionable and downright embarrassing but he claimed that that was the style that was the most popular. I knew that I looked nice whenever he insulted an outfit and my confidence always grew after his "cruel" insults.
"You want me to drive you around?" I asked as I spun the keys on my fingers and wiggled my eyebrows jokingly.
"Don't get stopped by police because you are yet to get a license." My father said sternly and I nodded in disregard. I liked speeding in my father's car, there was something about the air flapping in your face whilst you swerved through the slow drivers that made me have an adrenaline rush. It also increased those days when my father told me that there were roadblocks in certain areas where the police were not afraid to cuff me when they saw my reckless driving. My father hated when I drived and would mostly pray over my safety and would shout me for hours on end to not do something reckless even though he knew I would do just that.
"I won't," I replied as I got into the car. I smiled as I reached the radio and put on my favourite channel where the latest songs played. I bobbed to the unfamiliar tunes as I drove through the streets and replayed the directions that were given to me by my father in my head so I wouldn't miss their spot.
I slowed down when I got to the part of the town where there were rows upon rows of vendors that sold different goods. I parked the car on a patch of grass when I saw the empty space by the end of the row of vendors. I sighed when I looked towards the busy section and mentally prepared myself for the long hours that I would sit in the scorching heat.
I jumped out of the car and looked around at the vibrant nature in awe. It never failed to amaze me how the town was so vibrant with its beautiful bright coloured banners, cute cars that had the cutest bumper stickers and that it never had a moment where it was quiet. It thrived on being alive and I loved it.
I took out the different packets of sweets, tables and my backpack that I would need for the rest of the day such as tissues, lip gloss, a mirror etc. After I set up my station, I sat on the camp chair with a tired sigh, looking around for any children so that I could coax them into buying our sweets. Children never knew what they wanted so they took whatever that was shoved into their faces so I knew if I got the attention of one kid, then a whole crew would come a few minutes later.
I wiped off the sweat with my paper towel after I've been suffering in this heat for the last 2 hours. My throat was dry and my mouth felt dry and sour as I couldn't drink any cold water since I left my waterbottle at home. Everyone else around me was totally fine with this heat, they moved through the heat in speed and walked for long. I envied them for their strength and hoped that I would gain their type of strength soon.
I looked down at the worn out wristwatch that my father gave me to track the time. It was 2 o'clock in the evening and I wanted to faint when I realised that I had to spend atleast 3 more hours before I could go home. Although I was dying in the heat, they were a handful people buying sweets so it made me happy that I wasn't struggling for no reason. My mom would be so happy to hear that I sold three full packets.
I laid my head on my arm as I got drousy from the harsh sunlight that didn't weaken. I looked up when I heard a loud thud on my table and looked at the fresh bottle in confusion. "Thank you," I replied as I looked up at the person who placed it onto the table and smiled when I saw Myeol.
Today he sported a white top that had 'Vetements' written in a small font, baggy black jeans and white air forces. Since he always wore a hoodie, I wasn't able to see the blonde spiky hair that he had. It suited him alot and I wondered why he hadn't worn like this at school because it complimented his dead features and attitude.
"You're a lifesaver, you know that?" I asked him with a large smile, hoping that he would return it with his own but wasn't shocked when he gave me his usual dead, unfazed look. "So, how can I help you? Do you want some sweets or anything else for that matter?" He shook his head and tried to walk away but I stopped him. "You have to take something. It's my duty to give you something since you're so thoughtful."
I watched as his hand reached out to the love candies and grabbed a handful of different flavors. "You don't need to," I rushed out when he reached into his pocket but continued anyways even though I tried to stop him. He placed a crisp 10 rand on the table and walked away. "It was good to see you," I shouted to his retreating back and focused on the small child who was running towards my table.
