Light Upon Light

#43 The Coffee Table Conference

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
Hello beautiful people. I'm back with an update. I hope you guys will enjoy this ;)

#43 The Coffee Table Conference

'Juni, you don't have to be afraid of Samar,' Di said. She has been trying to get me to leave my room ever since I got back from school. So far her reasoning has been unsuccessful.

And fear. Puh-lease.

Looking up from my laptop, I rolled my eyes at Di. She was seated at the foot of my bed near my outstretched legs. I had the laptop perched on a pillow on my lap. After getting freshened up, I've been scrolling through my Facebook feed. My chats and notifications were blowing up, but I didn't respond to anything. Neither did Zaid. Or Samar.

The only chat I had open was a group conversation with the girls and Haseeb. We were trying to figure out who took the picture and what to do about the mess. Putting my laptop aside, I crawled over to Di and held her face in my hands.

'I don't know what makes you think I'm afraid of Samar, Di. The idea is just ridiculous!' I said, looking straight into her eyes.

'Then why are you staying cooped up in here?'

Sitting up straighter I said, 'Because we both know that once Samar sees me all hell will break loose. And I'm not sure I'll be able to keep myself in check if he starts throwing his assumptions at me.'

I spoke with full sincerity. That was the sole reason for my staying hidden. The atmosphere at Ashiana is one of joy and love and I did not want a nasty fight between Samar and me to ruin that. Especially since Zaid was involved and Dad and Chachu were planning to go to Baithun Noor with Bhai tomorrow. The latter was over the moon with happiness when he heard the news and I refuse to put a damper on that.

'You're right,' Di sighed. 'But we've got to solve this. Everyone is distracted by Shoaib now, but they'll spot your absence soon enough.'

She had a point. I smothered my face with both hands, overwhelmed by all the problems that cropped up in my life because one girl had nothing else to do in her life.

'I don't understand all the drama though. If I were even a little bit like the girl I was back in Dubai, all of this would be justified. I was despicable in that way. Here, I've done nothing but maybe stand up to Azhar a bit initially, before I went ballistic on him... and she's just playing the same old tune that Azhar did. It just doesn't make sense…'

Di listened patiently as I rambled on and on. I had started pacing again. The pacing and rambling and bursts of temper and frustration would have gone on if Di hadn't put a stop to it. She held me by my shoulders and shushed me.

'Calm down.'

'But Di-'

'Relax. We will talk to Samar. And Zaid. We will sort this mess out.' Di spoke in an even tone, her gaze never wavering.

'I just feel like we're going in circles. Does it really seem like I'm into Zaid?' I raised the one question that I've wanting to ask since returning home.

It was a pain to hold Di's gaze with nothing but curiosity and not give in to the urge to look down. That I even asked the question without blushing or stammering was a feat I couldn't believe I managed.

As the silence prolonged, I felt like my worst fears were confirmed. Maybe it was painfully obvious that I was drawn to Zaid. I couldn't help it as my eyes shifted from the depths of Di's chocolate brown ones and focused on the patterns on the rug.

'No. Well… I don't think so. I know you've had a ... history with boys and whatnot. But I also know that you've changed. And even if you do happen to have feelings, you've never expressed them anyway. So you're not in the wrong… not this time.'