"So....your first crush......" said Shezwa, twirling her bracelet in her finger, "Is here?"
It was lunch time at school. Most of my close friends, including myself, were sitting in one table. The book I'd kept open for studying lay forgotten as I narrated the recent events.
"Yeah."
Shezwa's brown eyes popped; her eyebrows almost reaching her mahogany hair, "You're joking?"
"No, she's serious," Tina said with a nod, "I saw him."
"Really? How does he look?"
"Shezwa!" Zoya and I exclaimed. Zoya grabbed Shezwa's ear, her nose scrunched, her hazel eyes behind rimless glasses angry.
"Why are you always concerned about how a guy looks? You idiot!" Zoya said.
"What?" Shezwa said, slightly whimpering in pain, "It matters! Especially since this guy is like Elizha's crush. So, tell us, Elizha, how does he look?"
"He looks okay," Tina said with a shrug, "Handsome, yes, but like....not revolutionary."
"No, I think he was quite handsome," I chided. "Really handsome."
"Oooooooh!" Shezwa exclaimed. She rubbed her hands excitedly. "Elizha is in loove! See, I told you this love story would come to life, one day?"
"I have to agree with Shezwa on this one," said Tina with a cheeky grin, "Elizha and Soroush could very well be Eroush! Do you know.....Soroush called this one Elizhapedia?"
There it was! The dreaded shipname. I kicked Tina under the table. She looked up at me with a small grin.
Shezwa's mouth widened, "Her old nickname? Oh my goodness!"
I punched the table in exasperation. "Shut up, will you? And let me have lunch in peace. I have to study after this."
I took a banana and began to peel it. They all watched as I took a single bite.
"What?" I asked.
"I really don't think this ship will work," said Zoya. She took her white scarf and placed it around her curly hair, seeing the passing male teachers. "Too much history."
"I think it will," said Shezwa, with firm determination in her mouth. She placed her hand inside Zoya's crisps. Zoya snatched the bag away from her hand.
"Have a fruit instead, Shezwa. Healthy stuff," she said, before turning to me, "You aren't planning to marry him, are you? Do you have a crush?"
"No and no," I said, half truth and half lie, "I can't betray my mom like this. After what his father did...." I shook my head.
"What are you guys talking about?" said Dua, suddenly interrupting the conversation. She sat in between me and Tina, with her tray of fruits. She was covered head to toe in a black abaya and scarf, half of her face covered with a black mask, leaving just her blue eyes on display.
"Nothing," Shezwa shook her head. Zoya shook her head too.
Dua looked at me. I shook my head too.
She sighed, "I heard everything."
"Uh huh. And you're gonna say, 'Lower your gaze. Don't look at him too much. He's another man. A ghair mahram.'"
"Well, we have to follow rules, but I'm not going to say just that," she said.
"Then what do you want to say?" I asked.
"Soroush Hakeem, however big or small, will have an effect on your life," Dua said. "Maybe as a friend, maybe as an enemy, maybe as a life partner like Shezwa is suggesting. But Allah brought him to your life for a reason. So, I suggest, you pray to Allah that the reason is good."
"Hmm, solid advice," Tina said, "I'll pray they end up having a son together!"
"TINA!" I exclaimed.
"But first.....we're gonna have to sort out through the mess this one made." She said, pointing at me.
"What mess?" asked Dua.
"The cupcake mess," said Alisha. She placed her arms around my neck and took a grapefruit from my plate, placing it in my mouth.
I looked up at Alisha, who grinned back at me, showing dimples. Her braided hair fell on my shoulder.
"Was I really that loud?" I asked.
She nodded, without replying.
I looked behind me, at the other table. All the faces that were staring at me, turned back.
"You heard me as well?" I asked.
Everyone laughed.
"You were rather passionate about Soroush Hakeem," said a girl from the other table. Anila. She had a dark red hijab on, her niqab placed over her head so that we could see the dimple in her smile.
"Crap!" I exclaimed.
Alisha lightly slapped my cheek. "No cursing."
"Sorry."
The other table laughed even harder, and went back to their eating.
Being popular without setting out to be popular, really was annoying. What you said would always be heard at the other end of the class.
"So....about the cupcake mess?" Alisha asked.
I winced. "I don't know. I really dread going home now. If his grandmother complains too. Oh my Allah! It was so impulsive!"
"He won't complain," Alisha said, reassuringly, "Neither him, nor his grandmother. Don't worry."
The bell rang, signifying the end of lunch. We all quickly headed out, my planned study session forgotten too.
-----
But on the bright side, Soroush Hakeem and his grandmother did not come to our house to complain about the cupcakes. And the week passed....uninterrupted.
Except for that one goddamn flier.
Sorry, I shouldn't say goddamn. I was a Muslim.
Instead, I should say, flyer sent from Shaytan. Because I was pretty sure, the devil was trying to mess with me.
"A motorbike racing contest?" Shezwa said one day, placing the flyer in front of us whilst we were in class. The teacher hadn't arrived yet. "We have to go! It's today, after school! At the stadium! All the university boys will be there!"
"No, we can't," Zoya said. "No, we can't, Shezwa. Our parents are going to kill us."
I agreed. Absolutely.
"We're going," Shezwa said, "Whether you like it or not."
"Well, I'm not!" Zoya snapped, "Go by yourself."
With that, Zoya changed her seat, sitting next to Dua and Alisha.
Shezwa sat next to me. "Elizha..."
"I can't. I just can't." I sighed, "My mom will kill me too. You know her."
"My mom will kill me too, Shezwa," I said.
"Come on, please? Pretty please?" She said, making her eyes big on purpose.
I shook my head. "No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
If only Tina were here. She'd make it easier to say no. But, she had gone to her brother's house to see their newborn baby.
I sighed, "Fine. Don't tell anyone, don't do anything stupid, don't draw attention and you're responsible for explaining to my mother why I'm late."
Shezwa grinned, "You got it, girl."
-----
We didn't tell anyone, Shezwa and I. Because our paths to home were same, no one suspected us and after quickly changing into abayas and placing a mask over our faces at her house, we ran to the stadium, where a huge crowd of people were present.
And most of them....were boys. Just a few girls and none of them wore religious attire like we did.
This.....was a mistake.
I gripped on Shezwa's arm, "Shezwa, do we have to do this?"
"Yes, we do! Come on! Don't be a scaredy cat!"
"But I left studying for this! I really need to study!"
"Oh, please. You'll ace the test. Now, come on!"
She grabbed my arm and ran, whilst my legs protested at the pressure on the wounds. I winced, but kept my lips shut as Shezwa bought us tickets.
I really wanted to cry. Shezwa chose a terrible time to fulfill her biker boy fantasy.
The seats Shezwa managed to get at the front wasn't of best quality. We had to use tissues to wipe the dirt off of the seats before we could sit down.
"Shezwa...." I whined, "My mom is not as lenient as yours."
"Shush," she said, "And enjoy."
I frowned and glanced at the racers, who had appeared at the beginning of the track.
Oh my goodness! I could not believe I was in a bike track stadium! This was my first time in a bike track stadium! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! I was gonna die! My mom was gonna kill me!
"Shezwa! This is going to be a bad idea!"
"Shush, you moron! Shush! Let me check out the boys! They're all university students, you know?"
I hit her on the shoulder. "I'm leaving!"
I stood up, but she grabbed my arm.
"Look, there's Soroush Hakeem!" She said, pointing at one of the racers.
"Where?" I asked, looking at the racers again.
Then, my jaw dropped.
One of the racers had made their places, dragging their bike to the front. He hadn't worn their helmet yet, which was why I was able to see his face as he checked everything on his bike.
And he was Soroush Hakeem, all right. Wearing a leather jacket over a white shirt and jeans, an outfit I never expected this star student to ever wear.
"See? That's why I brought you here?" Shezwa said with a grin, "Soroush Hakeem is one of the racers for today!"