Unanticipated Turn

EIGHTEEN

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"No way!" Aurora laughed loudly, pointing her finger at Meenah."When was the last time you wore your glasses? You may be a nerd, Ameenah, but you never looked the part until now. What is the deal?"

Meenah ignored him, placing her books in her locker.

Meenah glanced at the mirror in her locker, admiring the rectangular frames. She didn't use them for months, because she was using contacts. And as Aurora had so elegantly pointed out, she looked so proper today.

"I applied for Harvard," Meenah murmured lamely. Whoa, she could definitely hear the thrill in her voice."And I'm going out with Fariq for a date."

Aurora stood there, grinning like the idiot she was and then frowned.

"Harvard did not exist in your vocabulary." The brown hair girl sagged against the locker near hers."What happened, Ameenah?" The girl said in all seriousness, her hilarity gone."You were looking forward to OU. Did your father threaten you?" She asked darkly, quietly.

"No, Aurora, I just grew up." Meenah turned to look at her critically."I figured I could do my artwork during my free time when I'm studying to become a doctor. And OU is too far from home."

That was a complete lie. She was doing most of this for her brother. The other half of her conscious was doing it because her father was breathing down her neck even more since he was unemployed. She didn't want to fight anymore. And quite frankly, she felt guilty over her father's job loss. After all, she was the reason Muneer had arranged his termination. She hadn't done enough to convince Fawaz that her father hadn't done it.

"Really?" Aurora asked suspiciously."Did you cancel your application with OU yet?" At her silence, she grinned."I knew it. You still want to go there, don't you?"

Meenah did. But the more she thought about it, the more she believed it was a juvenile dream.

Running and art.

Still, she couldn't bring herself to inform OU of her decision. Not yet."Alright, so I do still want to go," Meenah confessed, offering him an unimpressed look."But my father wants me to go to Harvard. He's inflexible about the school I'm attending. He said he'd deal with me if I ever went to OU."

"So what? Let him disown you if he like. I'm sure your mother wouldn't let him carry out that threat." Aurora paused, reaching over to touch the frame of her glasses."So, we got Harvard covered. Now tell me are you really going out with Fariq. I didn't know you liked him that way."

Meenah considered what her reaction would be if she told her she was only going out with Fariq because Fawaz was interested in her. But then Meenah tried to persuade herself that she's really in love with Fariq."I…just as a friend."

Aurora snorted."Yeah, just as a friend."

Meenah winced at that."Yeah, as a friend." She closed her locker, glancing at Aurora's doubtful face."Ok, not as a friend," she gave in lamely. Turning away from her, she stared at Fariq who was waiting for her down the hallway with Jason.

"Alright, so let me get this straight. You are going to Harvard because your father will deal with you, yet you still want to go to OU. And you're dressed like this to impress Fariq. I still don't understand why you're doing that. You know you don't have to dress up to impress him." Aurora's hand landed on het shoulder stopping her."Meenah, is this what you really want to do?"