Autumn was slowly descending on an ever waiting Lahore. The hot summer days were gradually being replaced by chilly autumn ones. The lush green gulmohor trees were losing their green grandeur and shedding their green to give way to dull orange leaves that would soon shed, signifying the arrival of the festive, eagerly awaited Lahore winter.
Laila was sitting with her laptop and literature books strewn across the table in front of her with a steaming cup of coffee in front of the backdrop of the lush, green vast golf courses of the Lahore country club. It was still the early hours of the morning, and the café she was sitting in was empty other than the occasional waiter that would linger outside the verandah to ask if she needed anything.
Her hair was up in a bun, she had her glasses on and was in full study mode. Her midterms were coming up and she needed to prepare. Between everything that was going on with Hassan and Amina and her she had complete neglected her studies. After the two week forceful break from Amina, Laila could finally turn back to her books.
Time passed as morning turned into evening. More than ten hours and four cups of tea later, Laila was finally done with her assignment. Content and a little disoriented to see so much time pass so quickly, Laila finally got up from her seat and stretched out the kinks and coils of her stiff body.
She packed up her laptop and books and with a parting thank you to the waiters who had served her all day, left the café and made her way to the car park where her car was parked.
Halfway there, her phone rang. Tediously she got it out of her back pocket maneuvering her way to her jean pocket amidst the sea of things she was already carrying in her hands. By the time Laila got her phone out of her pocket, it was on its last rings so she picked it up without looking at the screen to see who it was.
"Hello?" she said into the receiver.
"Laila?" she heard a voice she would recognize anywhere say.
Oh no. she should have looked at the caller ID after all.
Of all things, his voice was the last thing she expected to hear today. And she wasn't sure if even after a year, she was ready to hear it.
"Shehryar," she said back to him. To her best friend.
Shehryar had been her and Amina's best friend when the three had been in school together. The three of them had been inseparable, friends since they had all started school some twelve years ago together. That was up until last year....
In the 7th grade, Laila had developed the biggest, pre-teen crush on Sheryar that had stuck with her all throughout the later years. A crush was putting it mildly. Laila had been convinced at that time that she was irrevocably in love with the guy. But all this time, she had been too shy to do anything about her burning love. Amina was the only person who knew about it and that too not because Laila had told her but because nothing concerning Laila ever escaped Amina. All that changed last year in the 12th grade-their last year together in the school.
Right before Shehryar was to go to Kings College London to do his business degree, Laila had confessed her unrelenting love for him, right in the middle of his farewell party.
Unfortunately, he hadn't shared her sentiment and the party prematurely ended with Laila running out of the place a mortified, crying mess.
Needless to say, they hadn't talked since the incident.
Shehryar had tried to talk to Laila a couple of times since then from London but Laila still hadn't been over the heartbreak and embarrassment to talk to him.
This was the first time in over a year that she had heard his voice.
"Yeah Laila, it's me," he replied in his familiar voice.
Laila stayed silent. She didn't know what to say. They hadn't spoken in over a year! What was she supposed to say? She wasn't prepared for this.
"So...how are you?" he said after almost a full minute of a pregnant silence.
"Good...good, great," Laila rambled and grimaced.
"Well that's great!" Sheryar replied in his signature cheery voice and laughed that little charming laugh of his.
Laila on the other hand was feeling anything but cheery. She didn't say anything back. She didn't even ask him how he was doing. She just didn't want to.
Sheryar sensing the tension said, "Laila, listen...can we please meet? I'm in Lahore and I really need to see you."
Silence.
Laila's erratic heart.
"I'm only here for a couple more days," he said, the cheery voice being replaced by an uncharacteristically serious one.
Laila felt the prick of tears in her eyes. She looked towards the manicured grass and slowly began walking once again to her car.
She missed him.
Despite his rejection of her love, despite everything he had still been one of her closest friends and she missed him regardless of her pain and embarrassment.
She knew she had to forgive him and get over herself one day.
And she really, really did miss him....
"Shehr-" she began to say but was abruptly cut off when she was roughly shoved by a black blur. She stumbled and was about to trip when a hand shot out of the blur and gripped her by the shoulder, steadying her.
Angrily, she snapped up her head to see the offender and was absolutely gob smacked to see Ismail standing in front of her.
Déjà vu much?
But unlike the happy, goofy Ismail she had witnessed the last time, she was confronted with a pissed off version of the same guy. He almost looked cartoony with how angry he looked, almost as if his eyes were going to pop out and steam would start coming out of his ears.
He continued to glare at her without pause. He was looking right into her eyes, making her feel highly uncomfortable. She wanted to say something to him, but she couldn't. He looked too worked up and maybe just a little bit scary.
Without any signs of recognition, he snatched his hand away from her shoulders and stomped off haughtily towards the back exit of the club.
Laila gaped at the retreating figure, clad in black shalwaar kameez.
Of all the people in the world, she probably had least expected someone like Ismail to bump into her at the club. He surely couldn't be a member here. But he also didn't look like he was a part of the staff. What had he been doing here and more importantly, how had he not recognized Laila? At all?
"Hello? Laila?" she faintly heard Sheryars voice coming from her forgotten phone.
"Laila? Are you there? Laila?!" he kept screaming through her phone, but Laila barely registered him.
"Yeah?" she finally replied, disoriented.
"Where the hell did you go off to? I've been on the phone for almost five minutes!" he yelled at her.
Laila no longer had the energy to confront him after the long day and this final cherry on top.
"Sorry Sher," she apologized to him, not giving any details as to her strange behavior.
Shehryar seemed to forget all his anger at hearing her say his pet name.
"Can we meet Laila?"
"Um, yeah...yeah sure. I'll...I'll tell you when okay?" Laila said and without waiting for a reply, ended the call.
What a bizarre turn her day had taken.
She shook her head and walked to her car, urgently needing to sleep this day off.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GUYS! So sorry I've been so awol. University has been taking up a lot of my time but I promise you will get at least one new chapter a week! Hopefully two :D
If you like this, pleaseee VOTE AND COMMENT! It really does motivate me to keep writing! <3
New character! Things are about to get really exciting soon :D