Johannesburg - The hearts of Joburgers were warmed on Wednesday morning when they listened to a shy young man ask his crush to their matric dance.
Listeners heard 17-year-old Brandon Fourie serenade Christine Terblanche on 94.7 Highveld Stereo’s Breakfast Xpress show in an attempt to win her over.
“I’ve wanted to ask her since last year,” said Brandon.
“We’re good friends and we see each other every day at school. I also see her a lot when one of our friends has a braai.”
The Boksburg matriculant said the idea to get Breakfast Xpress host Darren “Whackhead” Simpson to help came from his mom.
“I asked my mom for advice on how to ask her out in a special way and she sort of joked that I should do it on Highveld Stereo, but I took it seriously.”
He then sat with both of his parents and they put together an email, asking Simpson to assist him in getting the girl.
“We called her on Tuesday night just as my mom put dinner on the table,” he said, laughing at the memory.
“Whackhead called me and at first I didn’t want to sing because I really cannot sing, but he gave me a speech that encouraged me.”
Brandon skittishly sang Little Things by One Direction, Christine’s favourite song by her favourite band.
“I was nervous like hell! Yo! I was even shaking. At some point while singing, I had to stop because I lost my breath.”
Although he knew the words to the song, he had them written down on a piece of paper just in case.
“I was so relieved that she said ‘yes’.”
Simpson said that he had prepared in case Christine had said “no”, but he had a good feeling.
“We do get a lot of emails, but there’s something about the way he wrote it. I could relate to him because I was also shy at some point,” he said.
Simpson said he could remember how nervous he was when he asked his matric dance date out.
“Just like him, I did it over the phone. It took me about three months to build up the courage,” said the radio host.
“Ladies, you have no idea what you put us through.”
Brandon has been all smiles since his date said “yes”, and said people around him had also reacted very positively.
“When I went to school, people laughed and congratulated me. I had a pink teddy bear to give to Christine. When I walked up to her, she was red. She couldn’t even speak, she was just red.”
The pair have since received many offers to make their matric dance a special night.
“Someone called and said they’d sponsor us with a chopper, and we’re starting dance lessons tomorrow.”
The Star