Two Hearts Apart

Chapter 5: Information and Opportunity

Despite Zahraa's ongoing lack of interest in him, Zaheer continued to think of inventive ways in which he could get her attention. It was thus with an active mind that he found himself approaching Valentines Day. As he had come to learn, Valentines Day in this school was usually a big event, with performances and plays, and various valentines' goodies that were sold. Every year the Grade 11 classes were responsible for raising funds for the end of year Matric Dinner. The Valentines Day events were thus usually planned and orchestrated by the Grade 11 classes for the sole purpose of fund raising.

Naturally the girls of Grade 11 held this task with utmost esteem and importance spending all their time ensuring that every event would be far superior to those of the previous years. The boys (most of them anyway) more dumbfounded by the girls meticulous and incessant planning, preferred to remain uninvolved- much to the dismay of the girls who kept on lecturing them about responsibility and legacy. With all the planning and pressure it was also no wonder that numerous arguments broke out, and it was not uncommon these days to see a number of girls reduced to tears.

A couple of days before Valentines Day both grade 11 classes were summoned into the Hall in order for the teachers to assign last minute responsibilities and to check up on the progress that they had made. Zaheer, who was at this point extremely bored and uninterested, noticed Zahraa's friend Miriam sitting close by. She didn't seem to be too involved in all the events and so he shifted a few seats until he was within whispering distance in order for him to be able to do some recon work.

Miriam was the type of girl that was everybody's friend. She was cute in a tomboy sort of way and could even sometimes be spotted playing cricket or soccer with the guys. She was short and thin, with short dark hair and small round eyes. She had been friends with Aarif for a while now and on discovering that his cousin had just joined the school, she made it her responsibility to make Zaheer feel welcome and help him out with anything he needed. She was easy to talk to, easy to get along with and easy to like.

Zaheer motioned to get her attention and after a while she finally responded. "What's up?" she whispered to him. "I want to talk to you about Zahraa." He replied. She edged a little closer to him and then said: "so what do you want to know?" The foremost question on Zaheer's mind was why Zahraa wasn't interested in him, but he didn't want to come across as either childish or conceited, so instead he said: "Tell me about her, what does she like, what does she do, I need info here to work with. What kind of guys does she usually like?" Miriam was quiet for a moment, clearly contemplating her answer, before she answered: "You know, come to think of it, Zahraa doesn't do the whole guy thing. I've known her for a while now and I don't think that she's ever had a boyfriend. I don't know why, coz lots of guys like her, but she always shoots them down. I know her parents are strict and all of that- so maybe that's what it is. And I've heard some girls say that she's uptight, but I don't really think so." Zaheer listened intently to all that Miriam said. Well this certainly made sense to Zaheer and provided him with some optimism. After all, if she was interested in any other guys either then there couldn't really be anything wrong with him right? On the other hand, if she didn't usually date then what would make her change her mind suddenly? Zaheer was confident enough, but even he didn't believe that he was that special. The rest of the time quickly flew by as Miriam spoke to him about Zahraa. She told him how Zahraa was driven and intelligent and the envy of many people. She filled him in on Zahraa's honesty and loyalty, and how she was always standing up for her friends. Each word brought Zaheer closer to Zahraa; each word was like a precious gem that he stored in the recesses of his mind. Each word confirmed to him that she really was as precious as he had believed. He savoured every lasting word and was startled and disappointed when the bell rang and the crowds began to disperse. "Thanks Miriam" he said. "No problem", replied Miriam "But let me give you some advice- friend to friend, eventually you have to stop chasing. I know some girls like that sort of thing, it makes them feel important or something, but I don't think Zahraa's like that. If she tells you to back off, she may actually mean it."

For the rest of the day Zaheer kept contemplating what Miriam had said. Maybe he was just being too optimistic; after all, Zahraa did say that she wasn't interested in him. There's only so much a guy can take before his own measure of self worth starts plummeting and Zahraa was really making him doubt himself. First he thought she liked him, and then he thought she wasn't interested; then he considered that perhaps she was playing hard to get- so he decided to remain steadfast in his pursuit. That proved futile however and he was once again left wondering whether she felt anything at all for him. Now, however, he was thinking of just abandoning the project and washing his hands off it altogether.

It was during the last period of the day when a fight broke out between Zaheer's class boys. Rumour had it that the tense atmosphere had been brewing for a while, but it came to an end when the first boy had apparently looked at the second one in a funny way and had, for that reason, received a sudden punch across his face. That's the thing with boys, as quick as they are to make friends with each other, they're even quicker to assault each other at any ordinary moment for the silliest of things. The fight was quickly broken up by the teacher but not before it managed to receive a number of spectators, all curious to discover what had happened. Soon after the bell rang and the crowds began dispersing, no doubt all eager to head home; and as the crowds passed Zaheer noticed Zahraa who, up until that point, had been looking at him. When she noticed that he had seen her she quickly turned around, slightly embarrassed that she had been caught. When he looked for her again she was long gone and nowhere to be seen.