LAHADI (SUNDAY)

Chapter Twenty

Yoooo, I blinked and before I knew it, a whole year without an update. Lol, sorry. Anyway let any of you say I haven't updated through 2020 and see.

Lami put on her Islamiyya uniform before she picked up her plate and walked out to drop it under the tap they keep dirty dishes.

Her mother wasn't home, she got a job where she was a laborer in the federal hospital.

She filled her bottle with water from the tap and walked back to the room to take her bag. She went to her parents' room to search for the house key, when she found it she walked out and locked the door. She dropped the key at Maman Amira's place then she set out for school.

They're giving their hadda to their sirah Malam that day, that was how she found herself with  her book in one hand and her bag in the other. She read, then checked to see if she was correct. There was a specific place that she couldn't get right, and she was hoping she could learn it on the way because sirah class was the first they'll have that day.

She considered requesting to Mustapha to help her out for a second,but she pushed the thought aside immediately. That would've been embarrassing, she was not a kid anymore.

Also, Halima was around a lot now. Lami felt like she made herself scarce initially so she and Mustapha could catch up. Lami doesn't mind having her around, really, she doesn't. Well maybe she does, but only a little bit.

But maybe that's just a normal reaction. Lami felt small when she compared her dull colored hijabs to Halima's stylish clothes or colorful veils and bags. And she doesn't carry herself like Halima did, proud and graceful. Like she's doing people a favor by being there. Yet, she's also nice, so nice in fact. She was easy to talk, she has a nice laugh, she's pretty, she smells nice, her hair's long and dark. And sometimes she wears glasses that just seem to make her look even more stylish. Lami likes her a lot, she might feel small when she's next to her, but that was on her, not on Halima. Lami has no problem with Halima at all.

Just that..., she touches Mustapha, a lot. It's weird and super uncomfortable, Lami hadn't asked them if they were related. They might be, they might not be. But Halima's obviously older than Mustapha and if they're not related then why would she come to school every weekend to hang out with him? Why would she touch him so much?

It was when she spotted the Islamiyya gate that she realized she had forgotten about her memorization.

•••

Lami and Halima went to the school shop to buy some biscuits and soft drinks.

'Here, sorry but I have to pick this up.' Halima handed over the money to Lami, making sure she took a hold of the note before she brought out her ringing phone from her handbag and walked off.

Lami bought the biscuits and drinks, then she decided to to pray Asr first before going back to the classroom she met up with Mustapha, she set off to the girl's mosque in the school. She dropped the plastic bag aside and went to the taps to perform ablution.

There was a fair girl performing ablution at the taps already. Lami removed her hijab and set it aside before she started to wash her hands.

'I've been seeing you a lot with Zammilu and that girl lately.'

Lami whipped her head to where she heard the voice, it was the girl she met there. She remembered that she looked a bit familiar, she probably saw her at the mosque or one of the school shops. She slowly blinked at the girl, trying to prompt her to continue.