No Turning Back Read Online Free PDF Page A

deal. Only ten rand.”
    The trader’s voice startled him, and he looked up into the face of a man whose skin appeared as deeply polished as the wood of the rhino.
    “I like the rhino, baba, but I don’t have money.”
    “Maybe you will earn it and come back one day, young man.”
    “Yebo, baba. I will try.”
    Casting a last glance at the animals, Sipho forced himself to leave and go back to the others.
    Farther down the road at a shoe repair shop, Matthew handed Thabo the empty plastic bottle from his pocket, counted out five rand and went inside. When he came back he was carrying a small can. Moving into a narrow alley nearby, Matthew carefully poured the white liquid from the can into the bottle. Sipho knew it was glue. A boy at school had been expelled for selling it.
    When Matthew and Thabo said they wanted to sit down for a while, Sipho asked Jabu if he could “park cars” with him. The pangs of hunger were now gripping him more tightly. They were lucky and after about half an hour had earned enough money to buy chips from a fast-food shop. Still eating, they joined a crowd surrounding two men playing umrabaraba with counters on the pavement. Matthew and Thabo were there too. Matthew was giggling, but Thabo was silent. It was a noisy game, full of drama. One player was accused of cheating because an onlooker had given him advice. Soon all the adults seemed to have taken sides. Worried that a fight might break out, the four boys slipped away from the center. A minute later, however, the argument was over and the boys wandered off.
    Later in the afternoon they made their way down a hill to a busy junction, along which people traveled home from the city. At firstSipho stayed on the side, watching the other three as they walked in between the rows of cars at the traffic lights, asking for money. The lines were long, and they had to dart out of the way just before the lights turned green.
    Plucking up courage, he went farther down the road, and when the cars began to slow down he slipped in between them. A lot of the drivers kept looking ahead as if he wasn’t even there. Their windows were tightly shut, but every now and again someone would roll down the window and drop a coin into his hands. In some cars there were children who stared at him from the backseats. However, when two children in school uniform—a girl and a boy—stuck out their tongues, Sipho made a face back. At first they looked surprised and he saw them say something to their mother. As she turned to glare at Sipho, the car behind her hooted. Her face twitched suddenly. The lights had turned green, and Sipho had to dash to the side!
    The sun was going down, leaving deep red and purple stripes in the sky above the buildings on top of the hill. All the buildings had turned a shadowy gray. A light wind was beginning to blow, and Sipho felt the chill go right through him. Once again, he wished he had rememberedto bring a second sweater with him before leaving home. Taking out the wooly cap he had stuffed into his pocket earlier in the day, he pulled it down over his head and ears. Jogging up and down also helped, especially when the lights were green and he had to stand aside as the cars swept by.
    He was beginning to wonder when the others would want to move on, when he heard a highpitched whistle from behind him. He swung around to see Jabu, Thabo, and Matthew already on the road back up to Hillbrow Jabu was signaling to him. When Sipho joined them, they were exchanging news on their earnings. No one had earned more than a couple of rand. Thabo had been given a package of potato chips, and he shared them as they walked. Sipho told them about how he had made a face back at the rude schoolchildren.
    “The schoolkids in the bus sometimes throw rubbish down on us!” Matthew told Sipho.
    “Just let them show off their turkey tails on the street. Then you’ll hear them shriek when we pull out their feathers!” boasted Thabo.
    They walked quickly