REBEL GRAINED

EISH, DEPRESSION!

Lars told her to speak to her family. Thulile had nothing to say to them. It wasn't her gran or Femi who would be against the possibility of making money, especially if drugs, sex, and alcohol weren't involved.

As promised, Lars came the next day, with his computer this time. Since there was no wifi around the truck, the man returned to the cafe where he got the coffee holder. He brought a muffin followed by a cheesecake and sat to work while drinking Thulile's coffee.

The cafe's employees were speechless in front of Lars' unruly behavior, but they could not throw him out since he brought something from them.

Back at the truck, Palesa decided to take the temperature of the situation, "He's earnest about this project. Perhaps we won't need the truck soon. It would be nice to work in a cafe with toilets."

"Palesa, I haven't said yes yet."

"But you're not going to say no. Your father will roll in his grave if you do."

"How do you know what my father would do? He never used coffee to make benefits. My father helped people all his life."

"And look at how it ended. Thulile you need to live properly and you can with your gift. I'm sure you'll still help many by working with this man, and I also believe you'll be aiding yourself. There's nothing wrong or greedy about helping oneself."

Lars returned to the truck and asked Thulile what she needed to get started. Again she protested, and they bickered like an old couple before Lars called it a day.

That night, when Thulile got home, she tried to call Elije, but all her calls got diverted to voice mail. She missed him, seeing Lars every day weighed.

Thulile had the impression she was getting accustomed to him and his sharp English accent, his perfect teeth, and blue eyes. He wasn't her type of man; correction, Thulile didn't know a man like Lars could attract her.

His eyes captivated her, and she was unable to turn her gaze away when he spoke. The act reassured Lars, who remembered having read somewhere that if a woman turned away her eyes, it meant the person appealed to them. Thulile always stared straight into his.

The woman's reaction proved she wasn't interested in him, and it was for the better. If only he knew, some would say.

Lars wished for them to make big money and nothing had to get in the way of that one ultimate goal.

After five attempts, Thulile gave up on the call. Instead, she clicked on her Tik Tok app and slid through the posts until she fell on her cup. This time her finger didn't slip; she went on the profile.

Mr. Nobody

83k followers

1.2 million likes.

Caption:

My shoes aren't that comfortable.

Coffee keeps me sane.

Social media offered the quickest and most efficient way of figuring out how a person was. Thulile convinced herself it was customary to want to find out more about her business partner and that if he had a profile, it meant he wished people to know.

She scrolled down to the birth of the account and oldest videos. They showed Lars in Stockholm.

He had a large group of friends. Some videos were in bars and nightclubs; he looked like a very outgoing person. There were videos of him at work. He seemed to like to play pranks in an open office space.