Side Attractions

1

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It was yet another afternoon when I received a phone call from my best friend Amina.

I heaved out a strained sigh and tried to compose myself before answering the call.

"Hello?" I spoke, ready for the outburst I was about to receive. I'd done something very unforgiving to Amina, which I knew she'd be very upset about. If there's one thing I'd come to  know about my best friend over the past few years, then it was that you should never make her upset and run like a coward.

And I did the latter.

"Oh!, don't you hello me Layla Khalil" she hissed from the other end.

Ouch! Her anger had escalated to the full name calling stage. According to Amina's book of emotions (Author; me) her anger had three stages.

Stage 1; the glare stage. This was where one of her infamous death glares comes to life. I mean, if looks could kill, her glare would kill you, bury you, and kill you again in the underworld.

Stage two; the stage of ignorance. Let's just say in this stage you don't exist to her. To her, you're just some invisible see through ghost.

And last but never the least, the full name stage. In this vicious stage, she throws all curtsies into the bin and pronounces your full name with such force that you'd think she named you in your naming ceremony.

And I, Layla Khalil, have no idea how I found myself in the third stage situation without passing through the first two.

I gulped and tightened my hold on the phone. I knew I was in serious trouble for ditching her in school

"Uh..Aminaaaa" I drawled out nervously "what a pleasant surprise. You see, I was actually just thinking about you-"

"Thinking about me?" She scoffed disbelievingly " you left me under a tree for three freaking hours"

Come to think of it, maybe I deserve the third stage.

Her tone made me squirm uncomfortably in the hammock. "What type of tree?" I stupidly ask, and I could hear her sigh from the other end.

"A mango tree" she answered "you made me walk home, and now in sweating, I stink like jameel coming back from the gym, my hair is all sticky-"

"Then go take a shower" I insisted " I still don't see what I've done wrong here. I mean, you still haven't told me what my crime is, you should be thanking me, I made you burn all that stomach fat"

If there's one way to get yourself out of Amina's anger, then its to act stupid. Pretend you don't even know what the hell is going on.

"What?" I could hear her scoff " but...you-"

"It seems like you have nothing else to say, I guess its goodbye then" I said with a smirk and without another word from her I ended the call

Whew! That was a close one.
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I hopped off the hammock in a swift move as I saw dad approaching me. His hair had started to fall out and that made the whole situation feel more real

Dad had been diagnosed with cancer, very sad, I know. But we've grown accustomed to his absence in most of the family activities.

Ever since the news came out, dad stopped living for a purpose. He retired and handed over khaleel enterprise to big brother Sufyan. He stopped going for daily jogs around the neighborhood and most importantly he stopped smiling. And so, seeing him outside was enough reason to justify my shock.

"Dad?" I engulfed him in a frail hug "what are you doing here? What do you need. You should've told jaafar to get you what you needed. You don't need to stress your-"

"I'm fine, I'm fine" he waved his hands dismissively.

"Then why are you here?" I queried hesitantly. His demeanor was calm and that made a wave of relief wash through me for a second, but then, he scrunched his eyebrows and my body became stiff again .

"Can we go for a walk?" He asked " you know, you, me, a friendly walk to Oakland park "

I raised my eyebrows at him in amusement "why do I feel like you're asking me in a date?"

"Because I still got my charm from the good old days" he stroked his balding head.

"Sure" I rolled my eyes " how about I call the others and we go together?"

"No!" He all but shouted and once again my body became turgid "I mean, there's no need to call the others I just wanna spend time with my favorite daughter"

"Your only daughter" I corrected

"So shall we?" He linked his elbow with mine and we began walking to the park in a steady pace. We talked about how our lives had been after the news and we reminisced about old memories. Its good to say that dad had finally come out of his shell.
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"
We reached the park in about no time, and what I saw left me in a confused state. My family members were there, all gathered round a table filled with different cuisines, paper plates, plastic spoons and forks and red solo cups.

"What's happening dad?" I turned to the man beside me and he just smiled. My heart melted there and then because of his smile. It was the first time I'd seen him smile in a while.

"Layla Khalil" a voice said behind me, making me snap my head to the direction of the speaker.

In front of me was a man, clad in a crisp black suit. His hand was caressed with a very expensive looking watch, his shoes were polished to the brim and he himself looked like Adonis . I tilted my head to the side, trying to analyze the situation I was in.

Why were my family members here?

And who's the guy in front of me

I didn't notice that his left hand was behind him until he brought it out, revealing a black velvety box .

Before I knew what was happening, he got on his knees and began saying " For the first time I laid my eyes on you, I knew you were the one for me. Some people say its just a crush, but I like to call it love at first sight. Layla Khalil, with the consent of your dad and in the present of our family members, would you do me the honour of marrying me?"

I stared at him in shock, everyone was silent, waiting for my response.

And the only thing I could come up with was: "who the heck are you?"

Ugggh!!

Wattpad deleted this chapter so I had to rewrite it again!!!!