"Assalam u alaikum guys!" I greeted, panting heavily, as I reached Aira, Rania and Ahad in the corridor.
Few days have past since we had an addition to our group; Ahad. He got along with us pretty well.
"Walaikum Assalam girl!" They replied.
I was almost late today. Maybe I should get a new alarm clock. The one I have is not doing it's job properly.
Yeah right! You're the one who go to sleep again after dismissing it.
Shut up!
"Whats with you having an asthma attack?" Aira joked.
"Nothing yaar. I almost got late today. Damn that alarm clock. Because of that I literally ran at full speed like my life depended on it."
"Are you sure it's the clock's fault?" Rania asked.
"Haan!(Yes) Aur kis ki hogi(Who else would it be)?" I replied.
"Hmm, When did you sleep last night?" Aira questioned raising an eyebrow.
"Uh.... around 2 to 2:30 am." I answered avoiding making eye contact with any of them.
"Oh, so it is the clock's fault. You are innocent." Ahad said sarcastically.
"Whatever guys. Don't act like you all are goody two shoes." I stated to which they rolled their eyes.
The class started and we payed attention to the lecture. Or at least tried to.
Like seriously, business class should be re-named as a resting class. No one is able to pay attention to it. And it being the first class of the day is a cherry on top.
**********************
It was my last period now which was Math and I was seated on my seat waiting for the teacher and Ahad. Ahad had some work to do so he told me to go along first.
Feeling bored, I took out my phone and scrolled through the messages.
One message caught my eye.
Great.
'You might want to stay away from that newbie, Ahad. Well only if you don't want any damage on his oh so handsome face. ;)
PS: I'm always around you and watching you.'
-A
What the Jahannam?
That bast--mustard!
Who does he think he is?
On instinct, I looked around to find anybody suspicious but all in vain.
Seriously, who am I kidding?
The luck is never on my side in these situations.
Damn it.
But why should I stay away from Ahad? He is just my friend. And it's not like that psycho 'A' person can do anything.
After all he is just an A2 student like us.
"Hey! What's wrong?" Ahad asked with a concern look.
I zoned out again.
"Uh um... nothing. I was just.. thinking." Wow, what an answer Adeena.
"Thinking? But about what that led to you completely zone out of the reality and your surroundings?" He asked.
Ugh, Why are you asking so many questions? Just let it be.
"Nothing important." He wasn't convinced but before he could open his mouth to voice out his thoughts, Sir Ahmed, the math teacher, entered.
May Allah bless you sir. Thank you so much!
The lecture then started grabbing everyone's attention till the end.
Did I mention that I loved Math?
If not, then I'm doing it now.
I absolutely love math.
******************
It had been four to five days since the message+s from the psycho stalker warning me from staying away from Ahad but nothing like what he warned about happened.
I knew it, useless threats, that's all it was.
It was break and Ahad was no where in sight today. Maybe he stayed home.
As we were unpacking our lunch, Ahad entered and walked to our table.
My eyes widened. Not from the fact that he's late but because of the small medium sized bruise on his jaw.
No, it can't be.
He can't do that.
"Ahad! What happened to you? How did this happen? Did you get into a fight?" I bombarded him with questions.
"Oh my Allah! You should go to the nurse." Rania exclaimed and Aira nodded. Concern was etched on our faces.
"Relax you three. It's nothing just a small fight. And I nursed it as well so I'm just gonna sit down here and we'll carry on with our lunch." Ahad said whilst sitting down.
"No, first briefly explain what happened?" I asked with a stern look.
"Ha. It looks like a question that comes in exams for example, briefly explain the reasons for your answer to the question 1(i)." He said while laughing to which Aira and Rania chuckled.
I raised my eyebrow at him with a blank face.
"Are you done?" I questioned when his laughter started to die down.
"Yup. I'm done, miss."
"So, back to the topic. The answer."
"Uh.. I was on my way here when an unfamiliar guy stopped me. And then without a word he swung a fist hard to my jaw. Like what the hell man? Did you run away from a mental asylum?" He narrated. "And then I also returned what he gave. After having a small fight he ran away."
"Why would someone do that?" Aira said confused.
He was the one behind it. That mentally sick guy is at fault.
No, it was my fault. My fault. I took his warning lightly. Because of me, Ahad got dragged in this.
Why? Why me? Anger bubbled in me.
It's my life. No one except Allah has the right to interfere in it. Then who the hell is he to order me or to warn me on what to do or what not to do?
"I don't know. It must be the street hooligans doing this for fun." Ahad reasoned.
I kept quiet.
"Yeah, that makes sense." Rania agreed.
"Whatever the reason, you should take care of yourself." I said worriedly.
"Don't worry. And he was the one who got more bruises which means I was stronger." Ahad stated while flexing his biceps. We all chuckled.
***************
I was on the bus going back to the hostel when the 'A' person messaged me.
'Don't say I didn't say I didn't warn ya. (Haha). Did you like what you saw today?
But I must say, he is one strong man. My man returned with more injury then him. But then again, it wasn't me who was there, otherwise he would have been admitted to the hospital right now.'
-A
Please, can one murder be allowed? Because I really want to kill him.
Maybe I should message him back to keep Ahad away from any danger.
Taking a deep breath, I typed,
'I don't know who you are and what do you want from me exactly, but just leave Ahad alone. He is just my friend and nothing else.'
In less than a minute, the reply came,
'Woah, is it a blue moon? You finally replied. Don't worry, you'll soon get to see me and know me as well. And you know exactly what I want. You. Soon, love. And about Ahad, I'll leave him alone only because you finally replied. You made me happy.'
-A
A cold shiver ran down my spine. My hands started shaking. Me? Why? I don't even know him.
This can't be happening. My last year in college was supposed to go like any other year. Not with a lunatic stalker on my back.
****************
Assalam u alaikum and hello guys. Hope you all are doing well.
Late update, I know. I was facing writer's block. Like, I had planned out parts of the story but I was having difficulties penning it down. My thoughts were all jumbled up.But thankfully now, it's okay.
Anyways, I hope you all liked this chapter. It's longer than the previous ones. A little. But the point is it is. Don't forget to vote, comment and share.
May Allah bless you all.
Till next time,
Allah Hafiz.