Nuranize

Chapter 13: An ally.

His POV.

From that day onward Hikmah stopped talking to me about anything other than her friend. Then again I should have known after she sent me a text informing me she'd help, even though she never did say what she'd help me with.
She had no shame, Na da! She was asking me, her older brother, when I first realized I had feeling for her friend. Not only was I uncomfortable but also embarrassed.
But by far the most uncomfortable thing to leave that frightening mouth of hers was when she asked if I was serious about Nura or if I was just playing around.

Talking to Hikmah suddenly became scary because even after I scolded her she refused to quit. The questions kept popping even though I never answered them.

I eventually finished my NYSC and came back home. At the time Nura and Hikmah had started BUK. The fact that they both wanted to read medicine delighted me, whose decision made me happier is as you think.
I came back home and everyone was extremely happy including Fu'ad that wasn't even in the country. Being at home felt incredible, being someone else's responsibility after being on your own for so long is indescribable.
All Mama could do was smother me and to be honest I allowed her to. I remember that my first week back at home, Mama cooked or notified the cook to cook my favourites; think of it as a trasformation of gruel to fruit salad.
Two more things made me quite happy, the first was that Zako slept over and expectedly we were inseparable.
Second was Hikmah's passive attitude. Not one word about her friend. To be honest I sort of missed having intel on Nura without asking, all of a sudden I was left on my own and that meant that I could imagine and belief some scary things. The fact that she was in the university did not help matters. For weeks Hikmah hardly talked to me, then again she was hardly at home. But she no longer texted me and when we spoke on the phone she would give me the cold shoulder. Just when I had started thinking that she was angry with me she ran into my room with an idea I was more than willing to oblige.

She had just gotten back from school, instead of going to her room to rest or better yet drop that heavy bag of hers, she ended up in mine. I was just about to go out when I heard a knock. Seconds later Hikmah was facing me with a contagious smile.
"Ya Sule! Ya Solomon!" She cheered.
I watched her skeptically while still smiling. "Lafia?" I finally said after she had showered praises at me.
"Kalau!" She shouted.
"Why are you excited?" I asked.
"Oh, you didn't know? Am going out with you on Saturday." She squealed.
"We are? Who told you that?"
"Noone."
"Then how did you come to know?"
She frowned when I said that.
"Ya Sule am I that bad a company that you are looking for reasons to not spend sometime with me?"
She said in a sad tone.
"No!" I said high pitched. "Haba No. It's just that.. Uhmm.. Wallahi Hikmah you are a bully." I shouted and raised my hands.
She smirked afterwards.
"I'll tell you more on Saturday ISA." She said and was about to exit the room.
"Amma why do you want to spend time with me all of a sudden, last I checked you were practically avoiding me." I said making her stop.
She turned around and spoke.
"I wasn't ignoring you mana. I was just busy Ya Sule." She spoke innocently. I raised my brow at her.
"Busy ko?"
"Yes. I have lectures and assignments and what not." She said in still the same innocent tone.
"Well ofcourse I wouldn't know, seeing as to how I have never been to a university." I said sarcastically.
"Wallahi I was busy. I was busy with friends, friends of friends and admirers of friends." She said seriously all of a sudden.
That made me not find anything funny anymore.

'Admirers of friends. ADMIRERS OF FRIENDS!'
What in Allah's name did that mean?

"Later!" I heard her say but when I turned all I saw was the door being slammed.

Up until that moment I really did think that Hikmah was no longer into bullying. But after having one of her sentences torment me throughout the day I realized that Hikmah was so much of a bully that she was developing ways to bully people including her older brothers.
'Admirers of friends.'
Why and how had such people manage to make her busy?