Assalamualaikumm
I have a task for all of you,
I shall update next chapter only when I get 100 votes each per chapter so pls vote in all my chapters and pls go back and check if you did vote for all chapters. .
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, God will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge. The inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and (even) the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave (no monetary inheritance), they leave only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion. - Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 1631
Marjaan P.O.V
I missed going to bus stop with Afreen, as our colleges were different. She opted for a college not far from home to do her degree while I went to an Arts College for women, which was an hour's bus ride from home. I never minded travelling alone, but having to stand half the way to college was a dreadful business. So I went earlier than usual, wearing my college abayya and expeditiously walking towards my bus stop.
Today will be the day my friends will hear about my big news. Engagement. I wonder how they will react. Would the take my word for it, or is it gonna be looked as an elaborate joke? I sat there pondering this while an empty bus stopped four feet from where I was standing.
"Chetta, one convent cross road" handling exact change to the conductor.
He glanced uninterestedly at the student ID card I was flashing, taking in the student concession fare before issuing me my ticket. Nobody in our city took punctuality the way I did.
I had to be at least half an hour early to before the time I was assigned to reach.
I slept through my ride, as I always did when I travelled, and Alhamdulillah I miraculously always woke up right before it stopped at my college.
It was sharp 7:55 and I had 35 minutes before my class started. I took off my abaya revealing my jeans and a slate colored poncho I chose to wear today. And then I waited for the rest to come.
Our gang meant four distinctly different characters that chose to stick together because they were totally jobless otherwise.
Batul, my tall nerd friend was the nicest of the lot who would never dream of hurting a fly even if it was eating her face. Diane, a natural singer who sang all her way through college, who can occasionally be spotted in TV shows. And then Hima, the most irresponsible genius who was my bestie, never exhibited any talents until she was inspired to. She would be the last to arrive to class, and if she ever made it on time, we joked, it rained.
I was the imaginary one. I saw colors everywhere. To introduce my friends better, I could use the unicorn story. If there ever was news of a unicorn spotted that went viral, I would be the one painting myself riding on it with ribbons flying around. This time with Brown eyes with me. Diane would be composing theme songs to praise the creature, adding tunes to it. Batul a dedicated information giver would patiently tell people what a unicorn actually is. And Hima, well, she would burst my bubble with a skeletal system of a hypothetical unicorn telling how it can't carry both of us and fly defying gravity.
I heard a familiar tune walking by the corridors that stopped when I turned to face it.
"EMJAY! I missed you so much." Diane came and hugged me. As we hugged, I could see her parting line of her hair very clearly, looking like a highway. She was the shortest of us all.
My friends called me MJ, short for Marjaan which they thought was rad.
"Dy! I missed you too. Now give me that package in your bag before another word"
"Shameless" she said, giving me a brown paper bag from the depth of her bag.
It was a share of Christmas treats that she brings every year. It was well known among my friends that I had a sweet tooth for anything that was sweet. And Christmas cakes were no exception.
At 8:10, Batul tall in her 5.8" comes in balancing her bag and a file which I never understood why she carried even before the semester started.
"Girls!" She squealed, taking turns in embracing us.
"Hey Batul" we chorused.
"MJ you look great!" and noticing cake crumbs on my face she added sternly,
"Dy, you better get have some of those treats left for me, or don't expect anything from me for Ramzan!"
Diane's hands rummaged through her bag again. Another package?
"No way!" I said, stretching my hands to her bag while she waltzed around avoiding my outstretched hands.
The second bell ran shortly and then came the third.
Anitha, our professor walked in as the third bell was going on, driving us to our seats. She taught us Translational Studies and respected punctuality among her students. For the same reason, she always marked Hima absent for walking in late, causing her to wander in the Sociology department of our college library where she knew she found solitude.
Ten minutes after the class, our class and Diane's soft snores were traditionally interrupted.
"Excuse me, ma'am?"
Every set of eyes turned to the source of distraction and few of them grinned at her. Making no eye contact, Hima asked straightly at our professor
"May I come in?"
She had one hell of a poker face and we waited for her excuse for the day.
Our professor Anitha glared at her.
"What happened today?"
Without missing a beat, she walks upto her straight and says,
"Ma'am the boiling thing crashed on me"
"What boiling thing?" she asked perplexed.
"It's the boiling thing. It crashed"
She was dead pan.A look of concern replaced the previously irritated look on Prof. Anita's face.
"I don't understand. What happened again? Are you okay now?"
"It was...boiling" Hima said shaking her head.
"It just fell...I didn't" She look traumatized.
Now she had the whole class's undivided attention. We all felt for her. So did our professor. She let her take her after a couple of "
Are you okay now?" and "Feel better?" and Hima stoically occupied her seat.
I was worried. I kept staring at her face from my seat diagonally behind her.
She half turned and I saw her lips curl slightly before she resumed pretending to listen to the lecture. Boiling thing! My foot! I smiled, thoroughly amused. ****
After first session, we rearranged ourselves to sit together and were trying catching up while we simultaneously dug in from Dy's tiffin box. Anita ma'am walked in again, and didn't miss any of predator instincts with which we went for food, but didn't say anything.
During her second hour, Hima and I finished what we brought for lunch during the course of her lecture. Batul never joined in, and Diane mostly slept through all events. But at one miscalculated second, her eyes passed by our bench and I chose that moment to grind one of the green peas that was running around. We froze, but she rolled her eyes and went on narrating as she had a lot to cover this semester.
The class ended as she handed out our first assignments and we all rushed to college canteen to indulge in our favourite pazham pori (banana fry) which they made only in limited quantity.
Thanks to Batul's fast pace when she walked supported by her tall legs, we always got our share.
Our professor was there too. And seeing us so ravenous she asked, "How can you eat so much? You were just eating in my class."
We gave our best embarrassed smiled and dashed out as this time, we had different classes and bell went two minutes back.
I had tourism classes which I shared with the girls who learnt French. Batul and Diane had already left for their Communicative English classes while Hima contemplated whether to attend her computer class or not.
I kept looking at the watch wishing the bell to go off early today. I was waiting for this hour to finish so that I can finally share my surprise. We never got the opportunity to sit and talk as a gang in between classes so lunch time was golden to us.
"Class. I am posting your assignment topic on this board. You will find your topic marked on basis of roll numbers. And bring your works next Tuesday"
I inwardly groaned as I waited the girl in front of me to move as she was obstructing my view. Against my number, there was my topic.
Develop an idea to create a tourist spot in a snowy terrain.Bummer! What's the point with giving us terrain that are unfamiliar to us. Tropics were my reality and I have never seen snow, I thought miserably. But...wait a minute. I do know somebody who has.
I will ask Ijaz bhaiya to ask Mr. Brown eyes, he can get me something.
I was so lost in thoughts walking back to class and I almost bumped into my dean who was also my professsor. "Marjaan! Watch where you are going!"I mumbled a quick apology and made a beeline for class. We shared our food and since mine and Hima's lunch boxes were empty, we helped ourselves to their food.
Batul had appam and roasted mutton for lunch while Diane brought chappathis and chicken. Batul and I ate only Halal and therefore, Hima and Diane had started buying Halal for us. Diane, who was a devout Catholic, never brought pork as a mark of respect to us. We had such a beautifully composed religious harmony against us which I cherished.
"Let's go to our private spot ,I have a big news to spill" I started.
Our spot meant an isolated area near the locked terrace, which was an unusual place for other people to hangout. It was an abandoned space with spare chairs and a thin coat of dust in everything it had. We settled down and all eyes were on me.
"Uh... There's this guy" I was trying in vain not to blush.
"What? You got a boyfriend?" Diane asked and I had trouble understanding if it was accusatory or surprise.
Batul and Hima never said a word. They waited.
"You know I don't date" I confirmed.
"Yeah yeah... So who is this guy?" Hima asked with round eyes narrowing every second.
"ARE YOU GETTING MARRIED MARJAAN?" Batul squealed with her eyes shining.
Hima was as confused as a troll who won a lottery and Diane couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"No, I mean YES! But only after completing college"
"Tell us more, red face!"
Batul was laughing while the other two recovered.
"Okay... They are our family friends. He lives in Ireland"
"Ireland? You are telling all this now?" Hima was I shock.
"Come on Hima. He is studying and simultaneously working there. His family brought forward this proposal. I only saw him on December 17th " I managed in one breath.
"You remember date!" Diane said, and I saw Hima smiling and looking at me head to toe.
"It was my first meeting with my fiancé"
Suddenly I felt like I was on stage and I was being interviewed from all sides?
Batul and Hima asked together, "So did you like him?"
"Have you decided to marry him?"
I blushed for an answer.
Without much prompting, I narrated how we met, the same colored clothes, how he answered favorably to all my questions and his family visit for lunch when I said yes. Hima was the first to congratulate me.
She gave me a bear hug and said, "I am so damn happy...you wore green.....Haahhahah!"
"Did you do your istikhara?"
Batul wanted to know.
"Yes Batu, I did istikhara and he did seemed like a nice guy!"
"The engagement is on March 1st. It's not a big function per say, I am think not even sure if he can come in such short notice. Anyway, his presence is not really required. It is just an official declaration that I am engaged"
"Can we come?" Diane seemed unsure.
"Are you asking? Really? You guys are the first to know and the first to get invites. Do me a favor and announce this in class, I am kinda nervous!"
"As long as you don't chicken out on your own wedding, I will" promised Hima.
Most of my nervousness was associated with how my classmates planned their weddings. I knew none of my classmates was even thinking of marriage till they were in their mid-twenties. But in Islam, we are advised to marry early and I never questioned it.
We had a prolonged group hug after which we walked back to class. On my way back I realised how time had flew and how much I had missed my friends. I got a pang of sadness when I thought that I will be losing touch with them post marriage.
"Ice creams!" said Hima.
"What?" I looked around confused.
"Icecreams" persisted Diane
"You gotta buy us ice-creams!"
I instantly felt better as we headed for the store just outside our back gate. We ate to our fill off our favourite cornettos and hurried back to class. We had five minutes to go till the next lecturer came.
All five of us stood in solitarity while Batul calmed the class a bit.
"Everyone, please. We have an announcement to make"
"Booo!!" Namrata screamed.
"I am not buying textbook xerox copies if that's what you want"
"No, Nammu. Please, Calm.down!"
"Alright, fine" she said, backing down.
"Marjaan here is very sick" the class stopped the ruckus when Hima said that. I looked up and saw surprise among others too.
"Lovesick" Hima clarified. I wish I could punch her right now, but I was turning maroon.
"Our sweet little Marjaan is getting married" she stated without further ado.
"Whooo!" someone cheered. And then, the whole class broke into a massive applause. I had my head bowed down, which Diane lifted for me. And I saw 38 pairs of happy eyes smiling at me.
"Congratulations, Marjaan!"
"You owe us a HUGE treaaat!!"
"When's the date, girl?"
"Who's the guy?"
I was spared from talking as my friends filled in for me. After class, as I was overwhelmed with best wishes from all my friends. My day couldn't have gone any better.
--------------------------------------------
Hi peeps,
The above pic is only in reference to clothes
Don't forget about the task I mentioned in the beginning of chapter.
I hope you liked MJs friends
❤sunshine_jaan