The Second Path

Chapter 30

"I hate both of you." I mumbled in annoyance and tried removing my hand from Hamid but he still held it while smiling cheekily at me.

"Mariam Mariam." He teased while pinching my cheek, "Don't be angry."

I just looked away and mumbled insults at him. He still kept pinching my cheek and tried to cheer me up but I just pretend to be annoyed. But soon enough, I fell for it and just chuckled. He was my boyfriend afterwards and could do anything to brighten up my mood. And that was how he has been this past week since we officially started dating.

"So it's true?" Junior junior scoffed while staring at us.

"Mariam please tell him that we're dating." Hamid groaned. "He didn't want to believe me until you told him yourself."

I looked at both of them, "So that's why you brought me all the way here?"

"You came after all, didn't you?" Junior junior pouted and asked, "So is it true or not?"

Hamid and I glanced at each other before I simply nodded. Junior Junior stared at us for a while before he started laughing. I wonder what was funny.

"In my maths class, we call this improper fraction." He chuckled while turning his attention to his cards.

I scowled at him and wanted to give him a knock on the head but Hamid gently pulled my hand away and whispered, "Just leave him. We know he is talking about his brain."

"It better be." I mumbled and turned away.

He chuckled and pecked the back of my hand before he looked at what I was holding on that hand.

"What is this?" He asked while taking the cross-shaped palm leaflet from my hand.

"It's palm for today's church celebration."

"I don't understand this your church." Junior junior said, "The last time it was charcoal they put on your foreheads."

"It's ash not charcoal." I argued.

Junior junior's stomach growled immediately and he held it and complained, "Abdul let's hurry up. I'm hungry."

Hamid quickly returned the palm and turned back to their game. They put their whole attention to the WHOT card game, completely pretending like I was not there. I sighed and just glanced at the palm leaflet on my hand before peeping at the game from behind Hamid.

"So, who's winning?" I asked.

"Last card!" Junior junior exclaimed while holding up his last card, completely ignoring my question.

Hamid was so focused on which card to drop from the four cards in his hand. It was either he dropped a card with number 2 or a card with circle shape, since the last card junior junior dropped was a number 2 with circle.

"You're buying me lunch today. You're buying me lunch today." Junior junior sang in excitement, distracting Hamid more.

"Shh. I'm trying to focus."

I stretched my head to see Hamid's set of cards. One had a circle with number 4 on it, the other had a triangle with number 2 on it.