Once Upon A Muslim

Chapter 17 | I Like Him

After my shopping trip, I knock out for a couple of hours. When I wake up, it's half an hour after Maghrib, so I put on wudhu and pray. I missed dinner, since it's usually after Maghrib. Ruwayda must be washing the dishes all by herself. Feeling guilty, I hastily walk downstairs to help her. When I enter the kitchen, nobody is there. I check the dining room. Nope, no one there either. I don't bother to go on a goose chase to find anyone in this house, since I'm hungry. I find bread rolls, chicken soup, and rice set on the breakfast table. So, I put some food on a plate and grab a glass. I pour juice in it, and as soon as I turn around, I drop the glass, which shatters on the floor.

"Can't you see where you're going?" I look up to see Ali looking at me with cold eyes. They're pretty intimidating since he's taller than me by a few inches, which sucks since I'm three or four years older than him. "What are you looking at?" he snaps irritably. He shoves past me to retrieve something from the fridge.

I take a deep breath. I set the gallon of juice down on the table and grab a rag and a broom. I clean up the mess while Ali just stares at me as if I'm on display at a museum. I never said that living here--temporarily--will be easy. I don't get why he's so rude to me. I haven't done a thing to him, yet he's acting like I've killed his pet hamster or something.

After I'm done, I return the broom and rag. Since my dinner got cold, I put it in the microwave. After a minute, it beeps, indicating that the food is ready. I seize my food and set it on the dining table. I pour myself another glass of juice. To my dismay, Ali is still here.

We don't speak to each other, which is fine by me. I return the juice in the fridge and take my glass to the dining room. I sit down and before I can even touch my food, Harun appears next to me. "Zahra called earlier when you were sleeping."

"Okay," I say quietly.

"What's wrong?" he asks, taking a seat two chairs away. At least he's keeping his distance.

"Nothing." The tone in my voice tells him that I don't want to elaborate, but of course, being the concerned, protective guy he is, he urges me to tell him. "Your brother's what's wrong."

"Ali?" he inquires with a raised eyebrow. "What happened?"

I tell him what happened just minutes earlier, and I see his shoulders tense. "He's been giving me the cold shoulder ever since I came. I haven't done anything to him and suddenly, he's acting like an  egoistic jerk. I don't know if I should stay here any longer." I glance at the kitchen, wondering if he's still there. Who knows what will happen to me if he heard me right now.

He shakes his head. "No, you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like."

"I don't feel welcome at all when he's around," I respond, breaking a chunk of my bread off.

He sighs. "I'll talk to him, okay? He's not really open with his feelings, but I'll try to see what's up. I won't allow him to disrespect you." Although I'm not really assured, I nod so Harun will stop being overwhelmingly concerned.

"Remember the first day I came?" I ask him as I start to eat my bread. I think back to it. In some ways, it was okay, but in the other ways, it was horrible.Utterly horrible. He nods. "That girl I got into a... banter with. What's her problem? I'd like to know why she lashed out on me."

He looks at the table. "Well, it's kind of personal, but I think you should know." He clears his throat. "Anyways, she's kind of being avoided by her parents. Whenever she wants to talk to them, they are always on the phone, or on the laptop, or somehow an impromptu business meeting comes up. It's like they don't have time for their daughter. She used to be a good Muslimah... But she started acting like the opposite. She hopes that that will get her parents' attention, but so far, it's not working out for her. She's just wrecking herself.