Grade 10, Habitat61 Creative Hub
Somewhere in Fourways lived a 22-year-old man called Sam Ndlovu. Sam lived with his mother and father in a big mansion. Sam got whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it. Life was so easy for him. He didn’t even care about school because he thought what he had would last forever. One Saturday morning, Sam woke up and went to the bathroom to prepare to go to the mall with his family. As soon as he was done, he went downstairs smelling of an expensive perfume. He then enjoyed the crispy fried bacon Dora had made for breakfast.
Dora was a maid that worked for the Ndlovus. She had been working for them for more than 25 years. She watched Sam grow up into the lazy, disobedient and obnoxious man that he was. She would always give Sam advice about life such as, ‘’You should get a job and not depend on your parents’ fortunes,” but Sam failed to listen to her because he thought the world revolved around him.
“Morning, Mama D,” he said. “Morning, Sam,” she responded in an old, hoarse voice. “Where’s my mom and dad?” He asked. “They are in the dining room waiting for you to come so that you can eat together,’’ she replied.
Sam went to the dining room. On his way there he heard whispers and decided to eavesdrop on his parents’ conversation.
“I’m sick and tired of Sam. All he does is go to parties. He doesn’t even want to go to school. I told him to come work at the family company, but he refused to. He just wants everything to be handed to him,” Sam’s dad said in a very annoyed tone. “Come on, Honey. Don’t be too hard on him.’’ Sam’s mom said calmly.
“You always protect this boy even if you know that what I’m saying is true,” he said. “Shh, here he comes,” they both said.Sam entered the dining room and pretended as if he hadn’t heard anything. He sat down and ate quietly.
When they arrived at the mall Sam’s dad asked him to queue for them as the queues were very long that day. Sam stood alone in the queue for hours. Suddenly, he heard someone calling his name. It was his old friend, Jason Smith. Jason was a very naughty boy. He told Sam about his new business venture of stealing cars. Sam was eager to prove himself to his parents. He immediately wanted to join Jason and help him run his business. One day as they were doing their usual car heist and hijackings, Sam was caught, but Jason managed to escape. He was in deep trouble, so he asked the police officer to call his parents. As soon as they got the call, they rushed to the police station and bailed him out. On their way home, they yelled at Sam. He was deep in thought, thinking about Jason, “How could he do this to me? What kind of a friend is Jason?”
He couldn’t believe what Jason had done to him. As soon as they arrived home his father sat him down.
“How dare you? I raised you to be a strong, independent man, yet you are just a lazy, disobedient spoiled brat.” After hearing those mean, hurtful words, Sam went to his room and slept. His parents stayed up late and discussed how they could change Sam’s behaviour.
They came up with a plan to chase Sam out of the house so that he could learn to be independent. When they told Sam he was so hurt, but he left. He couldn’t believe that his parents really chased him out of the house. He lived on the streets trying to fend for himself. Sometimes he would go to sleep without eating.
Three months later he met a girl called Snenhlanhla. She was also a street kid. She was one of the good street kids. They worked together, finding recyclable materials and selling them to buy food. After some time, they fell in love. Even though they were struggling, being together made life easier.
Sam was so excited when he was hired at a laundromat. Months later, Sam got a place to stay with his girlfriend, Snenhlanhla. Things were going well. Snenhlanhla also got a job.
A couple of years later, Sam was promoted to a managerial position. He proposed to Snenhlanhla and they got married. They were blessed with a baby boy named Calvin. Sam decided it was time to return home and show his parents what he had achieved in life. His parents were so shocked but happy to see him. He apologised and his parents also apologised for their harsh punishment. The family reunited and Sam’s life was perfect again.