The North

Chapter 10: Shrapnel

It was a Thursday evening when KB's phone rang. He and Senzo had just returned from an evening walk around the neighborhood – their daily excuse to escape the house and smoke weed - when the phone began to vibrate in KB's pocket. The marijuana had already taken effect, which made the vibrating phone feel like a buzzing hive of angry bees against KB's thigh. He pulled the device from his pocket, its screen shining bright with Mbali's name.

"Hello?", he slowly answered. He was considerably high and had to block the other ear completely just to half make out what Mbali was trying to say on the other end of the line.

"...KB...and she's asking a lot of questions..." Mbali responded, far too quickly for KB to comprehend. He was not sure if her line was bad or if he was just too high to function.

"What?" KB asked, fighting the sudden urge to laugh. He covered his mouth with his free hand to muffle the escaping sound, when in fact nothing Mbali had said had actually been funny.

"...I'll send you a text" Mbali said before dropping the phone.

KB thought the brief call was odd as he reclined on the couch in the living room, a slight dizziness arresting him. He was quick to move passed the thought though, his mind wild and thrashing, loosened by the weed.

Senzo was on the couch too, taking his own phone out of his pocket before scrolling through his Twitter feed. KB studied him, this friend of his who he had grown up with, noticing in that moment just how very little he knew about Senzo. On one level Senzo appeared preoccupied with his phone - his train of thought distracted by the many flashing images on the screen before his eyes. But on a deeper level (and maybe it was only because he was high that KB could see this) Senzo appeared troubled. Not the kind that required psychiatric evaluation. A different kind. The kind that resulted from the series of unfortunate events that had plagued Senzo throughout his life. The boy was out in the ocean. Not waving - as it often appeared to KB, but drowning.

Four days had passed since Senzo's arrival at KB's house, much to Ma's silent disapproval. Silent because despite her feelings towards Senzo Ma knew he had nowhere else to turn. But more personally, she knew far too well of the devastation that came with being put out to the street and forced to start from scratch.

"Yo...who was that on the phone?" Senzo asked, his eyes blood red.

"Mbali" KB answered, "She was trying to tell me something but the line wasn't very clear".

"She's got some really hot friends..." Senzo unexpectedly said after a while.

"...I mean... I guess" KB responded, flatly.

"When are you gonna get a girl, bruh? It's been a while", Senzo said, fiddling with his phone at the same time.

KB was stunned, and he began to feel uncomfortable. He wondered, as he tried to read Senzo's expression, what Senzo was trying to say or imply. He then began to wonder why he was feeling uncomfortable in the first place. What did Senzo mean by 'it's been a while'? And who was keeping record? Too many questions danced dangerously in KB's mind. And then Senzo spoke again.

"We haven't seen you get with a chick in a while, bruh" Senzo added, his eyes still fixed on his phone "Thato and I are starting to get worried, if you know what I mean?" he laughed.

KB didn't know what Senzo meant. Nor did he find any humor in the fact that Thato and Senzo had been talking about him. And then KB began to laugh – it was his sudden and strange attempt at diffusing the situation - the reality, however, was that he was angry. The hot feeling burned at the back of his throat as he attempted to swallow it down.

The room fell quiet and everything became still. Why had the question bothered KB so much? He tried his best to control his facial expressions as anger bubbled in his head like a whistling kettle.

'Tell another lie' something in his mind suggested. KB didn't know what the voice was. His conscious? The weed? He wasn't sure, but it felt familiar.

"There kinda is someone I'm seeing" KB said out loud "I just didn't want anyone in my business"

"Really?" Senzo questioned, finally lifting his gaze from his phone, his face twisted in confusion.

"Don't look so confused" KB answered, thinking how ugly the expression looked on Senzo's face "You know how low-key I am". KB shifted uncomfortably on the couch.

But Senzo didn't buy it. The look on his face said so. It was a smugness that teetered too close to rudeness for KB's liking. Really? Is this the thanks I get for letting you into my house? KB thought to himself. He dared not speak the words out loud, and instead let the anger simmer deep in his gut where it occasionally bubbled up to his throat.

Senzo was making to respond when KB's phone began to vibrate in his pocket again - the angry bees buzzing alive in the hive. KB quickly reached for the device before Senzo could speak. It was Tau. A text message: "Are you free later tonight? I've got a dope idea I want to discuss"

The Stars have finally made their move! KB thought to himself, their plan was in full motion. He felt relieved, mostly because he was almost certain that the idea Tau wanted to discuss was the party Nana had mentioned, the one with KB and his banker friends.

KB was about to tell Senzo the good news, which he was certain would change the direction of their discussion, when his phone began to vibrate again. Another text message, this time from Mbali: "Call me when u can. Kamo is asking around about you. She is one of the Come-ups. It seems like you've stepped on their toes. "

Four sentences. Twenty-five words. One hundred letters. A bombshell. Shrapnel everywhere.