A whole day had passed since she’d slipped the letter into her friend’s school case. Thembeka should have found it by then but she hadn’t been at school that day, so Zodwa had no way of knowing how she’d reacted to it. She was just wondering if she should go and seek Thembeka out when a shadow fell across the bed and she looked up to see Mongezi leaning in the doorway.

“Mongezi,” she said. “What are you doing here? Is Thembeka with you?”

“Hello, baby girl,” he said. “No, it’s just me. She was sick today. Can you guess what caused it?”

He was acting strangely and Zodwa was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She was glad the door stood open.

“I asked you a question,” Mongezi said, still smiling. “Can you guess what made her so sick?”

“No, what?”

“It was your letter.”

A chill went down Zodwa’s spine.

“Your disgusting letter telling her all your disgusting feelings for her. It made her sick to her stomach.” He smiled as he said it. “It made me want to puke as well.” Mongezi stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Zodwa tried to swallow but her mouth was too dry. She tried to speak, but fear had paralyzed her.

“You think you’re a man now? You think you have one of these?” He grabbed at his crotch as he advanced toward her and Zodwa could see how his member strained against his trousers. “Because only one of these can please a woman.” He stepped forward and fell upon Zodwa before she could protest or scream for help.

“Please,” she whispered. “Please.”

“Yes, I know you want it but you don’t have to beg for it. I’m going to give it to you so that you can see what you’ve been missing.” He tugged down the zip of his school trousers and she could see he wasn’t wearing any underwear. “This will fix you good.”

After he’d meted out his punishment, Mongezi stood and pulled his trousers back up. “I was kidding about Thembeka. She didn’t see the letter,” he said as he closed his zip. “She was sick from something she ate. But if you try to speak to her again about your filthy lesbian feelings, I’ll tell everyone about you. And then I won’t be the only man in the township trying to fix you. Maybe you’ll enjoy them as much as you enjoyed me.”

Then he was gone, never to return, not even after Zodwa told Thembeka the truth about what he’d done. And now he’s back, goading her. “Have you missed me, baby doll?” Mongezi asks to his friends’ delight.

“No.” Zodwa pulls away. Her fear rendered her defenseless that day and she refuses to allow it to paralyze her now again. “And I’m not your girlfriend.”