ZAID AND MARYAM ~ Their Story

2 - Cafe

Translation:
Duhr : Afternoon prayer.
Imam : The leader of the prayer.

----ZAID KHALID----

Damn. The flight was really tiring to be honest. I really got zero sleep due to a screaming baby overboard. Seriously, do they bring babies over in first class as well?
So I was really glad when Amr came to pick me up and we headed to our dorm room. It was a comfortable one. With two average size beds, some shelves and desks.

"Guess we should head to the store right away," I said, tossing away some dust from the pillows. I wonder when they were last washed.

"What, you didn't like the decorations?" Amr made a sad face. "I'm hurt, man. My heart is broken".

I had to laugh that. The only thing he did was write 'Welcome Home, Zaid' on a notebook paper with a red color sharpie and some balloons.
Had to appreciate the effort though.

"You know we're not the same five year olds, right?"
He seemed to consider that. "Well, I guess you're right. But we'll head for Duhr first so I can show you around the masjid and stuff."

••••••••••••

The masjid was just a ten minute walk from the campus but we took the car with us anyway. It was a really huge one, with tall ceilings and chandeliers everywhere.
We had a meet up with the Imam as he was a close friend of my Dad's. That's basically one of the reasons why we even chose this university.

"So, I think we got the perfect person for this year's tharaveeh?," said Mr Jaid, stroking his thick beard.

I laughed nervously. I knew a stack of assignments and year end exams would be waiting for me by the time Ramadan reached us. Would I be able to handle the stress?

" Yeah," Amr threw a hand over my shoulder. "The best hafiz in town."

I shot a glare at Amr. He definitely was not helping.

We respectively took our leave, said we had some real important things to do. I was really feeling drowsy by the time we left the masjid. Luckily, I spotted a cute cafe close by.

"Hey dude," I called over to Amr who was texting someone on his phone. He looked up. "I'm just gonna grab a coffee. I think the jet lag's really getting to me. You take over the car."

He takes a look at the coffee shop and his eyes wideifin shock and look at me as if I was the hideous monster under the bed. Pfft.

"Yeah, about that. I'm pretty sure there are plenty other ones at the mall we're headed to, right?" He says that in a casual tone but I could sense that it was forced. There was something shivering in his voice.

What was he hiding me from?

I took a sudden interest.

"What if I do want to get my coffee from there? Its not like its a bar or anything, right?"

Amr seemed pressured to arrive at a decision. He knew he could not win over me if I used that tone of voice.

"No."

"What could possibly happen in a coffee shop, man? You're being delusional as usual."

He took a few deep breaths and finally gave in.

"Yeah, you're right. But mind you," he said pointing a finger at me. His amber eyes blazed under the sun.

"I'm not leaving the car."

"O-kay?"

I mean, he's being delusional right? What could possibly go wrong while getting your morning coffee?

Yeah, I'm not entirely satisfied with Zaid's first chapter as well but I promise I can make it better as we move on!
Thanks for reading and don't forget to vote!
Word Count: 618