Chapter :4
It's my second week in this school . I haven't spoken to anyone besides Nusaiba and Faridha. There aren't much Muslims here other than 4 other girls . My classroom strength is 48 . Woah! That's really a lot . I know . And as it is obvious , my class teacher finds it difficult to manage . And today also we sit together in break .Nusaiba opens her lunch box . "Egg." She says eyeing Faridha with a slight smirk .
"I love eggs." Faridha says with stars in her eyes .
A boy interrupts our conversation.
"Hi ! My name is Irfan . I hope I don't have to give a full fledged information about me ." He was referring to the chemistry, math and hindi class . Where the teachers were new and didn't know us . So they needed a small introduction . It was so exhausting . I mean who gets exhausted from self introductions , but it's possible if you have to do it over and over again .
Faridha and Nusaiba stared at him in what looked like shock . Well , my reaction was mirroring them so ,no surprise there .
I nudged Faridha under the table slightly . She looked at me and saw the discomfort on my face .
"Hi Irfan ,I'm Faridha , this is Nusaiba and that is Nawal . I'm sure you know our names . Nice to meet you ." Though her words sounded friendly her face showed otherwise .
It was as if telling him 'so what do you expect from me , the egg?' I was laughing to myself in my mind thinking about the words blurting from Faridha's mouth . Yeah , that's how much she likes eggs . I've learned that during that past few weeks I've spent with them . It was always fun with these two .
"Umm... Let's just be friends ." He said raising his hand as if he was saying 'shake hands with me please' . His hand was in front of Nusaiba and she looked uninterested . Faridha said , "Umm. ...Nusaiba can you please pass that bottle to me ." Nusaiba quickly took the bottle and avoided his hand and gave it to Faridha . Now he looked really ignored . I think she wouldn't have ignored him had he not blatantly been staring at Nusaiba during our whole conversation . He quickly retreated to his seat .
"Girl the next time you see him run away to our class teacher's staff room ."
"And what will I say to ma'am ?" Nusaiba asked Faridha .
"That you want a chalk piece ." She spoke smiling .
Nusaiba gave a dumb look to Faridha and then we all burst out laughing .
"Hi , I'm Irfan ." Faridha mimicked him. We laughed .
"Hey , he said my name is ." I pointed out and again we were a laughing mess .
Friends are really fun to be with . I was so happy to have these two . At that moment , nothing could wipe that smile off my face . Cause I knew that they'll stick up for me no matter what happened , and I'd do the same for them .
We took a quick break to the restroom to wash our hands . While coming back I saw the same bullies from earlier . An instant force took over my chest and I realised that , I was feeling fear towards them .
Suddenly they saw me . They saw the word 'fear' written all across my face and quickly made their way towards me , giggling all along the way .
"Hey look , it's that girl ." The senior dragged the word 'that' as if mentioning me with some hidden meaning . I looked around trying to make my way out . But this time there were a lot of them .
I could feel my face growing wet with my tears .
"L-let me g-go ." Oh no , now even my words are broken . I fell down on that dirty floor . I felt disgusted with myself . I was unable to speak up and defend myself .
Those sisters were so scary .
"Where's that kiddo from earlier ?"I said nothing , knowing that they were referring to Faridha .
"You see , we have a small business with her ." The other one said .
"I-I d-don't know ." I said .
"Aww... Come on now . No lying .
"Yaa , we're well aware that you two are pretty close ."
"Ya , you roam around the school together ."
"We're not that close ." I managed to say without stammering this time .
"Look , the little gal grew a head of her own ."
"Then , we'll just break it ." They were looking ready for a fight , and that's when my eye sight started to dizzy out .
And that's also when I saw the bathroom door being kicked open and the light from outside streaming in . There were 3 girls running in with someone , a teacher probably . But then I couldn't see anything else . There was darkness around me and I was sinking in it .
----***----
When I finally woke up I was lying down on a bench surrounded by my friends who are also my guardian angels . It was at that moment the instances that previously occured hit me and soon tears were rolling down my eyes . I felt pathetic for not being strong enough , I felt bad that I couldn't protect myself . I was heaving hysterically , but that's when I felt someone hug me , comfort me and that made me feel a lot better . I hugged them and cried on their shoulder .
"Let it out , let it all out ."
"It's okay . We're here ."
And that's all the reassurance I needed .
Faridha's POV :
We went back inside the class. a girl came and sat with us . The girl who came was Ameena Tasneem . She said that she prefers being called with her second name.
She pulled a bench and sat with us . She said ;
"Irfan has been staring for a long time at you , Nusaiba."
"He should have." Faridha said smiling brightly . That showed that she had another joke in her mind ."Why?" Ameena asked.
"Because today is Nusaiba's father's special . Which means the egg is very spicy. "
She says and laughs and Tasneem join in the laughter.
"Hey, how do you know that it was my dad who cooked today?" Nusaiba asked surprised .
"In the entire world it's only your dad who can make the white egg red."
Nusaiba giggled and we all joined her .I think Tasneem had real fun with us because she sat with us again the next day during lunch .
Tasneem has a heart shaped face and she looks like a matured kid . She is short and cute . She has a good sense of humour and mingles with everyone. She behaves like a kid at times , which is perfectly normal for her . She often fights and creates some mutual misunderstandings . Though you'll feel warm under her shade .
That day was not so awful because even though Nusaiba brought egg , Irfan did not ask for it . I think he felt awfully insulted yesterday.
But in the end Nawal remained silent . She believes that we didn't notice , but I did . I don't pry , and I won't . I know she'll come to me when she needs to .
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...