I felt tapping on my face, the funny thing was giggles came right after it. I swatted the hand away as it pinched my cheeks.
“Ya Allah, I swear if you don't leave in five minutes someones gonna get a slap” I said as my face was in my pillow. I heard more giggling.
The tapping stopped and so did the giggling. I sighed and let my mind drift off. After I sighed I felt someone pull my hair, and giggling came right after it once again.
“That's it” I said, I opened my eyes and saw a smiling Masoud giggling at me.
“You have 1.5 seconds to run before I throw you outside my room” after I said that his little eyes went wide and he ran as fast as he could out of my room.
“You're so dead Lil bro” with that I ran out of my room chasing him around the living room.
“Momma help me!” Masoud yelled running into the counter.
“Madina leave him alone!” My mom yelled. I ignored her and jumped on the couch. Masoud's eyes went wide and his little legs couldn't move fast enough for me.
I jumped off of the couch and grabbed his shirt which made him fall backward onto my lap.
“Gotcha” I whispered in his ear.
I swung him onto my shoulder and opened the front door. I made sure no one was looking because I didn't have my Hijab on.
“Majeed help!” Masoud yelled as he was draped over my shoulder.
“Sorry Lil bro, your on your own. Madina's scary when she's angry” Majeed said sitting on the couch flipping through channels.
“Dina please!” He yelled and laughed at the same time.
“How many times have I told you not to wake me up?” I asked with a sinister soft voice.
He gulped. “Uh, like more than 50 times” he answered actually trying to think how many times I've told him.
I snorted “exactly you monkey, and you still haven't learned your lesson, now what should I do with you?” I asked tapping my chin with my free hand.
“Oh I know! I'll throw you into the kitty pool in the front yard. I know how much you hate getting your clothes wet” I said with an evil smirk
“No,no please. You know how long it takes to match outfits?!” he struggled on my back.
“Oh you're right! But you know how grumpy I get when you wake me, so it's just getting even little brother” I shrugged.
I was about to throw him in when I heard his voice. “Please I'll do anything Dina” he pleaded.
“Anything?” I asked amused.
“Yes anything, wallahi (I swear to god)
“Hmm interesting” I said with a smirk.
( two hours later )
“Masoudy! Where's my food?” I yelled as I sat on the couch eating bags of Doritos, hey a girl's gotta eat.
“I'm coming” he groaned.
Hey, he might be five years old, but I swear sometimes he acts like he's 50. He's too smart for his age so I take that as an advantage.
Masoud put my pancakes on the table and poured the syrup for me.
“Thank you Masoudy” I said with a watery mouth looking at my pancakes. Yes we let him cook, he's seriously talented he should be on master chef junior, the kids version.
“Whatever” he grumbled and walked away.
“Wait!” I yelled. He turned around with bored eyes.
“Do you want some?” I asked wiggling my eyebrows. A small smile made its way on his lips.
“Maybe” he answered trying to hide his smile.
“Get over here monkey you made me too much I can't eat it all" I said opening my arms for him.
He ran into my arms and I sat him on my lap. I fed him a bite then my self. After 50 pancakes later ( not really, I'm just being dramatic) I was full.
“Madina come here!” I heard my mom yell from the kitchen.
I ran into the kitchen and my eyes went wide. “Shi-” I was about it say but my mom cut me off.
“No swearing dewana (crazy)” she finished off.
“Clean the kitchen, I can't believe you made Masoud make you pancakes” she said taking her apron off.
“Make? I'm pretty sure he insisted mom” I said laughing. She rolled her eyes.
“I'm going to work so make sure this is done by tonight, remember the neighbor's are coming over for dinner” she said grabbing her cream colored purse that matched her Hijab.
If I haven't mentioned it yet, my mom was a nurse. Since we moved here yesterday they relocated her job to a hospital here in California.
“Okay bye mommy” I said with a smile. She laughed and kissed my forehead. I kissed her hands out of respect.
She left and I was stuck with this mess. I still didn't win at the end. I huffed and got to cleaning. Majeed walked in looking all sweaty. He drank his water and smirked my way.
“I'll slap that smirk right off of your face bro” I said cleaning the stove.
“I didn't even say anything drama Queen” he rolled his eyes.
“That's right I'm a queen, whats new?” I asked. He made a weird face and shrugged me off.
“Why do you smell? Go take a shower you nasty” I said plugging my nose as if I could really smell it.
“Shut up” he mumbled smelling his armpits. “I was at the gym, they have a huge basketball court their”
My head whipped to the right. “They do?” I asked all excited.
“Yup, just got back from their, its so dope” I laughed at his choice of words.
“I'm gonna check it out later” I said squealing. Some girls would be so happy if you got them heels, but if you bought me Jordan sneakers, I'd love you forever. I had like 20 pairs of Jordan's already in my closet.
“When? You're gonna be here cleaning all day” he laughed and walked out of the kitchen. I huffed and mentally swore at him.
After I finished, I went upstairs and got into my basketball clothes. I wore my red long sleeve warm up jersey that wrote ‘Toronto Basketball’ on black bold letters.
I put on my black basketball tights. After that, I pulled my black Nike shorts over my tights. My hair was in a bun and I slipped on my pro hijab.
I ran downstairs with my gym bag in my hand and shoes in the other. When I got to the door I put my white and gold Jordan's on. They looked super fly, I mean I did pay $ 200 for them, they better look good.
“Where are you going?” Majeed asked scrunching his eyebrows up.
“Out”
“With your basketball clothes on?” He asked.
“Yeah, got a problem” I asked with my hand on my hip.
“No, I mean if you're going to the basketball court I was just gonna say there's no women section. It's all men” he said a bit worried.
“You think I care? Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm not gonna go and check it out. I have a right just like you guys do” I said confidently.
“Calm down, I know that. If anyone bothers you just call me okay?” he said seriously clenching his jaw.
“Okay” I smiled “thank you”
He smiled back and went to playing his video games.
“Dina where are you going?” I heard Masoud's voice. He ran down the stairs as fast as he could with his little legs.
“I'm going to play some ball” I said smiling.
“No! Its gonna be so boring here without you” he said pouting.
“Hey what about me?” Majeed asked.
“What about you?” Masoud asked. I laughed and Majeed looked away frustrated.
“Can I come pleaseeeee?” He asked.
“But you hate basketball” I laughed.
“Yeah, but I don't want to be here” Masoud said looking at Majeed and whispering “with him” he whispered the last part quietly towards me.
“Okay fine, bring your iPad so you don't get bored there” I said. He smiled and went to grab his stuff.
“Can I have the car keys?” I asked Majeed.
“Uh no, you can walk” he said almost instantly.
“But its gonna take forever to drag Masoud with me” I whined.
“Fine” he threw the keys at my face but luckily I grabbed it fast enough.
“Thank you my dearest brother” I smiled.
“Uh huh, if you scratch my Mercedes your dead” he huffed.
“Jeez, I won't don't worry” with that Masoud came and we got in the car.
“God I love this car” I said leaning on stirring wheel. “Like when is Boba (dad) gonna finally get me a car?” I huffed.
“Soon, inshalla (if Allah wills it)” Masoud said getting into his car seat.
Awe your cute” I said looking at the back of the car.
“Yeah, yeah I know this already” Masoud said. I laughed and put the address into the GPS.
As soon as we got their my eyes widened. The gyms exterior was so large. I parked and Masoud got out himself. I put my gym bag on my shoulder and grabbed Masoud's hand in mine.
We walked in and I had to pay to get a gym membership. “Damn that was expensive” I said holding onto Masoud.
“Its worth it, it will last you a whole year” Masoud said reasoning with me.
“Your right” I sighed.
“I know” he smiled cheeky.
“Let's go monkey” I pulled him into the basketball court. Their was Bleacher's high up and I made Masoud sit up their.
Majeed was right, I didn't see any females here it was all sweaty men playing basketball.
“Come on Madina you can do this” I whispered to myself. I took of my hoodie because I was sweating already. Damn this California weather.
I fixed my hijab and got my Spalding basketball from my gym bag. I start dribbling when I found an empty net where no one was playing.
I ran to the net where no one was and my dribbling got faster. I didn't pay attention to the stares I got from some guys. I just practiced my left hand lay ups. To those who don't know what lay up’s are.
Basically you stand on either side of the net and run to it. As soon as you get a little close you stop dribbling and take three steps. After three steps you shoot and try to aim for the corner of the back bored for the ball to go in perfectly.
I put my beats headphones, music blared in my ears, and then I practised my foul shots. I stood at the line and every time I shot the ball went into the net swiftly. My ball went off to the side and I ran after it. As soon as I was about to grab it someone else did.
I looked up to meet a pair of green eyes. I took a couple steps back and took a good glance at this boy. He had blonde hair that was shaggy. His tan skin color came from the California sun. His tall height made me feel so small standing in front of him. He had a big smile on his face as he stared at me. He was definitely my age.
He handed my ball very fast and I caught it with no effort. His smile widened even more. “Thank you” I said confidently.
“No problem” his husky voice rang in. I turned around to go back to my net.
“I'm Chase by the way” he said amused. I turned around to look into his green eyes.
His fist was out. I fist bumped his large one and he retreated his hand.
“Nice to meet you Chase, I'm Madina” I said resting my ball on my hip.
“M-a-d-ii-nn-aa” he said testing my name. I laughed and he looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Toronto basketball huh?” He said looking at my shirt. I looked down and smiled.
“That's right I'm a Raptors fan” I said proudly.
He laughed “oh really? Why not Los Angeles Lakers? I mean you live in Cali why not like the teams from here?” He asked interested.
“Well maybe cause I'm not from here” I smirked and turned around to walk away.
“Canadian?!” He yelled from across the gym.
I stopped running and started to run backwards. “Yup!” I yelled back.
He laughed and watched me run to the other side of the gym. I practiced my three point shots. I would say this is a hard shot to make, its really far from the net. You had to be persistent and accurate with your shooting.
I shot it and the ball went in with a ‘swish’ noise I smiled and dabbed real quick.
“You're really good Madi” I turned around and found Chase looking at the ball that was bouncing around.
“Uh, thank you?”
“I'm really confused” he said wiping his palms on his shorts.
“With?” I said trying to make small talk.
“I've never seen a girl come in this place, and finally someone does and she plays as good as the guys would” he said scratching his head.
“Well just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't play some ball here without everyone giving me weird looks” I said confidently.
“I agree Madi” he said with a smile.
“What did you just call me?” I asked.
“Madi? I called you this two times and now you realize?” He asked laughing.
I laughed and shrugged it off. “I only give nicknames to people I like. And you Madi, I like” he winked. He passed me my ball and walked away from me.
I stood their still. He meant as friends? Right? “It was nice meeting you to Madi!” He yelled from across the gym. I smiled and shook my head.
I ran to the bleachers and grabbed Masoud. “Let's go little bro, its getting really late” I said grabbing his arm.
“Already?” he whined and grabbed his sweater from the bench.
“What do you mean already? we've been here for two hours” I said grabbing his hand and dragging him down the bleachers with me.
“Really?” He asked laughing.
“Yes really Mamma’s gonna so kill me, you didn't even take your nap today”
“I'm a big boy, I don't need naps” he huffed holding his iPad.
“Sadly, I agree” I sighed.
I got him into his car seat, and got into the front seat myself. As I was driving Masoud's whining voice made me look at him.
“Ouu can we go their?!” Masoud asked pointing out his window. Since I was at a red light I looked to my right and saw an ice cream parlor.
“No, momma’s gonna be so mad that I'm late” I said already feeling the anger of my mom.
“Com’on please Madinaaaaa?” He whined.
I groaned “no means no Masoud”
“Pleaseeeeeeeeeee” he went for a whole minute.
“Okay! Just be quiet” I yelled. He shut up and I saw a smile form his lips. Ugh kids!
“I took a right turn and got into the small parking lot. The ice cream parlor was so small and cute. It was painted a baby blue color with a melted sundae picture on the front. It was called ‘Betty's Best ice cream
Masoud got out of his seat so fast I had to double take. I grabbed his hand and we both ran into the doors that rang with a small bell when we got in.
The parlor was pretty small but cute at the same time. It smelled so sweet and sugary. “Hi how may I help you dear?” An old lady said at the counter.
“Um hi I'm just here for my brother, Masoud tell her what you want” I said pushing him in front of me.
As Masoud was giving his order, I took the time to look at the old lady. She wore a pink cardigan with white knee length shorts. She had her white pearls on with matching earrings. Her smile was so bright and full of life.
Her skin resembled of her pearls but she did have wrinkles at her age. She had light pink lipstick on her thin lips and white powder on her face. Her white blonde hair was in curls and held back with a clip.
The parlor was a baby blue color, like the outside. There were cute booths where four people could fit, two people on each side. The ceiling was painted with different types of ice creams and Candy's.
“Thank you” Masoud said smiling at the old lady.
“Your welcome dear” she croaked out. The ice cream did look divine. It was mint flavored and chocolate mixed in with vanilla swirl. Their was chocolate and caramel syrup with a bunch of Candy's I couldn't name because their was so much.
“Really that much?” I asked.
“What? Y'all barely take me out. This will last me a while” he said shrugging. I laughed and shook my head.
I saw blue forms near the cash register and I couldn't help but take a glance while giving the lady her money.
It read ‘Save Betty's Best parlor! or will be shut down because of low business. Now hiring’
“Thank you dear” I heard the old lady say. I was snapped back into reality and looked away from the blue forms.
“Interested dear?” She asked amused.
“Huh? Sorry, what?” I asked.
“The forms” she pointed at them “we really do need more business. It would help to have a teenager in here helping us update with menus so more people would show” she said hopefully.
“Oh I don't know if I could help. I'm not that creative” I laughed nervously.
“Well give it a thought dear, please, we need all the help we can get” she said with pleading eyes.
I felt bad so I took a flyer. I shoved it inside of my bag and smiled at her. “I will”
“Betty Crawford” she said holding her hand out for me to shake.
I shook her hand and laughed “wait your Betty?” I asked.
She nodded “the one and the only”
“That's actually pretty amazing” I laughed “I'm Madina Omar” I said with a smile.
“What a beautiful name” she gasped. “So foreign and elegant” she smiled.
“Thank you, I have to get going Betty, thank you for everything” I smiled.
“My pleasure, I hope to see you again with good news” she winked at me. I laughed and nodded.
I went to find Masoud in a booth with chocolate all over his face.
“You drive me crazy” I signed and took out wet napkins from my bag and whipped his face.
“You're definitely still a baby” I huffed and grabbed him.
“No way!” He huffed as I pulled him out of the parlor. “Bye Betty!” He yelled before the door shut.
“We got to go before momma decided to never let me leave the house”
“Can we come here again?” Masoud asked hopefully.
“Inshallah (if god/Allah wills)”
“So… No?” He asked I just start laughing.
As soon as we got home we ran to the front door but I did notice the sun coming down meaning it was time for Maghrib prayer. I looked at the garage and their was an expensive car parked. I sighed and got in.
I heard laughing coming from the kitchen and I was confused. Masoud's hand was in mine and we walked in the kitchen slowly as the conversation was vivid.
My eyes went wide when I saw four people I didn't notice sitting at our table. One was an older man my dads age. He had dark hair with a bit of white streaks. He had an expensive suit on that was charcoal color. His eyes were a dark brown like his hair. He had slight wrinkles near his eyes when he would laugh.
Their was a women sitting next to him she was definitely beautiful with no effort. Her light brown hair was in waves behind her back. Her pencil dress was a dark blue. Her eyes were a bright blue that reminded me of a certain person. Her makeup was done lightly. She looked about my moms age.
Their was also a little boy sitting beside his mother, stuffing food in his mouth. He had light brown hair and bright blue eyes like his mother. He looked exactly Masoud's age but more confident. He looked like that type of kid everyone on the playground was afraid of.
I looked beside the seat next to the little boy and my eyes went wide. It was the guy I saw at the beach surfing yesterday. He was looking at me intently. He didn't dare look away. He rested his napkin on the table and didn't look anywhere else but at me. I gulped and shut my eyes, I couldn't look into those bright blue eyes of his.
This jerk is my neighbor? I asked myself. Ya Allah (oh god) please help me
“Madina why are you late, didn't I tell you about this dinner?” She asked I could see the fire her eyes.
Shit, definitely dead.
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A\N
Salam/Hey guys!! What up fam? Thanks to all the beautiful people all around the world that are still reading.
I hope you liked this chapter! To get a dedication I need to hear a funny comment. Because honestly those comments make my day.
Please vote, will be much appreciated
Salam/Peace Raz ✌❤