They were both registering for their first year at Zalewa University when Themba first laid eyes on Sarah. She was 5 foot 4 and dark-skinned, with small eyes and dimples set in a round face. Pillow in one hand and suitcase pulled with the other, she strutted past him with an oversized jumper tied around her waist- her outfit a white t-shirt; plaid knee-length skirt, and converse sneakers. She then abruptly stopped, turned to him, and smiled.

'Excuse me, do you know where the Heights Flats are? To the left, or right?''

'The right,' he replied quickly, the exchange of words so unexpected.

'Thanks,' she smiled again, and continued her walk down the corridor. There was something about that smile, something about how it made him feel welcome in this new territory. From then on, he kept tabs on the Social Sciences major as her hairstyle interchanged between braids, weaves, and natural kinks. He painfully watched as Bongani swept her off her feet, and dated her all the way through to graduation. Bongani arrived on campus a month after them to study Arts. They left Themba behind to finish his fifth year in Civil Engineering. Which he did. With a distinction.

Years later, here he was, sitting across the table from her as she responded to interview questions for the post of Sales Assistant for PLAK Constructions. He was the Operations Manager there. At the age of twenty-nine, Themba was the youngest of the senior personnel and had to sit in for such interviews.

As the interview went on, he tried his best to hide his rising disappointment that Sarah's face didn't light up at the mention of his name during his introduction. In fact, she had no reaction to him at all. Had he been that invisible to her during their Uni days? He reached for a bottle of water and downed a considerable amount, as if it would somehow cool down his heart as it flowed through.

Sarah was the last candidate for the day. As soon as she left the room, he excused himself and followed her out. He found her at the reception desk where she was claiming her transport refund.

'Hi,' he said to her. 'I don't think you remember me but we were at the same Uni.'

'No, I remember you,' she replied. 'Themba, right? You used to stay at the Flats with the likes of Joe and them.'

'Aaah, yes.' Themba scratched his head.

The receptionist handed Sarah an envelope with cash in it and a form for her to sign. She then excused herself, leaving Sarah and Themba by her desk.

'It was nice to see you again,' he continued. 'Like we said in the interview, results will be ready in a week and you shall be contacted if you're successful.'

'Yes, thanks.'

Sarah walked out the door. Themba watched her as she walked away. She wasn't the same Sarah with the irresistible radiance and bounce in her step. It made sense why she was void of expression back in the interview room and he felt bad for hounding her. He went back to join his colleagues. Lovely Gama, the Human Resources Manager, was skimming through the resumes.

'What are we looking for again, Maguire?' She asked Maguire, the Marketing Manager. 'You said Sales Assistant but none of these girls have any work experience in Marketing. Ok, some of them studied it, but just that?'

'Yeah, well, all the shortlisted candidates were recommended by staff,' Maguire replied, eyes glued on his phone. 'I'm just looking for someone who speaks good English and knows how to multiply things.'

'Really? Well, if you put it that way, the second and last candidate work, I guess. Themba, what do you think?'

'I scored the last candidate the highest.' Themba replied, handing over his assessment sheets to Lovely. 'She seems intelligent and quite knowledgeable.'

After further discussions, they left the conference room and headed to their individual offices. Maguire trailed behind Themba and put his arm across his shoulder.

'I forgot to say we're looking for a pretty face as well,' he said with a cheeky smile. 'Candidate one had it all!'

Themba shook his head, giving Maguire a disapproving look as he went off on his own.

At his office, Themba opened his laptop to check for any new emails. He had ordered two fairly used vehicles for his personal car hire business and they were on the way into the country. As he skimmed through his inbox, he wondered if he could use Joe as the business manager.

Joe was Themba's former college roommate who was living with him. Back when Themba was broke and desperate, Joe used to support him financially. Currently, the man was job hunting without any luck. Themba's phone beeped, displaying a text message from his younger brother Khama, asking for his third upkeep allowance in a space of two months. Themba sent it without questioning his spending habits. He was the one who had told Khama to reach out to him for anything he needed. He'd give Khama a million, than to have him go to their father for anything.

Somewhere along the way, Themba's mind wandered. He thought back to the last time he saw Sarah. She had changed. Her hair was still short but it was missing its signature curl and glow. She had lost weight and her clothes were plain. He hoped Lovely would give her the job. From the looks of it, she desperately needed one. Now that he thought about it, he had met Sarah's father at Highway Bank's cocktail about a month ago. Her father had set up the bank with two other partners. It just didn't make sense. All that aside, more importantly, was Bongani still in her life? He doubted that was possible. Despite people's opinions about Bongani and Sarah's relationship, Themba had never believed Bongani was serious about her. Not as serious as he was- or would have been had he been given the chance.

Themba blinked, coming back to reality. He refreshed his email page. He then dialed Khama's number. 'Hey, I sent the money. Did you receive it?' He asked Khama over the phone. Khama responded with a simple "yes" and "thank you". 'You know, it's good to confirm when you do, ok? Sometimes the bank deducts stuff without it going to the sender.'

He cut the line and pinched the bridge of his nose. His mother came to mind. Specifically, her angry face telling him, repeatedly, if Khama did not account for the money he was previously sent, Themba should not send anymore. Usually, Themba brushed her off. It was not Khama's spending he had a problem with, it was his complete lack of appreciation for the money given. A call to say thank you- a text at the very least- was enough.

Annoyed, Themba diverted his attention to checking Sarah's page on Facebook. The same picture he had looked at while he was in Ireland on his Master's Scholarship. She was at the beach, the picture perfectly shot of her in the middle of a jump. He studied her face, her smile. He could almost hear her infectious laugh.

He sighed and put his phone down. He had already lost half of his day to the interview. He had to catch up on his work. Save research on Sarah for later on. If life had happened to her, he had to find out why and, possibly, help her turn things around.