Jaan

Part 3- Kitten

I raised my hand to warn the teacher that these gangsters had come again to bother Fazal but she ignored me and kept talking. Why is everyone turning a blind eye to them?

Fazal didn't say much about them. He just said that as much as I don't know, he doesn't either.

I hope they don't beat him again. Ya Allah, help him.

Once the class was over, Ayla and I made our way to the cafeteria. Suddenly, she appeared in front of me. Zahara.

She began pushing I took steps back, I felt so helpless.

"Who the hell do you think you are huh?!" she asked.

I eventually lost my balance and landed on the floor. Ayla bent down to me and asked me if I was okay, she wanted to push her back but I stopped her.

Honestly, I wanted to cry. What did I ever do to her?

"Let me remind you of your fu*king place, don't create more problems for us especially Aslan or else YOU WILL regret it" she warned.

Then, she turned on her heels and walked away.

I sighed as I got up fixing my clothes. I looked around at the other students. They were all pretending once again to have never seen anything but I'm sure I was the laughing stock of this entire school already.

Ayla and I took our usual spot and began eating. I couldn't stop thinking about Aslan. Will he come and get his lunch today from me or...?

Suddenly, one of his friends appeared and sat with us. We were both looking at him confused. What does he want?

"Hi! I'm Miran" he introduced himself.

We didn't say anything back. It's not like he didn't know who we were but what is he being nice for?

"I came to get the lunch for Aslan" he got to the point.

So that's why he's here?

I gave him the lunchbox.

"Thanks...listen you guys uh..." he looked at Ayla and then at me.

"I know my friends are mean and they look scary but I promise we are not the bad guys...that's just what everyone thinks," he said.

"Then, why did your friend push my friend just a while ago?" Ayla immediately asked him.

"She did that? Ugh...she's got anger issues that she needs to work on—I'll make sure it doesn't happen again but, she pushed you right?" he asked me.

I nodded yes.

"I'll tell you the trick to overcome this very easily...the only reason she takes advantage of you is because you show your weakness and you seem scared...the moment you don't let yourself down she won't be able to do anything," he said.

"And, why is that?" I asked curious.

"She has issues just like any of us for many reasons...it's not something I should tell but it's related to her past," he said.

"Don't be scared of her again, okay girls?" he said.

Ayla and I looked at each other, she didn't look sure.

"Sure," I said.

"Great, I'll give this to your boy...have a great lunch ladies," he said before taking his leave.

My...BOY?

"Did he just say your boy?" Ayla asked disgusted.

"It probably just came out like that...I'm sure he didn't mean it that way" I said.

Ya Allah! I hope I'm right.

***

Ayla and I were on our way to class when Zahara appeared in front of us again.

She took a step closer to me glaring at me.

She was about to push me once again when I took a step back not letting her get close to me.

I saw her expression change into a challenging one.

"How dare you," she said.

"I'm..." Don't show your weakness, I remembered.

"I'm not scared of you Zahara," I said with all my courage.

Ayla was standing right beside her hands on her hips. She started chuckling. I know she's proud of me right now.

"This must be a joke...so you wanna be tough now?" she asked.

"I-I don't know what I ever did to you but I swear I have nothing against you even if you bully me I'll forget about it at the end of the day but, I feel bad for you because I know you must be hurting," I said.

I could see her jaw clenching and her hands turning to fists.

"You—" she was about to lose it when her friends came.

Aslan grabbed her arm and made her look at her.

"We're being late for class," he said to her.

She glared at me one last time before leaving.

Ahmed followed her and Miran gave Ayla and me a quick thumbs up before joining his friends. Now, only Aslan was left staring at me for some reason.

"I need to have a word," he said to Ayla.

I gave her a look letting her know she can go. He took a step close to me.

"What's up kitten? Trying to act strong?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

Did he just CALL ME KITTEN?! Since when do I look like a cat?!

"I'm not—"

"What did I just hear? You'd forgive her even if she bullies you?...what does that mean?" he asked.

Why does he even care?

"I-I was just being honest," I looked away because he was staring into my soul.

"My mom said to me once...people that hurt others are suffering themselves inside...and that's why I don't hate people even if they hurt me" I explained.

He took another step closer to me almost closing the distance between us.

"Oh, really kitten.? Does that apply to everyone?" he asked.

"W-why do you care?" I asked.

He chuckled and then backed off.

"Nothing," he said before walking away.

This guy is scary.

***

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