We continue eating supper with light conversations curtesy of my sister and as soon as I am done, I take out the ice cream and start dishing out dessert, both gratefully accept a bowl and I volunteer to do the dishes since I didn't help with the food. I hear them chatting away as I wash the dishes, and I can't help but think, about how I really enjoy my space a lot but this also... Pleasant?
Having people around every once in awhile isn't soooo bad. I never had any close friend in law school and my sister was studying in another province, her visits were only a few times a year. Honestly, after living as a twin for most of my life, I found that I'm happiest when I'm alone, I find comfort in my solitude and in the silence.
By the time I'm done, I walk back to the couch and just in time to hear Carol tell an embellished version of one of our summer holidays.
"Our uncle and father were standing around when someone yells that one of the cars is rolling down the hill, slowly mind you but still. So Baba rushes over opens the door pulls the hand brake and low and behold my beloved sister was sitting in the driver's seat happy as can be."
"Noooo, no!no!!" I roll my eyes at his reaction.
"Oh yes I think we were four or five, she was so proud she made the car move, Baba didn't have the heart to hit her." Fred is laughing and keeps looking at me in disbelief, "what? I have always been an observant person and I would like to think I saw a golden opportunity to teach myself how to drive and I took it!" I shrug as I sit down next to them and chuckle, "Ma got us though, she gave us both the beating of a lifetime", I chime in as I sit down next to them.
"B-both?" he clearly did not grow up in a black household, I chuckle and nod, "she used to say something about being my sister's keeper and having to learn that actions have consequences that affect others besides yourself!" Carol nods in agreement and solemnly puts her hand over her heart, "an injury to one is an injury to all", we are dying of laughter as Fredrick looks traumatised.
"Your mom sounds like a tough woman", " she was as fair as she could be, honestly we both got into our fair share of trouble", "Lies! you always got me beaten for things that had nothing to do with me!", she must be battling with temporary memory loss because that is certainly NOT how I remember it, "Oh, says our resident ring leader, you know how many beatings I got because of your half-baked schemes to conquer the block", by now Fred is having way to much fun, laughing at my expense.
Carol feigns offence putting her hand on her chest, "you KNOW you would have lived your life, stuck in a tree, reading a book if I hadn't come up with fun stuff to do!", "as if, my definition of fun simply does not include anything that will end in tears also don't fool yourself, you just didn't know how to have fun or get into trouble by yourself", "You wish.." her response is interrupted Fred's ringtone, "excuse me", he says going to my room and answering.
My sister and I glare at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter, I shove her and instead of shoving back she pulls my hand and pulls me into a hug. I wriggle playfully until she lets me go and I whisper to her "I think this is the first time his phone has rung in my presence yazi". Come to think of it I haven't seen him text either, she looks at me knowingly "you like him, don't you?"
" Nope, not at all, we are not doing this, we agree on, no psycho analysing me", I look at her accusingly, she knows she shouldn't. To this she raises her hands as if in surrender, "I'm not psychoanalysing you, I promise I am just ... verbalising an observation".
"Mhmm, same difference, just don't", once again she holds her hands up as a sign of surrender, but I still give her the evil eye. "All I'm saying is that it's only been two weeks and you're planning sleepovers with people who are basically strangers, I'm proud of you", "They are hardly strangers I know where they work and sleep, and we are adults, if they try something I won't hesitate to protect myself by any means necessary!", I state giggling.
"G-g-good to know", I hear Fred say from behind me. I turn to look at him and he looks like he's worried, "oh don't be afraid, at least we tell you and give fair warning, I'll give you some free advice in case you think she's any better, she will probably ensure you end up in a mental institution, I am merciful, worst case scenario you'll be pushing up daisies", I say giving him my biggest smile. I can barely hold my smile as he keeps looking back and forth between us with a look of uncertainty, but she too just gives him her million-rand smile, which seems to creep him out even more.
I can't take it anymore and I burst out laughing at him, Carol joins my laughter pushing me, " you really can't contain yourself, yazi, I wanted to see if we could make him cry." I see Fred visibly relax I think he was really starting to get scared, "don't worry Fredrick, as long as you don't cross us, you won't have to know if we were joking or not", I say to him winking as I get up from the couch.
I stretch and start to yawn, it has been a day and then some, still facing Fred I ask, "I'm heading to bed, uyeza? (you coming?)", I see Fred blush and I suddenly realise he understood me. "Awusho ngani ukuthi uyasizwa isiZulu?( why didn't you tell me you can understand Zulu?)", its Carol's turn to laugh at me, my eyes are wide and my eyebrows are raised, how come she knew already? "You never asked, and I only understand a little" he starts rubbing up and down his arm, clearly feeling uncomfortable with the attention.
I won't lie, I'm impressed I didn't think he was the type to learn our African languages, most white people don't. " Wena mlungu wami (my type of white person)", he starts blushing even more. Noting how uncomfortable, I decide to table this discussion for later, "woza (come on)", I say looking at her, I go to my room and take a blanket, sheet, and extra pillow for him. The couch is an old pull-out two-seater that my mom bought, and Baba kept in storage when she went away and I pull it out and begin to set up for him.
"Here you go, just so you know this is the first-time guest special from now on you set up for yourself, you saw how I set up right?", as I them to him, he gives me a pointed look, "I'm nooot cccompletely useless yyyyou know" he says so softly that barely heard him. I smirk, oh so he knows how to talk back when he's mumbling, he's lucky I'm sleepy or else I would have gone in on him, instead I settle for a "I know, and thanks again for dinner" as I walk towards my room.
"Are you feeling a bit better though, after everything that happened to you today?" I almost regret saying anything since I visibly see his facial expression change to a sad one. He shrugs and starts looking through his bag. I huff, where is Alka when you need her, she needs to come look after her welfare project. I roll my eyes and walk back to him, and I give him a hug or try to, "argh bend a bit I'm trying to be nice and give you a hug but I'm vertically challenged you know!"
At first, he tenses up, I feel him breathe in and out and then bends down laying his head of my shoulder, I can feel him breathing down my neck. It's an awkward hug however I wrap my arms around his head trying not to suffocate him in the process. I let go and he stands straight, and looks down blushing, "thanks", I just shake my head and begin to walk towards my room.
"Goodnight Fred", "Goodnight Freddie", my sister and I say simultaneously, "Goodnight". As soon as Carol closes the door she pushes me onto the bed, I land on my face and before I can get up, she is sitting on top of me, her butt is on my back, and she is trying to get my hands behind my back. I know what she's doing, and I won't let her, "it's my bed so I get to sleep on the right side".
I know it's stupid and were adults, well young adults but she started it, " nope guests have choice of first preference remember, technically you should be sleeping in the couch or", she leans down and whispers, "lover boy should be sharing the bed with you", she laughs as if it the funniest thing on earth, as she slides off my back onto the bed.
I scrunch up my face looking at her, "I'm not nasty like you mxm!", at this she laughs even harder. I kick her off the bed and stretched myself on the bed like a star fish. I heard her get up and start changing, " All I'm saying is you shouldn't deny yourself the chance to comfort him in other ways", she says smiling from ear to ear and I am not having it. I get off the bed to change, "I think he has been traumatized enough for one day, don't you?".
"He isn't traumatized you know, just heartbroken, and she was his first love, if you even gave anyone half a chance you would probably know the feeling." I roll my eyes and get in bed with her, I don't date... at all never have and won't start anytime soon. "Leave me alone, I never want to experience what happened to him today, he was humiliated by his girlfriend... well ex now and completely emasculated and physically assaulted by his brother at work, bruh nah I'm good!".
"You know what happened to Fred has a one in a million chance of happening to you right, and in any case it's the worst-case scenario."
" That's not true and you know it! Leave it alone please, my non-existent love life is perfect the way it is. I keep telling you the heart is an organ that simply pumps blood, everything else is a trick your body uses to get you to reproduce."
She laughs at my statement as I try to get comfortable enough to sleep, another thing about my sister that despise is that she likes to keep the blanket to herself, so it's always a mission to keep warm when I sleep with her. I close my eyes, praying she falls asleep quickly.
Next thing I know I feel myself being shaken awake, "Vuka (Wake up)", I hear her annoying voice calling me, "ufunani? (what do you want)"
I refuse to open my eyes since she decided to interrupt my beauty sleep. She doesn't respond, she simply rips the blanket from me, which still doesn't make me get up, I simply lay my head under my pillow and attempt to continue sleeping.
So, I am taken by surprise when she pulls me, by my feet causing me to land painfully on the floor, now I am awake and pissed.
I get up slowly, rubbing the back of my head and my butt, "Ngizokubulala (I am going to kill you)", "No, no I tried to wake up like a normal person but you sleep like the dead and the only other option was going to be pouring water on you, plus you kicked me off the bed again, its an eye for an eye hawu!"
I couldn't care less as I charged at her - tackling her to the ground, we tumble down together, me landing on her as we wrestle each other, she tries to wiggle out of my grip on her waist by, I am not letting go until she surrenders.
I guess we were making a lot of noise because I hear the door burst open and Fred standing there in his boxers and a vest. He doesn't look half bad " Is everything ...ok?" He looks confused like his mind hadn't caught up with what his eyes were seeing, Carol answers him in a strained voice, " everything is just peachy, just an early morning tussle between siblings, GET!. OFF!.. ME!"
She tries to yell but it sounds more like shrieking since she does it right into my ear. She is trying to push my head away trying to make some space between us but I will not let go, she starts struggling to breathe because how tight my arms are and she starts to hit that back of my head with her elbow.
I won't lie it hurts but I know the tighter I hold the less she can move around... Or breathe properly. Freddie's eyes are wide with shock, I don't think he has ever witnessed anything like this, I shift my head around her waist ensuring I dig my shoulder into her ribcage, while she attempts to pull my hair out by the roots.
"I ...Yield, I Yield"
"Ha! Victory is mine, HA! And stay down" I say as I let go of her and I see that she has beginning to bruise on her dark skin, I shrug she deserves is since she started this. She has let go of my hair, I fall onto my back on the floor next to her and I start to feel my head throbbing from the elbows to the head and hair pulling, but so worth it.
I look up to see Fred's eyes are the size of saucers with his hand on his mouth, he looks ... Scared. I roll my eyes, I want to get up but I'm still breathing heavily from the early morning workout, I push my sister using my foot, "Carol, are you ok?", she is still on the ground, she hasn't moved or made a sound.
She groans and then whines, "I'm alive Freddie! She can't kill me that easily!" "Wanna bet?". I give her a knowing smile, if she wants to test the fate, who am I to stand in her way.