Four college girls, each grappling with personal challenges, forge a deep bond as they share a hostel room. Their life changes in their last year.
Ahad x Hoorain
When the girl who has guarded herself from bullies (due to her terrifying past experie...
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I'm pacing in my room, the phone pressed against my ear, while Maha's voice crackles through the line. She's going on, as usual, about something that probably makes sense to her and sounds utterly chaotic to me. Her excited words are like bursts of sunshine, infectiously bright, but I'm not sure if I'm in the mood to soak them in.
"Rhino, it's flawless! Should we show up at the next event wearing matching colors? I mean, we are supposed to be dating, right? It'd be cute, and—wait, no, not cute—hot," Maha rambles, her voice climbing as she gets more into the idea. "I'm thinking deep red or maybe something navy blue, and then people will totally buy the whole fake dating thing! We'll look like the power couple of the century. What do you think?"
I stop pacing and rub my temple, letting out a sigh. "Shut up Maha we're not living for a century"
She lets out a dramatic gasp. I can almost picture her clutching her chest, pretending to be offended. "Excuse me.. Mera irada eik sau Saal jeene ka hai Tum budhe hoge to bhale chale jao upar" (Excuse me.. I'm planning to live for hundred years, you're old so you can die soon)
I shake my head, though I know she can't see it. Her idea that life is all about rainbows and flowers, gives me second hand embarrassment. "Will you please shut up? My neurons have shifted their positions after hearing your non stop rambling"
"Thank me then, the previous position was too grumpy and shallow" she teases.
I roll my eyes. Classic Maha. "Was I supposed to laugh?"
She laughs, the sound light and carefree. "Yes, but we both know you're incapable of doing that"
Before I can respond with something snarky, the door to my room swings open, and my mom walks in. I tense, instantly. It's like my body reacts before my brain even registers. She looks at me, a frown already forming on her face. Great. Just what I needed. Why does she have to burst into my room everytime just to insult me.
"Rayan," she starts, her voice clipped, "unlike your date with Mariam, I want you to be at your best behavior with her"
I clench my jaw, tightening my grip on the phone. "I told you, I do not want to do anything with her. She's not my type."
Maha's voice fades into the background as my mother steps closer, her disappointment radiating off her like a cloud of suffocating perfume. She crosses her arms, her eyes narrowing.
"You will date her, Rayan," she says firmly. "And that's final. I don't want any more arguments from you. I've let you run wild with this football nonsense for too long. It's time you start thinking about your future."
My future? What she means is her future plans for me. Football, my passion, my life—she's never accepted it, never understood why I'd choose something so "trivial" over the plans she's laid out for me.
I open my mouth to retort, but she's already spotted something on my desk. Her gaze lands on a flyer—an international football contest taking place at my university. Her lips press into a thin line, her disapproval hitting me like a physical blow.
