New Lifestyle

Chapter 3

...He quietly looked around with vacancy, everything was a blur. It felt like his life was suddenly changing.

That evening, Azmir and Luqman was waiting at the surau to perform their prayers when suddenly Hamid sat beside them. He didn't make any eye contact or anything, Luqman who noticed didn't think off it too much. Hamid slowly got closer to the two. "Hey...do you guys have anything to do tonight?" Hamid suddenly asked. Tomorrow was Friday*, so there wasn't any prep that night. "Uh, nothing in particular, maybe just a few assignments that I need to finish," Azmir replied while Luqman was hiding behind him from Hamid. Hamid didn't fail to notice Luqman's odd behaviour, but kept that thought to himself.

*(Some states in Malaysia have weekends on Friday and Saturday)

"C-can I... Join you guys..?" Hamid asked meekly. Luqman was rather surprised by the question but Azmir calmly answered, "Yea sure, the more the merrier, am I right Luqman?" Luqman gave a small nod as a response. Hamid cracked a tiny smile, and decided to sit next to them throughout the whole evening. Hamid had never felt such happiness, the joy that he got from being accepted as a friend. He never thought of having a friend due to his bloodline notoriously known for crimes that never been taken action off.

That night, Azmir skipped band practice that night to finish his homework with Luqman and Hamid. They decided to do their homework at Hamid's dorm under his request. When they got there, Luqman was struggling with Add Math while Hamid was keen in studying Biology. Hamid glanced at Luqman seeing that he barely had any questions correct. "Hey, you having trouble?" Hamid softly asked Luqman. Luqman only stared back not knowing what to reply. Hamid tried to analyse the situation. "Hey, do you happen to have social anxiety?" Hamid asked tenderly. Luqman nodded while covering half of his face with a stack of foolscap paper.

"C'mon don't be shy. Tell me, which one do you not understand?" Hamid generously asked. Soon, both of them start conversing with each other. Azmir had never felt glad to see his long life bestie and a new friend getting along. They spent hours, discussing Add Math to no end. Azmir was practically tired of hearing numbers and formulas at that point. Not long after Luqman fell asleep beside Hamid's bed on the floor, exhausted from studying all night. Hamid who was very sleepy at the time, helped tidy up Luqman's stuff along with his and neatly placed them beside his own bed. Azmir who was also still awake at the time, smiled broadly. "I've always viewed you as a cold, selfish, person, but I never knew the 'real' you. You're completely different from what I thought." Azmir explained to Hamid.

"I really hope we can be friends for a long time, Hamid... and I almost forgot, please take care of Luqman, he is very fragile and deserves a lot of care. He seems to feel safe with you, so I hope you don't take advantage of him." Azmir calmly spoke to Hamid. "Alright, I'll get going now, goodnight! See you tomorrow!" Azmir grinned. Hamid was touched by Azmir's words, seeing that he now has trusted friends. He felt very happy. Hamid glanced at Luqman who was sound asleep, He vowed to promise not to break Azmir's and Luqman's trust

To Be Continued...