When Hanan returned home that day, she sought her mother for some good advice and comfort.
"Salaam Mama," Hanan greeted as she dropped her backpack in the living room. Usually she didn't do this, but today she had a lot on her mind. Mama had been sipping chai while reading Qur'an. She looked up as her daughter entered the room.
"Wa'alaikumussalam habibti!" she greeted back enthusiastically. Hanan sank into one of the couches and took comfort in its softness. She sighed and gazed at her mother.
"Mama, I had a fight today with one of my friends today," Hanan began glummly. That caught her mother's attention. She placed a bookmark on her page and shut the Qur'an, placing it on the table beside her.
"Why did you guys fight?" she inquired.
"She was being an idiot and I didn't deal with it in a proper way," Hanan replied. Her nose began to burn, meaning she was about to cry, but Hanan was sick of crying. She hated how dizzy it made her, and how ugly she looked when she cried. Besides, she cried enough in that cramped bathroom stall at school, there would be no more crying from her.
"It seems to me that all you need to do is apologize," Mama told her, pouring herself another cup of tea. Hanan sighed.
"It's not that simple. When I said she was being an idiot, I meant that she agreed to do something haraam. I can't just apologize, I need to find a way to make her see sense," she said. Mama continued sipping her chai, quiet in deep thought.
"Because she's your friend, your duty is more than just amr bil ma'ruf and nehi anil munkar," Mama began. "You have to do whatever it takes for her to see sense, even if it means telling one of her family members. I recommend an older sibling because siblings understand each other's problems much better than parents." Hanan grinned. She had the exact same idea. Like mother like daughter, how true that statement was at that moment.
"Thank you Mama!" Hanan said as she bounced up from the couch, grabbing her backpack. A sudden thought hit her. "Have you ever been in that kind of a situation before?" she asked her mother. Mama put her teacup down. Apparently she had had enough chai.
"Yes, when I was about your age, I had a friend who agreed to meet up with a guy. I told her many times that what she was doing was wrong, but she didn't listen. Finally I gave up and told her older sister, who threatened to tell their parents if the girl didn't listen. It all worked out, and she is now happily married and has many children," Mama said. Hanan smiled. She really wanted what was best for Amina. She was determined to save her friend from her desires. She was determined to ensure that her friend would have a good life. She skipped out of the living room and bounced up stair to her room. Amina had an older sister. True, she lived in New York and was studying journalism, but she was an older sister all the same. After changing into her pajamas, she grabbed her phone and texted Noor, Amina's older sister.
Salaam Noor.
Noor immediately texted back.
Wa'alaikumussalam Hanan. How r u?
Good, u?
I'm good hamdulillah. So, what's up?
Nothing much. I was hoping I could call you. R u busy?
Nope. Just gimme a sec, I'll call.
Noor called and Hanan picked it up. "Salaam my dear!" she greeted cheerfully. Hanan smiled happily. Because she was the oldest sibling, she often missed out on being babied the way younger siblings often are, so she enjoyed the attention.
"Salaam!" Hanan greeted back.
"So, why did you need to call me?" Noor asked. Hanan bit her lip nervously. She knew it was an obscene gesture, but what did that matter if she was alone in her room.
"Umm, it's about Amina," Hanan said hesitantly. Noor immediately knew that something was wrong.
"What about her?" she asked.
"She agreed to go to the winter formal with a guy from our school. I told her that it was haraam--actually, I screamed at her, but that's not the point--anyway, she got angry at me and told me it wasn't any of my business, and that she wanted to experience some fun. We're not really talking right now, but someone needs to stop her, which is why I called you," Hanan said. She heard Noor sigh on the other side of the phone.
"That girl is always up to something crazy," she muttered. "Thank you for telling me Hanan. I know that Amina probably didn't act like it, but you're a wonderful friend. I'll deal with it. I have to go now, so I'll talk to you later inshallah. Ma'assalamah!" Noor said before she cut the call.
...
The week of shadowing Amir had arrived at last. It was the first week of winter break, and Hanan was kind of annoyed that she had to spend it doing a project. Oh well, it's not like she could've spent it with her friends. After her fight with Amina, it had been pretty awkward between Hanan and her friends. She had been avoiding them for the last three days. Why must it be so hard to apologize and reconcile? She took comfort in the thought that Noor would take care of everything. She had done everything that she could, right?
"Salaam aleikum," someone greeted. Hanan was shaken from her thoughts. She had been waiting for Amir and Amina at the entrance of the university. She turned around to see who had greeted her when she saw that it was the very people she was waiting for.
"Wa'alaikumussalam," she greeted back nervously. She was staring at Amina, who was avoiding her gaze. So that's how she was going to act now, huh. Amir didn't notice the tension between the girls, and if he did, he pretended that he didn't.
"My first class is starting soon. Stick with me at all times, this place is big so you can easily get lost," Amir said. The girls nodded mutely and began following him to his first class. Amir was in his second year of medical school. He had skipped community college and finished his bachelors in three years, meaning that he was five years older than his sister and her friend. Hanan planned to follow in his footsteps, not because of her admiration for him, but because she didn't want to waste two years of her life in community college.
It took a few minutes for them to arrive to Amir's first class, biochemistry. He opened the door for them and ushered them in. Hanan was awed by the size of the classroom, if it could be called a classroom. There were many levels, and nearly all the desks were already occupied by students. Amir led them to an empty desk in the back. There was only one other occupant, a guy, whom Amir sat next to, followed by Amina and then Hanan. The guy and Amir exchanged a quick greeting.
"Hey man, what's up?" the guy asked as he and Amir did that weird clap/handshake.
"Nothing much. What's up with you?" Amir asked.
"Well, now that you mention it, I went to a party last night, and I met this hot chick and she was like--"
"Dude, not in front of my sister and her friend!" Amir quickly interrupted. Good thing to, because Amina and Hanan were starting to feel uncomfortable. At Amir's mentioning of the girls, his friend finally noticed them. He quickly looked over the both of them, his gaze lingering on Hanan, making her feel uncomfortable. She might not hang out with boys often, but even she knew an interested look when she received one. She quickly looked away and decided to concentrate on the front of the classroom.
"This is Amina, my sister, and this is Hanan, her friend," Amir introduced, pointing to each girl as he said her name. "Girls, this is my friend Jake," he said to the girls.
"It's nice to meet the two of you," Jake said while looking at Hanan. Her discomfort only increased. He stretched out his hand for a handshake, which Amir quickly intercepted. He gave Jake a "really?" look, and Jake took back his hand while smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I forgot that you Muslims do things differently," he apologized, though Hanan felt no sincerity in it.
The girls just smiled politely and nodded at him. Apparently Amina didn't like this Jake guy much either. Thankfully, the professor arrived and began the lecture immediately. Hanan and Amina took notes on the lecture; Mr.H had wanted them to practice taking notes on their own while the professor was speaking. It was an important skill, something that wasn't really taught in high school. Throughout the lecture, Hanan noticed Jake kept on looking her way, which Hanan tried her best to ignore. After two hours, the lecture was finally over, and Amir and the girls made their way to the exit. Hanan was the last to leave, and just as she was about to step out, a strong hand grabbed her arm.
"Let me go!" she panicked, turning around to see who had invaded her personal bubble.
"Calm down girl," Jake cooed, trying to calm down the frantic Hanan.
"No, you let go, and then I'll calm down!" she exclaimed. For some reason they were alone in the room, the professor nowhere to be seen. Jake let go of her arm as she wished but took a step forward. He handed her a slip of paper.
"Here's my number. Call me, will you?" he asked, flirtatiously smiling at her. Hanan was absolutely repulsed.
"I'm a minor!" she said outraged. Not true, but she was still in highschool, meaning that this guy better back the hell off before she personally shattered his parents' dreams of ever having grandchildren.
"Come on, you're like what, 16, 17? Anyways, you're past the age of consent, so there's no problem," he insisted. Hanan's mouth dropped. She knew that these kinds of encounters weren't' uncommon. She knew that many girls had to face such harassment on a daily basis. She just never thought that she would have to deal with this, especially because she had come with a chaperone. Speaking of Amir, where the hell was he at such a critical moment?
"So, what do you say? Are you up for it?" Jake asked again, this time stepping closer. Hanan panicked and did what she did best; be a badass. She kicked Jake in his sensitive spot with all her might. "F**************CK!" he screamed as he bent over in pain, clutching his private part. Hanan tossed the piece of paper with his number in the trash can and ran outside, where Amir and Amina were frantically searching for her.
Hanan rushed towards them, gasping for breath. Amina was the first to notice her. "There you are! Where were you?!" she exclaimed as she gave Hanan a tight hug. Amir came towards them. He looked pissed.
"Where were you?" he asked angrily. Hanan wanted to scream in frustration. What did she do to deserve this kind of treatment?! It's not like she asked to get stopped by that bast---jerk!
"I was being harassed by your wonderful friend Jake!" Hanan snapped at Amir. His eyes widened.
"How did you escape him?" he asked, this time without anger in his voice.
"Let's just say that he won't be able to have fun with that hot chick from last night," Hanan replied bitterly. Amir's mouth dropped. Clearly he hadn't expected such a vulgar response. Hanan felt bad for being so vulgar, especially in front of Amir, but at that moment, she really didn't give a damn. Amir was about to say something, but peals of laughter coming from Amina interrupted him.
"Did you really kick him in the balls?!" she asked Hanan incredulously while still laughing. Her friend's laughter had calmed her down enough to look down in shame.
"He deserved it," she muttered, still embarrassed about her spectacle in front of Amir. Amir looked at Hanan again, this time with an unidentifiable expression on his face. He then shook his head and began chuckling.
"Is this the kind of stuff you girls talk about in your free time?" he asked.
"Not really," Hanan replied, feeling the need to redeem herself. "We usually talk about school and stuff, but sometimes when the occasion arises, we talk about self-defence."
"Is he still in the classroom?" Amir asked. Hanan nodded. "Give me a minute," he said as he walked back inside.
Hanan looked at Amina, who had stopped laughing by now. She looked back. After an awkward few seconds, Amina stretched out her arms. "Truce?" she asked.
"Truce," Hanan agreed, rushing into her friend's embrace. The two of them stayed hugging until Amir cleared his throat.
"I'm going to be late to my next class if we don't hurry up," Amir announced. Hanan and Amina separated from each other. "We're going to have to make a run for it," he said. Amina snorted, thinking that her brother was joking. He wasn't. "Follow me," he said before breaking out into a sprint. Amina and Hanan looked at each other before following suit, both trying to ignore the stares they received from the other students. They arrived at Amir's next class gasping for breath, not just from running, but from laughing so hard as well. When they finally regained their composure, the all walked in, smiling at one another for the crazy thing they had just done. As they sat down, Hanan remembered that she forgot to ask Amir what he did back in the classroom. Oh well, it wasn't her business anyway.
Hanan went back home that day feeling extremely happy. She enjoyed spending time with Amina and Amir, and she had finally made amends with Amina. She couldn't wait for the next day to come, and the day after that. As she thought about the days to come, her happiness was dampened by the thought of the upcoming winter formal. She hoped Noor knew what she was doing. Hanan had already done all that she could.
Right?