Her Name Is Thanda

Thanda moaned when she felt something tightening around her waist. She was not sure what was happening, so she went back to her peaceful sleep when the force lessened. She smiled and then turned to sleep in a better position. Her eyes only opened for a second before they closed again.

Her smile fell and she opened her eyes again.

There was someone on her bed. Her eyes widened. Senzile Masinga. That was not a good thing. She opened the blankets over them and groaned in frustration when she saw that they were both unclothed.

"Crap." She said aloud, not caring that she could wake him up. She tried to think back to the previous night. How did they end up in bed together? How drunk had she been? Senzile's arm tightened around her waist. She furrowed her eyebrows as she pried it off.

"What...?" Senzile's eyes slowly opened. When he saw Thanda he looked as confused as she was. "Thanda? What are you doing in my bed?" Senzile looked around. "Your bed?" Thanda shook her head. "Who's bed are we in? And...why am I naked?" Thanda shrugged.

"I don't have the answers to your questions, but I can give you a reason or two to your last one." Thanda sighed as she set up from the bed. She did not mind that Senzile could see her. He had seen her last night anyways...or early that morning.

Senzile sat and watched Thanda as she got out of bed, not seeming to care that she was naked in front of a guy that she barely knew.

"Thanda, you're not wearing any clothes." Senzile stated the obvious, managing to annoy Thanda as she searched for her clothes on the floor.

"Don't you think I know that? What other reason would I have to look for my clothes?" She asked, not even turning to acknowledge him. Senzile awkwardly scratched his eyebrow. "You should find yours too," Thanda said picking up her jeans and sliding them on. "Unless if you want the owner of that bed to find you there." She put her T-shirt over her head and straightened her dreadlocks out. There was a mirror mounted on the wall. She looked at herself in it.

She looked fine.

"Have you woken up with a random guy in bed before?" Sensi asked as he realised just how unfazed she was about the whole situation.

"Once or twice." Thanda looked back at Senzile and he was still lying on the bed. "I don't have a ride home. So you better hurry up, Pretty Boy. I don't have all day."

"You want me to take you home?"

"That's the least you could do after last night." Senzile looked at Thanda silently. She did not have her underwear on. "Stop staring. I'll be waiting outside."

Thanda spotted her underwear and scowled, picking it up. She then made her way out, closing the door behind her. Senzile sat for a while, watching the door before he stood up and started to put on his own clothes.

Thanda scowled at the passed out bodies all around the house. How bad must the party have gotten? She saw Amanda, one of her acquitances, lying on the couch. They called themselves her friends. She had never called them that. She only had one friend in her life and that was only because her friend had decided not to leave. Which in the end turned out not to be one of the best ideas on her friend's part.

She heard her phone ring, but frowned when she realised that it was not with her. It was on a wooden coffee table next to the couch that Amanda was passed out on. She picked it up and answered, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Yes?"

"Good morning to you too Sunshine." Thanda hurried to get out of the house. She was starting to taste the smell of the people sprawled out everywhere.

"Hi, Dimpho."

"How was the party?" The cool breeze that Thanda felt when she opened the door made her feel a whole lot better. She closed the door and then walked further until she reached the road, where she would wait for Senzile to hurry the hell up.

"It was great. You should have come. I missed your presence."

Dimpho laughed on the other end. "You know I am not much of a party person. How much of the night do you remember this time?"

Thanda smiled because Dimpho always asked her the same question.

"I remember going to the party. Arriving. Dancing with a couple of guys. Bumping into Senzile Masinga. What I don't remember is how I ended up in bed with Senzile Masinga." Dimpho gasped. "So more than half of the night, yeah."

"You slept with Senzile Masinga?"

Thanda shrugged as she tried to wreck her brain for an answer. She did not find anything.

"Probably." She looked beside her when she felt someone stop next to her. It was Senzile. His hair was messy. His clothes were messy. Thanda frowned. He could have at least tried to look like a functioning human being. "Anyways, I have to go. My ride just arrived."

"We're still on for later, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, D."

"Get home safely, you rebel." The line went dead and Thanda put her phone into her front pocket. She looked at the guy next to her and scowled.

"What's wrong?" Senzile asked.

"You're wrong." Thanda fixed his T-shirt so it looked presentable. "It's Saturday morning. The least you could do is look nice, considering you don't smell that great either." Thanda lifted up his T-shirt and he held her hands.

"What are you doing?" He panicked.

"Your pants are too low." Thanda moved his hands away and tightened the belt around his waist. She pulled his T-shirt down and looked at him again. She nodded. "Better. Now let's go. I need to take a bath so that my friend and I can go shopping."

"You wouldn't miss shopping for the world?"

Thanda glared, "she's very important to me. Do you have a problem with that?"

He shook his head and started walking to his car. It was parked a short walk away from where they were standing.

"Nope. Just a question. I have another question." Senzile opened the door so that Thanda could get in.

"I can open my own door." She closed the door, shocking him even more. He walked around the car and got in on the other side. He looked at her. "I don't have all day." He smiled and then started the car.

"You're different." He said.

"No two people are the same."

Senzile nodded. "I get that. Most girls get nervous around me. They feel honoured to have spent the night with me."

Thanda scoffed. "Do they now?"

"Don't you?" She looked at Senzile for a while.

"Should I?" She smiled. "Senzi, you're no god. I can't even remember last night. For all I know, it's not the best I have ever had."

Senzile laughed. "Senzi. I like that. And that kind of hurts, Babe."

"Someone needs to deflate your ego a bit. And refrain from calling me babe, I don't want a nickname that every other slut has."

"Noku, then." Senzile stopped in front of her house.

"Better."

"Go out with me tomorrow." Thanda raised her eyebrows.

"Is that a command?"

Senzile smiled. "Of course not."

"I'm busy tomorrow." Thanda sweetly smiled as she got out of the car and closed the door. She looked through the open window. "And next time, before you let a girl ride with you, try cleaning your car. It doesn't have a pleasant smell to it."

Senzile grinned. "I'll clean the car next time, but only because you asked." Senzile drove away.

Thanda watched his car leave until it had disappeared. That guy was so full of himself, she thought as she made her way to the house.

She looked at the time. Only an hour before Dimpho arrived.

She looked around the house, her mother was not home. She was used to it. It no longer bothered her as it used to when she was younger. At least, she liked to believe so. Her mother's work would always be more important.

She took a bath. A long, hot bath.

She always felt like she could breathe better after coming out of the hot water. Usually shed sit there and just go under the water until only her eyes and nose were above water. She'd close her eyes as she listened to whatever playlist was suggested to her.

That was one of the few times that she felt she didn't have to worry about others, keeping face and being even more of a disappointment.

She liked being alone, more than she let off.

As soon as she got out, she allowed herself to air-dry for a bit before she put on her bright yellow summer dress. She let her waist-length locks hang down.

She still felt like she couldn't breathe, so she decided to make herself a cup of green tea. It did not help. Nothing ever helped.

She walked outside, to the garden. She smiled when a butterfly passed by in front of her. Some other creatures lived a carefree life. A life that she knew she would never have.

"Knock, knock!" Dimpho said. She was already in the house. Thanda turned around and smiled when she saw her.

"Hi, Dimpho."

Dimpho frowned. "You don't look so well. Did you have breakfast?"

Thanda shook her head and gave Dimpho a small smile.

"I don't feel hungry."

"You never feel hungry, T." Dimpho started walking to the kitchen. "Come on. I'll make you breakfast."

"I'm fine. Really, D."

Dimpho stopped and turned to her. She turned around and then carried on to the kitchen.

"No, you're not. You're getting skinny."

"I've always been skinny."

"Not like that!" Dimpho exclaimed and Thanda smiled, deciding to go help make breakfast. Dimpho wouldn't give up. She was way too determined to do so.

"Okay. I'll help you, but I won't eat alone."

Dimpho looked up at Thanda and smiled.

"When have you ever eaten alone?" Dimpho laughed and so did Thanda.

Their day went well. Thanda bought some new shoes, three pairs to be exact and jewellery. Dimpho bought a dress and a pair of jeans and shorts.

Thanda told Dimpho to leave first. She did not feel like going home yet. Dimpho insisted on staying with her, but Thanda said it was fine. So Dimpho left.

Thanda went to a café on the other side of the mall. Viena's. She liked their coffees and cakes. It was a vegan café, so she could happily eat everything there. She was craving a piece of cake.

One cup of black coffee and a piece of chocolate cake.

"Oh, what a surprise to find you here." Thanda did not look up at the guy who took a seat in front of her. She skimmed through her phone as she browsed through her Instagram.

"I saw you following me, Senzile."

"What happened to Senzi?"

"I call you what I want. Please leave, I'm trying to think."

"What are you thinking about? We'll think together." Thanda did not answer him, but instead kept on checking her timeline. Senzile ordered coffee with milk and carrot cake. "I've actually never been to this restaurant before. I hope their cakes are nice."

Thanda glanced at Senzile and then looked back at the phone. She saw a picture of her and Dimpho at the mall and double tapped. She saw a picture of her at the party. She reported that one.

"Why don't you like me?"

Thanda glowered at Senzile as his coffee arrived. "I don't dislike you."

"So what? You just sleep with guys, ask them for a ride home and then it's over?" He asked. She took a sip of her coffee.

"I didn't ask for the ride, and isn't that what you do to girls? Sleep with them and then leave them?" Thanda's voice was low as she spoke. "I didn't mean for what happened last night to happen, but it did."

"And you don't feel anything after this morning?"

"Should I?" He frowned but didn't say anything else. "Look Senzile, you're a player. I don't date players."

"You're accusing me of being a player when you're also the same as me." Thanda smiled.

"Senzi darling, that's where you're wrong. You and I are not the same. I don't make a habit of hurting people, no matter how much I don't like them," she smiled as she stood up. "I just lost my appetite. Why don't you pay for that, yeah?"

She left.