Jewel: An Attempt at a Halal Romance

Chapter 1

One year prior

It was a beautiful day out. The grass glistened with raindrops like sparkling crystals and the clouds lifted. The cool breeze blew against my cheeks, sending dark brown tendrils across my face. I was in no hurry – my next class was in two hours. I smiled with satisfaction, thinking of how light this last semester was, all thanks to the hard work I had put in over the past two years. I was ninety-nine percent sure I would graduate with first class honors in my chosen degree in Psychology. The semester in Muda University was actually a last-minute decision to experience something different, and to move closer to my parents. I had opted to move to the university as part of a short exchange program for my last semester. I was nearly at the end, the finish line very much in sight now. My two and a half years in Imperial College, London were my proudest moments, but I missed my family too much.

I entered the grand terracotta-lined entrance of the library with its Portuguese-inspired architecture, a popular theme seen across the university, which was built in the eighteen hundreds. Mekar was famous for its heritage, and colonial designs were a large part of its identity. I walked up the large winding marble staircase, towards my preferred corner of the library next to the Art section, and frowned. There was a group of students chatting away, some obviously with no intention of doing any reading, cans of drinks in hand, laughing, paying no attention to the large No Food or Drinks sign on the nearby wall.

I turned to look for another quiet spot. Away from everyone’s eyes, which I often felt on me. I needed to get some reading done. Between two tall bookshelves was a quiet row of tables, and I promptly sat myself down and unearthed my large textbook. The guy sitting at the table across from me started to stare and quickly glanced away when I caught him look. I sighed. Things were nicer back in London. I was just Yasmin Colburn, the short half-Asian. When I was home in Mekar, my mixed-blood looks often attracted uninvited stares and jokes, which only got worse as I got older, it seemed. My younger brother Jeff had no such concerns plaguing him, enjoying his blossoming good looks thoroughly. I gritted my teeth and focused on the book in front of me. Advanced Research and Methodology was not something I looked forward to, being a far cry from the rest of my Psychology modules. I hated statistics. But I would still do well, as I had proven in all my semesters.

An hour later, I stifled a yawn. I had covered pretty much everything I needed for the afternoon. There was still an hour to go before class.

“Hungry?’

I looked up to see a familiar-looking guy, also Eurasian from the looks of it, with his smooth creamy skin and straight nose, and dark Asian hair. He was holding out his uneaten sandwich. I shook my head. “Do I know you?”

“Adam. We’re in psychology together. Looks like you don’t need to attend class.” He gestured towards my neatly written and colourfully highlighted notes and grinned, revealing a set of perfect white teeth.

I smiled. “No such thing. There’s so much to know that isn’t in textbooks.” I stood up, tossing my books into my bag, ready to leave. He wasn’t dissuaded. Adam was about six feet, tall for Mekar standards, appeared older than me, probably twenty-three or twenty-four, and walked next to me comfortably. We walked down and into the hot afternoon sun. “True. Real life teaches you so much more.” I wasn’t sure I was entirely imagining the teasing tone in his voice.

“Nice to meet you Adam. See you in class later.” With that, I excused myself, one of the many practiced escapes from unwanted attention. I froze. Adam had just winked at me, and laughed at my shocked expression as he left. I watched him jog towards a strange group of guys lounging by some tables. I couldn’t put my finger on why my mind had immediately labeled the group as strange, until I realized two uniformed men with batons were flanking one of the guys on either side. All were in a good mood it seemed, so I could see the person in the middle was not in trouble. He looked oddly familiar, too, though I could not place him. Was he in my psychology lectures too? I had only started there two weeks before. I had not yet put names to faces.