HIS POV:
I let out a yawn as I walked down the hall. My eyes were half shut and I felt this urge to just go home and snuggle into bed. I had to study all night, completing the assignment we were given. Extremely sleepy, I entered the classroom.
I put my books on the desk and sat down, taking out my phone to go through the list Nadia Khala (Mother's sister) sent me via text. As I scrolled down the list of daily grocery, I caught something from the corner of my eye.
There was a crowd of girls hovering over a single desk. I cocked an eyebrow, leaning closer to see what was going on. I spotted Romma in the middle of the crowd, laughing aloud with a badminton racket in her hand.
I sighed softly upon seeing her short dress. Turning back to my phone, I tried not to think too much on it. After all, it wasn't such a big deal here. I just felt a little more about Romma since she was practically the only other Muslim around. With a frown on my face, I continued to go through the list.
My mind soon wandered off to Romma again. I couldn't help but think it was such a shame. She was an Arab Muslim. Though, it was almost hard to believe that. Her habits, way of talking and attire didn't show she was Muslim in any way.
The bell rang and I snapped out of my thoughts. Kids rushed into the classroom like a herd of elephants followed by the teacher. The first lecture started soon after the teacher took the attendance. My friends slipped in beside me, laughing about God knew what. They shot me a quick salaam and turned back to their conversation before the teacher called them out.
With a concentrated look on my face, I focused on the lecture.
It was long before recess came around and I, for once was grateful. My sleep had taken over me quite a few times during the four lectures we had.
"I just hope they've got that piece of sandwich we ate last week." Harry said, turning to me. I nodded in agreement. Those sandwiches were delicious and best of all, they were vegetable sandwiches.
Upon reaching the cafeteria, we met up with Damian. His face lit up, seeing us. "Hey, guys. I was waiting for you." he smiled. We walked up to the counters to grab our lunches. It was such a shame those sandwiches had run out.
Nonetheless, I sat with my friends and ate my lunch, chatting and laughing.
When recess had ended, Harry and Damian walked off to their classes. I stayed behind to grab a few books from my locker. I had just opened it when I heard a voice fill my ears. "Hey, Waqqar! Glad I bumped into ya. " Romma skipped towards me, a hand stuck out as she waved. Her face had that usual confident and bright grin as always.
I didn't look at her. "Salam, Romma." I told her simply not wanting to strike up a converstaion for too long.
I noticed her narrowing her eyes at me from the corner of my eyes. It then turned into a scowl. "You're dull. As usual." she remarked, her grin fading away. I sighed. "Well... That's me." I pulled out the last book and held it securely in my arms. I turned to leave, giving her a last look.
But Romma had other plans.
"Anyway!" she drawled the topic. "I wanted to tell you that I have a game this weekend. You should show up." she suggested, a smile tugging at her lips as she looked at me locking her arms behind her.
For a second or two, I actually thought about it with a frown on my face. It never made sense to me that Romma would ever invite me to one of her games personally. I should've felt honoured, but to be honest, Romma wasn't exactly the type of person I would ever want to befriend. She just wasn't the type I'd want to hang out with. First and foremost, she was a girl. And secondly, her habits weren't exactly the halal type.
"Thanks, Romma." I said. "But I'm busy."
Hearing my answer, Romma scowled. She rolled her eyes before grumping. "Come on! Loosen yourself a little! You never come to any of my games!" I maintained my normal expression. "Look, I've got to go to class. Good luck on your game." I moved to leave but Romma stepped in front of me, blocking my path. She put her hands on her hips and shot me a challenging look.
"If you don't agree, I'll torment you like this everyday of the week. I'm not even joking." she smirked, folding her arms over her chest and tapping on the ground with her feet. "Why do you want me to come anyway??" I questioned, annoyed. It was final. Romma knew exactly what buttons to press.
She just looked at me, innocently almost making a baby face and gave a shrug. "It's fun. And besides, I'd love to have more people cheer for me. Coach said if we had more people from our college to cheer us on, the opponent team wouldn't stand a chance!" she explained quickly, pumping a fist in the air thinking about victory.
I cocked an eyebrow at her, an uncovinced look plastered on my face. "I'll think about it." I wasn't going and of course she understood that.
"I didn't come here to hear you refuse." I had already started walking towards my next class and she followed me. "You can't avoid me, Waqqar!" her tone had a threatning touch to it.
"You know, you should be more aware of the fact that you're roaming around a non Mehrem." I didnt feel comfortable being so close and I just had to tell her. She gave me a dirty look before rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Why'd you always have to push religion into everything?" she finally blurted out.
I gave her a weird look. "Because religion is important." I simply said with a shrug. "Yes! It is but there are more important things than religion! Like studies and family. That's priority." She explained and it seemed more like she was trying to convince me. I shook my head in disbelief. "That's wrong. Religion is priority. Things like family and studies are not as important." I told her, calmly.
She gave me a 'Are you kidding me?!' look. "Why does God demand so much from us?" she started. "I mean He is supposed to be the most Merciful and giving. Why doesn't He just give us a break then!?" She argued, silently fuming. I looked at her, a little shocked at her choice of words. She actually had the guts to say that. Sure she wasn't exactly a practising Muslim but still...
"That's because God has given us more than we even deserve. His blessings are countless. The least we can do is start living our life like He wants us to or at least be grateful." I explained, keeping my cool. There was no point in getting angry. "What blessings?! I don't see anything!" She shot back, raising her voice.
"How do you think we are standing here right now? How come we aren't dead. Or how come that there's nothing wrong with us. We have all of our limbs attached to our bodies. Just take a look outside. Heck! I'll show you everything myself if you want. Those people have NOTHING." I gave her a stern look.
She folded her arms over her chest. "I still don't know why we can't be free!" She grumbled, storming away. My eyes followed her as she walked away into the distance. "Well, that was a heated conversation." I mumbled to myself.
Since there was no point in wasting time over all that, I walked to class. The lesson started in less than 5 minutes.
As soon as class was over, I went to the cafeteria to grab a snack. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I took it out and saw that Nadeem Chachoo was calling. "Assalam u alaikum, Chachoo (Father's brother) is everything okay?" I asked.
"Waalaykumusalaam, beta (son) Alhamdulillah Everything is good. I just wanted to inform you that I was going to be late and wouldn't be able to pick Meena up from school. You'll have to pick her up on your way back home." He informed me.
Four hours later...
I quickly stuffed my things in my bag. Meena must be crying right now. I had completely forgotten that I had to pick her up. I walked out of the building and went straight towards the main gate. But of course I was stopped by a certain someone.
I looked at her, waiting for her to speak up, a bit annoyed. Well, okay very annoyed. She had a smirk on her face as usual and I was sure she had something up her sleeve. "Where're ya going?" She asked, grinning. "Home." I simply replied. "I think you've forgotten about my game." She said.
I nodded as I remembered what she was talking about. "Look, if I had time. I would've come myself." I told her. She put her hands on her hips, scowling at me. "I'll have more people cheering for our college if you come. I'll be able to make the other team jealous. Besides, EVERYONE is coming." Her smirk was gone and she really looked sincere.
I let out a sigh, giving in. "Fine." I groaned. "When is it?" I asked her, scowling a little. She smiled victoriously, twirling her golden brown locks between her fingers. "Wednesday. Be there at 6 in the evening." She ordered with her index finger stuck out. She flipped her hair over her shoulders and sashayed away.
I groaned again.