Your Average Girl.

Reminiscence.

"Would you look at that?! Kajol ki shaadi horahi hai and we're not there! Another shaadi. Why is everyone getting married? What is happening Minaal!", whined Mahira as she scrolled down her Facebook homepage.

"We're 25 now, bro. This is supposed to happen", replied Minaal as she folded her fresh laundry.

"Yeah.. I guess. Wesay I could never have imagined we'd escape Pakistan for our residencies and still be single. Matlab, mujhay tou poora yaqeen tha we could never live the 'Friends' dream of renting an apartment together in a new city"

"Except that we're miserable when we're homesick and we're not across the hall from our best friends, we're across continents and we still haven't gotten a pet dog and our residencies KILL us", said Minaal with complete conviction.

"Tsk. Hamesha pessimist hi rehna. Look at the bright side, we love our job. It leaves us good for nothing else but we enjoy it immensely. I wish we had more days like this extended weekend though", replied Mahira as she yawned lazily.

"Told you we should've planned a road trip or something but you're so lazy", complained Minaal

"Please. We need this rest okay", said Mahira as she succumbed to slumber.

Minaal shook her head and continued organizing the living room. She decided to cook something desi today. Cooking always made her happy and she missed cooking for her family. Maybe if she made biryaani, she could call Shaukat and he could make that hour-long drive just for it. It had been quite a while since they had seen him. Or anyone else from Karachi, for that matter. The last person who had told her Assalam-o-alaikum, excluding Mahira, was the butcher at the halal meat store and it had made her so happy, her reply couldn't have been more effusive nor her grin wider. She missed home. The knowledge that her home missed her too made it even worse. Who would chirp away in her absence in the Khan household? These thoughts circled within her mind as Minaal organized books in the living room. Despite it all, she was grateful for where she was in life. You have to be very lucky to be granted the sort of opportunities and freedom she had. A smile crept on her face as Minaal recalled the day she found out she could leave her hometown for a new life abroad... The e-mail. And the trembling hands that had opened it and her refusal to look at the content until Jehanzeb read it out for her. Her tears of joy and the way her family was on cloud nine she had matched in the program she wanted. 'I didn't think things could get any better', laughed Minaal in her head. She lost no time in calling Mahira. She was overwhelmed and it took a while for Mahira to understand why Minaal had choked on her words. Panic settled in on her as well and at Minaal's urgings she logged in to her e-mail. Minaal stayed on-call. She didn't hear anything for a while and her impatience grew as she paced in her room, making exasperated faces at her mother who also sat anxiously awaiting.

"Mahira. Kya hua?"
Was that a sob? thought Minaal. Yeh rou kyun rahi haii... Oh God!

It took a while for her to respond. And so, in broken words and midst squeals and sobs, Minaal discovered they had BOTH matched in the same program. If you asked them to recount the next few minutes, they couldn't. All they remember is a flutter of activity and hugs and unparallel joy and wonder at ending up together, yet again. They later realized how this was a major factor in their easing their parents' reluctance in sending them abroad to live on their own.

She straightened up from cleaning, looked around the living room with satisfaction and made her way to the kitchen, careful not to bang pots and pans so Mahira could sleep.

The smell of biryani and the gentle patter of rain woke Mahira up. There are few things as pleasurable as waking up and realizing you have no rush and no deadlines; you don't even need an alarm like every other day. There was a post-it note on the fridge announcing Minaal's trip to the park nearby for a jog. Her phone kept vibrating and as she picked it up she saw 670 messages on her Dow girls group. She sat up as though electrified. It had been so long since that Whatsapp group had received that kind of attention. Sure, everyone updated the group with significant details but it had been ages since they had had proper conversations on it.

"Shit, can't believe I missed out on it", she mumbled.

The words were barely out of her mouth when Minaal rushed in. Her hair coming loose from her bun and dampened by the rain, Minaal wore a brilliant grin and her eyes brimmed with joy that foretold Mahira of extraordinary news.

"DID YOU READ THE GIRLS GROUP?", Minaal gushed as she clapped her hands enthusiastically and jumped
"Noo. I was asleep. 670 messages! Kya hogaya?"
"YAAARR. Haya's dad agreed to send her here for her Step two CS! Ammana and her husband are visiting her in-laws for Eid tou she'll be here, in the States next month. Namal say bas baat karni hogi bas kay eik haftay ki chutti lay kar ajaye, I don't think her husband will have any issue, do you?" Minaal gushed on.

Mahira was silent.

"MAHIRAAA!!"

"It sounds too far-fetched. Don't get me excited for this"

"Tum girls group par messages parho!" said Minaal as she sat on the sofa besides her.

As the girls read through the messages on the group, like always, their excitement escalated and the enthusiasm there was so contagious, they read parts of it aloud and laughed with sheer joy.

"Oh My God, it's actually happening! Like, it has serious potential!!"
"I knowww. We're trying to get in touch with Rafia, God knows which part of the world she's traveling right now"

"I hope she can make it too. We need something like this, especially before Haya gets married. That girl has her head in the cloud these days, I don't trust her to remember anything but her guy", said Mahira

"She has every right to okay", defended Minaal
"I know, I'm just saying shaadi kay baad tou lift hi nahi karaye gi", Mahira made a face

"You KNOW that's not true", exclaimed Minaal

"I do, I do, exaggerate karrahi hoon. Maqsad yeh hai kay I'm glad this is happening"


Minaal immediately started making a list of things they'd do and how they ought to surprise Haya with a bridal shower and how she will make sure Rafia is contacted and everything is proper for the girls to stay at their place. Mahira was still scrolling through the group conversation in awe, trying to resuscitate the conversation so she could partake in the excitement. Five minutes later, Minaal was going on about her plans when she kept the phone down.

"Always the mother hen of the group", smiled Mahira

"I like doing it", said Minaal sheepishly

"I know. You've always been that way. Ever since I've known you at least... Pass me the biryani too, please"

The girls started to talk about how they were when they had first met each other, over steaming plates of biryani.

It was a topic they frequented often but it still amused them. Minaal had come up to say hi with all the enthusiasm in the world only to be brought down a notch or two by Mahira's refrained ways (Or as Minaal called it, her bitchy, uptight ways)
It had taken them months to befriend each other.

"Allah Minaal. Tumhay yaad hai tum kaisi hoti then. I mean, the first impression I had of you was that you were this hyper person with uncontrolled enthusiasm and energy. And then that gold loop earring you wore in one ear! Matlab, I knew you were friendly because you asked Misbah to introduce us and then you asked me why I sit all alone in class and I should sit with you and then you included me in the plans for dressing up desi in the Welcome but somehow I thought we'd never match as friends."

"Phir bhi itni batameezi say milti theen tum", scowled Minaal

"yeah well, over si lagti theen tum mujhay okay. And then you typed in the weirdest ways..."

"YOU JUDGED PEOPLE BY THAT!"

"Still do", shrugged Mahira unapologetically

"You're weird. Everyone typed like that in those days. And I've always had this energy yaar. That's why I have restless leg syndrome", explained Minaal.

"No, no there's more. You were always challenging the guys to an arm wrestling match or some random game. You were one of those sporty people too and I didn't really think we'd have much in common. Plus, you were friends with most people at chapter and you befriended people in class sabsay jaldi."