How do I succeed in leaving this house without anyone noticing? — I placed a finger against my chin, thoughtfully, and let out a strangled groan when I couldn't come up with an excusable lie. Time was ticking — ticking too fast for my liking. I needed to leave soon otherwise I would miss the opportunity of seeing him.
What if I don't get to see him before he goes back to school! I spurn the thought from my mind disdainfully. I couldn't let that slide me by. I definitely won't.
Given how strict ummi had become and how overprotective abii was, I was pretty sure they would never allow me to leave the house and if I succeed in convincing abii to let me go since he was the lenient one, he would make my annoying, younger brother, Imran, tag along and believe me, that would be an absolute BAD IDEA!
Ugh! — I stamped my feet on the floor exasperatedly. What excuse was I going to give to my friends?
"Hey, Farida! I couldn't attend the party yesterday, because my mum would skin me alive if she finds out." I visibly cringed as the words filled my ears. It sounded so dumb and without a doubt, she would taunt me about it for an incredibly long period.
Honestly, I didn't want to attend the birthday party, but my best friend, Farida had to practically beg me to be there for her. At first, I refused, because I knew how disappointed abii would be in me. He made me promise never to attend such gatherings because he believed parties only consisted of alcoholic drinks, boys, and much more unscrupulous stuff. But at the mention of my long-time crush being there, all thoughts restraining me from giving in, dissipated in the air and flew through the open window.
The sudden sound of my cellphone ringing had me startled for a while — only for a split second though. I placed a hand on my heart, which had suddenly begun throbbing heavily beneath my chest.
Taking a look at the caller ID, I puffed out air from between my lips and tapped on the receive button.
"Hey, Manal!" She shrilled in her usual high-pitched voice.
Was she planning to make me deaf? I had to pull the phone away from my ear to protect my precious eardrum from her vicious plan. I rolled my eyes irritatedly.
"I have been waiting forever for your arrival. Where are you?" She questioned.
From my side of the phone, I could hear the earnestness in the tone she used. She wanted me to be there for her eighteenth birthday and I wouldn't want to miss it either... Out of all the friends I had, she was the only one I considered the best. "I will be there, in shaa Allah," I reassured.
"You better be." She spoke in a hardened voice. "My party will be incomplete without you here and... You will miss the opportunity of seeing—"
I quickly ended the call before she would be able to complete her sentence. She always seized every opportunity to tease me. "Idiot," I muttered humorously. "I better start dressing up if I want to be there," I said to myself and sauntered towards my walk-in closet.
Approximately ten minutes later, I had clothes littered all over my bed. I was still indecisive about what to wear. It was so frustrating! One of the biggest troubles of a girl.
I was still engrossed in searching for a suitable dress to wear when I heard ummi calling for me and the sound of her footstep approaching at a fast pace.
Baffled, I swiftly did the first thing that came to my mind — I stuffed all of the clothing beneath my bed and quickly got in bed. I shut my eyes tightly, praying so hard she would suspect a thing, otherwise, she would indeed skin me alive.
Shortly later, she began knocking on the door.
I shut my eyes tighter and covered myself with the duvet, pretending to be asleep, so she would leave quickly. I needed to sneak out of the house as soon as possible.
"Manal." Came her voice from the other side of the door. "Are you in there?" She questioned and when she didn't get a response from me, I heard the twisting sound of the doorknob, then the sound of the door being opened.
My breathing skyrocketed as her footstep inched closer to my bed. I mentally prayed she doesn't see through my act because that seemed to be her specialty.
"It's just 8:00 pm and she's already sleeping?" Ummi questioned herself.
Oh, God! She knows I'm not an early sleeper.
"I guess we will have this talk tomorrow then." She sighed.
The next thing she did, surprised, at the same time, had me apprehensive, like some common criminal — she took a seat on the edge of my bed.
Oh my! I thought she was leaving!
My back was turned on her, but I could feel her breath getting closer to my face.
That's it, Manal! Prepare to make up a lie to tell.
You're so dead!
"Goodnight, dear." Instead of jerking me awake, from my fake sleep, as I had anticipated in fear, she placed a feathery kiss on my cheek instead and lifted her weight from the bed.
Discreetly, I turned my head around and saw her sauntering towards the exit of the room. She made sure to put off the light, before leaving the room finally and closing the door behind her.
I sprang up almost immediately she left and sucked in a breath of relief. I wondered what would have happened if she found out I was about to sneak out of the house. Pushing the tiresome thought aside, I crouched down and pulled out the clothes from under the bed.
Randomly, I picked the first dress my hand touched and dashed back into the closet.
Emerging from the closet, I took a look at my reflection in the mirror.
Satisfied with the way I looked, I picked up my cellphone and tiptoed out of the room. I was being extra cautious because I didn't want to get caught by ummi, otherwise, she would kill me.
Stepping out of the main door, I made sure no one was around to see me sneaking out of the house. The last thing I wanted was Imran seeing me and telling on me. He could be that annoying and nosy whenever he wanted to be. I disliked that about him. Couldn't he see something and look away for once?
Spurning the thought from my mind, I hurried towards the gate. Fortunately for me, the gateman, Ken wasn't around. He probably was sleeping in his room. Like always. "Thank God!" I puffed out air from between my lips and opened the gate.
Immediately I did, I sighted Farouq's red Benz. As promised, he was already waiting there for me. He was a man of his words and patient as well. I wondered how long he had been waiting for me.
"I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting." The first thing I did when I approached him was to give him an apology. I didn't like keeping people waiting, especially if they are the ones doing me a favor.
"I just got here." He replied. He wasn't telling the truth, but since he said that, I decided to go with it.
"Oh!" I remarked.
"Get in. We are running late for the party." He reminded.
I mentally facepalmed at my senselessness. I gave a sheepish smile before hopping in.
"Ready?" He asked.
I nodded with a smile. Such a gentleman he was!
Turning the key in the ignition, the car roared to life and he drove off.
Few minutes into the drive, the atmosphere was eerily quiet. A drop of a pin would fall with a thud. I didn't know why, but for some inexplicable reason, Farouq seemed uncomfortable around me. It wasn't the first time we had met. He was Farida's fiancé. We had met about twenty times now, but each time seemed like it was the first. I had tried making him more comfortable around me, but my efforts were futile. Sometimes, I couldn't help, but think he didn't like me. I wondered why though. My lips curved into a frown.
"Are you right?" He all of a sudden asked, breaking me out of my trance. I didn't even know he was paying attention to me.
"Yeah," I replied, curtly.
As expected, he turned his gaze back to the road and continued driving quietly.
I sighed. I was beginning to get bored. The drive which was supposed to be thirty minutes or so, seemed like thirty hours. "Uhm..." I began to talk, but trailed off, not knowing exactly what to say. "Farida must have pressurized you to come to pick me up, right?"
He gazed at me for a second or so, before averting his gaze away. "Why do you say so?"
"Honestly?" I asked. "Because that is what I think." I shrugged.
"Why?" He simply asked.
Had he not been Farida's fiancé, I would have rolled my eyes at him. "You haven't been speaking."
He let out a chuckle. "You concluded I was forced to me here because I have been quiet?"
"Yes," I replied honestly. Knowing just how stubborn my best friend could be when she wants to be, it wasn't an impossible thing for her to do.
His demeanor contorted in what I assumed to be a frown before he swiftly masked it. "You're wrong." He remarked. "I volunteered to come."
My eyes widened a bit. I was surprised. "Oh!"
"Yeah." He smiled. "Why would I relent? You're Farida's best friend and just the way she takes you in high esteem, I do as well."
I had thought Farouq wasn't good with words or that he didn't like me as Farida's best friend, but his last sentence made me realize I was wrong. He just wasn't a man of too many words. "Thank you?" I was unsure of what to say, so the words came out as a question.
He simply returned the smile and averted his gaze back to the road.
•
