Hira's POV:
"Just a girl, huh?" I narrowed my eyes on him as soon as Auntie was out of our sight and Zulqarnain's head snapped towards me.
"Look,...there is no need to get annoyed. The news just startled me. It- I wouldn't be like that if you informed me before. You know..." He tried to explain.
"It wasn't news." I deadpanned.
"It wasn't?" his eyes widened, "Then what was Ami talking about?"
"She was just saying that she would marry me off like her daughter." I kept glaring at him, as I slid down from the sofa to the rug near the table.
"But you aren't her daughter." He blurted out.
"Thanks for informing me, I didn't know that before." I said sarcastically as I am serving him tea.
"Wait, I didn't mean it that way." He exclaimed.
He is behaving rather strange... Did he hit his head somewhere?
I didn't say anything else and turn my focus onto my tea.
"By the way, who is coming?" Zulqarnain asked after a few moments of silence.
"My students." I answered.
"For what?"
"For tuition."
"Oh! Which students?"
"Zaid, Tahir, Faiq and Ahmar. I am going to tutor them from now on."
"WHAT?" He nearly shouted, making me jump a little in surprise.
"Why are you tutoring them? They don't need any tutor and if they do, why does it have to be you?"
"Why do you always have a problem with everything, Hero?" I scowled.
"Not everything, just them."
"Really, so why were you opposing the idea of my 'marriage' a few minutes ago?" I said, making inverted commas with my hands.
"I was genuinely concerned about your well being."
"Hero, I am not a kid." I said with my jaws clenched.
"But you are a girl and you should be more careful about what you do."
Huh????!!!
"Fine then." I said and got up, taking my cup of tea.
"Where are you going?" He asked as soon as I turned to leave.
"To my floor."
"What? Why?" He frowned.
"Because I am a girl and I should be more careful about what I do. Therefore, I am leaving. A girl shouldn't sit alone with a boy. So, we will only talk when others are around. It was nice talking to you, Mr Muhammad Zulqarnain Shah." I said and leave, while he sat there calling out for me.
Lie down on a railway track as I would listen, you shouldn't have underestimated me.....
~*~
Zulqarnain's POV:
That girl is so stubborn...
I watch Hira as she went back to her floor with slow steps, making it more obvious that she is rubbing my words on my face. I don't remember when was the last time I was mad at my friend.
This girl just doesn't listen to me and continues with her reckless behaviour. She loves to put herself in difficult situations and put up all brave acts. Can't she understand how frustrating it is to watch her dealing with those boys who were the reason for her being hospitalized???
She should thank Allah that she is a girl, or else I would have smacked her head thousands of times till now for her so-called bravery.
'Disadvantages of opposite gender friendship'
That's how Hira would describe it, with a very evil smile on her face. Because she is the only one who gets the advantage and I am the one with a disadvantage.
Sometimes I think that the cycle of our friendship is going in the wrong way. I usually see female friends being worried about their male friends, but here, it's the complete opposite. I wonder how Hira's other friends put up with her.
"If you are done daydreaming about my teacher, could you pass me the cookies?" I got startled and looked at my left to the source of the voice and found Ahmar sitting with my cup of tea in his hand.
"That tea is mine. And what are you doing here?"
How can he steal my tea???
He raised the cup and says after taking a sip, "I don't see your name on it."
The nerve of him...
I narrowed my eyes on him and suddenly they went wide.
He... he just talked to me...
For the first time in the past two years, he talked to me and we aren't even arguing. I sat there and keep looking at him, while he was busy finishing all the cookies that existed on the plate.
"Look, if you want some, just ask. Don't stare at me like a hungry ape. It's scary." He said with his mouth full.
I quickly averted my gaze but I couldn't come out from the shock that he is talking to me. Perhaps it's not like the old days, but still...
"Tell me truthfully, the big brother of mine." His sarcastic voice made me turn my face to him. "Who is Miss Hira to you?" he asked, looking straight into my eyes.
"What do you mean?" I scowled.
"It's a simple question."
"She is my friend."
"Then behave like a friend, don't act like a father. And I think you don't have to worry about her anymore. She will be spending MOST OF HER TIME with us from now on and we know how to take care of our teacher."
I don't like the way he said 'most of her time'.
"Yeah, I have seen how you guys managed to send her to the hospital and almost became the reason for her losing her job." I stood up, glaring at the portrait hanging on the wall, not wanting to take out all of my irritation on Ahmar.
"We know it was our fault. That's why we agreed on being tutored by her. So she could keep the job." Ahmar said furiously.
"What do you mean?"
"It's our punishment." He looked away.
"What sort of punishment is this?"
"Ask our father. He was one of the decision-makers of this. "
What was dad thinking???
Hira already has her hands full of mental and emotional stress. Throwing more burdens onto her plate wouldn't be good for her health. I let out a sigh of irritation and start marching towards my room.
This is stupid. Nothing makes sense. Why all of a sudden Ami brought up the topic of marriage? Why is Hira taking her students' side rather than understanding my concerns? My brother suddenly starts talking to me after so long and what he was talking about involved me staying away from my friend. What the hell is wrong with everything???
Hira is my friend, mine.
Then why are they the ones who are spending the most time with her???
And why does she always have anger towards me?
She wasn't like that before. Yes, she used to jokingly scold me a lot and it was fun to tease her too. But now, not only does she tries to avoid me all the time, but she also practically punishes me when she gets angry. What did I do to deserve this???
I was so happy with the idea that she will stay with us. My friend would be closed and we would be able to talk more. I wouldn't get bored alone at home too. But here, the scene has become the complete alternate. My friend spends more time with everyone in my family than me and the few minutes I used to get for talking on the phone with her before she came here are gone too. She doesn't talk to me on the phone anymore and I don't usually get the chance to talk to her at home and if I do get it, it would only end up like this.
"Stop sulking, big brother of mine." Ahmar shot a comment and I turned my head to glare at him but avoided saying anything, on which he just smirked.
~*~
Hira's POV:
I noticed how the boys looked around and exchanged glances before looking at me, who was pretending to be busy going through their notebooks.
"This is a maths notebook." Zaid said as soon as I picked up a notebook.
"Yes, I can see that. Anyways, what do you guys want to start with today?" I asked, raising my gaze to them.
"Let's do a round of Truth or Dare!" Tahir suggests excitedly.
"I am talking about studies." I answered.
"How about-" Faiq opened his mouth but Tahir beat him to it.
"Come on Miss, don't refuse a student on your first day. Besides, it will be best for all of us as we could bond with each other."
"I know your name, class and your previous academic record. Enough to start the study on the first day." I put back the book on the table.
I don't understand why we are sitting in the living room, it would've been much better if it was a proper room or perhaps my floor. There is an empty room there too. Then again, it might be a way to keep an eye on these boys or something.
"Let me tell you straight. We are in no mood to study today. Especially after we were threatened by our fathers." Zaid said, leaning against the back of the sofa.
Threatened????
I look at each of them one by one and their plain expressions suggested that Zaid wasn't lying. I bit my inner cheek, thinking of how I should proceed when they have spoken their minds.
Taking advantage of my silence and confused state, Tahir said, "Truth or Dare it is!" His voice is filled with excitement, making my head snap towards him as well as the other boys and then their heads turn to me.
Fine then, let's go with the flow...
"Okay, only if you guys promise me to get serious from tomorrow onwards."
"Yes!" Tahir exclaimed and received strange looks from everyone.
"Ah! If we are playing, why don't I call my big brother too?" Ahmar suggested.
Hero???
"He is at home?" Zaid asked and Ahmar nodded.
"Then call him. If he wants to come, it will be high time to have fun." Faiq said with a mischievous smirk.
"Oh, he will come for sure." Ahmar winked and got up.
Within two minutes, I saw Ahmar coming back with a winning smile, followed by non-other than Muhammad Zulqarnain Shah in his trousers and a blue T-shirt. As soon as our eyes met, I averted my gaze.
Ya Allah! Why does he have to look so cute????
______________________
Salam and hello everyone!
Sorry for the late update and a short update but I promise to make it up in next chapter.
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Take Care :)