Measure Success [Hakim Ziyech]

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Where Do We Stand?

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Summer 2008

Berkane, Morocco

Dinner was...interesting.

First and before their guests had even arrived, Hafsa got somewhat of a mental breakdown because she realistically feared they'd not prepared enough food nor did they have the means to get any more. This resulted in Hafsa arguing with their mother who hadn't been foresightful enough to see this problem coming but invited people to dine with them. The outburst took Souhaila off guard at first, neither of them had ever openly criticised their parents' actions so openly. Certainly, not recently.

Especially, not their mother.

No matter how much they wished to sometimes.

After overcoming her initial shock Souhaila was quick to step in and de-escalate the situation and calm down both parties.

What was done was done they couldn't change it now. Arguing certainly wouldn't make things better.

Souhaila didn't say how she agreed with Hafsa on the thought that this probably would have never happened if their father had been here. Nor how much she missed him even in the short time span in which he'd been gone. Because that too wouldn't be helpful to anyone. Not even to her.

Hafsa, practically forced by Souhaila, quickly apologised and they went back to preparing everything. Now, in considerably more silence.

Of course, the tension was non-existent as soon as their guests arrived. And they were the perfect, happy family that Souhaila desperately wished to have back. Or at least, they did their best to look the part.

Apparently, not all the Ziyechs had come to Morocco this summer. Apart from Lala Ziyech and Hakim, only Essam, Hicham and Kaoutar had come. According to Lala Ziyech, Essam and Kaoutar had gone to visit their uncle in Fes for a few days. So, it was only Lala Ziyech, Hakim and Hicham.

Although, it wasn't exactly the right thing to do they all sat around the same table and in the same room to eat. It just didn't seem proper to have Hakim and Hicham sit in another room alone with Yousef, the oldest Hayat all agreed on this if nothing else. They were their guests after all.

They all sat around the table, the large plate with the food positioned in the middle of it. Lala Ziyech sat at one end of the mtarbat with Hicham beside her and Hakim beside him. Yousef sat beside Hakim and their mother sat beside Yousef and opposite Lala Ziyech, and then came Hanan. 

To leave their guests with enough space both Hafsa and Souhaila grabbed two chairs and positioned them so that they sat opposite Hicham and Hakim respectively.

Never had eating felt so awkward to Souhaila.

She still hadn't wrapped her head around what happened earlier. Almost two days she spent doing her best to not cross paths with Hakim then she had met him and immediately agreed to give him tutor lessons. What? Was she a teacher now?

This didn't feel like a good idea. And the looks he kept on giving her didn't exactly help her doubts. They had her feeling all...giddy.

Not that Souhaila really looked. His looks weren't exactly subtle and she was scared that Hafsa would catch on to them. She wasn't exactly ready for that set of questions. Not when she herself couldn't answer them.