Through your eyes

Jannah

Dear diary,

Life is busy, but fulfilling. Alhamdullilah

J x

I'm back in Birmingham packing to move back to Cambridge dorms for 2nd year. We got our results mid August and Alhamdullilah I did well. Well enough that I'm on track for a First class degree InshAllah. Sadie beat me by 1 % which would've probably sent me in a little anxiety spiral last year, but now I'm extremely happier for her. MashAllah she works so hard, she deserves it. I'm going to study with her more often this year, which hopefully will be easier because we're sharing a dorm.

I leave tomorrow for Cambridge so I'm just packing the last minute things like my screen monitor, my notebooks, chargers.

It's been a week since my meeting with Elliot and Jen in London. I kept in contact with Jen after the fundraiser. She was sweet and didn't really know how to get back out there again. She was interested in how I got my part time job and asked for help on her CV. I've been keeping a look out for jobs she could apply to in the London area for her too. She's still looking but it's been hard on her, once employers investigate her past and see how she had relied on the charity for a while they cut her off. Together we've been pouring all of our free time into making things better for adults suffering with addiction. I think everyone understands that they need help to get sober, but dealing with the aftermath can be one of the hardest parts. It's often why people start using again.

After our meeting with Elliot, he told us to leave the idea with him. To be completely honest, the only reason I bought the proposal to him was so he could act as an external consultant. Grill us and point us in the right direction. I admire his business sense, I respect his ideas and opinions. I think he's a genius. I never would've imagined that he'd ask to be a partner, take equal responsibility in bringing our idea to life. He asked for some time and Jen and I both agreed that having him on board would only help us, even if our plan got delayed a week or two.

Dream team

Elliot: you guys free this week,
I've got some ideas.

Jen: Thursday works for me

Me: I could do Thursday 👍🏽

Elliot: Great I'll clear the afternoon

Term doesn't start until the following week, so this week I'm supposed to sort out my dorm and catch up on reading. I should be able to get it all done before Thursday. Hopefully then I'll be able to spend the rest of the week focusing on our project.

...

Thursday

It's 1.55pm as I'm walking into the coffee shop Elliot's suggested. We're not scheduled to meet for another 5 minutes. I'd hope to get a scope of the place before the others came but guess I'm running a little late because Elliot's already here.
He looks up just as I spot him and I'm met with sparking green eyes. He's wearing a black pinistriped suit today. Now that I think back on all of our encounters I realise he always wears a three piece suit. I wonder if he ever has time to relax. I try to imagine him in a tracksuit and laugh inwardly. Yeah, definitely not. The reason I notice how he's dressed today is because of his emerald green tie. It matches his eyes so well I can see the yellow flecks from here.

I wave a Hello and I can almost here his laugh from across the room here.
I smile as I make way over.

"Hello Jannah, how are you?"

"Very well thanks, and you?"

"Good." He's looking at me intently, like he's categorising all of my features. He's acting like he hasn't seen me in years rather than just last week. What surprises me most is that it doesn't make me uncomfortable. I know that's not his intention.