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“ I hate fucking Fridays!” Jason spits out to Thami as he lights up a cigarette.

Thami doesn’t lift his gaze off the floor, “Why? We make triple than what we do during the week.” He tells him calmly.

“Ja but during the week we don’t have to deal with as many drunk assholes! Especially those poppies that we’re not allowed to ask for I.D, look at them their fifteen. This is fucked.”

“You’re taking everything too personally. You’re not trying to get their money are you, so pay them no mind. Just get those pathetic fucks they’re here with drunk, stroke their ego’s and put your fingers in their wallet.” Jason opens his mouth but Thami cuts him off. “Don’t try talk about the morality of the situation of serving alcohol to minors and all that other kak, cause then you should just quit. Or go try give Leonard kak about his policy. But you’ll do neither cause you want the money. I’ve got a table.” He leaves Jason smoking in the corner of the courtyard.

Jason watches him serve a large man dressed in a khaki shirt, blue jeans and brown shoes. The man doesn’t look at Thami as he orders. Thami then says something and the man lights up. His thick white moustache unveils yellowing teeth. Thami says something and the man begins to laugh. Jason watches as a lady wearing a bedazzled denim jacket and a pink crop top underneath take a seat at the table. She gives Thami a look over and proceeds to look at her menu. As she casts her eyes down her blue eye shadow and bright pink lipstick give her a comical look. The large man then taps her arm and points to Thami using his thumb. When she brings up her head to look at Thami, the enormous gold earrings exceed colour and become a glaze. When she finally decides to smile the yellow of her teeth add to the colour display. As the witness to all of this he decides that the woman who is on the verge of being an optical illusion is too much for him to watch. He concentrates on Thami. The smile with which he addresses the people is not genuine but is enough for them to want to return it. Even the look he gives them seems patronising but they laugh and engage with him as if they were trying to impress him. A remarkable feat considering moments before they barely felt the need to acknowledge his presence. Thami makes his way back to their corner having wiped off the fake smile.

“ I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile.”

“There’s little to smile about.” Thami returns.

“Okay, so how do you do it?” “Like I said, play into their hands. Impress the one you need to impress. That’s hospitality.”

“How come you don’t have a problem with all of this? Aren’t you always going on about how much you think that capitalism is such an immoral system and how it keeps the poor people poor. You’re always on about how much white people still control the economy and still treat black people like shit and yet here you are.”

“What’s your point?”

“You don’t have to be here taking this shit. You don’t even have to be working. You didn’t even say anything about the fucked up situation of us selling liquor to minors! What if those kids went to our school?”

“You can’t be deep all the time.” Thami returns.

“And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“It means exactly that. There’s a time to be practical and a time to be philosophical. The trick is about finding the balance.”

“Whatever.”

Jason walks off. So exasperated by the interaction with Thami that by the time he reaches the table he went to check up on his frown clearly gives away his fake smile. Thami feels his phone vibrate and takes it out. He pulls it out and checks the message. “Pessimist.” He smiles and is off to check on his other tables.