I heard people in the driveway and ran to the entrance whilst Ngoc and someone else helped themselves to some snacks in the kitchen. I hollered at them but they couldn’t hear over their crunchings and munchings. I stood at the doorway and heard someone refer to Mr. Nguyen. Mrs. Nguyen and a couple of her colleagues entered the front door. To my surprise and relief, they weren’t alarmed but rather expecting us. We were part of some exchange program.
We hung out a bit. There was a commercial on TV with a girl swimming in a lake and a large crocodile. Probably for bottled water or lotion or something. But I asked our hostess if their were crocodiles in South Africa. I have a strong fear of them in my dreams. She didn’t answer. One of Mrs. Nguyen’s assistants said that Ngoc could get a bit part on a South African hospital drama but she declined when she found out she wouldn’t be able to choose her own scrubs. They told me she would be spending the night at “12” and that I would be staying at the Nguyen’s. I told them I’d prefer to remain close to Ngoc. Their expressions reflected that this would somehow be a problem.
Mrs. Nguyen’s colleague and I got in his car and headed for Cape Town. I saw a lion on the hillside. They stopped the car and he sauntered down. I was informed that my co-worker Dave Cowperthwaite had grown quite fond of the lion during his stay. The lion lay down lazily. We drove on. In the city I was intimidated by the size and degree of urbanization. I always get kind of freaked out in new cities. I heard a gun pop in the distance. We went to a large warehouse. When the elevator doors opened there was an Asian guy who looked like he was nodding off and having a bad dream. I got nervous and took a hundred dollar bill out of my ratty wallet, folded it and stuck it into my underpants for safekeeping. A couple of hard looking guys waited for the elevator. One wore an army surplus jacket and a knitted hat. We got on the elevator and it ascended and then rotated, dropping us off on a balcony. My host told me that they had made a lot of advances in elevator technology in South Africa that hadn’t spread to the rest of the world yet. Back out in the sunlight heard more gun shots. I asked if we were safe.
Current Mood: 
hungry
Eric Brightwell 