Chapter Twenty Five - The Rumor Queen
Sabrina spent the majority of the weekend thinking about Khalid. Obviously, she'd been thinking about him more frequently since he'd proposed and saved her life, but the events on Friday had shaken her. If she had to be completely truthful to herself, she would admit that she didn't think her parents would ever reconsider the thought of letting her marry him. She had hope, of course. But it was hesitant and weary. Now, however, after seeing Khalid jump in front of a car to save a child, she felt like the universe was trying to say something.
And maybe it was working, too.
On Sunday night she decided to bring the matter up at dinner. Her mother had made her absolute favourite dish and he father also seemed to be a in a good mood. She waited until he was absorbed in the cricket match that was on T.V before clearing her throat.
"So," she began, carefully putting her thoughts into words. "That was a really great thing Khalid did on Friday, wasn't it?"
She'd directed this to her mother but saw her father look away from the television upon hearing Khalid's name.
"Yes, yes." Her father grunted, brushing it off. "For a boy who'd nearly gotten you killed, anyway."
Sabrina sniffed. "It was his gang that nearly got me killed."
"It was because of him leaving his gang which means it was because of him." Her father stated, in a firm voice. "That boy is not good news, baita. He nearly got you killed and here you are defending him!"
Sabrina averted her eyes, her heart sinking. Where was her father's empathy? Khalid may have been into stupid crap in the past but that didn't make him a terrible person. He'd also just saved her father from running over a small kid and living with that guilt for the rest of his life! He turned back to watching the cricket game.
"He may have been the reason I was almost killed, but he was also the reason I wasn't." Sabrina whispered to herself.
* * *
"So besides fangirling over Khalid saving the day and rescuing a small kid from getting run over by your dad, what else is new?" Leila inquired, leaning into her locker to grab a highlighter.
"I'm not fangirling over him." Sabrina made a face and after a pause: "also how can I not? What he did was amazing and noble and just...amazing!"
"Right." Emaan giggled but before she could say something else, her face went sour.
Sabrina looked over her shoulder to the cause of Emaan's bitter face and sighed. Hiba. Leila also straightened and the three girls watched as the curly haired, green eyed girl made her way down the hall, surrounded by her minions. Hiba's voice was loud enough to hear and of course, she was talking about Khalid and Sabrina's break up.
Sabrina glanced at the time. It was too early to deal with this crap. She considered grabbing her friends and running up a random stairway. She didn't particularly keep up with the rumours circulating her school, but none of them were any good or true. And pretty much all of them had one source: Hiba. She was pretty much the queen of the rumour mill.
"Oh my God, it totally makes sense why they broke up though." Hiba was saying in a high voice.
It was clear she knew they were listening and as her friends hung onto her words, she flicked her glossy hair over her shoulder and knitted her eyebrows together. The girl was putting on some kind of act and Sabrina definitely didn't want to be there for it. She tugged Leila's sleeve and mouthed 'lets go' to which Leila nodded her head at and began to close her locker.
"I mean, obviously, sometimes a relationship just doesn't work out." Hiba continued.
Sabrina stilled, as Leila's head snapped up. Was she...defending her?
"Uhm, guys?" Emaan whispered. "Is it just me or is Hiba's head out of her butt for once?"
"Wait for it." Leila mumbled.
"But the real reason is because Khalid's actually in love with me."Hiba announced.
"Well." Leila sighed. "There it is."
Sabrina didn't know what to feel. Pain, probably, because her jaw hurt from hanging open. She shook her head and snapped it shut when Hiba turned and winked at her. Sabrina fumed and glared at her as the infuriating girl walked passed, her brainwashed clique following at her heels.
"Ugh." Emaan groaned. "Which world is she in? Khalid in love with her? As if."
Sabrina stayed silent and just wished for once that her life could get easier. Leila touched her shoulder and gave her a kind smile.
"Come on, lets get out of here."
* * *
The rest of the day dragged by and even though Sabrina had exactly zero classes with Hiba, the girl was practically everywhere she turned. Sabrina wished it was Khalid that she could keep stumbling upon but she hadn't seen him since last week and that fact bothered her more than she cared to admit. Almost worse than Hiba's sneering face appearing every where she looked, were her outrageous rumours, which Sabrina discovered through misinformed sympathizers.
"Sorry, about your engagement Sabrina." A girl she'd never even spoken to her before, told her. "It sucks but I'm glad you got out of it if he didn't even love you in the first place."
Sabrina blinked, plastered a smile over her face, nodded and mentally burned down the school.
By the end of the day she'd decided she needed a long nap, a Sherlock marathon and of course, to confront Hiba and put a stop to these out of control rumours. In reality, while she was more than up for the first two choices, she hesitated on the third. Perhaps it would be better to let things die down on there own, she thought. Assuming, Hiba would stop, of course. But if Sabrina pretended not to care than surely Hiba would tire of her pointless antics?
She was thinking all this through while walking to her locker after her last class. The school was buzzing with students ready to go home. After Sabrina had deposited her school work into her locker and stopped to reply to a few texts, she looked up to find that the building was quickly emptying. On her trek to the bus stop however, she came across a lone figure.
Hiba.
Suddenly, all thoughts of leaving things be fled her mind. Sabrina wanted to end this and do it now. Hiba, looking up and catching her gaze, also seemed to have the same line of thought. She certainly flashed Sabrina a mean smile, making the hijabi hesitate. What is she up to, now?
"Oh, Sabrina." Hiba greeted, her voice dripping with acid. "I'm surprised you still show your face around here after what's happened."
"Postponing an engagement doesn't really require hiding my face in shame, Hiba." Sabrina said icily, stressing her first word.
"Oh, I'm sure it's much more than that." Hiba sneered. "Why would you take off your ring? Obviously something has happened between you and Khalid."
"Like Khalid being in love with you?" Sabrina snorted. "I thought he made it perfectly clear that you two were over at my engagement party."
Hiba stuck up her nose."Well, why else would you break it off?"
"Maybe our parents have, not us." Sabrina replied, truthfully.
"Sure, whatever you say." Hiba shrugged.
Something was off about the way Hiba looked at her. Suddenly, she was blank faced as if a light bulb had been abruptly switched off. Hiba's stiff posture made Sabrina remember her reaction to when Leila had accused her parents of raising her to not bitch over a boy. Maybe...Sabrina thought but stopped. She didn't know for certain. But she could check.
"What, haven't your parents ever stopped you from anything?" She said, carefully watching Hiba's reaction.
"Maybe, back when they were alive." Hiba said bitterly.
Oh, Sabrina thought, averting her gaze, thinking back to high school, back to when Hiba was just another cruel face. Just another mean remark, another rude glare. But even her bullies had lives. Hiba turned away then as if she'd realized what she'd said and gave one last withering look to Sabrina before stalking away. But her back was rigid and her stride was tense.
Sabrina watched her go, wondering if people lost part of themselves when the ones they loved passed away.
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Well, well, well. I wonder what Hiba is up to. Well, not really because I already know... What do you guys think will happen next? She seems to be up to something..
^^^that's my way of saying there's major drama up ahead fasten your seatbelts ladies and gents. I call shotgun.
Vote? Comment? Be nice to orphans ^-^