Sold To a Mafia King

Cooking for the first time...

We came back after almost 1 hour 30 minutes. I’m hungry I hope everyone is. I look at the clock it’s 1 in the afternoon. I walk to the kitchen, I bump into Bova at the bottom of the stairs. There’s no one in the kitchen I make another cheese 6 slice sandwich, after eating I wash the plate. I look through the cupboards so I can prepare supper. I’m going to cook my favourite meal dumblings and beef stew with vegetables. I look for the dumbling ingredients, I enjoy working so I sing. I’m singing my favourite song by Sam Smith Lay Me Down as I mix the dumbling dough, while waiting for it raise I peel and chop the vegetables and chop the meat after defrosting it in the microwave. Dumblings take longer so I cook for almost 5 hours. At 6:30pm I’m done, I don’t know how to set the table so I’ll just go with what I know. I plate the food into big dishes I go to the dining room to put the plates, later I put the food. People will have to dish for themselves. I tell one of the guards that supper is ready he looks surprised, I wonder why. I walk to the kitchen to tidy up, I hear chairs being pulled. I mix warm water into a big bowl and I take a clean and dry dish cloth so they can wash and dry their hands before eating. There are about 22 people around the table, I start with Ayanda, and he looks surprised. 

And why is everything about me surprising?

 I go to the kitchen to put away the bowl and dish cloth. When I walk back to the dining room Mr Nxumalo is also here. I greet him and go back to the kitchen to fetch water for him, he smiles at me and looks at the annoyed Ayanda. Maybe they had a fight. I pull a chair I was sitting on yesterday. Unlike yesterday today everyone around the table is talking and laughing, Ayanda is sitting here looking very angry, he still looks cute though. I join them dig in while singing and dancing with my head and feet. Today I’m full after eating I collect the dishes to go wash them. I notice that for the first time Ayanda has eaten, but he’s typing on his phone. I peek through the phone, he’s texting someone by the Sihle name. 

“Who have you been texting all day?” I ask him curiously the room suddenly goes quiet like they want to hear the answer or something. 

“None of your business” he replies annoyed. 

“Is this the same person you’ve been texting yesterday and today all day?” I ask him even when he said it’s none of my business. I just don’t know when to shut up once I start talking and it annoyed the s**t out of my mom, my dad just ignored me. 

He gives me a glare that could even kill a corpse.

What is he mad about?

I continue taking the dishes to the kitchen to wash them and today it doesn’t take longer. After 20 minutes I’m done I go to my room to set up the laptop and send an email to the editor. I feel guilty again for accepting this life, it’s like I’ve been waiting for such an opportunity, but Bova’s words keep ringing in my head. So I might as well as accept this life my parents chose for me 15 years ago. Some parents we have, you know I have read about such stories but never though it could happen to me. I set up everything, I don’t know what to say to my boss. I’m typing and deleting I don’t know who to ask for help. I’ll send the email tomorrow let me sleep.