FATE INSPIRED

Chapter 1

Layla

Judgment involved in the determination of rights and the assignment of rewards and punishments had begun the moment I stepped into my first class as a law student. Everyone respected me since then because that's the world, the people who execute justice, lawyers, are respected by the people who hold justice, people. The public.

Except my brother.

What a waste of yawp.

With a frustrated sigh, I muttered into my phone. "Ya Malik, please call me back when you're less busy. I'm sorry. Please forgive me, sweet brother, and just answer the phone. This is not fair. I'm your sweet little sister, remember? Please, please, please. I'm stuck in school now. Who will pick me? What if something happens to me, huh? What will you do? Ugh, you know what? I know you're at the office. Wait, maybe I should call your secretary, right? Yes, yes. I should do that." I said through the phone and the message went straight to voice mail again.

That was the sixth message and to be honest, my patience was wearing thin. My irritatingly punctual brother wasn't picking up his phone because I made him wait for 20 minutes yesterday. I was not being dramatic. At all.

My brother, Ya Malik, was a very punctual person. He's always on time and got annoyed whenever he got time lagged on his day by waiting. I might have mistakenly told him I was done with classes 30 minutes early yesterday. I just wanted to test his patience but guess who got tried on instead? Me. He waited twenty minutes before I was done with class, he looked annoyed, and in order not to get hollered, I might have snapped at him to play the victim, thinking it might defuse the situation.

It was supposed to be a joke, but he didn't find it funny and got more annoyed. So, now he wasn't talking to me. Unfortunately, his time was one of the few areas where he wouldn't bend. Now, he's sent the driver to come pick me up, not that that wasn't my usual. He's always never allowed deviation when it came to time since I could remember. He's not that strict with everything. He sat and listened every single time I broke a rule in school or fought with anyone and never yelled at me when I was a kid. Or whenever I ranted about my professors from school. I mean, for someone strict, he never got mad at me.

Only a few times. Not entirely my fault too, of course.

"Hello, Ms. Scarlet. How're you doing?" I asked when his secretary finally picked up the phone.

"Oh hello, Layla. I'm doing well. How about you?" Scarlet asked in a courteous voice.

"I'm good. Quick one. Is my brother around at the office? He's not picking up my calls."

"Yes, he is. He's currently in a meeting though. Do you want me to deliver a message to him?" She enquired.

"You know what? I'll just drop by right now. Don't tell him though, please." I said while picking up my bag from the table I was sitting on. "Bye, I'll see you." I hung up abruptly

I slid into the backseat of Malam Daha's car and asked him to drop by Ya Malik's office first.

"Good evening, Miss Layla. You're welcome." Ms. Janet greeted me as I entered the building. She's the receptionist at the desk.

"Good evening, Ms. Janet. Missed me?" I said with a smile as I approached her.

"I sure did, sweetheart. How've you been? How's school?" Ms. Janet, with her bubbly personality and kind demeanor, was like a ray of sunshine. She was in her mid-forties, plump, fair, and always bubbly.

"It's been good. It's stressful but good. I'm dealing. Hello, Mrs. Aisha. How're you doing?" I greeted the other receptionist.

"Hello, I am doing okay. Thanks for asking." She said with a very big smile.