Shirk in Disguise

Chapter 29

Azeema fought with her heart to keep the feelings under control. Most times, she won and succeeded in suppressing it all but other times, she broke down. However, with each passing day, her heart hardened the more until she rebuilt the wall surrounding her heart which had shattered when she let Faysal into her life. This time, she made it stronger, impenetrable – the casing was now literally made of reinforced concrete.

Fortunately for her, she soon had other things on her mind which relegated thoughts of her ex's betrayal to the background. After a couple of months at home, she received news that really gladdened her heart – both she and Bilqees were offered admission into the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

The news was really welcome, especially for Azeema who was tired of brooding at home anyway. As for her friend Bilqees, she couldn't care less. In fact, she was only going further with her studies because it seemed to be the norm and she didn't want to be left out.

An excited Azeema went about her daily routine cheerfully. She was now steps away from achieving her dreams of excelling in the business world and not having to sponge off her friend. The two friends were however both glad that they were offered the courses of their choice and looked forward to their days as 'Campus Girls'.

A fortnight before they were due to begin their registrations at the university, Azeema made her way to her friend's room to check on her and was surprised to see her packing. She first observed Bilqees's movements for a short while before announcing her presence. The latter was actually oblivious of the former. She was busy sorting necessities while her phone blared music in full blast.

"Helloooooo," Azeema said in a slightly raised tone. "What's up?" she asked, gesturing towards the clothes and kits lying around.

"Oh, I'm packing," Bilqees replied, not turning down the music.

Azeema, who was totally against her friend's listening to unnecessary worldly music on the basis that they were misleading and un-Islamic, promptly pressed 'stop' on the phone. "Of course I can see you're packing," she began with a smirk. "But why?"

"I'll be living in the hostels," she replied. "Isn't that obvious?"

"Come on, you know you don't have to do that," Azeema said as she perched on the cluttered bed. "Besides, the campus is not even far from here!"

"Well, I'm already used to boarding school so what's the difference? I'll survive nicely there."

"There's a lot of difference and you know it," Azeema counseled. "There's a lot of bad influence out there!"

Bilqees shrugged. She'd already made up her mind. "You don't have to lecture me. You can stay if you like."

"You know I can't stay here without you..." Azeema sighed.

"Of course," Bilqees agreed. "You'll miss me too much!"

Azeema just gave her a wan smile. Bilqees hadn't quite understood why she'd said her last statement. She figured that it'd be improper for her to stay on in the Marzuqs' homestead while their own daughter was away. Nevertheless, she just smiled and got out of the room to get her own things ready.

Campus life proved to be an adventure with different thrills and trials. Living in the hostels had merits as well as demerits. Due to the close proximity of the living quarters to the lecture halls, the students were rarely late. Plus, they had easy access to the library as well as unlimited Wi-Fi.

However, a major demerit of the campus life was the exposure to all sorts of vices. On Azeema's part, she managed to shield herself from most of these and tried to concentrate on actualizing her dreams. It wasn't that she wasn't tempted, but she chose to stay steadfast. She had no one in the world after all.

On the other hand, Bilqees wasn't so cautious. In fact, she threw caution to the wind and enjoyed her life to the full. Her accomplice in such acts was a girl known as Candie-Bell. Her real name was Kande Bello but she chose the alias because it sounded more sophisticated. Candie-Bell and the Queen Bee soon became an inseparable pair.

Azeema had noticed the growing changes in her friend's lifestyle and was troubled to say the least. She noticed that Bilqees was now slowly drifting towards the notorious Candie-Bell's ways and was increasingly becoming careless with her studies. She hardly attended lectures or did assignments but never missed a popular party on campus. Most nights, she stayed out late.

When Azeema finally confronted her on her late nights, she offhandedly made mention of late classes, tutorials and rehearsals. "Seriously?" Azeema asked, not believing a word of it. "How come other students in your department don't stay out that late??"

Bilqees just shrugged. "You're not paid to monitor me. I'm an independent human being and I'll do what I like!" she snapped. "Plus, I'm the older one here, remember?"

"That's right but maturity is not based on age alone," Azeema counseled. "I'm sure it's that Candie girl..."

"C'mon just spare me the lecture and leave Candie-Bell out of this!"

"But she has everything to do with it!" Azeema snapped back.

Bilqees just stared defiantly at her friend for some moments before her speech returned. "Now I know why you're acting this way..."

"What do you mean?" a confused Azeema asked.

"You're jealous!"

"What?!!" Azeema exclaimed, hurt and flabbergasted. "You know I'm just looking out for you!"

"No, you're not. You're just envious of the attention Candie gets from me!"

Azeema became speechless with shock. She sighed in exasperation before leaving Bilqees standing there with a smirk on her face. Her friend was slowly undergoing a transformation. How could she even accuse her of such a thing? There was no way she could be jealous of that wild and unruly girl! Plus, the girl wasn't even rich and just stuck to wealthy students and sugar daddies.

Bilqees's current situation really bothered her. She'd lost Father, then Faysal...and now Bilqees?? Why was her life so complicated???

A/N

This is getting emotional😪 and also action-packed!

Keep tagging along; there's still more to come!

Tell me, what have you learned in this story so far. What are your expectations?

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