HER POV...
My life's getting frustrating by the minute. It was annoying that I had another game next week and it was important! The college we were up against were known for their great badminton team. I've got so much to do already when this comes up. "Romma, you coming for practice?" Flora asked as she passed by me. I nodded. "Yep, be right there. You guys start. I wanna change first." I told her as I went to the girl's locker room to change into my practice clothes.
Thankfully, there weren't any boys at this time in the gym because it was late. The bell for home time had already rang half an hour ago. Changing, I walked into the gym almost immediately joining the game.
No matter how hard I tried to concentrate, I had one thing on my mind. What was Maria doing? Was she hitting up on Waqqar or something? I knew for a fact she wouldn't give up without a fight and neither was I. "Romma!! Watch out!" Juana shouted my way, shaking me out of my thoughts. The shuttle was coming my way and my hands automatically hit it, sending it flying to the other team. We rapped up practice as my teammates saw that I wasn't concentrating. "It's okay. We've got a whole week ahead of us." Flora said, sending me a gentle smile. I tried to return it with the same gentleness but apparently, Flora had a god gifted smile.
"Thanks." I told the girls as they all waved it off together. "No problem. You're our captain. We can't possibly have practice without you." Grace said. I wanted to hug them all. We walked out of the gym and I rushed towards the girl's locker room to get my clothes. Changing back, I prayed Waqqar was still here. That way, Maria couldn't get her filthy hands on him.
Running to my locker, I saw Waqqar standing there. My heart felt at ease as soon as I saw him. He had a piece of paper in his hand, which he was reading carefully. I cleared my throat to grab his attention. He looked up at me and I gave him a smile, waving my hand a bit. "Salaam, Waqqar."
He returned the smile. "Oh wasalaam. Didn't see you there. Didn't you leave for home yet??" He asked me. I shook my head. "I had practice for my upcoming game but we finished off early. What about you?" I questioned, leaning in to get proper view of the paper. "I had an extra class with Mr. Isaac. Apparently, he didn't show up as planned." He told me. "What's that?" I pointed at the paper. Waqqar held up the paper to show me clearly. "It's another of those. I was planning to show it you tomorrow but luckily, you're still here." He said with a smile.
But for me, that letter was one of worst things in my life right now. "Oh." I didn't even wanna read it. It'll anger me more and remind me that Maria was making her move. "Did you find any clue about Prim_Rosa?" Waqqar suddenly asked me, shaking me out of my thoughts. Seriously, I was spacing out too much nowadays. My heart started beating fast. Yes, I found out who she was but I couldn't tell him that, could I? Yes, I would be lying to him but as much as I didn't want to lie, I didn't want him to start liking her.
"S-sorry. No luck." Well done, Romma! You just HAD to stammer. Now he'd be suspicious of you!
Waqqar waved it off. "No problem at all. I should be going now. Salaams." Waqqar said as he turned around to exit the building. As he started walking, I waved at him. "Wasalaam! See you tomorrow, Wainee!" I shouted with a bright smile on my face like old times. He looked back at me, frowning for a second at the nickname but then smiled. "See you tomorrow!" He replied, walking off. I sighed dreamily. What a nice guy!!
THE GAME...
To say that I was feeling confident would be a lie. I was nervous as hell!! All lights were on us as we stepped out into the battlefield. I saw one of the girls of the other team glare at me. I swear, I was gonna fall there and then. That girl was huge. I'm sure the shuttle would surely break if she hits it. The girls looked less females and more males. Some of them even punching their hands to show us who the winners were.
Well, we weren't gonna run out of the game either. "Go Romma!!" I head Lucy yell my name in the crowd. I looked at my side, trying to find her. There she was, with a huge sign in her hands saying "Go Romma!!" With big bold letters. I gave her a thumbs up when my eyes fell on someone right beside her on her right.
Maria.
What in the world was she doing here?! She never came to any of my games and today, she just appeared out of thin air. I felt shivers down my spine as I prayed to Allah that I do well. I wasn't gonna let myself lose in front of Maria!! My eyes darted between Maria and the beasts AKA the other team. I closed my eyes and took in deep breaths. "Let's start!!" The guy who had the microphone announced. "One two three... GO!!" As soon as those two words came out of his mouth, I threw the shuttle up in the sky and hit it with her racket sending it flying to the other team.
The game started off well. We were a point ahead and it was probably because of the hard work my team had showed in the previous week. "Grace, you've got the shuttle now. Go for that weak girl over there." I loud whispered to Grace who was standing nearby. She gave me a smile telling me she understood. She did as I told her and it worked. The girl couldn't hit it back, making us have another point. Now we were two points ahead.
But, Allah had other plans for me. I guess, the other team figured out our weak point as well. They could see how nervous I was with Maria's eyes on me. And they could also notice that I didn't hit many of the shots they threw at us. The huge girl threw the shuttle towards me and I was ready for it just when I heard Maria's voice. "Good Luck, Romma!" She yelled my way.But it wasn't supporting at all. More like, sarcastic. I froze on my spot as I saw her changing her place beside... Waqqar!!
What!! He was here as well? Watching me play??
During all this, I of course missed the shot and we lost a point. My teammates looked at me with worry. I had let them down. I felt worse than the time I had gotten an f on my test. I really shouldn't play. They were losing because of me. Juana came beside me. "Romma, concentrate! You got this. You're gonna win! Just focus and don't get distracted." She said between gasps. I took a deep breath and gave her a determined smile. "Okay." I said and joined in the game. The game finished with us winning with one point. I was happy but not overjoyed. I still felt guilty.
Alhamdulillah for everything.
I just wanted to get out of there. I rushed back inside the locker room, freshening up. My teammates were dealing with the people who came to congratulate us. Now, we were the best team. Alhamdulillah. When I was done,, I hesitated to go outside. How would i face Maria? But with courage, I walked up to Lucy and Stacy along with Violet and Maria. "Salam girls. Thanks for coming." I hugged Stacy and Lucy. They gave me cheeky grins. "We noticed you were nervous." Lucy started.
"Yeah, was it because you weren't expecting to see Waqqar??" Stacy continued. "Oh how romantic!" Violet joined in. Of course, Maria stayed quiet and her expression told me she wasn't happy. I rolled my eyes at them. "Come on for once just don't talk about Waqqar. He'll hear us!" I whispered the last part as I him walking towards me. "Oh we should go now. You have fun with your lover." Lucy grabbed Maria's arm and all of them walked away.
"Salams Romma." Waqqar said. "Wasalaam," I replied. He frowned. "Are you okay? I noticed you weren't feeling good during the game." He asked, worry clear on his face. My heart started beating loudly. Blood rushed up to my cheeks and I was thankful it was dark. "Yeah, I'm okay. I was just feeling hot." I lied. He didn't seem satisfied. "Well whatever it was, you should take care of yourself." He told me. I nodded, feeling better than before. Much better.
"Jazakumullah, I will." I said. Waqqar opened his mouth to say something but hesitated. "If you need to share anything with me; you can. We're friends remember?" He smiled at me, making my stomach do summersaults. "What do you mean?" I asked. He Sighed. "I noticed that you had gotten quieter than before since the past few days. Did something happen?" He questioned. I smiled to myself. He noticed!! He does care!
"It's nothing, Really. I'm not doing well in studies. I was just worried about that. Nothing more." Lies. I was spitting lies out of my mouth. I wonder how much longer would this go on.
He pressed his lips, nodding knowingly. "Well, if you need any help. Be sure to tell me. And you should stop worrying and start acting like before. You were nicer then. Stop thinking about serious stuff and enjoy yourself." He smiled. Nicer. Nicer?! Wow! He thinks I was nice. I should totally be like before. "But, wouldn't you start getting annoyed by me?" I asked, a playful smile on my lips.
He thought about it. "Well, probably. But, that way you can be happier. And I'm telling you again, if you need any help I'm aways there." He said. I smirked at him when my eyes fell on Maria who was behind Waqqar. She was glaring at me. My smirk widened. "Sure, Wainee! Besides, we're gonna meet up at your job tomorrow as well right? I'll be sure to come by and we can have lunch together." I purposely tried to sound louder without looking suspicious. "Please don't call me that in public and yeah, we could have lunch together. You should bring your dad as well." He replied.
I nodded. "Deal. See you tomorrow then, Inshallah." I said. "Salam."
,"Wasalaam."