Two faced

Chp 20

After two days

***
Maria POV
It was still dark inside the room while the sun had risen already with it's vague rays knocking onto the plain creme curtains entirely covering the window right behind her messy bed with bed linens stacked up. Right then the bathroom door swung open, creaking slightly with Maria slowly stepping into her bedroom.

She stepped in and walked sluggisly towards the dresser right adjacent to the bathroom door with a yellow hand towel in her left hand, dressed in casual linen shirt and a plain trouser while her dry hair tied in a clumsy braid towards her left shoulder with water dripping from the baby hairs around her forehead.

She lifted up her drooling eyelids directed towards the mirror and let out a shocking shriek when she just realized that she looked horrible, not just because of her dressing but because of the bruise on her right upper cheek.

She placed the towel beside the table and swayed the fingers of her right hand on her effected cheek, carefully trying not to put even slight pressure over her wound.

She shivered when she felt pain swirled through her face while her fingers felt the swelling surrounding an inch long wound lined with an irregular layer of scab.

Her eyelids drooped and she started wiping her wet baby hair with the towel while still peeking into the mirror timely.

"Maria? Hurry up, I'll drop you on my way to the library." Naima shouted from outside her room, jotting Maria out of her thoughts.

"Yes coming in five minutes." She replied throwing the towel on the nearby chair and started to brush her wet hair while applying a light coat of foundation over the scar to minimize it's appearance and some rosy pink lip color on her lips.

She turned around, searching for her purple and white stripped scarf all around the room and found it lying on the other side of her bed on the floor.

She smirked embarassingly and pulled it, wearing it around her neck suited with a purple low knee shirt and a white pallazo. She picked up her violet sandles placed by the door and rushed outside her room to find Naima waiting for her at the main door while Haider stood outside her room grinning at her.

"What? Nothing will happen in two minutes?" She replied to Haider as she hurrid towards the door while Haider followed her.
"I might miss the beginning of my match." He growled as Naima locked the door and both of them stood outside the car.

***
As the sun approached the sunset and the sky was partially gleaming with few scattered beams of sunlight, the readers residing inside the library began to leave the place. Like everybody else he stood up with a pile of thick books in his hands and started to walk with a tired gait, towards the reception desk.

"I need to issue these." He recited to the receptionist and to which he nodded politely, receiving the books. He signed some registers and tilted his head towards him.

"Farhan Alam?" He asked and the person nodded playfully.
"Kindly sign these.", he forwarded the registers towards him and he signed them.

***
"Excuse me Mr, Helloo." Maria called out loudly as she struggled taking fast steps while balancing a pile of books in her one hand and her bag in left hand.
She kept calling in a semi crowded library but he wouldn't listen until she shouted again, "Wait Mr." And he turned around suspiciously.

He was a young guy with dusky complexion, black curly hair, grey eyes and irregularly grown beard. He had a pretty good height, well suited to his personality. He wore a light blue faded jeans with a plain black tucked in shirt and a pair of sparkling white joggers.
He turned around hunting impatiently for the voice calling out to him and finally pointed out Maria.

"Excuse me." She came almost running towards him holding her breath.
"Yes Miss?" He asked plainly while he observed her.
"I need a favour." She replied.
"Sure if I can manage." He added generously.
"I need this book urgently," she said pointing to a blue book in his hand.
"I have an exam next week and I need this book and this is the last piece available in the library." She told him sheepishly.
"Umm okay." He answered.
"I'll return this book to you on next friday, here in the library." She blurted out and he kept listening to her. She fished for her phone in her purse and opened up the dialer.

"Would you mind giving me your number so I can contact you?" She asked.
"Sure, here is my number 0.........8." He added.
"Thank you so much." She thanked him and he left immediately after handing her that book.

***
1 week later
Five huge creme painted walls surrounded a huge room with maximal lighting and room temp exactly at 20 degrees despite of the harsh summers. Around fifty brown polished desks and benches were placed facing the projection screen beside the media system and a laptop.

The benches were taken by around a hundred students dressed in their formal uniforms, donning a spotless white lab coat while wearing tired faces as they yawned, grinned, noted, squinted and checked their wrist watches almost millon times throughout the lecture!

They were being led by a professor apparently in his mid forties who was passionately busy explaining the pharmacology behind life
threatening conditions. Right in front of him were seated four students on the second row. Third student from the right side of the bench was busy noting down the list of medication when he was taken by his phone glowing under the bench.

He peeked at the professor and smartly got hold of his phone and disconnected the call without even reading the caller Id as he acknowledged it as a unfamiliar number. He repeated this atleast for three to four times until the professor exited the lecture hall and his mates begin to pack up their stuff while he annoyingly handled his phone.

"Who was it?" The student sitting next to him asked as he tied his shoelaces.
"The girl from the library." He unclearly answered and he chucked sarcastically.
"Which library? When did you started going to libraries?"

"Hmmm Social library and before you ask me further, I'd tell you that it was strictly business." He concluded while the other guy giggled tiringly as they walked out of the class handling the rugged backpacks on their shrugged backs.

"Then spill." The other guy demanded as they walked out of the lecture hall building. Both of them squinted their eyes due to sharp rays of sunlight stinging their eyes.
"Sure but first excuse me." He excused as he turned back into the building while mingling with the keypad on his phone until he dialed a number and the recipient received it in no time.

"Hello." He greeted.

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Hey readers, extremely sorry for this really late update. Just got done with my exams.....
                                       Taura5