“call them down then” Mrs Botha said, placing the last bowl on the table.
******
Dinner was a bit noisy and playful with the boys talking about their next basketball game at school. Mr Botha, their father couldn’t make it because he had to stay behind at work to get some work done. Their father and elder sister’s absence gave them all the liberty they needed to make all the noise they wanted to make and as their punishment, their mum made them do the dishes much to Sarah’s delight. She’s not been feeling her best since her conversation with her mum and she didn’t want to bother Mrs Botha with it; but it seems she caught on because when Sarah told her she needed to go out for a walk after dinner, she just told her it was fine, not asking any questions.
Sarah zipped up her jacket as she stepped out of the Botha’s family home and started walking towards her favorite spot. It was especially chilly this evening and she wished she brought her scarf with her but she was feeling too lazy to go back to get it so instead she pulled on the hood of her jacket and increased her pace. She put her hands into the pocket of her jacket and let her thoughts drift to the first time she got to JoBurg. She was so naïve, young and lonely. Nobody travelled with her because everyone at home was angry and disappointed with her and she didn’t care because she felt she could take on the world then; she was pretty, smart and independent- she thought. It was a miracle she met Debra at the school gate immediately she alighted from the cab else it might have been the most frustrating day of her life if it didn’t own that award already.