Ruqayyah's POV
Everybody remained quiet for a good amount of time except Bianca who kept blabbing about everything and anything. She is sharing every detail of her life with us and I am so certain that she will regret this when she returns to normal. Especially telling us how she got her first period during her maths classroom and the guy next to her noticed. Aisha had shoved so many chips in Bianca's mouth but I guess she gave up now since Bianca wouldn't stop talking anyways.
"Now, y'all, this is the best story, when my parents found out that I lo_" Before Bianca could even finish the sentence, it was my turn to shove another chip into her mouth. "Damn, you guys really like to feed me chips, don't you?" She smiles and chews on the chip.
I sigh in relief that she did not return to that topic again, but she was gonna mess up again, I can feel it. As Youssef removes his jacket, Bianca continuously stared at every movement of his.
"Damn!" Bianca says all of a sudden and she looks at me, "He lowkey hot...alright who am I kidding, he high key hot." She whispers to me, or at least she thought she whispered, but the whole table heard it, including Youssef. Alex and Aisha were trying to contain their laughter as Youssef felt uncomfortable in his seat, "And I haven't really told this to anyone but, you seem trustworthy enough." Bianca says to me thinking that nobody is listening to us, "Even after all the grudge I hold against him, I lowkey still crush on him... Alright who am I kidding, I high key still crush on him." She says and I immediately regret not having shoved another chip in her mouth. She is so gonna regret this and probably hate me for letting her say this.
"I think this dinner has done it's job. We've definitely hang out and got to know each other... To a more than personal level... So, Imma roll with Bianca and get her home." Aisha says and finishes her drink before getting up.
"Are you sure, I can go with you if you want?" I tell her and Youssef gets up instead.
"It's fine, I'll go with them and drop Aisha to her dorm later." Youssef offers and I nod in agreement.
"I'll see y'all tomorrow," Youssef says as Aisha holds Bianca's hand for her to go with them.
"But, already? I thought we were staying a bit longer." Bianca says in disappointment.
"Nop, we're not, let's go. I'll see you soon Ruqayyah." Aisha says and exits the restaurant, pulling Bianca with her.
I immediately regret not having gone with them. Being alone with Alex after our conversation near the beverage machine is the most awkward thing ever.
I pretend I don't notice his eyes on me and I just continue eating my chips.
"Do you wanna talk?" He asks and I knew what he wanted to talk about.
I don't answer, I just grab another chip but before I could bring it to my mouth, Alex leans closer and eats it instead. I look at him as he knew perfectly that that was my last chip, but he only smiles in amusement.
"You can have mine." He says and I knew he just wanted me to interact with him somehow. "Here," He says and I watch him bring a chip to my mouth.
"I'm eighteen, just in case you forgot." I remind him making him chuckle.
"Please..."
"Why?"
"It's romantic, I guess."
"You wanna be romantic."
"Yeah, but only for you." He says and managed to flatter my heart as he always does.
I eat the chip and he smiles at me, "I hope you're happy now." I tell him as I grab my drink to take a sip.
"Much happier,"
"I'll get going," I tell him and he gets up along, "You don't have to_"
"I want to," He interrupts before I could finish.
***
"What's wrong?" Alex asks after a while of silent walking.
"Nothing. What do you mean?" I look to the floor as I walk avoiding eye contact.
"You are overthinking about something," He obviously reads minds
"Kind of..."
"What is it?"
"It's about you," I look at him.
"What about me?"
"Um... I feel like it's none of my business so let's just forget it," I give him a small smile.
"You are already part of me. Whatever it is you can tell me," He said and I wanted to know what he meant by 'you are already part of me', but I decide against asking.
"I don't really know you, I wanted to get to know you better." I say since I knew there was no point asking about his dad. He doesn't seem to want to talk about it.
"What do you want to know?"
"Are you from France? Or a native French-speaking country?" I ask because of his name and also because he calls me 'Ma Reine' sometimes.
"I was born there, but didn't stay long. My mum is French and my dad is British." He explains and now it makes sense. I knew his dad was not French.
"You're the only one besides Youssef, who can pronounce my name correctly. Youssef told me you were from Conakry, I searched it up really and found out it was the capital of guinea. I've actually heard about that country, it is one of the countries France has colonized." He says gaining a smile from me.
"Wow, well done, you really did your homework!" I state playfully.
"I always do," He plays along and suddenly a rush of wind blows right through me and I immediately regret not having brought a jacket, "It's getting quite chilly," He says as he removes his coat. Well, he was smart enough to bring a coat.
"You don't need to do that," I refuse before he could even hand it to me.
"I don't want you getting cold," He says as he places the coat around my shoulders.
"What about you?"
"I'm fine, don't worry."
After I had the coat on properly I could feel how warm it was already from him wearing it. His cologne immediately invaded my nostrils and for some reason that made be smile. Maybe he isn't as bad as I used to see him, unless this is all part of his game. But the truth is, I don't feel uncomfortable like I used to feel before, but the other way round instead, I feel like this is where I am meant to be.
Why am I suddenly thinking about Jameelah? I guess I just want to know what is his relationship with her.
"Um... Alex..." I can't believe what I'm about to ask, "Did you really go home yesterday? I wasn't eavesdropping but... I kinda heard you talk to that girl in the corridors this morning." I say remembering how she 'really had fun last night ' with Alex.
"We just went to Felicia for like ten minutes." He explains and for some reason that lighten up my mood a little.
But I still don't think she likes me. She seems to have something against me, although she doesn't really know me.
"Do you like her?" I accidentally say it and he looks at me for a few seconds before smiling, "Oh, you do. I'm sorry I even asked. It's really none of my business."
"Wait, Ruqayyah_" He says as I fasten my steps.
"No, actually, I can walk myself home. Thank you for the coat, but I'll just go on my own from here." I give him a very obvious fake smile before removing his coat and handing it to him.
"Ruqayyah, wait_" I hear him call but I ignore him and walk the last minute to my dorm building with a completely different mood. I don't understand why I am suddenly feeling down, but just thinking that maybe that girl is the one he is interested in has impacted me way more than it should have.
***
I woke up with the sound of my alarm?... no that's not an alarm. My phone was ringing. Who would call me at this time in the morning anyway? It was only 6:20am.
I don't know this number, so I just ignore it. My phone soon beeps as a sign of notification.
- Hi Ruqayyah, it's me, Alex!!!!!! Damn you dare hung up on me!!!!! - I read the text which leaves me confused.
- That is an overuse of exclamation marks... And of course! how did you even get my number? - I send back.
- Your fault for not giving me literature tutoring... And I got it from Bianca yesterday -
- What does literature have to do with punctuation marks? ...And I need to have a serious conversation with Bianca about giving my number to people -
- Ouch that hurt? I'm not people, I am Alexandre -
- I don't see your point... Way are you calling me anyway? -
- Well, if you hadn't rudely hung up on me, you would know, so now I will only tell you once I get there in about one hour, so get ready!!!!!! -
- Call me punctuation police, but that overuse of exclamation is messing up with my brain... And why the heck would you pick me up? -
- I'll stop when you agree on giving me tutoring... And it's a surprise, so get ready!!!!! -
- Once again, literature will not help with your misuse of punctuation marks. Didn't you pay attention to English lessons at secondary school? -
- Say what!!?? We had English!!? - I read and I couldn't contain my laughter. I knew what he would say, he probably skipped those too.
- Alex, go to sleep!... And don't pick me up, I have a reputation to maintain. I only hang out with the most elite of the elite - I text playfully, not believing how comfortable I had become with Alex.
- Then look no more, the finest of the elite is about to pick you up in exactly one hour, is there anything that can top that up? -
- I can't argue with you can I? -
- Nobody can!!!! -
- The punctuation... -
- Get ready!!!!! -
- Arrghh -
- !!!!!!!!!!!!! -
I chuckle before getting out of bed. Well, at least my mood is much better now than it was last night.
I decided to check my alarm section and notice that my alarm is off when I clearly remember turning it on yesterday. Something is going on here. I think about the possibilities of what could have turned my alarm off accidentally but didn't get to any conclusion. When Aisha left the bathroom, she was already dressed.
Maybe I should ask her.
"Aisha?" I call her.
"You're awake?!" She seems surprised.
"Yes, did you touch my phone yesterday or something?" I ask and she makes a confused expression.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't get me wrong but my alarm was off just like yesterday but I remember turning it on the night before. Just wondering maybe you touched it and accidentally turned the alarm off ." I try not to sound judgemental.
"No, It wasn't me. I never even touched your phone." She says sounding nervous.
"Calm down, I was just asking. I believe you." I give her a smile before heading to the bathroom.
***
When I left the bathroom, Aisha was still there and she was typing on her phone with a huge smile on her face.
"Why so happy early morning?" I say playfully as I step in front of the mirror to put my headscarf on.
"Oh, just this meme that my friend sent me." She locks her phone and gets out of bed, "I'll be leaving now, do you want a ride to BCH?"
"No, I'll be going to Felicia coffee first," I state one of the reasons I won't go with her.
"Are you sure you are not going to meet Alex instead?" She smiles teasingly. How does she know that?
"Um...I...maybe..."
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I just want you to be careful with him. Not really with him, but... you know what? Just forget it, you don't really like him in that way do you?"
"Finish your sentence, please. Why do I need to be careful with him?"
"Don't you know who his dad is?"
"Kind of, isn't he the businessman known almost worldwide?"
"Yes, Jackson Lewis Turner."
"What does that have to do?"
"You really don't know him? He has major hatred towards the Islam religion. He blames all Muslims for the attacks that have been happening and I've never ever seen him with a Muslim. He hasn't done anything against them yet, but he promised if a Muslim ever crosses his way, he'll lock them in. I know it's insane. Sometimes I wonder if Alex wasn't adopted because he's so different from his dad." She breathes at last.
I am in shock and I couldn't even hide it. I stare at Aisha without saying a word. When I saw Alex's dad I knew he wasn't a really approachable person but never imagined he had a major hatred towards my religion. How come he and Alex are so different. After all she told me, I think the best to do is really forget this thing I call friendship with Alex. Both I and he will end up in trouble and that's the least I want.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I just thought I would warn you."
"Yeh... I know... it's okay. Thank you." I couldn't even fake a smile.
"Assalamu Aleykum," She hugs me before walking to the door.
"Wa Aleykumu Salaam," I reply right before she left.
I try to push everything Aisha just told me, out of my mind. I don't know if Alex wanted me to know about this but I'm not going to show him that I know anyways. I want him to tell me and to confirm this is true. It's not that I don't believe Aisha, it's just shocking everything she told me.
I suddenly hear a car horn and look out the window to see Alex in his car.
I wear my shoes and after grabbing my backpack I leave the dorm.
"Come in," He tells me as I reach downstairs and find him leaning on his car. Why does that simple gesture of his seem so attractive?
"Why don't we walk?" I ask.
"I want to take you somewhere first,"
I don't like the feeling I'm getting about this.
"It's 6:50am,"
"Exactly, we still have plenty of time." He purposely opens the door for me.
"Where do you want to take me?"
"It's a surprise, do you know what surprise means?" He says making me chuckle. He smiles as he walks to me, right in front of me. Once again, he isn't respecting my personal space, "You won't regret it, I promise." He says as he holds both my hands in his and I look down at our hands together. My heart races and I look at his eyes which already looked at me. I keep denying it, but isn't it obvious? This feeling, I haven't felt it before but when it comes to you it's just easily distinguishable. It's not like any other emotion. This one is just straight from the heart. I hated it at first and I wanted to get rid of it, but then I just allowed myself to explore how far it would go, and I am afraid now that I am way in too deep to go back.
"Ma reine... Just trust me, alright?" He says and I guess I was hypnotised by his ocean blue eyes staring right into my soul, or was it that name he referred to me as.... Whatever it is, I need to get back to reality. This can't go any further.
"Alex..." I pause, as I always do when he looks at me that way, "I've told you before_"
"I know, no touching." He immediately lets go and takes three steps back, "I'm sorry, but how do you expect me to control myself with such beauty right in front of me." He says, unfortunately gaining a smile from me.
"How far is it?" I feel like giving up and going with him but I am afraid of what the consequences could be.
"Don't worry, we will make it to the first lesson on time."
"But is it far?"
"Not really,"
"See, it's far, we won't make it on time,"
"You are so stubborn. Are you going to come in or do I have to make you?"He argues.
"Why don't you go by yourself, why do I have to come with you?" I argue back.
"Because it is a special place for me that I want you to know, enough?"
"Yes."
"Can we go now?"
"No, let's go after lessons." I smile with his almost annoyed expression.
"I see I'll have to make you come then," He says and I run away before he could reach me.
"Don't you dare... Alex... I'm warning you..." I say as I run towards his car and immediately get in, "Okay, I'm here! You blackmailer!" I say making him laugh as he enters the driver's seat.
"You see, you look much better when you're obedient." He says playful.
"SubhanAllah, do you know how embarrassing this was? I hope people think you are kidnapping me." I state because people wouldn't stop staring.
"What's that?" He asks as he starts driving.
"What's what?"
"Subha... You said something earlier," He tries to pronounce it.
"SubhanAllah?"
"Yes,"
"It's a form of praise. It means 'Glory to Allah' in Arabic"
"Do you speak Arabic?"
"No. Basically, all Muslims should know how to read Arabic, but don't understand it unless they know the language really,"
"How do they know how to read but don't understand it?"
"Remember the Muslims book?"
"Yes, the Qur'an?" He says and I am surprised he remembers.
"It's written in Arabic, so every Muslim has to know Arabic to be able to read it."
"I remember yesterday you said you wanted to learn Arabic, is that the reason why?"
"Yes, because the translations alone are so touching, then imagine being able to understand it while you read it on your own. That's literally a dream come true for me."
"Allah is your God, right? I remember Youssef saying it when he's surprised or something," He says and I nod. Well, Allah is everybody's God, but I get what he's trying to say.
"Yes, HE is,"
"Islam is pretty different from the other religions, but it sounds very protective and peaceful from everything you told me these days. A bit strict isn't it?"
"Why do you say that?"
"The headscarf and the rule of having to cover yourself."
"I don't think it's strict but that's maybe because I've been Muslim for all my life and I'm used to this. Besides, if you actually know the reason why you are doing those things, you will not mind it at all."
"I didn't know much about Islam, is that how you say it?" He asks and I nod, "I didn't know much about it, but it is way more than what they show in the news and all." He adds and I immediately remember what Aisha told me this morning.
It's still hard for me to believe that Alex and that man are related.
"What are you thinking of?" He asks after a while.
"Where are we going?" I change the subject. He gives me a smile but does not respond, "Now you are going to ignore me? Okay, two can play tis game." I look out the window as I hear him chuckle.
"We'll be there soon."
"How long's left?" Unfortunately I couldn't stay even a minute without talking to him.
"I thought you weren't talking to me," He chuckles once again as he parks the car.
"Are we here finally?"
"C'mon, it wasn't that long," He laughs at my expression.
"Whoa!" I smile as I look around the place to see a beautiful garden. It had many trees, all kind and colours of flowers, a waterfall right in the middle and an amazing scent of lavender. It looked almost magical. For a moment I forgot about everything and I could live the rest of my life in here. It's silent. A very good place to concentrate. It's so beautiful, how come there's nobody here. Oh, maybe because it's only 7:20am.
"I know, it's beautiful really," He reads my thoughts.
"Beautiful is not enough to describe this! Are we going there!?" I smile from ear to ear and the excitement was visible in my expression, almost resembling a three year old.
"Yes," He says as he opens the luggage ruck to take out a picnic basket.
Wow, he really thought of everything. I was thinking I'd go to school without having my precious breakfast, even though that wouldn't be much of a problem to me.