Angel in the Courtyard [Book 2]

Chapter 8 - Arisa

There were so many eyes on me. I was in awe of the number of people holding my attention. At first, I felt like I had done something wrong but the further I moved into the womens' hall, the more I realized how out of place I was. Everyone looked so beautiful and put together while I was struggling to hold onto my shawl. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe I should ask Kumar to take me home. I could still do that right? Just forget that I tried to fit into Khaleel's world by wearing a lehenga?

The sweet smell of rice and spices consumed me and my stomach growled in response. I hadn't eaten since the afternoon. The buffet line was big but there seemed to be enough food on the tables for an entire village. I could eat first then make a run for it. I nodded and moved to stand behind a group of chatty girls. More eyes flashed in my direction, wondering who brought a white girl to Yusuf Abdul's wedding.

Ignore it, I instructed myself. Do what Khaleel said and mind your own business. I focused my attention on the bodies in front of me, they could be in high school or maybe college? I couldn't assume their age because of the amount of makeup they had on. I tried not to attract more attention to myself but it didn't work. They caught me staring and turned to give me a once-over. I held my ground and waited for them to say whatever it was they were thinking. I could handle it. Bring it on.

"You must be Arisa."

Well, I wasn't expecting that. It looked like neither were the girls standing around the speaker. She was tall with long wavy hair, pretty brown eyes and a toffee complexion. Her turquoise lehenga was sleeveless and her golden bangles mix-matched with pink ones. She stepped up and patted my shoulder as if to assure me that everything was going to be okay.

"You're way too hot to be my little cousin's girlfriend," she said, showing teeth. Her smile was out of this world. "I'm Sumaya."

My paranoia fizzled as I recalled Khaleel and Kumar both mentioning her name to me. "Oh, yes!" I said. I was so nervous I didn't even get a chance to correct her about the girlfriend comment. "Hi. How are you?"

"Great, thanks," Sumaya nodded. Her friends eased up a little. "How are you holding up? I'm sorry I didn't come looking for you earlier. I figured we would run into each other eventually."

"That we did," I said, trying to ignore Sumaya's entourage. I couldn't tell if they hated me or not. Maybe they were just curious. I would be too if someone I didn't know showed up to a big family event. "It's nice to finally meet you. Khaleel talks very highly of you."

"Khaleel?" One of the girls shouted. Another one nudged her to keep her voice down. "Sorry," she whispered, her eyes lighting up with more interest in me. She was shorter than Sumaya with light brown hair and honey eyes. Her shalwar kameez was bright pink and matched her bangles and heels.

"You'll have to excuse her," Sumaya said. "Farha has been planning her wedding with Khaleel for years."

"Shut up!" Farha hissed, turning away.

While the other girls comforted Farha about Sumaya's comments, I took the opportunity to clear the air. I really wasn't in the mood to make enemies at this wedding. "Khaleel is not my boyfriend."

It didn't look like Sumaya believed me.

"What?" I asked, trying to overlook her sly smile. "Really, I'm not his girlfriend."

"Not yet," Sumaya replied. "But I've known Khaleel since he was a teeny bopper and he wouldn't invite a rando to his father's wedding. Not unless he wanted to make a statement."

I was beyond confused. "Um, what kind of statement?"

Farha looked distraught. "That he's serious about you."

Oh, well...I already knew that but I wasn't looking to pour salt on the poor girl's wounds. Khaleel wasn't going to stop pursuing me and even though his advances sometimes put me in really awkward situations, like this one, I wasn't ready to trade him in for a romantic relationship. Not after what we went through last term. Was Farha a distant relative or a friend of a friend? Was she even on Khaleel's radar? That guy had a bad habit of being dismissive towards girls who liked him.

"He was going to invite Hino but he wasn't unavailable," I told the girls. "Do you guys know Hino Matsunaga?"

"It's hard not to," another beauty gushed. She was wearing a black lehenga with silver jewelry. "What a hottie. Khaleel brought all his boys to Kiran's wedding two years ago and my god. What lookers."

"Forget Hino," one more scoffed. Her hair was dyed auburn and her green lehenga was slightly less fancy than the other girls'. "Zander is so much hotter."

I suppressed my urge to laugh. It seemed like the whole group had a thing for the rooftop losers. "You guys are so fucking embarrassing," Sumaya spoke up. She got a hold of my arm and dragged me out of the buffet line.

Nooo, I wanted to protest. I was still hungry.

"I'm so sorry about them, Arisa. They can be a little shameless."

"This isn't the first time I've seen girls drool over Khaleel and his friends," I smiled.

Sumaya shook her head. "I don't understand what they see in those shit-for-brains. Zander's a narcissist, Hino has a multiple personality disorder and Khaleel's a rage monster with daddy issues. Don't even get me started on Loyal."

My heart dropped. "You know Loyal?"

Sumaya nodded. "Those idiots are always crowding Kumar's place when I'm over redrawing Khaleel's henna tattoos."

"You're the cousin who draws the henna tattoos?" I exclaimed, grabbing a hold of her arms. "I have been looking forward to meeting you for so long! Could you draw henna on me too sometime?"

Sumaya laughed. "Why not?"