TEN YEARS - DISA

SttaffflrlMw W®L 1 M®» $ aori) 4 aD©§ a
We did not stay long at the office either, for as soon as he and
his mother came before the superintendent concerned, the one
with the beaky nose, all hell broke loose. They were told in the
crudest terms that, seeing they had been given two months to pay
and they had managed only forty percent, the board had no choice
but to repossess its house and give it to another person who would
pay the rent without trouble. When Vusi tried to point out that the
time had not been stipulated and neither had the two months
mentioned expired, he was cut off by the inevitable question, 'Do
you mean to say I'm telling lies, boy? Your mother lied to you,
huh? Your mother's fault. She should have told you that the money
was wanted immediately.'
And turning to Mrs Nyembezi, he asked, 'You are not ashamed
to lie at your age, ouma?' But she did not understand.
'Would you please give us another week, meneer? We've got
another thirty-five rand with us; we'll do all we can to raise the
balance this week. Please help us, sir, we haven't anywhere to go
if you chase us out. Here's the thirty-five rand. Show him, ma,
show him,' Vusi said in his best pleading voice. The old woman
produced the folded notes which were tied in a knot of her
handkerchief and gave them to Vusi who tried to hand them to the
superintendent. The latter threw Vusi's hand so violently aside that
the money flew out of his hand. 'Can't you hear, I say your time to
pay is long overdue!' he screamed. 'Now get out. By sunset I want
you out of that house or I'm having you arrested — hear? I'll be
there to make sure.'
The clerks who were working at their desks and the two other
white men continued unperturbed by the scene. Only one or two
black clerks, one of them a woman, threw half-interested glances.
The people who were there for their own problems ogled and
hissed softly, the way black people do to express sympathy without
words.
One ten rand note had landed on the desk of one of the other
superintendents. As Vusi took it, their eyes met. There was a smirk
of sadistic satisfaction in the man's eyes, like one who was
deriving pleasure out of a tragic scene in a drama. To show his
approval to the villain, he winked at the latter and smiled. His thick
eyebrows, large facial bones and the bristles growing out of his
nostrils made him look like a lion.
I saw it on their faces the moment my friend and his aged
mother stepped out of the hall. I did not ask them anything
because I wanted to save them the agony of going over the details