At the swimming pool, he is once again excited by some of the guys and thinks that there is nothing wrong with looking around. He makes the decision though not to do anything sexual with anyone because he needs to stay focused. After swimming for a while, some guys want to play volleyball, but need more players and ask Kevin to join them. He enjoys it a lot.
While walking home later, he thinks of all the different things to do to have fun and that one can make a lot of new friends without wanking with them too. The rest of the day is fantastic! Kevin has a new sense of determination and focus and he is intent on making this work. He has done some very stupid things in the past and he surely doesn’t want to repeat them.
That evening he has a beer and sees that Uncle Brian is drinking brandy and coke. He has never had brandy before and asks his father if he could have some.
“You’ll have to ask Uncle Brian. It’s his brandy,” his father replies.
“Sure, have some!” Uncle Brian says. “Let me show you how to pour it, or else you will pour in too much brandy.”
Kevin likes brandy a lot. He likes coke as it is and the brandy just adds another flavour to it. Brandy is definitely something he can get used to. Later that evening, Kevin’s father and Uncle Brian decide to go to a bar nearby to play some pool. Kevin joins them. He looks older than 18 so no-one bothers to ask him how old he is. He also likes pool a lot. He played pool a little bit before when he had to house-sit the home of one of his mother’s colleagues at work who has a pool table at home.
Two play against each other and the winner then plays the third one. Kevin loses against his father the first time and then loses to Uncle Brian when it is his turn to play again. After that, he starts to win against both of them and they all have a lot of fun. The entire time they are playing, he is drinking brandy and coke.
After a while he gets bored playing against his uncle and father and sees another table also has three players. He asks them if he can play the loser of the game on another table and they agree.
It doesn’t take long for Kevin to see that he is rather good at playing pool. He finds that his father’s explanation of “entry angle equals exit angle” works well. Everybody wants to challenge him and he makes many acquaintances, some more interesting than others. There is a wonderful atmosphere at the bar with loud music, people laughing every now and then, and a vibrant crowd.
After a few more games, Kevin’s father and Uncle Brian want to go home, but Kevin wants to stay because there are three more people who want to challenge him. He tells his father that the bar is not far from where they live and there is no reason why he can’t stay longer.
“I guess it’s OK, but don’t stay here too long, else your mother will moan. You know how she is sometimes,” his father says.
Another game later and he goes to the bar again to get a drink, but this time he wants a double instead of a single brandy. He has had singles all day and thinks that doubles will be better. After taking a sip he thinks it’s much better and wonders why anyone would bother to drink singles. He continues to play and after a while begins losing a game every now and then. This doesn’t bother him at all, because he chats to people and makes jokes all around. He tells everyone that he has finished school and is going to Johannesburg next year to study.
At some point during the evening, he pauses for a moment to think about what God had said. There is a lot of joy in his life. He just needed to change his attitude towards life. Here he is, doing something completely different from before, learning a new game, meeting a lot of people and enjoying himself. He is grateful about the conversation earlier.
There are a lot of interesting people from all over the country who have interesting lives and Kevin is curious about so many aspects of their lives. Every now and then he plays a game of pool again, but couldn’t care if he wins or loses. All that matters to him is that he is happy for the first time in months. He completely loses track of time.
The next morning he wakes up early. It is still dark. He feels seriously sick. It isn’t quite like flu, but almost. His head is pounding and his neck muscles are almost spastic. His stomach feels like it is turning and he is nauseous. He feels weak and awful. His mouth tastes like something died in it and his clothes smell like smoke and when he thinks about that, his body shivers. He had fallen asleep without changing and had slept in the same clothes he was in last night.
He tries to think how and when he got back but can’t remember. He wants to get back to sleep, because he is feeling so dreadful. Then suddenly his mother walks in and says, “Wake up, sleepy head!” and opens the curtains.
“Turn the light off!” he yells and pulls his pillow over his head.
“It’s not the light. I opened the curtains,” she says laughing.
“Don’t yell now! Just keep quiet. I want to sleep just a little longer,” Kevin says.
“Mmmm, it seems like someone has vineyard flu. How much did you drink last night?” his mother says while tickling him. She used to do that when Kevin was small and wouldn’t get up. He always hated it.
“Stop it! Leave me alone and just get out!” he yells.
“Hey, who do you think you’re talking to?” his father says and walks into the room. “Get up immediately! I don’t want to hear another word. You’re not too old for a hiding!” his father says.
Kevin sighs and drags his body out of bed. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“I told you not to stay there for too long. I let you, because I thought you were becoming an adult. But clearly not! If you can drink like a man, then you behave like a man. Is that clear? You don’t get to shout at anyone because you had too much to drink the night before. I won’t stand for this shit!” his father says loudly and assertively.
“Yes, yes, whatever…” Kevin says and closes the door to the bathroom. He isn’t in the mood for anyone, especially since they are so aggressive. Kevin feels like vomiting, so he holds his head over the toilet, but nothing comes out. He is just nauseous. He has had several headaches before, but the one he has now is the worst! He spends a long time in the shower and feels a little better afterwards - just a bit though.
“We are going out on the boat today and you’re coming along,” his father says to him when he comes out.
“No bloody way!” Uncle Brian says. “He will be sick all the time and it will be unpleasant for all of us. I’m not going through that again. He must stay here and sleep it off.”
Kevin is relieved when he hears that. The last thing he feels like doing now is getting on a boat stuck with his entire family moaning all the time.
“OK, sleep it off and sort out your attitude. We’ll have a talk when I come back,” his father says.
“You were still sleeping when we all had breakfast, but I left you some. Eat - you will feel better after a while,” his mother says as she puts a plate full of bacon, eggs, fish fingers and toast before him. Kevin isn’t hungry, but doesn’t say a word. He takes a fork and starts playing with his food.
Everyone around him is in a hurry to get going, since they are already late. Kevin can’t wait for them to leave. His father calls him to come outside. “One of your friends from last night is here.” Kevin looks at the guy and doesn’t recognise him. He is rather large and chubby, not attractive at all.
“Hi! I thought you were a bit wasted last night. You drank quite a lot, so I made sure that you got home. I’m just checking up really and wonder what you are planning for today,” the guy says.
Kevin wants to answer but his father says, “You boys were extremely wild it seems. Do you know that Kevin is only 16?”
“No,” the guy replies. “He told me that he was 18 and had finished school already. He told everyone that!”
“No doubt he did. I’ll have a talk with you later,” his father says as he looks at Kevin while raising his eyebrows.
While they are talking Kevin tries to remember who this guy is. Suddenly, it dawns on him. This is the guy fro
m last night and they had a detour into the bushes before coming back. “But it can’t be!” he thinks. “The guy last night was definitely not fat and not that tall. He was quite handsome!”
“Well, we’re off,” his father says as they get into the double-cab and drive off.
Kevin looks at this guy and tries to remember his name, but he can’t. “Dude, you should drink some water,” the guy says.
“Yeah, whatever. Come in,” Kevin says.
While pouring a glass of Coke he says, “I’m sorry, but I don’t recall your name. Last night is all blurry.”
“It’s Sammy. You’re father seems quite angry with you. By the way, I didn’t know you were 16. You certainly don’t act that way,” Sammy says.
Kevin sits down and holds his head between his hands and says, “Look, I don’t want to be rude, but I’m not in the mood for talking. I feel really awful.”
“I understand. I’ve had a few bad nights in my life too. Man, the worst is Tequila. It feels as if your head wants to split in two.” Sammy continues talking and Kevin finds it unbelievable that this guy didn’t hear what he just said. He certainly doesn’t want to talk to him and just wants to forget about last night. How could he have made such a judgment error? Kevin hopes that Sammy doesn’t bring up what happened last night. He is embarrassed by it. Every time he looks at Sammy he has a kind of a shrug.
“I‘m having a smoke. Do you want one?” Sammy asks.
“I don’t smoke,” Kevin replies.
“Oh, you did last night!” Sammy says smiling.
“Uh, OK, but I don’t smoke. I don’t know what got into me last night. You’ll have to smoke outside because no one in my family smokes,” Kevin says.
Outside they sit on chairs around the braai. Sammy continues talking and Kevin gets really annoyed. After a while, he gets up, closes the door and starts walking out of the lodge.
“Where are you going?” Sammy asks.
“I’m going for a walk. Maybe I’ll feel better afterwards,” Kevin says.
“OK, I’ll go with you,” Sammy says.
Kevin chooses the longest, most boring route in St Lucia he can think of. Judging by Sammy’s size he’s clearly not the active type, so maybe he’ll go away.
Sammy studies Information Technology and that is clear from the conversation. He is talking about computers and computer games all the time. Kevin wonders if he knows about anything else except computers, because that’s something he doesn’t have much interest in. He knows how to use one and is online a lot, but not in a way Sammy is using a computer.
After about two hours of walking, Kevin notices that Sammy is struggling to keep up. He is sweating all over and his chest doesn’t sound well.
“I’m feeling a lot better. Let’s head back,” Kevin says.
“Good idea. I’m thirsty,” Sammy says.
Back at the lodge, they have some water. Sammy is still talking about computers and different kinds of games he plays.
“I’m going to swim now,” Kevin interrupts him.
“That’s a great idea! I just have to get my swim stuff. Will you come with me or should we meet at the pool?” Sammy asks.
“We can meet at the pool,” Kevin replies.
Kevin is relieved when Sammy finally leaves. He is probably one of the least interesting people he has ever met. He cannot understand how it happened. Last night he did exactly what God said: he went out and had fun, a lot of fun. He clearly also re-discovered the explorer within himself by exploring a myriad of new things, but now feels that it was not quite the same as God meant.
He wonders, “How could this be? And what about my focus? Just yesterday I decided I wasn’t going to do anything sexual and it didn’t even last a day! How pathetic is that? And as an award for my crazy “go out and have fun” adventure, I have to spend the day with the Oros man who won’t stop talking.” For a brief period he actually thinks of not going to the pool and going somewhere else, but doesn’t want to be rude. “Sammy clearly means no harm,” he thinks as he walks to the pool.
When Kevin sees Sammy at the pool, he’s once again shocked at his poor appraisal of him the night before. There isn’t anything about Sammy he finds attractive. He shakes his head and thinks, “It must be the alcohol. Now, there’s a reason why people don’t want to drink too much,” as he looks at Sammy. They don’t swim or play a game, only stand in a corner of the pool talking about the possibilities of the internet. Later in the afternoon Kevin says that he has to go home, because his parents will get back and he doesn’t want to aggravate them even more. Back at the lodge, he is finally alone and lies down on the bed for a while. Soon afterwards he falls asleep.
He wakes up when the boating party returns. Kevin gets up quickly and stands in the kitchen. He helps them to unpack. Then his father asks him, “Are you still grumpy or can I talk to you now?”
“I’m fine.” Kevin says. “I’m really sorry about…”
“Let’s go. Come with me,” his father interrupts.
After walking for a while, Kevin’s father asks him, “What happened last night?”
“I don’t know. I was playing pool with you, and after you left, I just continued. It was wonderful, but I kind of lost track of time, I guess,” Kevin says.
“You had a hangover. That’s from drinking too much. What else did you drink after we left? Did you have shooters?” his father asks.
“Er, I don’t want to lie to you, because there is so much I cannot remember from last night. I may have. Actually, I had shooters. It’s black and tastes like cough medicine.”
“Jägermeister. You had Jägermeister? No wonder!” his father says while shaking his head and smiling.
“Yes, Jägermeister. I had a few actually because I had to drink one every time I lost a pool game. At the end…“ Kevin decides rather to keep quiet and not complete the sentence.
“There is a reason why one has to be careful with alcohol. Once you drink too much you forget things and you do stuff that you normally wouldn’t do. At the time it seems like a great idea, but afterwards it seems like it wasn’t you at all. You lose your inhibitions and control and it becomes dangerous. You think you talk normally, but you don’t. You think you can walk straight, but you don’t. You have to be more responsible,” his father says.
“I understand. I have to say, I really only understand it now after last night,” Kevin says.
“You have to know where your limit is. No one can drink without being affected. Many think they are not affected, but they are lying to themselves. Do you want to be like that? Sure, you’ll have a great time, but at what consequence?“ his father asks.
“Yeah, I don’t want to be like that,” Kevin says.
“The thing is, I trusted you to be responsible. I’ve told you so many times you may drink, as long as you are responsible. Many people dislike what I’m doing but I had faith in you and now you’ve disappointed me,” his father says.
“Yeah, I know,” Kevin says while looking at the road they are walking on.
“So now you have shown me that you cannot be trusted. Do you understand that? I have to be a bit stricter now, not out of my own volition, but because you showed me that I have to be,” his father says.
Kevin sighs, “Yeah, I get that.”
“Who has to prove now that he can be trusted?” his father asks.
“I have to prove it,” Kevin says.
“That’s right. You have broken the trust we had, so you have to fix it. We are moving to Johannesburg in a few weeks and things will be different there for all of us. I don’t know how things will pan out for us, but if we are going to succeed we have to trust one another, OK?” his father says.
“OK, Paps,” Kevin says. “I’ll do my best to show you that I can be trusted again. I want you to be able to trust me.”
“I’m sure you will. You’ve been responsible all your life and I don’t want things to slip away now. That’s all. You’re a wonderful son to have. We have spoken about t
his now, so it’s over. I don’t want to talk about this again,” his father says.
“Thanks, I’ll be more careful next time,” Kevin says. He is relieved that they have talked about it in a normal way and hopefully they will never have to speak about it again. In more than one way, he doesn’t want a repeat of the night before.
“Ah, Kevin! Some brandy?” Uncle Brian asks when they get back.
“No thanks. Only some Coke please,” Kevin replies.
When Kevin gets his Coke, he smells the brandy of Uncle Brian and feels sick all over again. “I don’t think I’ll ever drink brandy again. I’ll stick with beer in future,” he says.
Chapter XX
It’s the first day at their new school: a first experience for Kevin and Klara. Luckily they are in the same school, so that makes it easier. Yesterday, they went to the school with their mother so that they could get better acquainted with everyone.
The move to Johannesburg is not as bad as they originally thought it would be. Kevin was worried that they would live in a small house, because his father moaned about the house prices in Johannesburg and chose a townhouse. That’s a dramatic change from the big house they were used to in Vryheid. His father doesn’t want to bother with a garden anymore and is prepared for a bigger workload and responsibility in his new position.
When they got to the townhouse, however, Kevin realised that it was massive. It’s not like the small town houses in Vryheid. It has four bedrooms, a huge communal space and a swimming pool. That’s an added bonus, because they didn’t have a pool in Vryheid. They are relatively near their school and a huge shopping centre is also nearby.
The first day of school is chaotic; the same as in Vryheid, so that’s to be expected. The school is much bigger than in Vryheid and he is immediately concerned about the fierce competition there will be in all the activities he likes, especially athletics. The students are different in a way from those in Vryheid. That afternoon he talks to Klara about it, who feels the same. In a way they are more mature and knowledgeable about what’s going on in the world, but on the other hand they seem completely ignorant of many obvious things. They conclude that it’s too soon to judge, though generally a welcome change. The only thing they don’t want to do is to go to school by bicycle. No one does that here and they are certainly not going to be the only ones!
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