"Kelsey Anderson, is that you?" screeched a sun-tanned auburn haired young woman.
"Mom?-" my voice cracked. I knew it was her. She was gorgeous. Did she look a little like me? I wondered. I thought so. When I was young, I dreamt of my mother, but no dream had ever come close to how she looked now. I had no pictures of her, not even from their wedding. I guess it was just a quick drive-through chapel kind of thing. It probably was a way out of a lot of trouble. Tears started to come but I firmly held them back. I was Kelsey, cool Kelsey, strong Kelsey; I never let anyone see me cry, ever. Crying was for those who couldn't be strong enough to decide what would happen in the next moments.
"Is it really you? My… you look…," she trailed off looking me up and down. For some reason I tugged at my micro-mini skirt discreetly, then stopped. Why did I care what she thought? "We have so much to catch up on… You must be tired. Oh, gosh! I forgot my manners. This is Biko. He's been helping me around the house for a while."
I glanced at the strong, tall boy next to my mom. He was obviously black. He was noticeably muscular, and wore a plain pair of jeans and a button up checkered shirt. "Oh, I didn't know they still had slaves around."
"Kelsey!" said my mom, more embarrassed for Biko than anything. "Biko is not my slave. He is helping me around because I can't be at home all the time. I'm out preaching a lot…"
"Yeah… Whatever you say, mom." I said sighing and rolling my eyes.
"Hi," Biko said nicely extending his hand towards me, as if I had never called him a slave. "Did you have a nice ride?"
I ignored his outstretched hand and walked past him. I was not going to spend time talking to some weirdo guy. The sooner we got to my mom's place the sooner I could go back to Canada.
"Just this morning the truck broke down, so we're going to have to take the bus. It's right over there. We better hurry, it looks full," my mom said trying to hurry along with my luggage.
When I saw 'the bus' my heart sank even deeper. It was this run down old truck… with people in the back. Okay maybe it wasn't a truck but it was run down. I got on first with all my stuff, then Biko, but when my mom's turn came the driver said that there was no more room. Mom told me that she would meet me at home and then that hunk of metal actually started.
We were jostled around for the better part of an hour when I ventured to ask Biko how much longer until we got home. He showed me two fingers.
"Two minutes?" I asked but he shook his head.
"It takes two and a half hours to get home from down town by bus. It goes by pretty quickly," he said trying to make me feel better but failing miserably.
Two hours… two hours… super. First I have to leave my beautiful, colourful life to come to boring, hot South Africa, on a crummy shaky plane. Then, I have to waste two miserable hours on this piece of rusting metal. Not only was I bored out of my wits, but it must have been forty degrees outside.
We were all squished next to one another so after a few minutes the sweat of the old smelly man next to me was making my shirt cling to my back. The worst thing about this place was not the heat, or even the lack of transportation, it was the bugs! They were everywhere. The gross thing was that people actually ignored them. They just let the flies buzz around them and land wherever they wanted. I, on the other hand, was not so merciful. I swatted and swatted. I never let any one of those mosquitoes suck the blood out of me and give me west Nile virus or something.
Two hours later I tried to walk off that piece of junk but I sort of fell because I was so shaken up. I faltered and to my disgust Biko caught me.
"Wow, are you okay?" he asked.
"Don't touch me, ok? Look, just because were going to be living in the same house it doesn't mean you have to be nice to me, or even talk to me. I don't talk to savages."
Biko didn't even flinch. He just smiled and let go of my hand before I got off the bus, and I fell…stumbled, really. In fact it was more like I just lost my balance. Biko smirked and took my luggage. "Whatever you say, Kelsey."
"I can take that. I said I didn't need your help!" I grabbed the luggage away from him like a two year old.
"I thought I was just a slave."
"Well, if you were you wouldn't be getting in my way so much."
"Fine."
"Fine," I replied with fake arrogance.
"Fine," he said.
"Fine! Just leave me alone," I replied. "I need a smoke." Thank goodness I had brought my cigarettes, I was dying for one on the plane, I was dying for one on the bus, and now I needed one. I grabbed all my bags and started to walk towards the house. At least it was big and nice. Actually it was huge. I smiled a little and then Biko called me.
"Kelsey! That's the Bayley's house. Ours is over here!" The Know-It-All said. I slowly turned around and there it was; a run down old house. I half expected it to be made of sticks and animal dung. Things just couldn't get worse. I dumped my bags into my room, and lit a cigarette. I smoked it for a long time. I took a deep breath of it and made little smoke rings with it (a technique I had perfected over the years). In a while my mom arrived, came barging in, and started yelling like the room was on fire.
"Kelsey! I saw smoke coming from your room and," she stopped and stared. "What exactly do you think you are doing?"
"Smoking. What'zit look like?"
"Oh… you smoke. Since when?" she asked quietly.
This was a question I was used to and proud of. "Since I was ten," I replied waiting to see her reply.
"I see…" she said and walked out of the room. I smiled to myself. She would be a push over.
"Two thousand five hundred and twenty," my mom said stepping back into my room.
"What?"
"Two thousand five hundred and twenty dollars."
"I'm not deaf. What is two thousand five hundred and twenty dollars?"
"That is how much money you have burnt since you were ten years old."
"Here's the thing. I really don't give a 'flip'," I answered getting annoyed with her.
"Good."
"Good?" I asked. What was wrong with this lady?
"Then you won't mind burning the rest of your three thousand dollars you brought from home, since you'll be spending it on smokes anyway."
"Burn my money?" I said in shock, and then smiled a little. "Ya… right."
"Right." In a split second she swooped down and grabbed my purse, with all my money and cigarettes in it.
I jumped up and yelled for her to give it back. She just marched outside. I just stood in my room, in utter shock. She wouldn't actually do it… She couldn't. I heard the back door open again and saw her going into her bedroom, without my purse. She mumbled something about going to bed early. I ran outside to the fire pit where Biko was poking the fire.
"Oh my gosh! You tell me what she did with my money and cigarettes this moment or I swear I'll throw you into that fire."
Biko stood up and poured water on the fire to put it out and walked away. I screamed. "No! What did she do? Tell me!"
He smiled his idiotic smile and left. I went over to the fire, but nothing was left except black, hard coals. I swallowed hard. This could not be happening. I had everything in there; cash, my phone, makeup, fake i.d's… All my contact to the outside world was in my purse and now I was totally cut off from everything. I went slowly into the house and fell on my bed, numb. At about two in the morning I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so I went to sit on the porch. Biko was there…
"Your mother loves you, you know," he said when I had sat down beside him.
"Yeah right," I said snickering.
"She's your mom! She was really excited about you coming. She cleaned up the whole house and prepared this big supper, you didn't even look at it, let alone eat it."
"I don't care."
"What's wrong with you? I've only just met you and I've already made up my mind about you. Don't you get sick of yourself being so arrogant sometimes? The least you could have done was to be nice to her," he said.
"Why should I give her a second glance when she's the one who left me?"
"You are and always will be family, Kelsey. No matter how bitter you are, you can't change that she gave birth to you."
"I can't change it, but it sickens me. A mother who leaves her child does not love it. Maybe she has a hint as fondness for me now, but I hate her. Besides, how can you be so high and mighty? I don't see you with your family." When he didn't answer, I continued. "I've already made my mind up about you, as well. You're just some self-righteous guy who gets by, by doing house work for a preacher. Go home." When he didn't answer, I got up and walked inside to bed again.