Confessions of a Muslim Girl

Chapter 3 - The Forbidden Word: Zakariya (No, Not the Prophet)

Salam everybody! Ok, only three people have actually liked this story and left comments on it but let's be optimistic. <----- My alter ego...Remember it from Chapter 1?

So anyway, this chapter has a big twist in the story...I bet you thought Noha and Maysa's lives were all about shopping and rainbows, huh? I THINK NOT! Anyway, enough blabberings...ENJOY!

"A brother is a friend given by Nature" -- Unknown

Chapter 3

The Forbidden Word: Zakariya (No, Not the Prophet)

☻ Noha Ali ☻

Exhausted, I jump onto my bed. I feel a sudden whoosh of air and then I am face-to-face with my bedcovers. Shopping is so tiring. After leaving Adriana, Gwen, and Josh the Jerk, Maysa and I hit five more stores in an attempt to find some appropriate back-to-school clothes. That proved to be a little difficult because all of the latest summer fashions consist of plunging necklines and tight tops that insist on displaying my bra size for the whole world to see. Call me crazy, but I would rather keep that information to myself.

I relish the way my aching legs instantly feel better when I lie down on my bed. I am surrounded by peaceful silence – a rare occurrence at my house. Peace and quiet are foreign concepts in my family; with three siblings, silence is almost impossible.

My door opens and Maysa, who has come home with me, enters carrying some snacks. I get up, my aching legs protesting with every step I take towards her. I grab two of the medium-sized bowls and Maysa looks grateful. She now has her hands free to carry the two ice-cold cans of pink lemonade that she somehow had been balancing on her arms the whole time, in addition to a plate of cookies.

We put the food down on my rug, and take our places on two beanbags. Maysa surveys the snacks that she has brought up, frowning in concentration. “What’s wrong?” I question.

“I have a feeling that I forgot something.” Maysa replies. I look around. My eyes widen when I remember. I throw a cushion at her. She looks up, clearly surprised.

“You jerk! You forgot the chocolate!” Maysa springs up.

“That’s it! That’s what I’ve been forgetting.” I get up.

“Stay here…I’ll get the chocolate. It’s bad enough that I made you come up here with all of this.” I say as I gesture towards the array of snacks.

As I walk out of the room, Maysa yells, “Don’t forget the dark chocolate, Noha!” I shake my head. Chocolate is something Maysa and I both love, though we can never agree which is better – milk or dark.

I love milk chocolate, while Maysa prefers a more bittersweet taste. She always has and I suspect she always will. Some things never change.

Downstairs, I open the fridge to grab the two kinds of chocolate. My brother Adam enters the kitchen as I close the refrigerator door. He’s in his soccer uniform and sweaty from practicing outside for hours. I swear I can smell his sweat from were I stand twenty feet away.

“Bro, you definitely need a shower,” I say. And it’s true…he really does.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever Noh. Hey, is that chocolate?” Adam nods at the contents in my hand. I look down at the bar of milk chocolate, heaven wrapped in silver foil and a purple Cadbury wrapper.

“Yeah, it is. And before you ask, no you can’t have any,” I tease.

“Aw, come on Noh!” Adam pouts like my little five-year-old brother, Dawud does. Mature much? Adam is seventeen.