BROKEN PROMISES CHAPTER 9

Chapter 9
The party was pumping and there
were dancing bodies everywhere.
Ntombi was dazzled by the strobe
lights and couldn’t see anyone
clearly. She had to hold onto Mzi to
stop getting crushed in the crowd.
He seemed to know exactly where he
was going, and wasn’t fazed by the
bodies or the noise. They wove their

way between the dancers to the bar,
where Mzi ordered a cider for her.
Ntombi had tasted beer before, and a
sip of wine, but she had never drunk
a whole drink on her own, and she
didn’t know if she should, or could.
“Don’t tell me you’re one of those
girls who don’t drink, don’t smoke
and don’t have any fun,” said Mzi,
picking up on her hesitation. Ntombi


took another sip. The drink was
really strong and burned all the way
down her throat. “That’s better,” said
Mzi. “I don’t want a girlfriend who’s
an imathakazi.” Ntombi took another
sip. This time it went down easier.
“Good isn’t it?” Mzi laughed. “Get
used to it, baby. This is just the
beginning.” In the time she had a
few sips he had finished another
beer. “Come on baby. Let’s dance,”
said Mzi. He took her glass from her
and said something to the bartender.
“Don’t worry it will be there waiting
for you,” he said, pulling her close
against his body. He was warm and
strong, and it felt good dancing with
him. She could get lost in the music
and just the feel his arms around
her. It was a slow number and she
wanted to stay like this forever. But
the song ended, and soon they were
back at the bar. Mzi handed her the
cider again. She closed her eyes and
drank it down in big gulps because
she wanted to get it over with. The
taste made her feel a bit sick, but
she couldn’t tell Mzi.
“Wow,” he said, “that was quick. I
didn’t know you had it in you.” There
was a new respect in his voice and
Ntombi felt confident suddenly. It
wasn’t so bad. In fact she could
even drink another if she had to.
Just then one of the boys Ntombi
had seen with Mzi down at the shed
swaggered up with his girlfriend. She
was wearing incredibly high stilettos
and the tightest jeans Ntombi had
ever seen. Ntombi smiled at her but
she didn’t smile back.
“So this is how it is going to be,”
thought Ntombi, and scanned the
crowd for her own friends, but they
were nowhere to be seen.
“So, this is your new girl,” said Mzi’s
friend Vusi, running his eyes over
Ntombi from top to toe,
appreciatively. Mzi leant over and
kissed Ntombi’s cheek. His lips were
soft and the kiss was tender.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” said Mzi. “Don’t
get any ideas,” he warned his friend.
Vusi laughed but his girlfriend gave
Ntombi a withering look.
“Hey, there’s something I want to
show you,” Vusi told Mzi. “Can I
prise you away from Ntombi for just
one minute? It’s important.”
Mzi turned to Ntombi: “You’re a big
girl,” he said, winking. “I won’t be
long. Priscilla here will keep you
company.” Priscilla opened her
mouth to object. But the two guys
were gone, weaving their way
between the dancing bodies until
Ntombi couldn’t see them anymore.
Ntombi smiled at Priscilla; perhaps
she was just shy, and with the guys
gone maybe she wouldn’t feel so
threatened?
“So, do you also go to Harmony
High?” she asked Priscilla. “I don’t
think I’ve seen you.” Priscilla made a
disgusted sound.
“Do I really look like I’m a
schoolgirl?” she asked Ntombi, then
she turned to the bartender and
clicked her fingers. Ntombi saw the
longest, reddest nails she had ever
seen. “Bring me a Spin,” said
Priscilla and turned back to Ntombi.
“He’s going to dump you – know
that,” she said bluntly. “Have you
asked yourself why Mzi’s going out
with a little schoolgirl like yourself?
He wouldn’t have picked such a
mama’s baby without a good
reason.” And with that she was gone,
leaving Ntombi alone at the bar.
* * *
Ntombi’s chest suddenly felt tight
like she couldn’t breathe. She
couldn’t get enough oxygen into her
lungs. It was a horrible, panicky
feeling. Her palms started to sweat
and her head began to spin. It must
be the drink, thought Ntombi. She
had to get out into some fresh air
before she fainted. People would
dance over her, stand on her face,
crush her fingers into the dance
floor. She thought of Priscilla’s spiky
stilettos and started to push her way
through the bodies. But she didn’t
know which way the exit was. There
were so many people and it was
dark. The only lights came from the
spinning silver disco balls, which
she suddenly hated. This wasn’t fun
any more. She needed to get out.
And where was Mzi? He said he
would only be a few minutes, but it
seemed like he had been gone for
hours. She pushed and fought her
way to what she thought was the exit
door, but when she got there, she
saw that it was the ladies’ toilets.
At least she could get away from the
noise and the crush. But the smell
was overpowering and suddenly she
felt sick. She ran into the toilet and
threw up. Then she began to cry.
She just wanted to be at home, and
wash herself clean. “Take a deep
breath,” she told herself. “Pull
yourself together. You are stronger
than this!” The survivor in her began
to take over. She washed her face
with cold water and looked at herself
in the mirror. Then she took a tissue
from her bag and cleaned the
running make-up from around her
eyes. That was better. She took three
more deep breaths and made her
way back out into the party, sticking
to the wall to guide her around to
the exit on the far side.
She was nearly there when she saw
Mzi. He was standing with his back
to her. She went closer and saw that
he was chatting to a girl, and that
the girl was laughing at what he was
saying. Ntombi saw, with a sinking
feeling, that the girl was very pretty
and was obviously flirting with Mzi.
As she watched in horror, Mzi
stroked the girl’s cheek and leant
and whispered something in her ear.
She pretended to be shocked at what
he was saying, then giggled. Ntombi
froze. Part of her wanted to
disappear into the crowd and leave.
Part of her wanted to confront Mzi.
The choice was made for her as Mzi,
as though he sensed her, spun
around.
“Hey babe, there you are,” he said.
“I’ve been looking for you
everywhere.” Ntombi’s eyes flicked
between the girl and Mzi.
“Meet Thumi. Isn’t she cute? She’s
Vusi’s younger sister. I was just
telling her about you.” Thumi looked
like the cat that got the cream as
she smiled at Ntombi, all innocently.
“I need some air,” said Ntombi,
feeling faint again. “I’m going
outside.”
* * *
Ntombi pushed forward through the
crowd. She didn’t know whether Mzi
was following her. She didn’t want to
turn around; she just wanted to keep
moving forward. When she was
outside in the dark she felt a hand
on her upper arm, gripping her so
hard that it hurt. Mzi spun her
around. He was angry and drunk and
they were all alone out here in the
parking lot. She leant against the car
behind her, to steady herself.
“What was that?” He spat the words
out. She looked at him unable to
speak. He shook her. “I said,” he
hissed between gritted teeth, “what
was that in there? If you are going to
behave like a jealous girlfriend…” His
face was close against hers and she
could smell the beer on his breath.
The other, sweet, charming Mzi was
gone, and this violent stranger had
taken his place. Then he stood back,
like he was trying to compose
himself. He slammed his fist into his
palm.
“Mzi?” she said. She could see he
was trying to control himself.
“Just give me a minute,” he said,
taking a breath and walking away
from her. She stood there shivering.
Then he turned to face her again.
“I’m going inside to get you a drink. I
want you to wait out here for a few
minutes. Give me some time to cool
off. When you come back in, we’ll
pretend this never happened.
Understood?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Good.” Then he came up and
hugged her. “You have no reason to
be jealous.” He tilted her head up
with his finger in a gentle gesture.
The scary Mzi was gone. “Thumi is
just a friend. And she’s got a
boyfriend. In fact they are probably
dancing in each other’s arms right
now. She’s been going through a
rough time and I was just trying to
cheer her up and make her feel good
again. That’s all.”
Then he was gone. Ntombi felt bad.
She hadbeen rude to Thumi – she
hadn’t even greeted her. And after
Priscilla, perhaps she had mistaken
Thumi’s smile. Perhaps she really
was trying to be friendly, and she
wasn’t after Mzi. This was so
complicated – and it had got
complicated so fast. Love wasn’t
meant to be like this with all this
insecurity and jealousy. Why couldn’t
it be like the words of those songs
where it’s all happy ever after,
always