VULNERABLE

SUPERMARKET AND BONNETS

ARMAAN

I stood in the middle of the backyard, shirtless, again. How did I let myself get roped into this ridiculous dare?

This was the second time this summer, and I wasn’t even halfway through the family reunion. Fourteen of my cousins stood around me, each holding a bagful of ice, and just my luck, Abidat was one of them. Of course, Mahnoor, the mastermind behind this madness, was counting down with an evil glint in her eye.

"One… two… three!"

And then—chaos.

Ice. Cold. So freaking cold.

It hit me from all angles—sharp, jagged cubes raining down on me like I had wronged the gods of the North Pole themselves. I let out a hellish scream, but no one cared. No one even flinched. They just kept pelting me with those frozen death traps, laughing like maniacs. When the ice finally ran out, they all abandoned me, heading back toward the house, leaving me standing there, shivering, half-frozen, and questioning my life choices.

Mahnoor and Abidat sauntered over with matching mischievous smiles, the picture of pure evil in teenage girl form. Mahnoor, looking every bit the smug villain, didn’t seem like she was going to apologize anytime soon. And Abidat? Well, that ghabiun looked like she came over just to rub it in.

Which she did. Of course, she did.

"You look good in red, Armaan," she teased, smirking.

Great. Just great.

———

Sitting back down with the others, I watched as the bottle was passed to me. I spun it with a sigh, trying to shake off the cold still clinging to my bones. Naturally, as if the universe was out to get me, the bottle landed on Abidat, now sitting across from me with her arms crossed.

I gave her my best, overly exaggerated toothy grin, the one I knew would annoy her.

"I is  going to love this," Mahnoor snickered

Abidat, always the stubborn one, blurted out, "Dare."

I smirked, already knowing exactly what I wanted to do. She was going to hate it.

Leaning closer to her, I whispered the dare in her ear. She groaned, eyes narrowing as she stood up. I rubbed my hands together in an exaggerated, evil-scientist kind of way.

Oh, this was going to be good.

Haneefa, one of my younger cousins, piped up, “Armaan, what did you tell her?”

With a shrug, I responded, “Ista’addu.” (Just wait.)

Everyone exchanged curious looks, but no one pressed further. In the meantime, Aaliya, ever the entertainer, launched into a hilarious story about her latest encounter with a Karen at the supermarket.

"Guy, make I gist una,” she started, slipping into a little bit of pidgin. “So I dey shop for bread, minding my own business o, when this woman wey no get work just come begin eye me…”

She went on, describing how the woman couldn’t seem to mind her own business. She started complaining about how Aaliya was blocking the bread aisle, even though there were like three other places she could pass. At some point, Aaliya—being Aaliya—just lost it.

“I look this woman for eye, I tell am, ‘Aunty, I no block you. Why you dey vex for person bread?’ Next thing I know, she dey shout, ‘Can I speak to your manager?!’ Manager for supermarket wey I no even work for!, she turned to look for the manager ah!, if you see nyansh sey na tray wey she pack for there”

The whole circle erupted in laughter. Aaliya was doing the most, mimicking the woman’s hand gestures and facial expressions. Fahad was practically choking with laughter, while Khalifa—of course—had the loudest laugh of all.

And right on cue, Abidat walked back down the stairs.

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing immediately. Khalifa? That madman burst out laughing before she even reached the bottom step.

As per my dare, she had draped a towel in a saree-like manner over her abaya, her bonnet slightly tilted on her head, and two mismatched shoes that looked like she pulled them from the depths of some cursed closet. But the real masterpiece was her face. White powder was smudged all over her cheeks, her eyebrows were drawn too thick—so thick they looked like they were having a fight with each other—and her lips were smeared with black lipstick that had somehow ended up on her teeth.

Oh, and she had a pillow shoved under her abaya, making her look very convincingly pregnant.

To top it all off, she squeezed her face into some kind of horrifying grimace as she posed on the last step. She wasn’t just doing this dare—she was owning it.

She strutted right into the middle of the circle, like some bizarre runway model, swaying her hips dramatically. And when she finally locked eyes with me, I knew I was dead.

D.E.D. dead.

“Ummi,” I muttered, feigning despair, “I don die.”

I knew I wouldn’t hear the end of this one.

~~~~~

My favourite new character is aliya, guys aliya isn't a bad character ooohh, she just see fine boy that's  why she dey act like that.

Also if you don't understand pidgin sorry eh, anywho hope you enjoy, though this one is kinda short just manage.