Good Mourning
Ayanda is an 18 year-old high-school student from a middle class home in Joburg. Her father is absent and her mother might as well be because she is always busy climbing the corporate ladder. From the outside looking in, her life looks pretty normal, but deep inside, Ayanda is slowly self destructing. Chaotic is the perfect word to describe her last year of Highschool. She is bullied, argues with her mother constantly and has absolutely no interest in school The story plays out over 24hrs, on a scorching hot Friday. During maths, her teacher tells the class that Ayanda's mom has fully paid for their upcoming school trip to Cape Town. This particular piece of information triggers the wrath of Jelly, a hot tempered bully, who is made jealous because she is the only student whose parents have not paid the deposit for the trip. After class, Jelly and her ditsy sidekick Rose follow Ayanda to the bathroom and try to pick a fight with her. Ayanda's best friend Melo saves her by rushing into the bathroom and Knocking Jelly out, before grabbing Ayanda and running for dear life. Jelly is left seething, and promises to get her revenge. Melo and Ayanda run to the back of the school where its safe, hoping that Jelly does not come after them. It is here where we realize that there's a lot going on between the two friends. For one, Ayanda is dealing with a heavy emotional burden which has made her distance herself from Melo, and on the other hand, Melo has a secret she wishes to tell Ayanda, but cannot bring herself to letting it out. We later learn that Melo betrayed Ayanda by having sex with her boyfriend a year earlier. According to Rose, a young girl named Zee has a video of the act. This news catches Jelly's ear, who plans to get her hands on the video and post it on Twitter in order to get both Melo and Ayanda back for beating her up. Ayanda gets picked up from school by her mother Maria, and little sister Zaza. While parked at a fast food joint, Ayanda decides to run out of the car, leaving her mother distraught and panic stricken. The rush to find Ayanda begins. While her parents frantically try to find her, she aimlessly moves around Joburg with a young boy named Thabiso, who we eventually find out is a mere figment of her imagination. Will she be found safe and sound, or will she be eaten up by the the unforgiving streets of Joburg City?
