Chapter VII: A Trip To Town

Lale stared at her reflection in the mirror, scrunching up her face in distaste. Bags were visible under her eyes and her face looked pale due to exhaustion from lack of sleep.

"You shall sleep when everything is set," she said to her reflection as she added another layer of foundation to her face. When she was satisfied with her look, she donned her hijab then padded to Aslan & Najmah's room.

Just like she predicted Najmah was sitting on bed with a spoon hanging on her mouth, staring intently at the book she was holding, a jar of Nutella kept to her side. She never could understand the girl's obsession with books and Nutella.

"Hello Missy, care to join me on an adventure into town?" she queried, startling Najmah who threw her book away.

Although exhausted Lale fell into a fit of laughter, clutching her stomach and pointing at the sullen look on Najmah's face.

"You...look...look...like you've...seen...seen...a...ghost..." Lale said in between laughs.

Najmah gritted her teeth as she stared at Lale with a scornful look. "Are you done laughing?"

"One...more...minute," she hunched over, trying to stop her laughter. "Now I'm done," she grinned. "I should've recorded that."

"What do you want?"

"Would you accompany me on an adventure?"

"Nope," she replied popping the "p" then bent down and picked her book.

"Come on please, I really need you to accompany me there," she batted her eyelashes.

"You do realise that I'm a girl and batting your lashes wouldn't work on me right?" Najmah chuckled.

"Yeah I know," Lale's face fell. "I promise it'd be fun."

"Nah, I think I'll pass."

"Please sis, I really need you to go out with me today."

"Okay fine," Najmah consented. "Happy now?"

"Very," Lale replied grinning.

Najmah donned her hijab and followed Lale out to wherever she was taking her. They got into Lale's car and she drove out of the house unto the streets.

They got to the market in record time and Lale didn't waste any time as she set to finding fabrics that will suit Najmah and Hilal's dresses. She was planning on gifting the dresses to them on the day of the fashion show.

She picked lace fabrics that caught her eyes and dumped them on the table, then asked Najmah to pick the ones she fancied. It was a futile attempt because she knew Najmah would just shrug and pick at random, but she wanted to make the dress out of something Najmah picked. When they were done, they stopped by an eatery and ate lunch.

On their way back, they got stuck in traffic. The cars began to move slowly and before Lale could move, a car from behind had hit her precious car causing the car to lurch forward a little. She carefully unbuckled her seat belt, silently praying that nothing bad had happened to her car.

She opened the door and got down tentatively, still praying. Her worst nightmare came to life as the back of her baby had a dent on it. She did a few breathing lessons before matching to the black BMW that had caused the accident. She knocked on the window of the car, trying to keep her anger in check. She knocked the second time, muttering a few profanities in Turkish.

The door opened to reveal an impatient man who threw a stack of notes at her.

"The fuck!" she swore, staring at him. "Do I look like a beggar to you?"

"Lale, please let's go you're gonna create a scene," Najmah pleaded, tugging at Lale's arm. A small crowd had began to gather and some teenagers already had their phones out, recording the whole thing.

Lale was a local fashion designer but before that, she was a model and sure enough, everyone knew her. Seeing her out in the open all flustered was something new to those around and those with their phones out couldn't wait to sell the video, already imagining the headline it'd make.

"No, he's causing a scene," she pointed at the man who crossed his arms not showing the slightest bit of emotion. "He hit my car and didn't even bother to apologise for it. He threw money at me like some beggar. I'm Lale-friggin-Sadek! I don't need his money."

"Then what do you want?" he queried exasperated.

"I want you to apologize," she sneered, staring him down.

"I don't have time for this..."

"Oh, so now you don't have time? But you had the time to hit my car!" she sneered.

"Lale please," Najmah pleaded again.

"Okay fine," she consented, taking in the scene before her. She took a deep breath then addressed Najmah with a smile. "Can I at least hit him?"

"No."

"Not even a blow to the nose?"

"Lale," Najmah warned.

"He hit my car!"

"I know, but it's just a tiny dent."

She stared at Najmah's pleading face then moved her gaze back to the man whom hit her baby. How she wanted to wipe that smug look off his face but for the sake of Najmah, she was going to let it go.

"Okay fine," she huffed, went back to her car but stopped and took off her Louboutins then went right back and smashed the heel unto the window of the BMW.

"There," she smiled placing her shoe back. ″Now we're  even.″

"Are you crazy?" the man boomed, walking towards her.

"Move another inch, and I won't regret hitting you where the sun doesn't shine," she threatened, crossing her arms.

"You..." he was speechless. He stared at the smashed window of his car then stared at the lady who caused it.

"Use this and fix your window," she threw the notes he threw at her earlier.

He stared at her mouth agape, wondering what to do. She just hurt his ego, and he's going to make her pay for it. He gritted his teeth, balling his hands into fists.

Lale smirked at him then sashayed towards her car, blowing kisses at the little crowd that had begun to form, feeling satisfied. Guys like that needed to be taught a lesson even if the little stunt would cause a bit of a problem for her.

Najmah followed suit, shaking her head. They drove in silence, each wrapped up in their own world. When they got home, Najmah helped Lale with the stuffs they bought then went off to her room to pray Asr salah.

{••}

"Hey, I uhm...uhm...got you these," Aslan stuttered, raking a hand through his hair.

Najmah cocked her eyebrow up and stared at him, wondering what 'these' meant.

He presented her with a box, which he hid under the bed. Her eyes sparkled with glee as she stared at the package before her.

"Go on then open it," he grinned, rocking on his feet.

She tore the box open to reveal a set of “The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare”. Her mouth hung agape as she stared back and forth between the grinning Aslan and the books that lay on her laps.

"Thank you, thank you so much," she raved, pouncing on him. She had wanted to get the hard copies but hadn’t been able to but there they were, offered to her as gifts.

He was startled by her reaction, but he threw his arms over her and returned the hug, shaking off the thoughts that clouded his mind.

"Thank you so much friend," she whispered into his ears causing a shiver to run down his spine. ″How did you know I was…″

"Sorry to interrupt your mushy cushy moment but I've got a very urgent matter which needs to be attended to ASAP," Lale drawled, causing the two to quickly retract from each other. Najmah felt embarrassed to be caught at such a position with Aslan while Aslan on the other hand, was trying to make sense of what was happening.

"What is the matter?" Najmah questioned the now pacing Lale.

"One of my models just called to inform me that she is sick and can not make it to the fashion show tomorrow. I'm so doomed, I don't know what to do."

"You can just call for a replacement right?" Aslan queried.

"That's the problem, it's so late. How can I call someone at 11 p.m and ask if she can model for me? Oh God, I'm a failure already."

"I'm so sorry to hear this, I would have loved to help you, but I can't be of any help. Fashion isn't my thing," Najmah responded, placing a comforting arm on Lale's shoulder.

"Oh," Lale gasped, suddenly grinning. "But you can be of help..."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," Najmah shook her head. "If you're thinking about what I'm thinking then it's a definite no. I can't help you."

"Please Najmah, you're my last hope. There's no one who I can turn to right now. It's very crucial that you help me in this."

"But I can't help you," she protested. "I don't know anything about the runway, I hate high heels and don't know how to walk in them. They make my feet sore, and I keep tripping when I put them on. I hate gowns also, they're so itchy and heavy and… and..."

"And you're out of excuses," Lale clapped her hands together. "You're so perfect for this dress and don't worry, before this night is over you're going to learn how to walk the ramp like a pro."

"But I haven't agreed to it yet."

"You're my last hope if you don't help me I'm going to fail as a fashion designer which is going to be totally humiliating. Lale Sadek is a fashion icon to her friends and the neighbourhood if her fashion show fails she's out of the fashion industry. People are counting on her to change their lives."

"Can't Afet help you?" Najmah questioned, feeling so hopeful.

"I think I just threw up in my mouth," she scrunched up her face in disgust. "Afet's too skinny to fit into that dress."

"But you..." her eyes scanned Najmah's body again. "are perfect for it."

"Help me," Najmah mouthed to Aslan who was watching the exchange between the duo.

"Sorry," he whispered back to her. "Lale will not rest till she gets what she wants."

"I really don't have a choice in this do I?"

"No you don't," Lale grinned.

"Fine," Najmah huffed. "I'll do it."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you so much sis," Lale threw her arms over Najmah, kissing her on both cheeks. "You're the best."

She dragged the sullen Najmah out of the room and into her studio, then began the dress fitting.

{••}

"How did it go?" Aslan queried Najmah who walked into the room limping.

"It was horrible. This is the last time I'm ever gonna help Lale with anything fashion related," she ranted, falling on the bed. "My feet are so sore."

"I take it you're really not a fan of fashion then?" he chuckled.

"Way to go, Sherlock," she rolled her eyes then adjusted the pillow so she could sleep. She was already fallen asleep when she felt Aslan's hand on her feet.

"What are you doing?" she queried, jerking off her feet from his hand.

"Massaging your feet," he responded as if it was one of the most normal things to do.

"Yeah I know," she rolled her eyes. "I meant why are you doing it?"

"Didn't you say your feet were hurting?" he cocked his eyebrow then took her feet into his hand and began to massage it, shutting her off.

"Any better?" he asked when he was done.

"Much better, thank you."

He smiled at her then went over to his laptop to finish up the project he was working on.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep with a smile dancing on her lips, a smile caused by the one person she couldn't quite understand.

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