manal | achraf hakimi [COMPLETE]

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not edited
again, comments and votes are very much appreciated!
don't be a silent reader!

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12/12/2022
[819 words]

'what's going on with you?' the little girl with tight brown coils for hair nudged her friend, who continued to peer over the wall of the house.

her friend shushed her, telling her to watch for the oncoming car.

'iman! be serious or else i'm going home.' the other girl, iman, told her to speak quieter. they were on the second floor of the house, half climbing over the wall to look over to the clear view of the road that led to the detached house in the moroccan countryside. the nearest house, belonging to manal, was around 50 metres away.

'stop speaking loud or mama will hear and call us both down to help with tea for a lovely punishment!' that had manal shutting up instantly. iman's mother had told them several times to not look over the wall like this, or else they'll get hurt. which was true. there was a steep drop, and  there was little support from the wall that was not meant for climbing.

'so who's coming?' manal whispered to her friend. the pair were only 13, in the peak of their childhood.

'my auntie, the one who lives in spain! she's visiting after years!' iman excitedly told her friend. 'and she's bringing achraf! remember him?'

manal shook her head, not recalling the name that her friend had mentioned.

iman facepalmed as she struggled to keep her excitement in line.

'how could you forget? the one with the football? remember the football?'

the memory quickly came to her, as she remembered the last time this achraf had come to visit. he had brought a football with him and spoke with accented arabic. she remembered playing with him, the sand from the desert biome rising in the air as they kicked the football in between their houses along with the other children.

'the one that used to switch languages halfway through his sentence? yes i remember. he must be older now.' she rapidly whispered back in the moroccan dialect of arabic that was natural to them. she guessed he spoke more languages, given the way he would switch back and forth if he forgot a word in one of them. she remembered just staring back at him in black confusion.

'ye- oh they're here! mama! they're here!' iman cut herself off when she spotted the car that her auntie had hired to bring her to the small village they lived in.

manal was left there as her excited friend ran down the steps of the stairs to tell her mother the news. she dropped herself from the wall, cursing her friend's overly superfluous nature and quickly rushed to wear her slippers and join iman downstairs.

she reached just in time to hear imans mother scolding her for looking over the wall, when the gate opened to reveal the guests.

imans mother went to greet her sister while her son awkwardly stood by her, looking around as though he was out of place. iman's mother then turned to achraf, kissing him on the forehead while he kissed her hand saying salam alaikum. the obligatory 'how tall you've gotten' comment not forgotten as iman walked to greet her aunt as well.

manal was left wiping her sweaty hands on her dress, nervous at the appearance of new people.

'manal. come say hello.' she turned to her sister, 'this is the neighbours daughter, she's iman's friend. a little shy.' imans mother continued her description of the curly haired girl while the boy stood to the side watching on. iman was speaking to him catching him up on all that he missed while he was in spain. his eyes darted from between his cousin and her friend.

manal's fluidity kicked in as she acted on all the years of training that came with being an arab girl on how to properly greet a guest.

'mashallah mashallah what pretty friends you have iman.' achraf's mother commented as she kissed the girl on her forehead. iman proudly smiled and linked her hands with her friend.

'she's my best friend! she comes round a lot. and we're going to play football with achraf, right?' she indirectly asked her aunt, who wholeheartedly agreed as she made her way from the courtyard into the house.

'achraf? let's go. there's so many people to meet!' the girl forced her cousin to come as he reluctantly followed the two girls. manal turned around to find him already staring at her. she quickly turned around, and continued to hear their mutual friends rambling.

'let him rest dear, he'll go tomorrow.' her mother called out, knowing how eager and bossy her daughter could be.

'he'll be fine laila, let them go.' achraf's mother replied to her sister as the pair settled in to the house.

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wrote this allllll in one go. i'm sorry i'm in my achraf hakimi feels right now. please comment!!
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