It’s been two weeks since Ethan and I started working together or rather tried to work together with no progress. We still have not settled on anything for the assignment, and I have can’t believe it’s due in two weeks. I just finished performing Dhuhr (Afternoon) prayer, and I am getting ready for class. I did not have lectures in the morning; that’s why I am still at home. I put on my outfit, which consists of a black crop sweater with green plaid pants and black ankle boots. I am about to step out of the house when I receive a call from one of my loved ones.
“As salamu alaykum” My elder brother, Usman says once I answer his call. Usman is 6’1 feet’s tall, has a solid build, with dark brown eyes, has a tan skin tone that he gets from my dad while I got my dark skin tone from my mom. My brother is a very handsome man.
“Wa alaykumu salam.”
“How are you doing sis,” Usman says smiling
“Am doing great, and you.”
“I am also doing great. I wanted to inform you I will be coming to California next week. I hope you will have time to spare for your brother.”
“I will always have time to spare for you, if you are coming with my amazing nephew,” I miss my nephew dearly. Usman is married with a child.
“I knew you were going to say that, because it’s only my son you care about, and he won’t be able to come with me.”
“I have cared about you enough. It’s time I pass the love to your son, and why won’t he be able to come with you.”
“Because I would be going to school, auntie,” My handsome nephew says, coming into my line of view. Hassan is three years old and has his mother’s features and looks cute as ever. He has the same fair skin tone as her, beautiful big brown eyes and the same round face. He is the cutest three years old out there to me.
“Oh, that’s sad my cutie pie, but how are you doing?”
“I am doing great auntie. You need to see all the things I have coloured” He says showing me his textbooks with drawings and his excellent colouring skills
“They are so beautiful, my love.”
“Thank you, auntie; mummy said the same thing too,” He says with a beautiful bright smile on his face
“Really, is mummy close by so I could say hi to her?”
“I am here, Adina; how are you doing?” My sister-in-law says, coming into my line of view. Amina is fair-skinned, 5’6 feet tall and has a beautiful heart.
“Don’t ask me how I am doing. Go and reply to my messages” I say to my best friend. Amina and I went to the same secondary school and have been best friends ever since. Marrying my elder brother only brought us closer than ever.
“You know the reason I have not replied to your messages is because of these two boys in my life. They are keeping me preoccupied” Amina says, and I am about to reply when my brother cuts me short
“You guys can continue your conversation later. I did not call Adina for you guys to talk” Usman says taking back his phone from his wife
“You know I could simply end the call with you and call her.”
“I know you can, but don’t try it.”
“Better for you,” I say smiling
“I don’t blame you, but anyway as I was saying, I am coming to California next week In Shaa Allah, so be expecting me,”
“Alright I will, bye, and see you next week In Shaa Allah,” I say and end the call after he says, Ameen
I walk outside into my car and drive to school. I arrive at the university, and on my way to class; I am stopped in the hallway by Ethan. I see Ethan’s face every single day, and I don’t like it one bit.
“Good afternoon, how may I be of help,” I say wanting to know what he wants quickly
“Meet me today at the cafe by 6 p.m.”
“And why should I do that.”
“Because I said so.”
“Because you said so, who are you to tell me what to do without reason.”
“Can’t you do something I say without asking why?” Ethan says sounding irritated
“No, so tell me why.”
“I want to discuss something about our assignment, so meet me there on time, 6.p.m sharp,” Ethan says and walks away, not caring to know if I would be able to make it or not. Alhamdulillah, I don’t have anything planned by that time. I walk to my first class of the day and drown myself in knowledge.
I just finished having my last lecture for the day. I am about to walk out of the classroom when Mr Jacob calls Ethan and me to his desk. The question he asks both of us is the question I was praying dearly he won’t ask, but I knew it was coming anyway.
“So, how is the assignment coming up,” Mr Jacob says
“It’s going wonderful,” I say with a fake smile while Ethan just nods his head because we both know it’s far from wonderful.
“That’s good, so what are you guys working on.”
“A search engine,” I say what Ethan wanted us to do last time. So it would be the same thing he would say, but he said something different
“An app,” Ethan says what I wanted us to do which I was not expecting him to say. There is no way Mr Jacob is not going to find out we have not started our assignment.
“Wow I can really see how the assignment is going wonderful,” Mr Jacob says
“Sir, we have not started anything yet, but I promise you by the ending of the month. We will have something mind-blowing for you” Ethan says with so much confidence in his voice like he already has something planned which I know nothing about.
“Yes, sir, we promise,” I say going with the flow because even though Ethan might just be talking without having any idea. We still need to come up with something great and fast.
“Alright, I will be waiting. You can leave” Mr Jacob says
I am back home after a short day of classes. I just finished praying Asr (Mid-Afternoon) prayer. I am trying to get some assignment done before I meet up with Ethan at the cafe later. It’s 5:40p.m. I leave the house and drive to the cafe.
I arrive after a few minutes of driving. I park my car and walk inside to find Ethan. I don’t have to look hard because even though the cafe is pack with people. I can still spot Ethan out even with my eyes closed. His pitch-black hair and broad shoulders will always give him out. In a way, you could say he is handsome, but I won’t admire him. Even though admiring a guy is Haram (Sinful) in Islam. I still won’t admire him because of how much I dislike his rude attitude. I walk over to the table he is sitting at to find him talking to someone. They see me approaching and stop talking.
“Good thing you came on time,” Ethan says looking at his wristwatch while I take my seat
“What would you have done if I came late,” I say, taking a sit in front of Ethan, and another guy who I am yet to know who he is. He has brown hair; a lean body build and wears glasses.
“You wouldn’t want to know,” Ethan says with a deep edge to his voice that I won’t lie, gave me shivers.
“Okay so why am I here,” I say changing the topic
“This is my friend Sam. Sam meet whoever she is or whatever her name is, I don’t care,” Ethan says with total disgust in his voice for me. Something I am used to by now
“Hi my name is Adina and please don’t mind our behaviour around one another, it’s nice to meet you,” I say smiling
“It’s nice to meet you too, and I must say you are a rare beauty,” Sam says smiling
“Thank you,” I say smiling at his compliment, but it’s short-lived once Ethan speaks
“You mean rare beast because that is what she is,” Ethan says with a lot of disgust and hatred
“Please tell me how it is bothering you that he complimented me,” I say finding it annoying that Ethan hates the fact I was called beautiful. Please, someone should tell me how that is his business?
“It is bothering me because I don’t like it that such a nice word like beautiful is used for a beast like you.”
“First of all, I am not a beast. Secondly, when the word beautiful is used to describe my features. It’s none of your business” I say irritated with his behaviour. Ethan is about to speak, but Sam cuts him short
“I think that’s enough between the both of you. We came here to talk about business, not to fight. So both of you should get yourselves together” Sam says to both of us like we are two kids fighting for a toy. A good minute of silence passes before Ethan speaks up.
“Sam and I are making a laptop, and I was thinking we could make an operating system for it, for our assignment,” Ethan says, and I am totally dumbstruck by what I hear. I have heard that Ethan is smart, but I did not know he was this smart.
“Wow, that’s wonderful guys,” I say not filtering my expressions about Ethan’s accomplishment. I don’t see anything in hiding it because it won’t do me anything to say beautiful things about him. That is also one of the differences between Ethan and me. I speak the truth to him all the time even if it means complimenting him, but, Ethan would never do the same.
“I know, you don’t have to tell me,” Ethan says nonchalantly. ‘I wonder why I even complimented him’ I say to myself while rolling my eyes
“Thank you, Adina,” Sam says smiling
“You are welcome,” I say, smiling back at Sam. Sam is actually a nice person, too bad he has a friend like Ethan.
“So are you in or not,” Ethan says
“Of course I am in, so when do we start,” I say feeling excited to have something to do for our assignment finally.
“We start tomorrow after our last classes,” Ethan says
“That’s fine with me.”
“Alright since that’s settled, I will leave you guys to it, and hopefully by the end of the month we will have an operating system like no other before,” Sam says and gets up from his seat to leave
“In Shaa Allah, we will, and see you again soon.”
“Bye my beautiful black beauty,” Sam says and winks at me before leaving
“Bye,” I say smiling
“Give me your phone,” Ethan says once Sam walks away
“Why?” I ask confused
“Because I want to add my phone number to your phone.”
“Why would you want to do that?” I say getting more confused with his words
“Why does anyone have anyone’s number?” Ethan says sounding frustrated
“Because they want to be able to communicate with the person,” I say not understanding how this question answers mine
“So you actually have a brain, then why are you asking stupid questions. Give me your phone” Ethan says and takes my phone from my hand
“Give me my phone back, and for once in your life can’t you answer me like a normal human being and not insult me,” I say trying to get my phone out of his hand, but he stops me with his other hand. I give up and allow him to put his number, right after he uses my Face ID to unlock it.
“No, I can’t because you are a beast, and since I must say it out for you, I will. I want to give you my number so that we can communicate while doing our assignment.”
“Oh”
“Thank God your brain was able to process that and here. I will call you and tell you what time we should meet tomorrow” Ethan says, handing me back my phone.
“Alright, but I did not give you my number. So how are you going to call me.”
“Check your call log, and you would understand how,” Ethan says and walks away before I even unlock my phone. I have never met someone who can’t just say things straight out. He is always talking to me like I am sharing his mind with him and knows what he is thinking. Such a frustrating guy he is.
He brought me to his house, of all places, why did he bring me to his home. Does he want to rape me or something? I think if he wanted to, I wouldn’t be standing here and him walking towards wherever he is walking too. I look around the place, and I must say it’s beautiful. The walls are painted black all around, really matching his personality. There is a staircase to my left, while straight ahead is the living room decorated with little bits of white painting, giving the room colour. The couches are grey with a black centre table. I walk towards the living room, and to its right is the kitchen. The kitchen is gorgeous; it is painted grey. The chairs in the kitchen are white and golden long stools. The workup is black with little stripes of gold.“If you are done admiring my house, I think we should continue the assignment,” Ethan says startling me“Oh yes we should, but I have to say your house is beautiful,” I say wa
He brought me to his house, of all places, why did he bring me to his home. Does he want to rape me or something? I think if he wanted to, I wouldn’t be standing here and him walking towards wherever he is walking too. I look around the place, and I must say it’s beautiful. The walls are painted black all around, really matching his personality. There is a staircase to my left, while straight ahead is the living room decorated with little bits of white painting, giving the room colour. The couches are grey with a black centre table. I walk towards the living room, and to its right is the kitchen. The kitchen is gorgeous; it is painted grey. The chairs in the kitchen are white and golden long stools. The workup is black with little stripes of gold.“If you are done admiring my house, I think we should continue the assignment,” Ethan says startling me“Oh yes we should, but I have to say your house is beautiful,” I say wa
It’s been a few hours since I left Ethan’s house. I still can’t believe I agreed to fix our relationship. I don’t even know how that’s going to happen. I don’t have a single idea as to how I am going to do that. I am watching tv in the living room when Khloe walks in with her hands filled with shopping bags.“How was your day at the mall,” I say to her once she drops all her stuff down.“It was fun, and I got a few things for you. I know you are going to love them” Khloe says smiling while she goes through the bags and brings out a few shirts that I instantly fall in love with“They are nice, thank you,” I say taking them from her hands. They are lovely shirts.“I know, and once I saw them, I knew I had to get them for you.”“Thank you.”“You are welcome and what’s troubling you. You looked troubled when I walked in” Khloe says, noticing my
It feels like it was yesterday I was left to rot at that unknown place. Khloe was able to save me that day. I can’t believe Ethan left me there. I know he was angry, but that is not enough reason for him to leave me there. I should not be surprised anyways because it’s Ethan I am talking about, someone who hates me more than anything in this world. He hurt me a little that night, nothing serious, but I still feel little pains in my arms when I move them. His grip was really tight that night.I am on my way to class this beautiful afternoon. I get to class and take my seat, waiting for the professor to arrive. Someone takes a seat beside me, but I don’t border to look up from my phone to know who it is. The professor arrives after a few seconds, and the class starts. I keep my phone on the table and look up. The person sitting beside me is not someone I want to see after what happened on Saturday. Ethan is sitting beside me. Why is he sitting beside me? I
I can't believe good food was used to bribe me to come for this event. The food at the event was not bad, but right now, that is not the problem. I am starting to feel sleepy due to how bored I am. It's a dinner ball, the person my brother wants to sign a deal with is hosting it. I am currently sitting down outside, trying to entertain myself by watching videos on Instagram."Adina is that you," A familiar deep voice says. I turn around, and I am right, Ethan is the one who called me."Yes," I say, surprised to see him here."What are you doing here?" Ethan says, joining me on the balcony."I should be asking you the same""What is my name?""Ethan Mantone," I say, and I realise that Ethan has the same surname as the man hosting the event tonight. He must be Ethan's father; wow, I would have never guessed that."From the look on your face, I can tell, you know why I am here. So why are you?""My brother is trying to get a deal
A few weeks have passed since that beautiful encounter between Ethan and me. I felt so shy to face him again after that day, but the next day in school, Ethan acted like nothing happened. We have become closer than ever; we do a lot of things together that I never saw us doing. We go to class together, study together and even go for lunch together like we are right now. Ethan and I are at a nice restaurant after a long day of lectures.“I hope you have not forgotten about my game on Saturday,” Ethan says after he takes a bite of his chicken.“You have been talking about it for the past two weeks. I won’t miss it for the world” I say after taking a sip of my drink.“I just want to remind you so you won’t forget.”“I won’t and is Saturday, not Caroline’s birthday,” I say recalling the lovely girl telling me about it last time we met.“Yes, it is, and she said I should ask you if you could make a few doughnuts for her birthday.”“Of course, I would love to, but there
I am in the waiting room at the hospital while the doctors check on Ethan. My hands have not stopped shaking since I got here. I know this is not the first time Ethan has been in this situation, but I feel far more nervous than I was the first time. I can barely stop moving my hands and legs. Ya Allah, I hope it’s not severe. The doctor comes out, and I quickly walk towards her."How is he doctor? I hope it’s nothing serious. Can I see him?" I ask so many questions at once
It’s been a few days since that beautiful encounter between Ethan and me. I did not know what to do after what happened that night. I still can’t believe the way my body responded to the kiss. Every part of me wanted to kiss Ethan back, but something in my head kept reminding me how wrong it would be if I did. Ya Allah, I'm so frustrated; I can't believe I'd like Ethan and consider doing such things with him. Life throws you something that you never expect to feel. I have not been able to face Ethan since I discovered I liked him, and since we kissed. When I'm around him, I always feel shy and awkward. I also think about the way my body behaved last time. I can’t be too sure if being around Ethan is safe. What if he wants to kiss me again, and I lose all my senses and kiss him back? I would want to do that, but I know I can’t do that. Ya Allah, I am going to lose my mind because of Ethan. I have not been picking his calls or answering him when he comes to the house to look for me. I