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Assalamualaikum!!

I hope everyone's fine. After hours and hours of working here is the next chapter. I almost thought I wouldn't be able to get it done today, but Alhamdulilah it is done.

I really like how it has turned out.

Have fun reading! ;)

***

#10 The Moment

Safe to say after last night's conversation with Dad I was an emotional wreck. Quite unlike the cool and poised Junaina Ali if you ask me. After talking to him for about an hour or so I ended the call. I spent a good half hour crying in Dadi's arms. She comforted me by telling me that my father loved me a lot and my silence had pained him a great deal. She also told me that Muslims are not supposed to stay mad at each other for more than three days. I promised to keep that in mind.

With her consent I skipped dinner and went back upstairs to my room. All my friends called me for a group Skype just then. They were all hanging out in Jeni's home. Her parents like mine were almost always out of station. They instantly figured out something was up and coaxed me into talking.

All the craziness finally helped me calm down. Before sleeping I posted Samar and bhai's picture in my cousins group in WhatsApp. Apart from Di, Shoaib bhai and Samar it also included Samir and Faiz, son of dad's other sister Raziya Phuppi. He also lived in Dubai and came down to Salimabad only during vacations. The guy was a total jokester.

My phone was buzzing with messages even as I slept, but I didn't bother to check them. They could wait for tomorrow. One thing was sure, I need to get protection from Chachi and Sumi Phuppi first thing in the morning. Both Shoaib bhai and Samar would have revenge in their plans for tomorrow.

Once I was done with getting ready in the morning I stepped out of my room carefully, checking for booby traps. Only Di and Samir were innocent of pranks, all the rest of were born pranksters. Both Samar and Shoaib bhai pulled excellent pranks and I don't even want to imagine what horror they'd concoct together. To be safe I went down the main staircase instead of the kitchen one and walked boldly across the courtyard. They wouldn't bother messing with me in front of Dadi. She always sat in the living hall in the morning reading the news.

Once I reached the kitchen I asked Chachi if the boys were up.

"Nah, you know your bhai. He's a grown up and yet he needs me to wake him every morning to go to work. That idiot," the last part she said fondly.

Di came up to me with a loaded plate and set it in front me even as Phuppi brought me cut fruits and coffee.

"Samar will be down soon. Don't worry they won't do anything in the morning. I don't know if Samar will bother you from school though. You might want to be careful. And eat every last bit if you don't want your grave to be dirty."

The last part she had added on seeing my expression.

"Yes, you skipped dinner. You'll have to make up for it now. And what's this about the boys bothering you?" Phuppi asked sitting opposite me.

"You desi aunties", I mumbled the same time Di spoke.

" Did you say something sweetie," Chachi asked with a piercing gaze.

"No, nothing." I faked a smile and began stuffing myself.

Di, Phuppi and Chachi had a laugh at my expense. Di showed both of them the post from last night and all the comments that had followed. They were hilarious.

Samar: Bhaiii... Juju has betrayed us! Just look at that caption!

I had captioned the picture as 'Shoaib and Samar hang heads in shame as they lost to the girls'. I was proud of myself for coming up with that. The rest of the conversation was funny. Samir and Faiz had rebuked the other boys for letting them down and damaging their man pride. Di was left alone to deal with the boys. On reading everything Chachi and Phuppi burst out laughing.

"You should have put this in the Ashiana group itself... The men of this house have a seriously huge ego," Phuppi said.

Samar walked in just then.

"As if bhai and I need any more humiliation. Juju you pulled a sneak attack you cunning monkey." He said grumpily.

"You mean 'sherni'" I responded, putting air quotes.

"You'll be reduced to billi once bhai and I are done with you," he replied smirking.

"Oh no you don't, lay one finger on my niece and I'll confine you to your room and even Zaid won't be able to get you out," Phuppi said.

Samar slumped in defeat. I smirked in satisfaction and savoured every bite of my breakfast. This day was looking pretty good.

"What's with all the adults in this house becoming Juju's saviors? She's already got a huge ego." Samar grumbled.

"Beta, it is okay. You've had to relinquish your post. You wanted this right? To be treated like a grown up! What was it you used to say?" Phuppi trailed off in thought.

"I'm a man now! Look I've got a moustache. Stop babying me." Di mocked.

Everyone in the kitchen laughed including the ayahs.

"I don't know about you Samar but my day is looking quite bright and fresh."

I nearly got hit by him. He stopped just as Phuppi glared at him. To fix his wounded pride Chachi catered to him. But even she looked like she was holding laughter at bay. Soon enough all the adults would be in on the joke. I was one hundred percent sure.

As usual Samar and I walked separately to our bus stop. Sidra and Zaid were already there and in deep conversation. On seeing us approach they split. Sidra came and greeted me while Zaid met up with Samar.

Every morning I dressed up nicely, did my makeup and made myself look my best, hoping Zaid would look at me just once. Just once. But that jerk did not even bother. Every morning I'd pep talk myself and feel confident and great only to be put down by his attitude. He was seriously wrecking my self respect.

"Juni Di your dress looks great on you." Sidra said.

I smiled at her in response. That girl's a ball of sunshine. She could make anyone's day by just being herself.

"Samar why do you look like your Ammi died?"

It was the infamous Zaid Hashim speaking and no I'm not eavesdropping, all of us could hear him. Why am I even explaining myself.

"Because she might just have and become her Phuppi instead," Samar said pointing at me.

Look at me, it is me he is pointing out, just look at me.

That wasn't me. I'm never desperate for a boy's attention. It is quite the opposite actually, boys are desperate for my attention. And no, that idiot did not even turn once.

Samar and Zaid had some kind of silent telepathic exchange because soon enough Samar was narrating last night's story with embellishments of his own of course. Zaid ended up with a small smile on his face, he was not looking amazing. Just no.

"Shame on you dude, losing to the girls and acting like a baby on top of it. If I were your Ammi I would take Junaina's side too."

My heart skipped a beat. And then started racing for all it was worth. He knew my name. And it sounded lovely when he said it. I felt like slapping myself for being so sappy all because some guy said my name. But it was not just any guy. It was Zaid and he was driving me crazy with his weird ways of ignoring me as if I don't exist and yet knowing me.

Luckily the bus came before anyone could notice I was not being myself. I couldn't stop the small smile from gracing my face. Feeling conflicted with myself, I tuned in to Sidra's chatter to distract myself. Losing control is not an option for me. Besides I had a devil to deal with at school.

He was waiting for me when I got to class. That damned Azhar and his cronies. It has become a routine for him now. Take a post outside my class whenever possible and annoy the hell out of me. I knew he enjoyed my reactions and that I need to give him a constant silent treatment, but he kept provoking me.

I didn't bother telling anyone at home except Di. She made me promise that I would let the elders know if he was getting to be too much. Yet again I felt like there was more to it than Azhar just bothering me. Curiosity made me dig in to the matter almost, but then I decided not to intrude. There was an ugly history and it was meant to stay in the past.

"Assalamualaikum." He said making me stop.

That jerk. He took advantage of the fact that I had to answer his greeting. Dadi had taught me that answering a salaam was commanded on us by the Prophet to spread love and peace, safety and security. Not answering a salaam literally meant we're wishing evil upon the person who has greeted us. And that is not a characteristic of Muslims.

"Wa alaikumasalaam," I mumbled quickly and walked in to class.

He followed me in. There was still fifteen minutes left for class to begin. Fifteen minutes of pure aggravation.

Azhar took a seat on the teacher's desk and kept a steady eye on me. I tried to ignore the creep and settle in my seat next to Azza. He kept crossing boundaries and trying to get under my skin every day. Even the boys in my class were struggling to keep themselves in check. The fact that Azhar was a year older than us didn't help. An excellent opportunist, he made the most of every advantage he had.

"Junaina, most of the students here now know you as my girl. You don't have to pretend to be shy now."

I took out my English books and started reviewing the essay that I had written last night.

"I've heard that you have been in many relationships. You won't find any of those boys up to my standard."

Ignore him. Ignore him. Ignore him. He does not exist.

I kept up a constant chant in my head.

"Oh sweetie you look amazing when you're frowning."

I tried to swallow my anger by saying a'udho billahi mina-ash-shaytaani rajeem. I only had to tolerate him until Saira ma'am came and did the needful.

"Don't resist. Just be angry. Come on, unleash that they of yours."

I didn't have to.

"Oh stop it and get out you sleazeball. Provoking a girl into reacting does not show your masculinity in any way," said Haseeb.

He was one of the last benchers in my class. I didn't expect him or any of my classmates to stand up for me, but I felt a rush of gratitude towards him for doing so. He could easily get bullied for standing up to Azhar. Especially since that git walks around with all the meanest kids in the block.

"You do not need to interfere in this. Back off for your own good." Azhar said menacingly.

Haseeb had come to the front of the class. He was just as tall as Azhar and they were having quite the glare fest.

"You back off. You're in our territory, our class and we've had enough of your antics. We have tolerated you for many days but now you've stepped within our boundaries. Get lost before we report you." Haseeb said, his tone completely cool.

Azhar's expression morphed into one of pure rage. He jumped off the desk and started walking up to Haseeb. The girls had panicked expressions on their faces and the boys looked wary. Haseeb's friends stood up, ready to intervene. I decided then that this had to be stopped before it got ugly. I jumped in between the two boys just as Azhar took a swing.

Instinctively my hands went up to block my face and I angled my body away from Azhar and kept my eye shut, waiting for the blow to come down on me.

A few seconds passed by.

When nothing happened I opened my eyes and saw Azhar's livid expression through the mesh of my fingers. I lowered my hands slowly. Azhar was towering over me his fist raised up to land a blow. In his eyes there was an expression of intense hatred.

I met his heated gaze with one filled with disgust. I did not break eye contact. It took a few moments for him to calm down and then back away from me. After taking one last look at me he stormed off. And just in time too, as the bell had rung. As much as I hated him I didn't want to create an issue.

I turned around to face Haseeb. He was looking down at me with concern. I smiled at him.

"Thanks for having my back dude," I said.

"Anytime. Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. It takes more than that to scare me," I said smiling.

He cracked a smile of his own at that.

"So I've seen. You've got some nerve, jumping in between like that. As if I couldn't handle that jerk."

"Did I hurt your macho man pride?" I asked, exaggerating my expressions.

He laughed at that.

"Nah, it is fine. We're cool."

I liked this guy. Time to make a proper friend in this class.

"Junaina." I said offering my hand.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled.

"Haseeb."

I blushed in embarrassment. I had forgotten about the hands off rule. Soon enough Saira ma'am walked in and we all settled into our proper places. My good mood was restored after talking to Haseeb. I had a feeling we were going to be pretty good friends.

So I went through another routine school day. Except this time I didn't have to bother hanging out with Azza and Wafa. They got a kick out of the way Azhar treated me. The other girls in my class had started to warm up to me after the incident in the morning. They were in awe of the way I jumped in between Azhar and Haseeb. Even some of the boys in my class sent me friendly smiles. Of the trio only Lia was genuinely interested in being my friend. So after spending some time with her during the break I set out to look for Haseeb.

This time around I was lucky to avoid Azhar. That guy kept track of my movements way too much.

I ended up in the ground next to the huge mango tree that served as hotspot for the senior boys. Haseeb was standing next to Zaid and Samar and engaged in an intense conversation. Not wishing to have my self respect trampled on anymore, I was about to walk away when Samar spotted me.

"Juju!"

I cringed and turned around glaring at my darling cousin brother. But I was surprised by the fury on his face. Zaid walked to some of the other boys as Samar stormed over with Haseeb. Yay, no surprises there. Why would Zaid ever come to talk to me?!

"What happened this morning?" He asked me angrily.

"Nothing." I shrugged, trying to play it off as cool.

"Junaina, don't test my patience. Why didn't you tell me Azhar was bothering you?"

I turned to look at Haseeb. He shrugged in defeat.

"Had to let him know before he found out from someone else. I doing wanna be pummeled to death by my seniors for withholding info. Too young to die."

I felt like smacking him down and laughing at the same time.

"You'll die by my hands you blabber mouth!"

Before we could continue our banter Samar stepped in. I meant, angry overprotective Samar stepped in.

"Junaina Javed Ali-" I cut him off.

"Woah woah! Hold your horses. You don't get to go Mom on me, only she calls me by my full name. And as for not telling you it was because of this reaction of yours. Yes, he has been bothering me but I've handled him fine. No thanks to you." I snapped.

"Juju you don't understand," Samar began but I didn't allow him to continue.

"Don't understand what? That there is some history between our families? That the guy is absolutely nuts? That if his buttons are pushed any further then he'll hurt me?" I seethed.

Samar took a step back and shut his eyes. His fists were clenched tightly. He was struggling to calm himself down.

"Samar bro, chill." Haseeb said grabbing him by the shoulders. "The two of you are already creating a scene with your argument. You don't want to let this get out of hand."

I couldn't care less if all the world knew, but Samar took a quick look around and composed his features. His eyes still held anger in them but his face had morphed into an expressionless one.

"Juju, I'm not acting on my feelings and bashing that jerk's skull into bits now. But the next time he approaches you, I want you to come running to me. I don't care if there's a teacher in your class or there is any obstacle in your way. If Azhar comes within a mile's radius near you, I should be aware of it."

I didn't like the way he commanded me. But I remembered Dadi's advice on controlling my anger. Glaring at Samar and Haseeb one last time I walked away, taking long strides to get as far away from them as possible. While I found Samar's overprotective nature cute before, now it was annoying me. I didn't want to hunt down the past but it was getting hard to control my curiosity with the way Samar acted.

The rest of the day was spoiled for me. I didn't follow Samar home as usual. Instead I walked around the neighborhood trying to cool the steam. But after a good ten minutes I changed my mind as the weather flipped on me. Gone were the blue skies and bright sun. Suddenly heavy clouds had gathered and thunder shook the heavens above.

When the first drop hit the ground I began running. By the time I reached Ashiana I was soaking wet. My clothes stuck to my body like second skin. Because I ran my hair was loosened out of its bun and now the wet strands were stuck to my face.

"Thank goodness!" I huffed out just as I finished climbing up the stairs and reached shelter.

Just then the door opened. As if I didn't have a bad enough day, the person I wanted to see last right now stepped out.

For the first time his brown eyes widened upon seeing me. His lips parted as he struggled to form words and his composure left him vulnerable to the moment. He was stunned to stillness.

I was breathing heavily as a result of my exertion and I looked like a mess. I felt like crying at the irony of the moment. All these days I struggled to grab his attention. And all of a sudden I do grab it, but at the worst possible moment.

Feeling conscious of my clothes sticking on to me, I quickly walked inside.

I felt so exposed.

Zaid Hashim laid his eyes on me for the first time and I'm a soaking wet mess.

Someone please kill me now.

***
Intense huh? ;)

Stay tuned for more.

Love,

Ann.