Journal of a Teenage Muslim.

Chapter 55 - Answer-less Questions.

Zeke's Point of View:

They only ever let me leave this stupid questioning room at night, and that too with an ankle detector fixed around my left leg. The police tried squeezing answers out of me but they were only squeezing the life out of me. It was ridiculous. All sorts of idiotic questions;

"Did you intend to kill the boy?"

"What did you have against him?"

"What thoughts were running through your head while you did this?"

"What drove you to carry out this action?"

Honestly, what did they think I was, a psychopath? They could all drop dead right now because they're not going to get anywhere.

I heard the keys jingle and the door unlock. Another questioner? What were these guys? Robots?

A chinese officer came in.

"You have a visitor," He announced.

"Oh goody, do bring us some tea and crumpets, I'll be ever so happy," I muttered scornfully.

"I don't think you'll be needing that," He opened the door wider,moving to the side to let the visitor in..

Oh, wow.. It was Maydah. Trust her to stay out of trouble. I was not in the mood of seeing her.. But at the same time, I was.

She sat opposite me on the only other seat in the room, with the table between us and bleary lamp. The rest of the room was dark and empty.

I played with the pencil that one of the questioners had left behind. How nice of them, they left me a gift!

"I..." She was having trouble figuring out what to say. I could tell she was slightly nervous, but I wasn't sure if I could sense guilt as well. She looked all over the room as if wanting to avoid direct contact with me, so I fixated my eyes on her.

"You're sorry for turning me in? You should be." I exacerbated.

"No," She said, finding her voice again. Some nerve she had to walk in here and feel nothing. "I told the truth. I'm not sorry for that."

"Oh Maydah, using lessons learnt from Barney at the age of fifteen? Grow up and live in the real world, the truth is as cheap as the freacking trash on the street."

"So why not say it if it's that cheap than huh?" She retorted angrily. She was clearly thrown off guard.

"Because, as I've said before, and am saying again, I do not owe you an answer." I said simply.

"Listen. I didn't want to turn you in." She said calming herself down.

That was one thing, even against all odds, that I admired about her; The way she would fire up so easily and than force herself to calm down.

"But I was forced to," She continued, "You gave me no reason not to and another person could have suffered the same fate. I had to do that."

"To save some one else's life? You can't save the whole world.. Sorry to bust your bubble."

"I can save one life and that's better than nothing." She said collectedly despite my rudeness.

"Ok, cut to the chase. Why are you here?" I said getting down to earth.

She seemed to have no answer, she looked away again. I observed her as she stared passed me like I didn't exist, and than as her light brown eyes travelled down to the pencil I held in my hand.. Her eyelashes were long and naturally curled into with a flick that the 'Covergirl' models photoshopped. She seemed to have wondered off into her head, completely forgetting where she was

"Maydah." I said, leaning forward as if to get a closer view of her.. But no. I wanted an answer. I want to know why she came here and who must have made her because she seriously didn't plan it out at all.

"I-I don't know," She murmered.

"Did some one send you here?" I asked softly aware of the recording system in the room.

Her face scrumpled up in confusion. "What?"

"To get answers out of me?"

"No, no one sent me, and I wouldn't listen to them even if they did.. Don't you trust me?" She asked carefully. Her eyes scanning my face. I could smell her flowery perfume. It was so faint but I could smell it. I leaned in even more, our faces so close. I wanted every detail of her, I wanted to remember it because I knew after my answer she may never talk to me again. And it broke my heart to do so but it was something I had to do. There was no other way to keep this girl away. She didn't wear any makeup at all. Not even lipgloss. Her huge honey brown eyes seemed to glisten even in the darkness of this room. Her face was oval shaped and her cheeks were slightly chubby, not all plastered in like Angelina Jolie. I stopped looking at her. If I was going to say what needed to be said I might as well do it straight away.. And make it believable at that.

I looked at her straight in the eyes. This was quite easily one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

"No. No I don't trust you." I said. "I couldn't care less about you. I don't care what you thought about turning me in. And if you think I'm still innocent you might as well go soak it because I would have killed the boy if it wasn't for you. I would have killed you too if you didn't have every one's eye out for you."

I saw her eyes begin to water but she tried to blink the tears back in. She didn't break eye contact this time and it was killing me.

"Is that all you think?" She asked.

This girl knew how to get under my skin and make it burn.

"I think you look disgusting, worse than a zombie who died twice. I think your theories are stupid and you and your life are a complete waste of space. Dust is more useful."

"I'm sorry you feel that way." She said courtly, but her voice came out no more than a whisper.

She got up to leave. And I caught, what would possibly be, the last glimpse of her face. It broke my heart. I know I sound like a stupid lovestruck looser but it really did.

I took a deep breath and buried my head in my hands.

Maydah Ahmad was now gone from the picture. Phase one complete.

It couldn't feel less like success.