Talha
I see her, creating a havoc, tugging on Asad's collar, threatening me to come out.
Oh dear.
As I peek from the half-drawn window curtain, I see her neck snap right at me. I jolt back, almost hitting the person sitting next to me.
"I am sorry," I say.
"It's okay."
He's an intmidating looking middle aged man. I can tell I have annoyed him.
"Can I use your phone to make a call?" I say as the bus is finally out of the terminal. My heartbeat returns to normal and I feel a rush of relief.
He hands his cell phone without even looking at me.
"Thank you," I say.
My fingers trace the familiar numbers and without a moment's pause I press "call".
"Assalam u Alaikum?"
I close my eyes and take that voice in.
After three months, finally.
"I am coming to Karachi, Fahad."
***
JUNE 2, FRESHMAN YEAR
"What the hell is wrong with this one?"
Zaynab sways on her feet, poking and proding the electric blue balloons.
"Zaynab, you spent the entire evening decorating this wall," I say, pushing her Churail-nails away from the balloons, "There is nothing wrong with them, get away!"
"I am just checking, calm down."
She takes one last look at my room. It's filled with balloons, lights, insulting and lovely notes stuck to the walls- All my furniture is pushed aside to make room for the huge table she discovered from I don't know even know where. At the very centre of the said table (now covered with blue cloth) sits a three-tiered birthday cake. It's all chocolate and written all over it are these words : Toad is 19!
I mentally facepalm myself for telling her I liked birthday parties. Because she went out and sent WhatsApp invitations to literally everyone in our class. And now mama is all rage at the maids and cooks, Abu is hiding somewhere in his garden pretending to be busy and Bhai is nowhere to be seen, although he did leave me a text saying "your gf is cute ;)" That's my elder brother.
"Man, you are really rich," Zaynab says peeking inside my closet.
"What the hell," I walk towards her and shut the closet door.
"You could have snapped my neck!"
"Well stop sticking it in my personal things."
"You have a walk-in closet Talha," she says with a lunatic grin etched on her face. "And I got lost trying to find your kitchen!"
"Don't you think it's probably because you got distracted by Mama's room?"
"Pfftt. I never even went near it!" she says.
"Then what were you doing inside, talking to yourself in the mirror?"
"I got lost," she said ,"and was struck by my blinding charm and aura."
I hold up my hands in surrender.
"I am going to take a shower and get dressed."
"You better."
"And don't you go through my stuff again."
"Whatever," she drags herself to my desk and slumps on the chair.
---
YOU ARE READING
It's not all Roses
Teen Fiction"I want the dead lovers of the world to hear our laughter and grow sad. I want our breath of passion to stir their dust into consciousness, to wake their ashes into pain." -Oscar Wilde *** Talha Abdul Majeed, a scrawny med school student, goes miss...
