LAHADI (SUNDAY)

Chapter Fourteen

School for the day was over and Lami was keeping Nasiba company before her driver arrived. It became a usually thing for them since their previous class. Now they're deep in second term of their primary three and they've been good friends ever since.

"If Mammam doesn't come early you'll be late for islamiyya again." Lami pointed out while licking her ice cream. She and Nasiba had always shared things they buy after school and when they both have money, they buy different things and exchange.

"I know, that was why i kept telling Umma to change my islamiyya to one that starts 4. And that's not ridiculously far from home." Nasiba grumbled, watching her melting ice cream drip downn and lapping it with her tongue.

" What do you want to be when you grow up?" She suddenly asked.

"I don't really know. What about you, what do you want to be?" Lami asked earnestly. She had never really gave it much thought. She'll probably get married after her senior secondary school.

"A lawyer maybe. Umma said I'd be a good one since I can't talk without being scared. Don't you have any idea what you want to be? The secondary school you attend tends to determine it." Nasiba chewed the biscuit cone and wiped her hands on her trousers.

"Well, I don't really know. I'm not good at anything, unlike you, you're great at everything. You could even be a doctor!" Nasiba rolled her eyes when Lami said that.

"Being a doctor is for smart people, like Yaya. I'm not really as good as him. And you could teach I guess, I mean, there are many kids who can't read and write. Won't you be happy if you teach them?" Nasiba shrugged,then abruptly stood.

Her driver came.

Lami never gave her an answer, she just waved back when Nasiba waved goodbye.

She turned to the direction of her house when she immediately remembered that she hadn't memorised the verses she was supposed to read to her Mallam that day.

"I'm dead." She internally cried,she had less than two hours and she had not even open the page her Mallam read to them for the week.

Innalillahi wa'inna ilaihi raji'un. Na shiga uku.

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"Is Sameera with you?" Sameera's mom asked. She was the one picking her up that day apparently.

"Maybe she's inside the school, bye." Lami left without a second glance. She did not only get six strokes from her Mallam's marzakkwaila, she was also instructed to bring those verses the next day.

So far, she learned two, five more to go.

She was going to die. For real this time.

"Greet your mom okay." Sameera's mom called after her,she was probably going in to get Sameera herself. Lami would've helped, if it was a different person. Lami just rolled her eyes in a way that would make Nasiba proud.

Maybe she's rubbing off her, or maybe she just disliked Sameera's mom and half-sister,together with Sameera herself. But she knew Sameera's mom was definitely shocked by the way Lami behaved.

Whatever, Sameera's sister shouldn't have insulted her mother in the first place.

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"I'll wait for till you finish okay." Hamida smiled and gingerly sat on the floor. Lami's chest was flooded with warmth by Hamida's kindness.

"No don't worry Hamida, your mom will be angry if you're late. Mine knew I was owing hadda today and she wouldn't be surprised if I failed to give it again today. She heard me when I was reading." Lami took the broom Mallam gave to her and started sweeping their class first.