I'd Tell You My Dreams but Then You'd Better Say Yes

Chapter 1 - The Struggle Begins

Arifa Zaid hated her life. Sure, she was accomplished and purpose-driven; the leader of a biker gang, cooker of delicious souffles, and all-round master of sneakily watching football on her phone during dinner.

But she'd always wanted something more... a real adventure...

"Something that doesn't involve letting everyone I know down constantly." Arifa grumbled.

Arifa's dad, Tariq Zaid, was the champion boxer of the nation, and was currently away on a new season that he'd been boasting would be his best yet. But Arifa always felt he didn't see anything of himself in his daughter. And when she and her friends had made their new biker crew, and she'd stayed up at nights, designing their logo for their matching jackets and t-shirts, finding a 'crib' to hang out in, she'd thought her dad would be proud of her. Of how tough she was.

But he'd just frowned when she told him, telling her he was 'giving her too much allowance'.

Arifa's mum, Hanifa Zaid, was a different kettle of fish altogether. She was a makeup guru, with 500k followers on youtube, and a new eyeshadow pallette coming out every May.

But Arifa knew her mother's real dream had been to become an interior designer. But what with Arifa's little siblings to look after, and Arifa herself counting as three children in one when it came to trouble (accidentally), and the household chores, AND having to hold the fort all by herself a lot of the year, her mum had her hands full, and could only do something flexible on the side.

Since her own dream had been whipped cruelly away by the wind of life, Hanifa believed dreams were a waste of thought-space. An illusion. One must think rationally and practically.

"If you choose something wishy washy, it'll never happen and you'll be stuck doing whatever life throws at you. Study for your GCSEs, go into a solid field, and make me proud." Hanifa told her daughter while she blow-dried her own hair, looking critically at herself in the mirror, then trying again.

"I was one of the lucky ones. I make money while sat on my a**. If you can find a job like that, great. Otherwise, McDonalds it is."

Arifa sighed, and ran up to her room.

Her parents didn't get it.

Arifa wanted to be a traveller! A famous one. Maybe she would vlog it, or write about it, or have her own tv show, she wasn't sure. But boy, did she want to travel!

Seeing the sights in Timbuktu, finding Shangri-La, exploring Machu Picchu, that was what she wanted to do!

But no. Her mum thought it was a silly daydream. Her dad agreed with whatever her mum said when it came to her, and himself had no aspirations for her.

But her three-year old brother, little Abdul? Oh, apparently he was a little boxer in the making! He was going to be famous! The best boxer in the world! And little Majid, two, he was going be footballer! 'Just watch his kicks!' her dad almost squeed he saw.

"You're my princess, Arifa." Her dad said when she told him about her passion. "Do whatever you want, I'll give you money, whatever. But nothing dangerous, nothing where's the possibility of you getting lost, hurt, mugged, hurt, robbed, or hurt. Nothing where you get hurt. And this travelling lark, well, it sounds a bit sketchy, don't you think?"

Then the conversation would end, and Arifa knew that was final.

Her phone rang, and she picked it up.

"They say yes yet?" A voice chirped.

"No, Lyla." Arifa grumbled. "They never will. I'm stuck in a tower like friggin' Fiona from Shrek, and no one's coming to save me. If you need me, I'm busy becoming whatever it is my parents want me to be. Something in science, law or accounting probably."

"I dunno Arrie, if you put your passion into it and show your parents how determined you are, you could just do it!" Lyla quipped. "They probably think you're not all that serious, that you'll forget about it tomorrow."

"Mmm." Arifa replied. Her thoughts were churning, the cogs in her head getting to work.

This was gonna be fun.