The Golden Girl

14. Left No Crumbs

Malika heard a tinkling from the front end of the store, indicating the little bell moving as it did every time someone entered through the main gate. She heard muffled voices and then footsteps along the thick carpet. She looked up just in time to see Farrah entering the storage room.

"Hi," the girl greeted with a coy smile.

"Hey," Malika responded, surprise springing to her eyes.

Malika had very little communication with her friends, or anyone for that matter, since she had lost her cell phone privileges. She was only allowed the occasional visits from Dahlia and Layla until Neela could trust her again. Surprisingly, Malika enjoyed the break she got from social media. It allowed her to contemplate if the sky was actually blue, and made her realize she had more free time than she thought.

"So, what brings you here?" she asked, eyes landing on Farrah again, voicing the obvious thought that rose to her mind.

Malika hadn't spoken to Farrah at all since their fall out. They only awkwardly locked gazes in the few classes they shared.

"Well, I just wanted to see how you were doing," she responded. "I heard about Imran's expulsion."

"Oh."

"Yeah," she paused. "Let me get closer to you so we can both stop shouting." Farrah chuckled, eyes roaming over the piles of stacked clothes.

"There's a narrow pathway just beside the embroidered skirts. You see it?" The storage room resembled a thrift shop these days rather than her mother's high-end boutique.

"So what have you been up to?" Farrah asked, stepping over the several stacks of packets to get to the tiny clearing Malika was sitting in.

"You know, I've just been helping mom out with the new store," Malika said. "I have also picked up a new hobby - baking."

"Nice, you have to make me something sometime," Farrah said as she finally reached her friend. She took off her backpack, placed it on the floor and landed herself beside it. Her eyes took in the books and notes spread around her.

"How far along are you with your revisions?" Her gaze turned serious as she asked.

Malika shrugged. "Just started."

Farrah looked mortified. "Lia!"

The look in Malika's honey-colored eyes turned flat as she met the girl's gaze again. "Well, it's not like you were here to keep me on top of things."

Farrah's face fell. She swallowed and looked down, playing with her fingers on her lap. "Malika, I'm so, so sorry," she said at last. "I left you when you needed me the most. I wasn't a good friend at all."

"That's an understatement if I've ever heard one," Malika retorted.

The guilt in Farrah's eyes intensified.

"You're right," Farrah shook her head. "I was a horrible friend."

"You know what sucked the most?" Malika spoke up after a while. "If there's one person who I expected would ask for my side of the story, it was you," she said, voice turning accusatory. "You didn't even bother. Worse, you jumped to the worst possible conclusion just like everyone else."

"I know," Farrah said, closing her eyes momentarily.

"I know I'm not the most responsible person around, but I expected at least you, my friend, to be on my side. If it were you in my shoes, God forbid, you know I would have had your back. Unwaveringly."

"I-I just didn't know how to handle the situation and I ended up reacting in the worst possible way. I thought of reaching out to you several times. I know I should have. But I-," she paused. "I was such an idiot." Farrah ended with a sigh.