fighting fear

29th May

Ayesha

  She thought all the way back home. She had to tell her parents. She simply had to, and Alina’s speech had made up her mind.

Before leaving for school the next day, she sceamed  “Ammi Baba! Come downstairs! Its really urgent!” Both of them came rushing down.  

“What is the matter, honey?”, her mother asked.

  “Please, Ammi, just sit down, I wanna tell you something.”

They both sat down sat down on the couch.  

“Look”, she began, “Do you guys admit the fact that I am separate individual, independent personality with separate dreams and aspirations?” They nodded.  

She sighed. “ I am never gonna be this perfect doctor daughter you want me to be. The truth is, I wanna be a singer.” Their jaws hit the ground. Her father opened her mouth to protest, but she waved her hand to make him stop. ”Wait, let me finish. I know thay you will say that I am too young to decide and it may not be successful, and I agree. But, the thing is that I am finding my way, and, yeah, I’ll take risks, but I think I deserve for you to just let me be me. Could you at least try, Ammi Baba?”

  “But, Ayesha, cant we decide your future for you?”, her Father said.  

“Baba, I understand you want me to be on the right path, but I wouldn’t think of it as justified or fair. Risks are a part of life, they give you lessons to mold the rest of your life. Baba, please, I don’t think you have the right to decide my future. I mean, its me who is gonna live in it, right?”

  They nodded and left the room. She sighed, and couldn’t figure out a way to thank Alina. She was a total stranger, but she had helped her immensely. She just sincerely wished for Alina to succeed in her quest.

Alina

Till lunch time, Alina felt sick. She was dog tired as she had spent the whole night surfing the internet to find anything helpful for her quest, but to no avail. Gavin told her that so far there were only four girls on the team. She couldn’t believe she was losing. She had become popular, and in every single corridor, somebody waved her or talked to her, so much so that it had started to become a cliché.

  “Hey”, Gavin greeted her during lunch.

  “Hi”, she sadly replied.

  “What is the matter? You seem upset.”, he said.

  “Humph. What? Next to my winning charm every other day?”  

“Fair enough. Whats with the new girl?”, he asked. She just sighed.

He continued. “You want to talk about it?”

  “I just don’t know. I appear to be losing. I mean, there’s no team, and I’m tired. I am just…  I don’t know.” He looked concerned.

  “Is there anything I could do? Or you could, to, you know, make you feel better?”   Then it occurred to her. There was only one thing that could make her feel better-football. Besides, it would be a live example for the girls.  

“Gavin! Oh my God! You are a genius!” He looked clearly puzzled.  

“What the…?”, he managed to say, before she grabbed him and ran for the school football ground.

  “Gavin, I have to play. It’s the only way I can convince the girls. A live example.” He just nodded. In the ground John, who was a popular kid and, not to mention a born bully, was playing with his buddies.

On seeing us, he approached and said, “Is that the girl who is making the girls’ team?” While, he said that, there was a mocking smile plastered to his face.  

“That’s right,” Gavin answered for her, “and she wants to play”. John and most of his buddies smirked.  

“Can she keep up?”, he asked. The bleachers, Alina noticed, were now full. She threw off her jacket, clear for everyone to see.

She then rose her voice to make it audible for the crowd.  

“Well then, are you ready to watch me out run you”, John said.  

“Hah”, she chuckled, “You know what? Everything they say about you is wrong, you actually do have a sense of humour.”

There were giggles. John gritted his teeth, and said, “Ready?” All his buddies took their positions.   “Born”, I replied. With that, all of them thrust forward.