"Wakey wakey sleepy head! Time to get ready for school." Hafsah said, lightly poking Ihsan.
"One more minute." Ihsan groaned, turning over to her side.
"It's 7:00am already, you'll be late Ihsan." Hafsah told her.
"Argh! Can you just let me sleep?" Ihsan complained.
"Okay." Hafsah replied, a mischievous glint in her eyes. She started tickling Ihsan who squirmed and laughed.
"Will you get up now?" Hafsah laughed. "Nope!" Ihsan laughed too. Hafsah tickled her harder and then she sat up.
"Why don't you ever let me get enough sleep?" Ihsan whined, yawning.
"Up up up." Hafsah said, picking her up and taking her into the bathroom.
At 7:30am, Ihsan was ready and already eating her breakfast at the dining table. Hafsah was inside her room getting ready so that she could drop Ihsan off at school.
She put on nice sweatpants and a sweatshirt, pulled her hair up in a bun and covered it. She went downstairs to find Ihsan impatiently waiting by the door of her Honda CRV. Hafsah opened the car and they got in.
Hafsah got the car and her license as her eighteenth birthday gift from her father. He told her she could take it to school but she refused. She wasn't one to live a flashy lifestyle.
Ihsan turned up the volume of the radio as she sang and danced to the music.
"You will never change." Hafsah chuckled, driving out of their estate and unto the main road.
"Hafsah do you have a boyfriend?" Ihsan asked, blushing. "Why do you ask?" Hafsah asked back.
"Because...my best friend said her sister's boyfriend buys ice cream for her. I want your boyfriend to buy ice cream for me too." Ihsan said, pouting her lips.
"My boyfriend stays in Abuja." Hafsah told her, turning into the street that led to Queensfield Schools.
"When is he going to visit us?" Ihsan asked. "He isn't visiting us yet, now go down." Hafsah replied shooing her out of the car.
Ihsan got down and stood by the car, waiting for Hafsah to get down. Hafsah got down and locked the car, holding Ihsan by the hand and taking her inside. After signing her in, Hafsah gave her a hug and a chocolate from her pocket.
"Thank you. I want an extra for my best friend." Ihsan beamed.
"And who's your friend?" Hafsah asked. Ihsan answered her by pulling her towards a young girl and a guy that looked to be in his mid twenties.
"This is Maya, my bestest friend." Ihsan grinned.
Hafsah smiled and pulled Maya's cheeks.
"Hey Maya, this is for you." she said and handed a chocolate bar to her.
"Uh-uh. Don't I get a chocolate too?" The extremely dashing and handsome young man asked, raising his brows in amusement. Hafsah blushed and replied.
"I don't have one left."
"Well I really want one." he said, pouting his lips like a five year old.
"Um- I guess I'll give Ihsan one for you tomorrow." Hafsah replied, fumbling with her keys.
"Bye Hafsah, bye uncle Haneed." Ihsan said and skipped away with Maya.
"Oh Hafsah, my bad. I didn't introduce myself." Haneed said, giving her a goofy grin. "I'm Haneed, Maya's brother."
"Nice meeting you." Hafsah replied as they walked out of the school.
"So, where do you school?" he asked her.
"Ahmadu Bello University. What about you?" Hafsah replied.
"I graduated from Nigerian Turkish Nile University two years back. Right now, I work with my dad." he said as they got to Hafsah's car.
"That's great. As much as I'd love to continue this conversation, I have to go." Hafsah said, unlocking her car.
"Sure. Can I get your number?" he asked her. Hafsah looked unsure but gave him anyway.
"Thanks, I'll see you later right?" he smiled. "Sure, when I come to pick Ihsan, that is." Hafsah replied, smiling.
"And I'll be sure not to forget your chocolate." she added, giving him a charming smile.
"Yeah, see you later." Haneed chuckled and left to his car.
Hafsah drove off with a wide grin plastered on her face. Instead of going home, she drove straight to Malali to see Sameerah. Hafsah honked at the gate to Sameerah's house and their gateman opened it immediately.
"Good morning." Hafsah greeted the gateman as she stepped down from her car.
"Morning ma." he answered and escorted her to the front door.
Hafsah rang the doorbell and was immediately welcomed by their help, Maryam.
"Where's Sameerah?" Hafsah asked her. "She's asleep in her room. I'll take you there." Maryam replied, leading Hafsah up to Sameerah's room.
Hafsah gave her a grateful smile and entered the room, plopping down on her friend's bed.
"Wakey wakey!" Hafsah said, poking her sides. "What the hell? Let me sleep." Sameerah groaned, cuddling her pillow.
"Wake up Sameerah." Hafsah tried again. "Oh God Farouq I swear if you poke me one more time..." Sameerah mumbled.
Hafsah chuckled, she needed to have that on video. She pulled out her phone and pressed record, then she poked Sameerah again.
"Walahi Farouq if you don't allow me sleep, zan yanka kan ka(I'll cut off your head)." Sameerah threatened.
"Wake up Sameerah, what the hell?" Hafsah asked her.
"I get I always have to get the kids ready for school. Why can't you just do it today?" Sameerah sighed.
Hafsah couldn't hold in her laughter for much longer so she burst out laughing, really hard. Sameerah slowly opened her eyes to see Hafsah and she sat up immediately.
"Hey." she smiled. "Hey sleepy head! Guess what I just sent to Farouq." Hafsah smirked.
"What did you send to him?" Sameerah asked, yawning.
Hafsah showed her the video and Sameerah let out a loud shriek.
"Why would you do that? Now I won't see the end of this because he'll constantly tease me about always thinking of him."
"Well don't you always think of him?" Hafsah teased.
Sameerah's cheeks heated up and she groaned, putting her face in her pillow.
"Why are you even here? Don't you know it's too early to visit somebody?" Sameerah asked.
"Well, I was missing my bestest friend so I decided to see her." Hafsah replied, pulling her into a hug.
"Awww that's sweet and all but I need my beauty sleep." Sameerah said.
"Whatever! Anyway, I met this guy today." Hafsah told her.
"Oh my! Is he hot? Tall? Handsome? Fair? Dar-?"
"For God's sake shut up Sameerah." Hafsah sighed.
Sameerah gave her a sheepish smile and gestured for her to continue.
"Well, I met him at Ihsan's school. Obviously, his younger sister is Ihsan's best friend and we got talking."
Hafsah proceeded to tell her how he also wanted a chocolate. "Awww what's his name?" Sameerah cooed.
"Haneed." Hafsah replied. "Is another ship planning to sail?" Sameerah teased.
Hafsah blushed furiously before playfully hitting her best friend on the hand. "I have a boyfriend madam." Hafsah replied.
"Yeah sure, you do." Sameerah teased.
They went downstairs for breakfast which consisted of toasts and coffee.
"Thank you." Hafsah said when she finished eating.
"Thank me again and I'll cut off your tongue and feed it to the creepy black cat at the hostel." Sameerah said, using Hafsah's words against her.
"Whatever!" Hafsah shrugged. They went back to Sameerah's room where they watched a marathon of Stranger Things and binged on junk food.
Soon after, it was 2:30pm and Ihsan's school closed at 3:00pm. Hafsah said bye to her friend and headed to Ihsan's school, stopping at Dalema supermarket to buy chocolates for Haneed.
She got to Ihsan's school and parked her car outside then walked into the school to see Ihsan and Maya sitting at the reception.
"Hafsah." they said in unison and gave her a hug. "How was school today?" Hafsah asked them.
"Fine." they both replied.
"Where's Haneed?" Hafsah asked Maya.
"He isn't here yet." Maya replied.
Just then, Hafsah's phone rang. She looked at the caller ID but saw it was from an unknown number.
"Hello?" she answered. "Hey, It's Haneed." he replied.
"Oh Haneed! Where are you?" Hafsah asked. "Stuck in traffic. Could you please tell Maya I'll be there in about thirty minutes?"
"Okay, we'll be in my car." Hafsah replied. "Thanks, I'll see you soon." And with that he hung up.
"What did he say?" Maya asked. "He's stuck in traffic so we have to wait for him in my car." Hafsah replied.
Hafsah signed the both of them out and took them to her car.
"Yay! Chocolates." Ihsan beamed.
"You girls can have some but be sure leave one for Haneed." Hafsah told them, picking one for herself too.
Twenty minutes later, Haneed arrived. The school was almost empty already.
"Hey Hafsah, sorry for keeping you waiting." he apologized, leaning against her window.
"It's okay Haneed. How's work by the way?" she asked him.
"Fine, I'll head back to the office after dropping Maya off at home." he replied.
"Wow, you must be really exhausted at the end of each day." Hafsah said.
"True that." he replied. "Where's my chocolate?" he added, sticking out his hand.
Hafsah turned to the back seat and gave him one of the chocolates.
"Thank you." he said, eating the chocolate immediately.
"I also got something for you." he added.
"Really? What?" Hafsah asked. Haneed walked to his car and brought out a disposable bag.
"Here, I left you under the sun for a while so I thought you needed something cold." he said, giving her a cup of ice cream from yummylicious.
"Thank you, but you really didn't have to." Hafsah smiled at him.
"You're welcome." he gave her a charming smile.
Ihsan and Maya stretched out their hands for theirs and he gave them a cup each, leaving one for himself.
"Hafsah since uncle Haneed bought us ice cream, does that mean he's your boyfriend?" Ihsan asked.
Hafsah coughed awkwardly and replied. "You shouldn't talk while eating." Hafsah scolded.
"But I'm not eating, I'm licking." Ihsan replied, making licking noises.
"Your sister is right, you shouldn't talk while licking." Haneed told her.
"Hey! Want to try something fun?" he asked Ihsan.
"Yeah." Ihsan beamed. Haneed took a chocolate from the box and broke it into tiny bits and mixed them in his ice cream.
"Here try." he said, putting a spoon in Ihsan's mouth.
"Yummy!" Ihsan replied and she and Maya mixed chocolates in theirs.
Hafsah joined them too and when they were done, they all went their separate ways.