HAFSAT ✔

NINE

9

Hafsah drew in her lips to stop herself from laughing out loud. As planned, Hamza was here to 'teach' her how to use the camera.
She wasn't so sure anymore. He has been fiddling with it.

"You sure you know how it works?" She teased leaning on his car.

He huffed and pushed the camera to her, "I lied. Happy now that you found out?"

Hafsah snorted and collected it. She studied the camera for a few seconds before stretching out her palm.
"Where's your phone?"

He asked her to move aside then opened the door of his car and unplugged his phone from where he had left it to charge.

Hafsah went to YouTube. She smiled when she saw his search history. After a few attempts, she found a video that was more elaborate and easy to understand. She held up the phone and they watched it together.

Hamza collected the phone while she tried to operate the camera. She asked him to pose so she would try it out. He stood with a small smile but he got tired and kept a neutral face because she was taking too long to get the hang of it.

An hour later, they bid each other goodbye after Hamza promised to take her to a park next time.

~•~

After praying Isha, Hafsah got under the blanket and turned the camera.

She went through the dozen of pictures she snapped Hamza. She found herself smiling at a particular one. He had his left hand going through his low cut hair as he impatiently waited for her to snap. His lips were stretched in an obvious fake smile. The next one, she took it while he was in the middle of asking if she wasn't done yet.

Hafsah took her time and studied his features. Hamza was handsome, no cap. His full, long brows fitted his face perfectly. His nose, not the most pointed but nothing would've looked better. His lips were a combination of black and pink.

"Hafsah!"

Mama's voice from the living room jerked her back to reality. Hafsah quickly turned off the camera and muttered numerous Astaghfirullah. What was she thinking, admiring a man that wasn't her mahram?

She dropped the camera on her dressing mirror and answered her mother's call.

"You are starting your classes tomorrow."

The day Hamza appeared in front of her house, she went for an exam to start islamiyya. The exam was recommended so they would know the suitable class for her.

"Okay."
She prayed to Allah to help her through it. Hafsah got tired of sitting at home and she also felt the need to find islam again. Her worship felt like she was on autopilot and not to forget how inconsistent she is with the Quran. She wanted to feel the peace people felt when they connected to Allah.
And with the help of Allah, this would be her starting point.

"What of the hijab?"
The islamiyya was for women so the only uniform was a hijab. Classes starts from 10am to 1pm. Just perfect for her.

"They'll give it to you when you go."

"Alright."
She joined Mama who was eating fruits on the carpet. The night was spent with Mama advising her to take the classes seriously.

~•~

Hafsah couldn't sleep after saying goodnight to Mama. Times like this made her wish she had a laptop or anything she can use to pass time.

She contemplated calling Abbas since he has being busy recently. Said he was working for a promotion.

She still went ahead to call him and he picked up after she lost hope.

"Hey." His groggy voice came through the line.

"Abbas. Did I wake you up?"

"Of course. Have you seen the time? It's midnight."

Right. It skipped her mind.

"I couldn't sleep, sorry. How is work?"

"Fine. It would be better if you let me sleep soundly, Hafsah."

She rolled her eyes at his response.

"We haven't talked in a long while." Her lips formed a pout even though he couldn't see her.
He visited her three weeks back, same day Ameerah came. She could still remember Ameerah's expression vividly. She found them outside talking with Abbas then went inside to wait for Hafsat after they exchanged pleasantries.
When Abbas left, Ameerah fired questions at her about how she was in a relationship.

"How is your friend?" Abbas asked. His thoughts must've travelled to the day, just like her.

"She is fine. Back in school already."

"Ohh. Ki hadu mu mu gaisa sometime."

"Okay."

"I'm really sleepy Hafsat."

"Ohh it's Hafsat today not baby ko?"

"Sorry, I'm just...."
Hafsat cut the call. He wasn't even hiding it that she was disturbing him and that upset her.

Unconsciously,  her hand found her camera and she resumed going through the pictures. Every picture of Hamza she came across, she couldn't help but stare longer. He was so handsome Allahumma barik!

~\~/~

Thanks to sleeping late, Hafsat woke up late. It was 9:30AM and she still hasn't prayed subhi.

She quickly performed ablution and prayed then took her bath. She was expected to dress modestly so she donned an A-shaped gown pairing it with a matching hijab that stopped just below her ankles.

Hafsat admired herself in the mirror.  She looked so beautiful. There was nothing shouty about her dressing but she couldn't stop admiring herself.

It was five minutes to 10 and Hafsat picked up her bag which contained a jotter and a pen. At thesame time while doing that, she was wondering why Mama wasn't here yet to wake her up.

Mama was reclined on the three sitter couch. Her attention turned to Hafsat when she heard her open the door to her room.

"Hajja you're finally out."
Mama was shooting daggers at her.

"Mama you didn't wake me up..." Hafsat complained with a pout. She laughed out loud at the stink eye Mama was giving her.

"Here," Mama pointed at a covered plate," Eat before you leave. "

Hafsat skipped to open it and the sweet scent of chips and egg tickled her nose.

Hafsat dropped her bag and settled fully on the carpet. At the first bite, she closed her eyes in satisfaction.

"Ayya Dada am, what would I do without you?"

Her mum was the best.

~\~/~

Class was in session already.  The class teacher introduced her and she found a space to sit.

Only two classes hold in a day. Hadith was ongoing at the moment. Next was Quran.
As her class teacher explained,  she could either do hifdh(memorization) or learn how to recite.
Since her tilawah was good enough, she opted for the former. 
Hafsat was already feeling giddy at the thought of having the Qur'an memorized.

After exchanging Salam with the person next to her, she focused on what the ustadh was saying.

He was talking in Hausa. The topic was sins and repenting from them.