In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful
Wealth and children are an ornament of the life of the world. But the good deeds which endure are better in thy Lord's sight for reward, and better in respect of hope. (Q:18 V:46)
I was dying of boredom.
Sighing, I leaned back on my chair and tossed the novel I was reading on the table. It was a free period and I was lounging in the library, Adam and Ben were hanging out with some other guys, Kamilah wasn't in school, Hailey had a club meeting, and Zayd was nowhere to be found.
There was still about ninety minutes before my next class, I picked up the novel and stood up to return it, on getting to the shelf I took it from I saw two people making out a few feet away. I rolled my eyes and put the book back in its place.
The couple kissing broke apart and the girl giggled as I turned to leave, my eyes landed on them again and I realized it was a girl.... And another girl with shorter hair.
Holy smokes.
Both girls' heads swiveled to look at me and I gasped softly, crap I said that out loud!
"Um... Sorry", I mumbled and quickly got out of there, I grabbed my bag from the table I was and left the library as fast as I could. My cheeks were still burning from embarrassment, I hadn't meant to say that out loud, I just hope I don't run into them again.
After running for like a minute I staggered to a stop when I saw a door, hoping it was an empty class I flung it open and entered.
I shut the door behind me and looked around, it wasn't a class; it was the volleyball court, and it was empty. I smiled, even better.
I didn't have much time to look around the last time, so I observed it carefully. The court was neat and tidy as there was no one in it, the floor was shiny and there were some balls in a basket nearby, a feeling of excitement coursed through me and I skipped towards it and picked one, as I bounced it on the ground, I felt nostalgic, it had been around four months since I last played, hopefully I hadn't become rusty.
"Nice serve", I muttered to myself as I stood behind the end line, after bouncing the ball twice I tossed it up in front of me, ran towards it and jumped. I smacked the ball as it descended and it sailed over the net, hitting the ground mere inches just before the line.
Crap, I'm definitely out of shape. That serve was too long. I walked back to the basket and picked up another ball, then resumed my position at the end line, I jumped and shot another serve, the ball flew across the net and landed smack in the middle of the other side of the net, a satisfied smile spread across my face. That was better, I chuckled and hopped in excitement, feeling giddy. It felt like it had been ages since I last held a volleyball, skipping over to the basket again, I picked up a third ball and did another serve, then another, and another, till the basket was empty and all the balls were lying around the floor on the other side of the net. My hand was tingling with the stinging sensation and I was working up a sweat, but I had a wide grin on my face.
"That was awesome"
I gasped and jolted as I turned to see the owner of the voice, a dark-haired guy in a volley ball jersey was standing by the door, looking at me awestruck. I recognized him as the guy who was hit in the face from the basketball game, the one they called Hassan. He wasn't wearing glasses this time.
"Sorry if I scared you", he added as he walked towards me, "I came here to practice and saw you making those serves, which by the way were epic", his eyes glimmered and he grinned at me, "I couldn't stop watching, that was so cool, you're really skilled"
"Th-thanks", I stuttered and blushed. How long had he been watching me? I couldn't believe I didn't hear the door open, "you- you play volleyball?", I asked him.
You really need to stop asking dumb questions Zahra, he's wearing a freaking jersey, and he said he came to practice. What else could that have meant dummy?
"Yep, I'm part of the team", he replied and came closer, "my name's Hassan, Salam alaikum"
"Walaikum salam, I'm Zahra", I introduced myself, suddenly feeling the need to adjust my hijab.
He stopped in a few inches from me and I was finally able to get a good look at him. His hair was a dark brown, almost black and wavy, some strands falling over his forehead, and his eyes; they were a deep green, reminding me of a rainforest. There were light brown freckles scattered across his nose and cheeks. I could also smell his cologne, it smelled like citrus, or was it lemongrass? He was almost as tall as Brian too. Cute, I thought to myself.
I must have been staring so openly because Hassan raised his brows slightly, a small smile graced his lips and my stomach did a little flip.
I quickly looked down before he thought I was a creep and stepped back, also reminding myself to lower my gaze, "well um, I'll let you practice", I said to him and turned to leave, "I just came to look at the court, nice meeting you"
"Wait", he called out.
My heart jumped as I turned back to look at him, okay what was wrong with me? Before he could say anything else the door burst open. A tall boy with golden brown skin and a curly afro marched in, he glared at Hassan, "dude, I told you to wait for me"
Hassan rolled his eyes, "you were taking forever, sorry I couldn't wait till you were done taking a dump", the sarcasm in his voice was clear as day.
"Ass", the guy retorted and flipped him the bird, then he finally realized that someone else was in the room. He turned to me and went a bit pale like he'd seen a ghost, his eyes widened in shock to my confusion, "who's this?", He asked while still staring at me.
"That's Zahra, the new girl"
Okay at this point I shouldn't be called the new girl anymore, I had been in the school for a little over a month now, I think the title of 'new kid' should have dropped already.
"This is Easton", Hassan introduced the guy, "he's my best friend, he plays too"
"Hi", I gave him a small wave.
Easton didn't reply, he just stared at me expressionless, then he grabbed the ball from Hassan's hands, "we're here to practice", he said in a flat tone, "leave, you'll distract us"
"What? Me?"
He gave me a cold stare, "who else would I be talking to?"
Wow.
I know I just met him but I already had my conclusion.
Easton was an ass.
Hassan looked at him surprised, "hey what's wrong with you?", he smacked him on the shoulder, "I actually met her here making serves, and she's amazing, be nice"
My stomach did another funny flip at the compliment, and I felt my cheeks burn. Okay I was done here.
"It's okay", I spoke up, "I was leaving anyway, it was nice meeting you Hassan", I turned and left before either boy could say another word.
I got back to my class and sat down with a sigh, what an encounter. Easton's attitude towards me had me wondering how many more people disliked me in the school, I assumed it was only Valerie and her friends that hated me; obviously not. I wouldn't be surprised if those gay girls in the library ended up hating me too.
This is so annoying, I groaned and rested my forehead on my desk, I never intended on drawing any attention to myself, my plan was to lay as low as possible and peacefully go through high school, but I guess it's pretty impossible not to stand out when you're the only hijabi in the entire school.
Was it really because of that? Or did they dislike me because I was muslim? Would they stop harassing me if I took it off? Is that why Kamilah doesn't wear it in school? Zayd barely has any trouble, apart from that Derek guy, everyone else likes him; he's on the basketball team, and the girls think he's eye candy. I frowned as I thought about the unfairness of it all, what a screwed up society we lived in.
I was still thinking about it after class while walking to the cafeteria with Hailey, "hey Hailey"
"What's up?"
"Be honest, what do you think about me wearing the hijab?", I asked her.
She looked confused, "what do you mean?"
"I mean like... do you think it's weird?"
"Huh? I don't"
"Really?"
"Of course! it's your religion, right? There's nothing weird about it", she smiled and added, "besides I think it's pretty, why do you ask though?"
I narrated the drama with Easton to her, "he was so cold and rude, and it was my first time meeting him", I told her, "I don't know how he's best friends with Hassan, they're so different"
Hailey raised her brows in thought, "well, you just met Hassan too", she countered, "you can't know what he's really like already either"
"Point, but he seemed nice enough", his jade green eyes and brown waves came to mind and my stomach felt funny again, jeez.
"But about Easton", she continued, "I don't know anything about him, I've never even heard of him till now so I can't say anything. Adam might know something though, that dude is like Lady Whistledown, he knows everything"
"You're right", I laughed and agreed, Adam was usually the one who told me anything I needed to know about anyone, seeing as he knew who Hassan was, he might know about Easton too.
"But don't worry, if he ever bothers you again let me know", Hailey said and made a fist, "I'll make sure he never has kids"
I snorted and shook my head, "I'm sure you will"
*****
We met up with the others at the cafeteria and Kamilah was there, she explained that there was an emergency at home which was why she arrived at school late.
"Easton? Never heard of him", Adam stated during lunch when I told them my tale, much to my surprise.
"Well, that's a first", I commented and Hailey had a disappointed look on her face, "and here we thought you knew everything"
He laughed, "what am I? Lady Whistledown?"
"Funny how that's what we both said", Hailey said with an amused smile and I laughed. Adam chuckled and shook his head, "well I'm sorry for disappointing, what about this Easton though? What does he look like?"
"He's tall and dark skinned with a curly afro", I told him, "and he plays volleyball, also he's an Islamophobic jerk"
"Whoa Zee, chill", Hailey raised her brows and chuckled, "we don't know that yet"
I huffed and crossed my arms, "well, he sure acted like it"
"Did this guy do something?", Kamilah wanted to know, "what makes you say he's Islamophobic?"
"He was so rude!"
"He might have had another reason", Ben spoke up, "I'm not defending him, just saying that there could be more to the whole picture"
"Besides", Hailey continued, "you said he's best friends with that Hassan guy, right? He wouldn't be if he's Islamophobic like you say"
"You're right", I murmured as I picked at my fries and ketchup. I shouldn't jump into conclusions, maybe he had a bad day and wanted to let off steam at the court with just his friend. An Islamic saying came to mind at that moment; suspicion was a sin, we shouldn't always assume the worst of people. They could be going through something awful without our knowledge, Astagfirullah, I let my emotions get the better of me and made assumptions.
Adam looked concerned, "are you okay? What did he do?"
I nodded, "I'm fine", I paused to chew my fries, "basically he took one look at me and told me to leave, he said I was going to distract him"
"Hmm", Kamilah tapped her chin in thought, "maybe he's shy to play in front of strangers"
Hailey scoffed, "that's ridiculous, if he's on the volleyball team he's definitely played in front of hundreds of people"
"Or maybe he likes you", Ben shrugged, "it would be pretty distracting if your crush observes you do something so closely"
I rolled my eyes, yeah right. "I highly doubt that"
Adam smirked, "who knows? It might be true", he said, "you're pretty popular you know, and beautiful too", something flashed in his eyes as he spoke and I felt my face heat up, "I won't be surprised if you've got a secret admirer somewhere"
Kamilah giggled and I blushed even harder, "I- I still doubt it", I said and turned away from Adam's heavy gaze. He laughed, "sorry, I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable, want me to look into him?', he smiled and added jokingly, "I could put my Lady Whistledown skills to use"
I laughed and shook my head, "no never mind, thanks though"
Just then I heard Zayd laughing, his voice was coming from behind me and I looked back, he was walking towards a table, with Lucia beside him.
Okay can someone tell me who this girl was and why she was stuck to my brother like gum under his shoe? I watched them sit down and put their food in front of them, she said something to Zayd to which he smiled bashfully. I glared at the two of them, something was definitely up.
"Easy Zee", I heard Adam say, "if you're not careful lasers might shoot out of your eyes", he said and chuckled.
I scowled and faced him, "I can't help it, it's annoying to watch", I grumbled, "why is she glued to him?"
Hailey shrugged, "well, your brother is a looker", she said, "and she seems to have caught his attention"
An unpleasant feeling settled at the pit of my stomach, I really needed to find out what was going on.
*****
I didn't waste time in asking Zayd the moment we were alone, "What's going on with you and Lucia?"
"What do you mean?"
I glared at him, "quit playing dumb, you know what I'm talking about"
The both of us were sitting on the trunk of the car after school, he was eating a bag of chips and I was drinking a can of Coke; Zayd treated the car like a newborn baby and would freak out if it got a little scratch or stain, which was why we were eating outside.
"Nothing, we're just friends", he said, not meeting my eyes.
"Doesn't look that way to me", I argued, "she's obviously flirting with you, and don't tell me you don't know"
"I do, okay? I do"
I finished my Coke and crumpled up the empty can, "so?", I prodded, "what are you doing about it? Cause from what I'm seeing, you're enjoying the attention"
Zayd's ears turned the color of my can of Coke and he scowled at me, but he said nothing. Some moments passed and I was about to speak up when he did, "I've told her that I can't date her", he started, "she agreed and said we can be friends, but she still says some flirty stuff", he paused and raked a hand through his hair, "I think that's just how she is though, she's pretty cool actually"
Was he defending her? Oh God, did my brother have a crush?
I sighed and jumped down from the trunk, Zayd did the same and entered the car. I got into the passenger's seat and stared at him, "anyways, you better be careful", I told him, "I don't need to remind you of the boundaries"
"Stop lecturing me Zahra, I know"
I hope so, I thought. For his sake I really hoped he did, we both knew dating was haram no matter how enticing or nice it looked or felt. I pretty much understood how he was feeling though, I remember when my first crush asked me out, it took me so much willpower to turn him down, and I still felt horrible about it for weeks.
I sighed as he started the car, relationships and feelings were so much drama and stress, I really hoped I didn't get tangled in any this school year