Trouble couple
New varsity student Eunice ignores her friends Kwaito and Glenda’s warnings about playboy Emkay.
Weekdays SABC1 (*191) 18:30
It’s registration week at Gauteng University and for first-year student Eunice (Oratile Maitisa), this is the perfect opportunity to reinvent herself from nerd to “it- girl”. And within days of arriving, she’s caught the eye of campus Casanova Emkay (Mlungisi Mathe) on Thursday 15 February. Eunice’s varsity experience is off to a good start, jokes Oratile. But that good start is a problem looking for a place. “Eunice’s strict parents have shielded her from everything, so having access to boys and partying is a big deal to her,” adds the actress. Although she’s intimidated and wary of popular Emkay, Eunice wants to get to know him better. “While they have mutual friends back in Turfloop, they’ve never clicked on their own.” When Eunice got to varsity, she recognised Emkay as her bestie Pretty’s (Lerato Marabe) crush, so she has a foot in the door. They start talking and it’s obvious that they’ve got chemistry. “This excites Eunice and she’s ready to step into the spotlight as someone’s girlfriend at last,” explains Oratile. But Emkay has a reputation and Eunice’s pals Kwaito (Clement Maosa) and Glenda (Nozipho Langa) want to protect her from having her heart broken.
RED FLAGS
Eunice is already head- over-heels for Emkay by Friday 16 February, hanging off every word he says. Her roommate Glenda sits her down for a chat that same day, telling Eunice that Emkay is bad news. “Eunice refuses to hear her friend’s words. She already likes Emkay and there is nothing that anyone can do or say to change her mind,” says Oratile. Glenda is strong-willed and isn’t going to stop bugging Eunice until she gets through to her. Glenda calls in the troops on Monday 19 February in the form of her boyfriend Kwaito, who was Eunice’s neighbour back in Turfloop. “Kwaito doesn’t have a clear plan here. He wants whatever is happening between Emkay and Eunice to stop. He has witnessed firsthand how Emkay plays around with girls and he doesn’t want Eunice to go through that,” explains Oratile. But even though she trusts Kwaito and knows that he wouldn’t mislead her, Eunice ignores his warning. In her mind, her good- girl tendencies will rub off on Emkay and prove her friends wrong about him.
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
The closest thing to romance that Eunice has had was a twoweek crush on Turfloop stud Nimrod (Buhle Maseko) in June 2017. She was hesitant to tell Nimrod how she felt and Pretty went for him instead. “Eunice learnt to act fast from that experience and to go after what her heart wants,” explains Oratile. Her character brushes off Kwaito and Glenda’s advice again on Tuesday 20 February by agreeing to date Emkay… but on condition that he doesn’t cheat on her. “He’s happy that she sees something in him,” says the actress. “Emkay thought that his chances to get Eunice would be ruined by everyone gossiping about him and ‘how he is’. Eunice has never been in a serious relationship before and she hopes that he’ll be honest and keep his word to not deceive her like everyone has been telling her he will.”
BLINDED BY LOVE
Eunice can’t contain her excitement on Monday 26 February about being an official girlfriend and she uses her social media accounts to declare her new relationship status. “This girl is on cloud nine and as smart as she is, Eunice forgets that her family stalk her online – having a boyfriend is something that her parents won’t approve of, especially one who is a ‘player’,” explains Oratile. Will Glenda and Kwaito have her side when she opens her eyes or will Eunice prove their concerns wrong?