Asem deur Jan Vermeulen | Chapter 6 | English Summary

Asem deur Jan Vermeulen

Chapter 6 Summary

Having packed his various possessions into a trunk and several bags, Barries is taken to the bus station by his mother. He says his goodbyes and packs his heavy luggage into the bus, noting the fact that he had to pay extra for luggage. His seat is at the very back of the bus, but not the window seat – that was reserved for Sergeant Nico Schreuder, who is travelling with Barries to the Eastern Cape. He has a long conversation with her about her personal life, getting to know a little bit about her background, and he tells her a little bit about himself too. When she falls asleep, head on a pillow pressed against the window, Barries begins to notice her softer aspects, including an undone button that revealed something interesting to Barries’ hormone-charged teenage brain. When they eventually arrive in the Eastern Cape, they awaken to a bus of disembarking passengers.

 

Barries looks at the various faces waiting for their arriving individuals, scanning for his father, but to no avail. They unload their luggage and Barries buys them both a pastry and something to drink. They have a discussion about Captain Mfeka, Barries mentioning how hated he feels. Nico tells him that Mfeka cares the most because he had a son who messed up his own life with drugs, starting with marijuana and ending up in prison. Barries comments that people always blame the marijuana without ever interrogating the person using it and their reasons and life circumstances. Barries also makes it clear that his going to rehab with his father is instrumental in saving Theo. His eyes become irritated and he struggles to use the eye drops his mother gave him before he left, so Nico assists him and in that moment of close proximity, Barries examines her face lustfully and considers kissing her out of the blue. At that moment, a red beach buggy makes its entrance, with a faded Blue Bulls flag decorating the roof of the vehicle. A tall, tanned man steps out and asks one of the petrol attendants if they haven’t seen a snot-nosed brat from Gauteng. He then takes long confident strides towards them, stops and jokingly asks Barries if he’s “Barras Barnard”.

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SummariesKeroshan PillayAsem, EnglishComment