LUCENT

6

NADIRA

I tossed another grape into my mouth as I watched the Eric Andre show. I was taking a break from packing, and my room looked like something you'd see on an episode of Hoarders. Heaps of clothes littered the room, and open boxes were scattered on the floor.

"Nadira, what the hell is this? I know I'm messy, but you're on another level," Najib says as he enters my room.

"I'm packing. Now get out," I respond.

He strolls around, making faces at the clothes. "Take off those nasty shoes before stepping on my carpet," I yell, throwing a pillow at him.

He dodges it and sticks his tongue out at me, "So mature," I say.

"These nasty shoes just walked to the mosque where your wedding occurred. Put some respect on them," he replies, pointing at his half covers.

I roll my eyes and scoff. "Should I be grateful?" I ask, and he nods. "You should. I took time off my busy schedule to attend," he responds, sitting on the bed.

The only thing on his schedule was unnecessary outings with his friends and sleep. Apart from that, he did nothing.

"Anyhoo, Mom says you should get dressed and go greet our uncles and Baba's friends," he says, eating a grape.

I groan loudly, "I don't want to."

"You don't have a choice," he replies.

Reluctantly I get up and shoo him out of my room, then dress in an Ankara dress. I skipped downstairs and greeted everyone I encountered as fast as I could, zoning out as they delivered lectures on marriage.

I was eager to return to bed and continue my show, but Mom delayed that further by inviting all her friends. If I knew this was how it would be, I could have convinced them to hold all the festivities this week. This was the same as a regular wedding.

Finally, I'm allowed to slip away while the women are distracted. I run through the halls quickly and return to my room.

"Naddyy!" Saliha beams.

"Sally!" I say, equally cheerful.

My three friends were scattered around my room. Maryam was on the bean bag chair while Muhibba looked through my bookshelf, and Saliha put my folded clothes into a box. This showcased their different personalities perfectly. Maryam is lazy and disorganised like me, Muhibba is a geeky bookworm, and Saliha is helpful and organised.

I Plopped unto the bean bag and pressed into Maryam. "You're ruining my lounge time," she complains, pushing me unto the floor.

"Ow!" I yelp as I land with a thud. "Why did you bring her?" I question the other two.

"I'm here to give you marriage advice," she teases, and I roll my eyes. I've heard more than enough of that today, half of which I'll discard from my brain.

Muhibba sits on the floor beside me and puts a book in my face, "I'm taking this."

The girls spend the rest of the day helping me pack and updating me on the happenings of the outside world. So many parties and fights I've missed, but not anymore. It all ends today.

Eventually, they leave, and I get to tidying up my room. Cleaning up was much more manageable, with my boxes packed to one side. I folded the clothes I wasn't taking, returned them to the closet, returned my shoes and bags to their racks, and put toiletries and cosmetics away.

By the time I was done, the sky had darkened, and the world had become quiet. Only the adhan could be heard in the distance. I offered my Isha'a prayer and changed into comfy clothes for the night.