Our Bizarre Life

Chapter 13: Nura

REMINDER: PLEASE PRAY BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT TO READ THIS CHAPTER because there is nothing more important than your time with Allah!

Chapter 13: Nura

The first day of university had arrived. The smell of new books and new stationary got me excited, while the sight of the university made me sick. Harun and I ended up having our first class at the same time so we ended up leaving the house at the same time. We got the same buses and got into the same subway. I didn't really mind of course. But the others surrounding him did. Harun's glares were no joke, and I'm sure neither were his thoughts. More than half the time I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"You're doing it again," I muttered, trying not to move my mouth. He looked at me, confused. Ever since coming up with that condition of not associating with each other at school, I figured I would have a pretty easy life without Harun constantly invading my privacy every second of my life. But it seemed to me that I was terribly wrong. Instead of Harun even bothering with me, I was too worried, thinking about whether his glare was enough to put him in jail or whether he would end up fighting someone today. It was worrisome indeed.

My eyes began wandering as I took in every bit of my surrounding - something I've never done before (only because my head was always stuck in the clouds). A woman sitting across from us was reading a book. The man next to her was also reading (her book). A child to my left was figuring out where to wipe his sticky candy-covered hands (on his mom's white polyester coat or one of the subway poles). And then there was an eerie-looking woman, staring daggers at Harun and I. Harun and I were sitting down together. When I looked over at him, he was already resting his head on my shoulder. Inwardly, I gasped.

When the hell did that happen?!

Outwardly, I attempted to shrug his head off my shoulder. But in the end, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. He seemed like he hadn't been getting proper sleep for the past few days. So I had to let it slide this time.

When I looked back at the eerie-looking lady because I felt her stare, she started talking. Oh wow... It's my first day on a subway, and it looks like I'll be receiving my first "educational" undergraduate lecture right here, in this subway. I braced myself for the heavy words she thought she was speaking (but honestly, I was just going to filter everything out of my brain anyway).

"You know, you young couples these days think it's okay to display your affections in public. But it just isn't right!" She started saying. I stared at her directly and realized... It was Harun and I she was talking to...

Wait a moment... "Public displays of affection...?" I asked no one in particular, quietly. When I looked over at Harun, his right hand was around my two hands that were sitting in my lap. My face paled.

This time... I was paying way too much attention to my surroundings to notice any of Harun's actions. This little...

"Have a little more shame." She said, surprisingly choosing not to say anything more after that. I couldn't say anything to that. I wasn't really ashamed. I was just angry. Plain angry... I couldn't even sort out my thoughts to figure out what part of this situation made me angry. But after looking over at Harun, and seeing him in deep sleep, my anger only worsened.

What part of this situation looked affectionate?! He was just tired, so he slept on my shoulder! Is that so wrong?!

Well... that's what I would have said if it weren't going to ruin Harun's chance of sleeping. He was already always so tired from work. I would have to be a real demon if I didn't consider how much effort he put into making money. 

After getting off the bus at our stop, I stomped off in rage. Harun followed me, asking what made me so angry. When I turned to him, he waited for me to answer him.

"Harun..." I said slowly and quietly so that other people walking by would not be able to hear us, "No touching." He stared at me confused and nodded slowly.

Before I knew it, I was sitting in my first lecture, trying not to despair what was to come. "Okay, let's start with introductions, shall we?" I was sitting in my first ever class, and I was already dreading it. Introductions? Do we have to do that in university as well? The size of the class was surprisingly small with only around 50 students, compared to the other classes I passed by before I arrived to class. Since it was only our first class, nothing was taught and only the course outline was discussed in detail. Well, even though the first half of class was a waste of time with all those introductions, at least the last half was a little productive.

Because I was lost in thought, I hadn't even realized there was a girl standing in front of me as I was packing my bag. It was only when she waved at me and said 'excuse me' did I realize she was trying to get my attention. When I looked up, I saw a girl with long light brown wavy hair, brown eyes and pale skin. She smiled. "I was just wondering if you wanted to be in our group for our final group project for this class," she finished.

Right... group work. Yippee...

"Uh, sure." I said, hesitantly. I usually scout for responsible people before I end up joining groups, but I'll just leave it to luck and pray to Allah that I have a capable group. After we exchanged our contact info, I was introduced to the four other group members.

As I left the class, already exhausted from the socializing, I felt heavy all of a sudden. Was this discomfort? As I looked around at my surroundings, I found someone very familiar staring at me with their jaws dropped.

Oh no.

She approached me, and poked my right cheek, "So I wasn't hallucinating!" She exclaims. I could feel my face twist in disgust, "It's Raaida!" 

"If you wanted to check whether you were hallucinating or not, you should have pinched your own cheek. Not mine." The girl in front of me, whose name I was never fond of, but yet it was stuck in my mind as if it was a part of me, grinned. She was wearing a dark brown hijab with black jeans and a long black top. Her light brown eyes glowed as she started staring me up and down. Her skin was tanner than usual from the summer heat. She didn't wear makeup asides from the mascara and eyeliner on her waterline. 

"Because I love the look of disgust on your face." I sighed deeply and massaged my forehead as I felt the start of a migraine. She'll be the death of me...

"You know Nura, maybe you should start looking for a part-time job that requires that you piss people off because you happen to be an expert at it," I said, rolling my eyes. She grinned again. 

"That's the Raaida I know!" Her arm fell around my neck and she began to drag me to the lowest pits of hell... 

Well, not literally. But still, she was as destructive as she was sadistic and sarcastic.

This was Nura.