What is it like to stare and stare and stare at these strings of words - a whole bunch of them like a concert full of people, grapes, rice. They all look soo intimidating that I couldn't focus on one line of them and read out. I brought my eyelids to slits and tried to say the word out loud.
Nimr. Tiger in Arabic.
It wasn't much of a surprise, when I couldn't hear myself.
The class was in a state of uproar , each group in their own little worlds of giggles and shrieks. I watched them a bit and then tried to get the book opened in front of me.
The three Alpha , Beta, Gamma, philosophy gals were in a silent discussion amongst themselves; Lana and Cassie playing the Aamina Super Cena; Zaynab and Layla singing the Elle me dit in sync.
Our Arabic teacher tried her best to get all of our attention, and finally succumbed to her seat with hands balancing head, the trademark symbol of surrender. I craned my neck toward the back and surprisingly its just me who realized the teacher was frustrated.
A yawn burst out of me. Could I sleep right now? When I looked at the clock there was 30 minutes to go and then finally ICT Labs!
Trying once more to decode the words before me, with one hand I scratched the dandruff and little clotted boils. It's my one hobby that I did religiously like how the gals did their manicures. To me, it was the most relaxing sortof massage and scratching all in one combo. Cats get to scratch and get awwws from people but humans don't get the same, eh I can't care less. Disgusted faces or not, nothing could disturb my relaxed head.
As I tried more to focus on the bunch of words, while humming to myself, the more my mind wandered off to yesternights.
Last weekend when me and mama were waiting near the shopping complex, many people walked on by the walking path. But what caught my attention was this funny lanky dude. It felt like any moment now his baggy denim jeans would come tumbling down!
He might have felt my stare so he looked up but I pivoted my head mechanically the opposite direction. When I thought he walked forward at a safe distance, my eyes walked on their accord to his back, slightly antsy of this dire situation. I had never seen anyone going to that level of baggy-ness before!
Without any warning, he looked back and this time I resisted the urge to look the opposite way. It might have only last few nanoseconds but I couldn't help wonder if he'd pass by once more. To carry the stare and make the filmized moment come to reality.
Could this be how soul mates are found? Where the lady saves the day by saving the knight's baggy pants from slipping away?
A hand swiped my pouch into my peripheral vision, breaking my train of thought.
I resisted the urge to hmph out.
The owner's bushy eyebrows scrounged to look at me as if I were her new question toy. When I say question toy, I mean it truly without fibbing. Each lesson she chooses her victim to pepper them with endless questions to the point they find her annoying. I saw her having a faint trace of mustache sketched with perspiration as she zipped my pouch open and close. I had an urge to rip off my pouch from her measly hands but then the thought of us being the social pariahs of the class did make me reconsider.
That is Roo and I for our class. Social pariahs.
"You won't look in through your pencil case, Zeffles?" Roo's asked in a Machiavellian air.
"Did you steal something and hide it in my pouch?" The last thing I would want is to be the class- stealer.
"Could be, think later! Look right now!", her baby chin fumbled about in excitement underneath her pudgy face.
I tried to chew down a grunt as I opened my purse.
What in the golems?!??! All my 2 cm pencils replaced with sleek and smart black mechanical ones?!?!?
"I don't know if I should be excited or annoyed'' I guffawed while inspecting the pencil on paper. The pencil glided in a fluid motion and I didn't have to use much pressure as with tiny lead HB pencils. "Where are my favourite shawty pencils? Their sentimental value is higher!" I turned to face Roo who appeared to be laughing silently.
"What's so funny?!?" I muttered. I think I know what she's trying to do-a segue through girly giggle!
"You're pen-sexual and I'm pan sexual. What are the odds?" She quipped.
I stare at her with a face devoid of emotions. "I'm not laughing to your base humor''
"Fine, my bad, I see puns almost everywhere!" she said, as she calmed down and took a deep breath. " Starting from today I'll be using your shawty pencils and you can experience the luxury of mechanical ones"
"Is this some peace offering so I agree to the oh-so-annoying-trail-of-questions?''
"You guessed right." Her shoulders wilted like a sunken ship.
"Law 19 : know whom you're dealing with." I imitated Gamma's nasally voice.
"You're no fun," she said. If I were to sketch her chibi version, her eyes would have been crosser than normal.
"Our versions of fun are at polar distance" I said.
For a while Roo stopped speaking and I basked in the silence like a how a beach goer basks in sunlight. It was that peaceful and calm. She seemed to be preoccupied with writing thankfully. I took in her frizzy hair (dramatically grayed with powder) , acne and blackhead scattered face.
I suddenly remembered to dust off my dandruff stuffed spectacles. Who knew looking at Roo could make me self conscious?
"What's wrong with asking stuff? I just happen to be curious!" Roo's squeaky voice was back into the game almost startled me.
"People say when they want. You ain't a police interrogator!" I continued to dust off my spectacles.
"Then how can I satisfy my curiosity?"
"IDK get to know them first at their pace?"
"Aren't we doing that now?"
"Mayhaps"
"OMG REALLY?!?!"
"As long as I don't feel like being interrogated"
"I'll try to not go overboard, please take these mechanical pencils for a couple of days?" She asked with the puppy dog eyes and female anime voice that I found hard to argue with. Ugh. Roo being Roo.
"Fine. For two days only, starting from now." I assent.
Placing her one hand on her chest Roo looked at me with those eyes that actors in Shakespeare play would have, fully melodramatic. "I owe you a lot Zeffles, I shan't forget that."
I simply rolled my eyes and went back attempting to read the chapter.
"You're still on paragraph 1!" Roo said.
I continued trying to make sense of something. And continued ignoring her.
"I finished it all by the way, its really easy." Roo spoke again.
Her mechanical pencil's button got clicked super hard by my fingers. She is such an annoying know-it-all.
"If you want I can give you my textbook. I translated all the phrases too!" She chirped, sliding her textbook toward mine.
Her book was absolutely revolting. She had no sense of keeping things neat, all the pages were sprawled with sloppy handwriting of hers. If I thought the Arabic text in my book was indecipherable to me, her textbook became another forgotten language!
"Hmmmmm can't understand your textbook nor mine so thanks Roo but I'll pass."
"How about if we go through each word together?"
"Don't you have better things to do?
"You did give me 2 days to interact with you hehe"
"I-" I internally groaned at myself thinking of my future suffering trying to bear Roo's insufferable-ness.
By the time bell rang we reached the third paragraph. There were five paragraphs in whole.
"Woah time did fly huh" Roo was as ecstatic as ever.
"Hmmm it wasn't that bad, thanks" I grunted. It was too hard to accept that but yeah she did help me get through it fast.
"I thought so too that thanks didn't fit on you, hehe" Her dimple winked out at the oddest of places. She continued, "But just maybe, reaching out to random someone in our class who needs random help would do to continue the circle of magic."
I took deeper breath more than I needed. Maybe she could be the wood spirit who could lead me out of my social anxiety who knows?
word count : 1407
A/N
This story was written keeping in mind of some themes like thanks chain based on the page Being Human from the Gossip Club book at
Special shout out to @Arzryan for sharing such messages which are good to be shared for awareness.
if ya'll like this story, feel free to also the page which inspired it! Posting the link below.