بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Dawud's P.O.V
The boys roared with excitement. I covered my face with my hands in embarrassment. "Relax, it's not that serious." I muttered.
We were playing basketball indoors at our University. We had a game coming up soon. The date would be finalized in five minutes, so we practiced and played against one another until our coach arrived. The word slipped out that I found a potential wife, causing twenty of my teammates to hover over me. "When's the date? Who's the girl?" They pressed. I laughed and ducked past them, dribbling the ball before shooting from across the court.
My eyes fell on Laith, a guy I knew from high school, who was sat on the bleachers, glaring at me. He strode over to our teammates and pulled off his jersey. He was number twenty-two. "Her name is Jannah. She's in her second year." He told them, smirking.
I froze. How did he know that?
"You know, that pretty girl? The henna designer?" He added. An anger spread over my chest.
The boys conversed with one another, trying to figure out who Jannah was. One of the guys snapped his fingers. "The one that always takes the train home, right?" Laith nodded. The boys whispered some more before finally pinpointing the girl. I hated this. I wanted to keep her a secret until things were finalized. She didn't need to have twenty hyperactive guys, Muslim and non-Muslim, knowing about her life! Rumors spread around this university like wind and I didn't want to pull her into a mess like this.
I stared at Laith. I've been nothing but kind to him. He was my brother in Islam so I tried my best not to cause him any harm but ever since high school, he's been trying to sabotage me. He's turned people against me and taken my position on councils. He's joined teams like this one, only to take the spotlight off of me. The one thing that I had to myself, where he couldn't infiltrate and destroy was Jannah.
Before I got the chance to do anything, our coach stepped into the gymnasium. "Alright, boys. Come over here. I have the date for our game." I huffed and sought refuge in Allah from Satan. "It's going to be on Saturday. It's happening here so there's no traveling involved." He announced. I froze.
"What time, coach?" I panicked, swimming through my team to stand in front of him. "What time is our game?" I repeated. I heard Laith mutter something about my wedding date and I rolled my eyes. "The time?" I pressed.
"You boys need to show up here at nine in the morning. It's a tournament game so we'll be playing against fifteen universities from across the province." He said sternly. "Do you have plans, Muhammad?" He addressed me by my last name like all the other players. I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes.
"It's going to be an all-day tournament. Isn't it?" I pulled at my hair.
"Yes. For three days straight."
I stormed off, rushing to the change rooms. I switched my jersey for a sweater and grabbed my keys, backpack and coat. Before I could make it out the doors, my coach called me from his office. "Muhammad, are you playing this weekend?" He asked me softly. I was his favorite player so he was always kinder to me when we were alone.
"Coach, I've got to cancel a meeting with the girl of my dreams and her father. I was planning on finalizing everything with her family but I've got to cancel that for a basketball game." I complained. "You know how important and serious marriage is in my religion, coach."
He rubbed his bald spot. "I know, I know but this will be huge for your career! I have people flying here from L.A to see you play. Fifteen universities. Fifteen! You could make history Muhammad! You're the best point guard in the city and I say that honestly." He told me.
I sighed. "I don't want to be in the NBA, coach. I'll be at the game though. God willing, I'll be there." I said, before walking off.
"Best point guard in the city!" He shouted behind me. I smiled and pushed the exit doors open, treading through the snow to reach my car. Since it was night time, I tried my best to fasten the pace. Danger and assaults were very apparent at my university after school hours and during games.
Once I was secure in my car and away from the ears of my teammates, I called Sultan, Jannah's father. "Hello?" A voice answered.
"Hey, can I speak to Sultan?" I asked awkwardly. Was this the right number? It had to be! I've called Sultan's home before.
"He's busy at the moment. Can I take a message?" The girl said politely. She seemed familiar.
"Yeah, can you tell him that I can't make it.. wait- Is this Jannah?" I gawked. My heart rate escalated and the butterflies in my stomach went crazy.
"Uhm.. yeah it is. Wait. Is this Uncle AbdulJabbar? Oh, my goodness uncle I miss you so much! You live across town yet you never visit me!" She whined. "He's praying right now but I think he'll be done in a few seconds." She giggled.
"It's Dawud." I told her, smiling. She gasped. "Is your dad finished?" I asked. I loved talking to her but if it was going against our principles, I couldn't do it.
I heard whispers going on in the background before Sultan spoke. "Assalamu'Alaykum Dawud! How are you doing? I've put you on speaker so I can hear what is going on and so you and Jannah can speak freely." He said. Jannah chuckled.
"So, what was it that you had to cancel?" She asked.
"Wa alaykum Salam. This weekend I'm having one of the biggest basketball games of my life. I was just told that it'll last all weekend. I'm so sorry." I said, shaking my head.
"It's all right. I hope you guys win!" She said excitedly. I shook my head in amazement. She really was something else.
Chapter Thirteen ->