Salma's Epiphany

6/Certified Sad Soul

"Welcome to our house," Mom declared, opening her arms wide with a smile on her face.

"It's very beautiful, just like you, Miss Janet," Rahim replied, scanning the house from the front door like some sort of robot capturing information. I rolled my eyes, walking past him to the kitchen, where I grabbed a bottle of water.

"Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes." Mom left Rahim by the doorway, entering the kitchen. "Rahim!"

"Yes, Miss Janet?"

"Make yourself comfortable. Do you want a drink, some water, anything?"

"Just some soda will do."

"Alright, I'll let Salma get it for you."

"I don't want to. First of all, he's an uninvited guest who just hopped into our car, and now, you want me to get him a drink? No." And with that, I folded my arms, looking away from Mom. I could view her from the corner of my eye, she was knitting her eyebrows.

"Salma," she craned her neck to see if Rahim was anywhere near our conversation.

The kitchen and the living room were separated by a wall and the windows were always open. So, it was possible Rahim has heard snippets of our conversation. Not that I cared anyway.

"First of all, Rahim got into the car with my permission, and didn't your father teach you to treat your visitors with hospitality?" the mention of my father sent shivers down my spine. It had been a long time since Mom broached that topic, but I guessed you couldn't stop talking about something for a long time. I lowered my head, trying to brush away the threatening tears.

I looked up this time with a neutral face, even though the emotions were blowing full speed ahead. Becky's eyes went as wide as saucers, after processing her words. Her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped in horror.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," Mom apologized, getting closer to me, probably trying to get a hug. I stepped away from her and grabbed a bottle of Sprite and placed it on a tray, leaving the kitchen with a bang.

Rahim was on the couch, his legs on the coffee table, head bent, hands scrolling through his phone. I smacked his legs from the coffee table and placed the soda on the table, glaring at him.

"It's bad manners to stretch your legs on your host's table," I stated, folding my arms across my chest. Rahim scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry, I just can't help myself."

"Yeah, right," I replied, leaving to my bedroom. It was upstairs on the door to the right. I entered, quickly changing into a pair of sweatpants and a T shirt. On any normal day, I would take my time to look for my favourite turquoise sundress, but I didn't know why. Maybe I wanted a change in clothes or something.

I came back downstairs to see Rahim watching a rerun of Best Friends in The World on the TV. He had probably connected his YouTube to the TV. I stood behind him, clearing my throat. He snapped his head back, looking into my eyes with a smile.

Gosh that boy just loved to show his pearly whites.

"Since you're in my house, let's accomplish the reason why you were here, not watch meaningless sitcoms," I took the remote, turning the TV off. "Let's go."

"Okay," he drawled, springing up on his feet and dusting his trousers.

"Wait for me here, I need to get something to drink." Without another glance, I disappeared into the kitchen. From the smell of everything, today's supper was either spaghetti or curry rice. I inhaled the scent once more, and heard my stomach grumble in protest.