The North

Chapter 20: NorthernBrew

The foyer of the Convention Center began to empty out as people filed into the main conference venue of the building.

"When was this?" Senzo asked.

KB remained silent.

"Are... you guys-"

"No!" KB snapped without moving his gaze away from the Stars, who were all still staring at their phones. And from where he was standing KB could see the distress in Tau's face.

"They haven't seen us yet...Should we leave?" Senzo suggested.

"No." KB replied before taking off in the direction of the Stars.

It was Tau, coincidentally, who first saw KB and Senzo as they approached the area of the foyer where the Stars were gathered, and Tau immediately rushed towards KB upon seeing him. Lesedi reached for his arm when he suddenly took off but was too slow, and the rest of the Stars watched in horror.

"You planned this didn't you?" Tau hissed under his breath after grabbing KB by the neck with surprising force. Senzo jumped back and watched helplessly, unsure of how to deescalate the situation.

"Tau, please...I have no idea how this happened" KB pleaded, suddenly aware of the bystanders who had gathered around to watch the commotion.

"One public scandal is enough, Tau" Lesedi said, appearing from behind Tau. She shot a threatening glance at KB before prying Tau's hand off KB's neck. Only then did Tau loosen his tight grip, shoving KB to the ground before returning to where the rest of the Stars were standing. The surrounding crowd dissolved when two security guards appeared out of nowhere.

"Let this be a lesson for you" Lesedi said KB once he was back on his feet. She looked around to make sure no one had a camera out.

"I didn't have anything to do with it, I swear..." KB pleaded.

Lesedi stepped right up to KB's face.

"Have you forgotten who I am, KB?" Lesedi whispered into his ear 

"I-" KB began, struggling to find the words, but it was too late. Lesedi had already turned around and followed in Tau's footsteps.

None of the Stars returned KB's greetings when he and Senzo eventually joined them where they were standing, and KB was surprised by the fact that they had not left the venue after everything that had happened. Furthermore, it didn't look like they had any such intentions to leave.

"Give us our tickets." Lesedi said to Senzo without looking KB's way.

******

"They've started posting, KB!" Senzo announced.

The sun was setting and KB and Senzo were back in KB's room. They had both left the Convention Center after handing the Stars their tickets and had returned to the apartment after making a stop to buy some weed on the way back. KB took a hard pull of the third joint they had rolled before opening his Instagram account. The Stars' pictures were everywhere:

"Nothing like a VIP corporate event to get the day started!" read the caption of Lesedi's first post. The crisp image showed all the Stars standing in a neat line in front of a banner with Africa Investment Summit written across it in large text.

The next post was Tau's: "Young hustler with friends in high places", read the caption, and the picture showed him shaking hands with Parks Motaung – the richest businessman in South Africa – as if they were friends.

The remaining pictures, posted by the rest of the Stars, were equally obnoxious. They were all staged photos of the Stars depicting themselves as young entrepreneurs and business people who had been invited to the prestigious event.

KB opened up the comments of each post:

"Wow!! KB really took the Stars to the next level!", "Yaaassss! Black excellence!", "Damn! You guys are really doing big things!", "The Stars are still students but they're already making such a big mark!", "Inspirational!!"

"Do people actually believe this shit?" Senzo laughed as he scrolled through the comments.

"Of course." KB replied matter-of-factly before taking another pull of the joint. He placed his phone face down on the floor. "In the North people only care about the way things look."

"So what happens next? Do you think the Stars are done with us?" Senzo asked.

"Nope." KB replied, smiling "They'll need us more than ever after all of this."

"So what do we do next?" Senzo asked. He too took another puff of the weed.

"Give me your phone." KB instructed Senzo.

***

It didn't take long for KB to create a new Instagram account. The only delay occurred when it came time to decide what name to choose for the profile. He settled with SwagBaby.

"What are you doing?" Senzo asked.

"Doing what I should have done a long time ago" KB responded. "Go to my mom's room and bring one of my baby sister's toys." He instructed Senzo.

Senzo returned with a brown teddy bear which KB placed on the floor before taking a picture using Senzo's phone. He opened the Instagram account he had just created and searched for the profile he was looking for before typing the direct message:

"I have some tea to spill. I think KB got someone pregnant. I work at Baby City in Fourways and he comes in every Friday around lunchtime to buy baby toys. He's coming back for this one tomorrow. He asked me to keep it."

KB attached the picture of the teddy bear before sending the direct message to NorthernBrew.

"What are you doing?" Senzo asked, sounding confused.

"Finding out who is behind this damn NorthernBrew account." KB responded.