Chapter : 03
She was really brave and I had no idea that I would be saved by my new friend .
Finally , I could call someone my friend.
"Thanks. " I said really meaning it .
"Ooh....come on , do friends say thanks?" She asked .
I stared at her in utter disbelief ."But I mean it and ......besides I've never had a friend ...... . So , .... I want to thank you ." She stared at me amazed .
"Swear in Allah's name that you never had even a single friend in all your life till today ." Faridha asked with disbelief in her eyes .
"I swear in Allah's name that I had only one good friend in my entire life ." I said seriously.
She was shocked . She cocked her head to one side in a beautiful way and said,"No worries dear , that will not happen again . And even if it is to happen I will stop it for you , because I am going to be your good friend ." She said and smiled brightly . It felt like we became friends even though I wasn't informed of such an occurance . I was confused when did we become friends ? Do they ask permission to be friends ? Does it happen naturally ?
I felt safe in her presence and that was enough assurance for me to accept her as a friend . And that's when it occurred to me that our friendship has a bright future .
I said ," Thank you . Thanks a lot . Again ." I was feeling shy . But at the same time I was quite excited .
"You look so pretty when you blush ." She said . And I stared at her again . Me ? Beautiful? And suddenly it was like she heard what I was thinking and she said "Yeah, afcourse . Don't ever doubt it ." She was beaming , and her happiness was infectious . Surely , I was affected since I was feeling pretty elated too.
Our conversation was cut short as we heard the bell ring which signalled the end of the break period . We rushed to the restroom , washed our hands , then rushed back to our classroom .
Luckily , the teacher hasn't arrived yet .
The day went out well .
It was almost lunch now . My class teacher was taking chemistry .
"Now who can tell the atomic number of sulphur? " Our teacher is searching for a hand .
"Mam , mam ." A girl raised her hand . If I remember correctly her name should be Nusaiba.
"Yes , do you know the answer ?" The teacher asked , fixing her glasses in the process . Expecting her to tell it wrong .
"It's sixteen." She said .
"Good ." The teacher said half heartedly . Because all her expectations have thoroughly been ruined . And suddenly , we hear the bell ring . All of us stood up . And the teacher left the classroom .
It was time for lunch . We can change our places during lunch . So many girls go and sit together in groups . And since it's a co-education school . No mistake . There were boys too . But they say that it was once a girls school .
Faridha came and sat beside me and she was not alone . She came with Nusaiba . Nusaiba seemed nice , she was definitely not an open book . A hard shell to crack .
"Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakathuhu , I'm Nusaiba . I hope you heard my introduction today morning . Yours was good too." She said smiling and showing a hand towards me . First I blinked . Then I understood what she meant . She looked like the girl who spreads the positive aura wherever she goes . Afcourse , along with her shyness .
I stood and gave her my hand and said ,"Wailaikum mussalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakathuhu , it's nice to meet you ."
"It's nice to meet you too." She was looking cute in her own way . She had little pimples here and there in her face . She was very fair and very lean . She looked like a total bookworm . She was wearing spectacles and a long scarf . It says that she doesn't care about peoples opinions and their judgemental mindset . I smiled at that thought and sat up straight , eager to get to know her more.
They sat beside me and asked me ," Which school are you from ?" They asked together . Then looked at each other and giggled slowly .
"Great minds think alike , I guess ." Faridha said with a toothy grin .
Even their giggles were sweet . I felt like my journey here would surely be incomplete without friends like them .
I told them the name of my previous school and they were shocked .
"From Hiraa Academy ?!" Nusaiba asked shocked .
"Yes . Why ? What's the matter ?" I didn't understand . I mean it's a simple school . Nothing much special .
"They , us and St. Jacob Academy are rivals . The chairman of all 3 schools are friends . And so if one school is participating in a competition , then automatically the other 2 schools are interested too ." Nusaiba explained .
"Yep , and their rivalry goes so far as sports , arts , musical , islamic programmes , academic competitions and other such competitions . Though , we can agree on the fact that the rivalry makes competing even more fun ." Faridha said with stars in her eyes . "And I hope to participate in one of those this year ."
"Wow , I didn't know there was so much to the games ." I said . I was in disbelief of how much naive I have been all my life .
"Afcourse , there are many games . This school is so competitive when it come to those games , and when the games take place the entire school looks like a fair ." Nusaiba said looking so excited . I guess there's nothing that can dull down their mood , they seem excited about almost everything .
"I'm sure you'll make it to the games . I mean , I'm sure you'll make it to atleast one ." I tried to cheer her up .
"One?" Faridha looked shocked . "I plan on getting selected and participate in almost all the sports and oratorical events ." She said looking proud of herself .
Why did I even try to cheer her up in the first place , even though we call ourselves friends our relationship is still fresh and we hardly know much about each other .
They seemed to have noticed my sad mood and Faridha seemed panicked .
"Hey , thanks for trying to cheer me up ." Faridha quickly said .
"Ya , it's not like she's so talented that she's the best in this entire school ." Nusaiba said with a smirk .
I think Faridha was seriously offended , because her mouth went so wide with shock . She put her hands on her chest and said .
" How could you ? I thought we're friends ?" Faridha looked so sad and so ready to cry .
Oh no , looks like Nusaiba has touched Faridha's sour spot .
"Nuh huh , I'm not falling for that again ." Nusaiba said with a bored look .
Quickly , Faridha's face relaxed and she looked normal . As if the crying scenario never happened . I was astonished . "No harm in trying , you know ." She just shrugged her shoulders .
"I didn't know that you're so good at acting ." I said in a feeble voice .
"I know right , I wanna get into the drama team this year for the annual day ." She said looking all happy again.
There she goes , getting all excited and dreamy about the future , she looks so hopeful . I really hope she makes it in atleast a few , I don't want to ever see that face cry .
Looks like my two new friends are great dreamers .
YOU ARE READING
A Woman In Hijab
Short StoryThis is about a girl who is too afraid to come out of her shell . She has gone through something that has put her in a difficult situation . She is a soft , polite and kind girl who is too afraid to hurt even a fly . Nawal's thoughts are wild and c...