Forbidden Romance

Chapter One: First Sight

        The time has finally come. After years of waiting, I, Mariam Ahmed, am going to begin college.

I woke up from my satisfying sleep and sprinted towards the bathroom to get cleaned up. I then began to put on the outfit my mother had prepared for me.

A black long skirt, brown leather jacket, shiny black boots, and a white hijab (Headscarf). She loves complimenting my bright green eyes. She would always mention white matches my beautiful green eyes, and I would smile, feeling delighted.

I ran down stairs to see what my mom had prepared for breakfast.

I could smell the turkey sausages being cooked and hear the eggs being tossed. "Hurry up and eat or you're going to be late for your first day," my mother aforesaid.

"Okay mom, don't worry. Thanks for the breakfast by the way," I replied.

After I finished eating, I grabbed my bag and headed towards the door.

I took a breath of fresh air and asked myself, "How lucky am I?"

I am the first Yemeni Muslim girl in my whole family to make it to college, many never even concluded high school.

I was very excited and nervous at the same time.

I had many rules I had to follow in order to be allowed to go to school.

Not only did I have school rules, but my family had rules of their own: I was not allowed to speak to men, unless it was my professor, I couldn't speak to anybody but my close friends, I am to walk down the hallway with my head down, not making any eye contact and last but not least, I am not to have a boyfriend.

The rules were pretty clear to me, as I am a Muslim and I'm used to these rules on a daily basis. I have never spoken to men other than my relatives.

It was the first day of school, and I've never been so ready in my life.

I drove off in my fathers dark grey 2008 Toyota Camry.

As I arrived to school, I saw my three bestfriends waiting for me.

Jasmine, Arwa, and Ahlam.

"Hey girl, finally, we've been waiting forever," the comedian of our group, Jasmine, said loudly.

I laughed as we all walked in.

There was a group of boys, staring.

I scanned them for a couple of seconds then looked down, remembering my rules.

Jasmine noticed me examining them, "Thats Zachary, Conner, and Jose. I met them at a party last year. "

"I don't care, can we just go to class? I asked.

"No wait, let me say hi to Jose, he's so cute,"

"Jasmin no, don't..."

"Hey guys, whats up?" Jasmine clearly ignored me as she walked up to them giving them hugs.

Arwa, Ahlam, and I just ignored.

"Hey girl, how you been?" Jose asked with a ghetto accent.

"Good, Good. Look, these are my friends, Arwa, Ahlam, and Mariam,"

"Hello there girls," all three boys greeted.

Ahlam and Arwa waved as I said nothing.

As I kept my head down, one of them approached me.

He was tall, pale, and had eyes as blue as the sky above. His brown shiny hair was blown by the wind as his smile defined his dimples.

"Hello there, my name is Zachary, Zachary Spencer. What's your name?"

I was terrified, not knowing if I should reply or not. I kept my head down and answered, "Mariam." I said in a soft voice.

"Mariam, nice name. You new here?" He asked as he squinted his eyes from the sun's bright rays.

"Yes, today is my first day," I said while looking him in the eye for about three solid seconds.

"Maybe I can show you around sometime, I know my first year here was awfully difficult,"

"Its okay, I have friends that will show me around. I have to go now, bye."

I quickly rushed out with my heart beating faster than it ever has.

Arwa followed me, "Whats wrong Mariam?"

"Nothing, I was just so afraid. That was my first time speaking to a man, and today is my first day here. If my dad knew, he'd pull me out of school immediately." I said as my hands were trembling.

"Its okay Mariam, don't overexaggerate, he will never know. And on the bright side, you did nothing wrong."

"I hope so, okay, lets get to class, wouldn't want to be late on my first day." I added.

We rushed to class, though we were five minutes early.

Jasmine and Ahlam entered class ten minutes after we got settled.

As everyone seated themselves, there was a slight knock on the door.

The teacher power walked towards the door to see who the late student was.

The breeze blew harder, the clock began ticking faster, pens clicked, the door slammed, and there he was.

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Next chapter: Reality
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