Money or the box
Normally the man with a plan, Ndumiso finds himself swimming with sharks this time.
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Ndumiso (Andile Sithole) loves that bakkie of his but his family just can’t seem to keep their paws off it! The kids crashed it in June 2017 and on Wednesday 29 August, creepy loanshark Sgaro (Macebo Twalo) comes knocking on Ndumiso’s door, threatening to take it away if Ndu doesn’t cough up the cash that he owes – and oh boy, is there a twisted story behind that visit. Ndumiso is shocked by this visitor’s demands, says Andile. “He is one of those guys who treasures his own things. He’s worked really hard to get a bakkie.” And when it turns out that it’s not just his bakkie at stake but also the roof over his child’s head, Ndumiso is willing to do anything and everything to come up with cash in a flash before the shark starts biting.
TRAPPED!
“Ndumiso is scared because Sgaro’s appearance shows that this guy is up to no good. Now he has to deal with him and that’s difficult for Ndumiso because he’s a soft guy,” says Andile. “When he agrees to settle the debt, he doesn’t have a plan. He doesn’t know where he is going to get this money. He’s trapped.” After setting up a deadline for payment with Sgaro on Friday 31 August, Ndu has no time for a getrich-quick scheme; he needs to convince people to give him money, fast.
THE HOMEBOYS
By the time Monday 3 September rolls round, Ndu has never been poorer. And in the course of flailing about looking for help on Tuesday 4 September, Ndu mentions his drama to his well-heeled “Homeboys” (Khayalihle Nala and Khayalemfundo Mthembu). “Ndumiso has to talk to these other guys that he knows. He doesn’t think that they are doing wrong things. But he finds out that they are dealing with illegal goods,” says Andile. And when they make him an amazing offer that could be the solution to his cash crisis, Ndumiso knows that he’ll have to walk on the shady side to take advantage of their offer – but he doesn’t see a way out. “He has to pay off all the people that he owes and then move on with his life. All the guys who are doing crime out there first start with a situation that forces them to do things that they don’t want to do. Ndumiso’s plan is just take the goods, sell them, make money and pay off the debts and then run away,” explains Andile.
SHARKBAIT
But that’s never how it goes, is it? Ndu’s job at Qs might put him in the perfect position for a little under-the- counter dealing. “You are exposed to a lot of people and where there’s alcohol, these things happen in those kinds of situations, in those kinds of places,” says the actor. But while he’s trying to attract customers, it’s all too easy for Ndumiso to also attract unwanted attention – and not just from the cops. On Thursday 6 September, the first little fish shows up looking to cash in on whatever it is that Ndumiso is doing, thanks to her ability to sense money the same way that a shark senses blood. But there is a bigger shape looming in the water on Friday 7 September…
DANGEROUS FRIENDS
“Ndumiso is scared because he knows that this guy knows everything and he is going to find out about the whole thing, the way that he is questioning Ndumiso,” says Andile. And once this guy sinks his teeth in, Ndumiso isn’t sure that he will ever be able to escape. “You are going to work for him again and again and again. He’s going to use you to do his wrongs and you won’t have a say or be able to escape,” he adds. But while ducking and dodging the big shark, Ndu will unwittingly set two crime factions against one another in a comedy of errors than no one could have predicted.