CHAPTER 4

A week has gone by so fast; I can’t believe how much has changed. Living in the same house as Ismail is easier than I thought. We hardly fight, but when we do, Aazim is always there to break it. He kept to his word and had my laptop fixed. I was surprised he did, but it made me understand Ismail is a man of his words. Something I find good about him with the fact that I dislike him. Today is the day of the presentation of the project I have been working on for the past week.

I have been pacing up and down the kitchen this morning making sure everything I need is ready, but I can’t seem to cool down because the way Ismail is looking at merit’s not helping. He has this boyish smirk on his face saying I can’t wait for you to mess this up so I can rub it in your face. I am so going to prove him wrong today.

“Will you stop looking at me like that?” I say

“How am I looking at you Miss,” Ismail says smirking more, knowing he is getting to me

“I don’t know? Just stop!”

“How do you know I am looking at you if you are not looking at me? So, who should stop looking at whom?”

“Whatever just close your eyes,” I say throwing a magazine at his face

“Hey! I have the freedom to use my eyes the way I want” He says dodging the magazine.

“I am going to get ready; I can’t be around you right now,” I say, taking the stairs upstairs.

I walk into my room to get ready for today. I am wearing a woven high waisted brown peg pants with OBI tie, black tank top, black blazer, black and white wristlet purse, with a brown veil and pump black heels. While applying my make-up; I get a face-time request from Fatima; I answer still applying my make-up.

“As-salamu Alaykum,” I say

“Wa alaykumu as-salam.” She says

“Babe, are you ready for today’s presentation?” She asks straight away

“I would have been if my boss was not Ismail.”

“Sorry and adjust your eyeliner.”

“Thank you and see you at work.”

“Ma’ as-Salama (goodbye),” She says handing up

The company where Fatima works is doing a merge on the same project I am working on. We are both working together on this project, but I get to do the presentation on it. I finish applying my make-up and walk downstairs to be on my way.

The project we are working on is a new game for children. I give a brief explanation of how we should program it and other necessary stuff to help run the app correctly. Everyone in the conference room gives an applause except from one person, and the words that comes out from the person's mouth makes me feel useless right now.

“This is rubbish; I can’t believe you wasted 10 minutes of my time to explain something even a child can program better. Your algorithm is inferior; your coding system can easily be hacked. The interface is so boring that even a two-year-old child will not want to play this game. The whole thing is useless. Re-do everything and the next time you stand in front of me; I want you to make sure you have something better. You can leave,” He says with a lot of disgust.

“Alright, sir,” I say walking out of the conference room to my office, pulling my head down while walking to my office

“I can’t believe he insulted me like that?” I say to Fatima as soon as she steps into my office

“Everyone liked it but him, and even though he did not like it, he did not have to insult me,” I say still pacing up and down my office

“I know you are right because even if you had some mistakes, it did not give him the right to compare you to a child,” Fatima says agreeing with me

“I can’t believe I thought we were on good terms,” I say

“I don’t know if you guys are on good terms or not, but, you need to sit down before you blow someone’s head.”

“If I am going to blow anyone’s head, it’s his head I will be blowing off.”

“Even though, I don’t think you want to lose your job, so sit down and cool off.”

“A’oothu billaahi minash-Shaytaanir-rajeem,( I seek refuge in Allah, from Satan the outcast)” I say seeking refuge from Allah to help cool off my anger

“That’s better, now think of something wonderful, that he won’t be able to use to insult you, and will blow his mind off.”

“Thank you,” I say to Fatima for helping me cool down before I did something I would regret

“That is why I am in your life,” She says feeling herself while smiling

“And I am more than grateful,” I say standing up to give her a hug

It is 1:00 p.m. I just finished observing Dhuhr (noon) prayer, and I am meeting Fatima and Emma for lunch. On my way out of my office, I bump into a hard wall, but when a nice cologne goes through my nostrils, I realise it’s a human being.

“Sorry,” I say to the person not caring to know who it is but, when I hear the person’s voice I know its Ismail

“It’s fine,” Ismail says

“I take back my apology,” I say hissing while walking past him

“Hi,” Emma says walking towards me

“Hey let’s go,” I say quickly walking away from Ismail not wanting to be around him right now

While eating, Emma asks the one question I have been praying she won’t ask

“Umit what happened between you and the boss earlier?” Emma asks

“What are you talking about,” I say acting like I don’t know what she is talking about

“I am talking about the way you ran away from him,” Emma says

“Oh, I bumped into someone and apologised, but when I realised it was him, I took back my apology. And hissed and walked away.”

“Umit is that the only thing you did?” Fatima says looking at me like I have two heads

“Yes, and why are you looking at me like that?” I say wondering why she is making it sound like it’s a big deal

“Because I know you and I hope you did not do something and walked away leaving him suffering,” Fatima says

“Ha-ha Fatima very funny of course not, I only walked away because I was not in his mood,” I say

“I hope so,” Fatima says

“I did not do anything,” I say raising my hands in a defensive way

“Fatima, she did not do anything to him, I saw him before we left the office and he looked fine,” Emma says coming to my defence.

“Alright I believe you,” Fatima says giggling

“You are not serious, do I look like a killer or something,” I say laughing

“Who knows, but don’t worry bestie, I know you are not,” Fatima says laughing

“Both of you are not serious,” Emma says laughing at the both of us

“But if I may ask what made you act like that to him,” Emma asks. I explain to her what happened this morning.

“Oh, that makes sense to why you behaved like that. And also knowing you guys are close makes it normal for you to do such even though he is our boss.”

“Yeah and also we are not close; we just have history.”

“Okay if you say so and are we still meeting up for the movie tonight?” Emma asks

“Yes, after dinner,” I say

“What time?” Fatima says

“7 p.m. and we are meeting at the new Italian restaurant for dinner before going to the movies,” I say

“Alright,” Emma and Fatima say

On my way back to my office, I meet up with one of my not-favourite person in the world, another one of Ismail’s best friend, Austin. Austin has dirty blond hair, is 6-foot-tall, and has a Lean build.

Most people will be wondering how I know so much about Ismail, even though we are not friends. There is only one explanation for that, and it’s my sister’s wedding. Ismail came with his two best friends to the wedding, and that’s how I got to know Austin and Udar. It’s funny when I think back and remember I knew Ismail before our coffee moments.

“Hey beautiful” Austin says

“Hi,” I say trying my best to be nice

“You have not changed since the last time I saw you, you are still looking beautiful,” Austin says grinning

“I can say the same and thank you,” I say.

He is about to say something, but his phone starts ringing, saving me from him.

“I will see you later,” He says before answering his call and walks away

I am back home from work. I pray Maghrib (Evening) before getting ready for tonight; I am wearing a white shirt tucked into my check stripe print, cigarette trousers, a black thigh length kimono, a red bag, black vans, and a red veil.

I step out of my room and bump into someone again. ‘Why do I keep bumping into someone?’ I am about to apologise but stop when I realise its Ismail. I walk away, not feeling in the mood to talk to him right now, but it seems like someone wants to make me angry.

“Are you still angry about what happened in the office?” He says, following behind me.

“I am not talking to you,” I say walking faster

“Hey!” He says stepping in front of me, blocking my way out

“You are really angry at me; you of all people should understand.”

“Understand what?” I say with disbelief

“Understand that, if I were not the way I was with you, people would start talking.”

“Start talking about what?”

“They will say I am soft with you because we live in the same house.”

“You are not serious; nobody at work knows we live in the same house. So, you don’t have anything to justify your behaviour this morning.” I say

“How sure are you?”

“I know because I did not tell anyone, so bye. I have somewhere to be right now,” I say, walking past him.

I arrive at the restaurant before anyone else. I am waiting for them at the front while I also wait for a table. To my utmost surprise, Ismail walks in. ‘I wonder why he is here? I hope he did not follow me’.

“Why are you here?” I say

“I thought you said you are not talking to me.”

“Are you following me?” I say totally ignoring what he said

“Of course not, I am here to eat,”

“Oh, better for you,” I say, and he does not say anything but shake his head.

“Are you guys ready to take your seat? We have an empty table?” The lady from the front desk says

“No, I am waiting for someone,” We both say to the lady

“Alright, no problem.”

A few minutes later Fatima and Udar walk-in and they are talking, but stop when they see Ismail and me. Do they know each other? I can’t remember ever telling Fatima about Udar, maybe she does.

“What’s going on? Did you guys come together?” Fatima asks while coming to stand beside me

“No, we just happened to be coming to the same restaurant at the same time,” I say, putting a lot of emphasis on the word ‘Same.’

“Oh, that makes sense,” Fatima says sitting down on the waiting chairs

“Do you guys know each other?” I whisper to Fatima, referring to her and Udar

“Yes, we do,” She says whispering back

“How?”

“I will tell you later,”

Emma arrives a few seconds later with Austin and they are arguing. Do they know each other? I won’t be surprised if they do because he is a playboy and Emma has a thing for blond men.

“What is going on here?” We say together with a confused expression on our faces

“Great, it seems everyone is here. I will take you to your table; please follow me” The lady says as she leads us to a table for six. Oh, she must think all six of us are together.

“Please, could you get us a separate table for three?” I say

“Am sorry ma this is the only table we have for now, except you want to wait again.”

“No, it's fine we will use it like that” Ismail says from behind me.

We have been sitting down for the past two minutes, and there is this heavy tension in the air. I can understand why that would be happening between Ismail and me, but I don’t know why Fatima and Udar seem like they want to tear each other apart, and the same goes for Austin and Emma. Maybe there is something about Fatima and Udar I don’t know about and also maybe the same goes for Emma and Austin, I don’t really know for sure.

“Can someone explain to me what is going on between the both of you?” I say referring to Fatima and Udar

“Oh, you don’t know my love,” Ismail says smirking

“I am not your love, and what are you talking about?” I say wondering what I don’t know about the both of them

“Ismail!” Udar says giving Ismail the face that says shut up

“Ismail spill,” I say giving Ismail my full attention.

“She was bound to find out anyway. So, my dear lovely lady, your best friend here and Udar almost got married.”

“You said whatttttt?” I say looking very confused

“Yes, you heard me right; they almost got married. If not that Fatima called off the wedding.”

“You almost got married, and I did not know?” I say feeling betrayed and hurt my best friend will keep such from me.

“I was going to tell you, but I did not know how too. I am sorry” She says sounding sad while looking sincere

“You did not know how to? Fatima, you almost got married, and I am finding out now, too top it up, from someone else” I say feeling a bit angry but trying to understand what is going on.

“It was a long time ago, and I did not know you by then, but I am sorry I did not tell you,” Fatima says

“It’s fine since we were not friends by then, but we will talk about this later,” I say understanding why she has not told me.

“Yes, we will,” She says smiling

“I can’t believe you spoke about it,” Udar says hitting Ismail on the arm

“Hey! The lady asked me” Ismail says defending himself

“So, did she force you to talk?” Udar says

“No, she did not, but I felt like talking,” Ismail says like he did not do anything wrong

“You almost made them fight,” Udar says

“They are fine,” Ismail says shrugging his shoulders

“I hate you man,” Udar says not meaning any of those words

“I love you too bro,” Ismail says smiling

“It’s fine, Udar maybe we should talk about something else,” I say trying to change the topic.

“I could tell you why these two look like they want to tear each other apart,” Ismail says smiling

“I think that’s enough about other people’s lives,” I say not wanting to intrude in Emma and Austin’s business. Ismail is about to speak, but Emma beats him to it

“No, it's fine, we just use to date,” Emma says

“Oh,” I say not knowing what more to say

“Yeah,” Austin says

“Ismail, I think it’s only you and I that don’t have a relationship history,” I say

“Yes, my love,” Ismail says smirking

“Don’t call me that I am still pissed off at you.”

“Hey, I said I am sorry.”

“You said sorry, when?” I say with a lot of disbelief

“At home.”

“You did not; you only explained why you felt what you did was necessary,” I say with my eyebrow raised.

“Oh, then I am sorry, my love.”

“For the last time I am not your love, and I will think about forgiving you,” I say already making up my mind to forgive him, because even if Ismail did hurt my feelings; I can’t stay angry at a person for too long, that’s just the way I am.

“What do I have to do to make you forgive me, my lady,” He says

“Can you stop talking to me like I am your wife?” I say looking confused as to why he is behaving weirdly

“Because you are,” He says with a big grin

“WHAT!!!” Everyone on the table says at the same time

“He is not serious; we are not married, please Ismail tell them the truth.”

“We are not married just yet; you guys should watch and see,” Ismail says smiling

“What are you talking about?” I say looking confused

“I will tell you later, love. Now, let’s order some food.” Ismail says, and I only shake my head because I don’t know what to say.

We all finished eating an hour ago; the girls and I are on our way to the movies. We arrived after a few minutes of driving. I step out of my car and see the last person; I want to see tonight parked beside me.

“Are you following me, Ismail? Because I understood the restaurant was a coincidence, but now I am starting to wonder what is going on?” I say crossing my hands over my chest

“We are not following you guys because we are here to watch a movie,” Udar says coming up beside Ismail while Austin parks his car before joining them.

“I hope so,” I say, walking away to meet the girls at the entrance of the cinema.

“I can’t believe Ismail and his friends are here too,” I say to Fatima and Emma

“I know! I saw them,” Fatima says

“I just hope they are not watching the same movie as we,” Emma says

“I pray so too,” I say making my way inside the cinema

I join the queue to get our tickets for Avengers: End game and Ismail joins the same queue.

“That’s it! There is no way you can tell me you are a marvel fan,” I say not understanding why he is following me everywhere I go today.

“For your information, I am,” He says

“Prove it to me,” I say not believing him

For the past ten minutes that we have both been standing in the queue, Ismail has proved to me that he is a better marvel fan than I am.

“Wow I didn’t think you would have known so much about Marvel movies,” I say accepting I am wrong about him

“Neither did I think a lady like you would be into such type of movies.”

“Really, why would you think that?”

“Because most ladies I know, are more into romantic movies.”

“Just because a few ladies like romantic movies does not make it a general thing.”

“That’s true.”

“Yes, and I would have you know that my major in movies are action movies.”

“Wow, that’s interesting.”

“Yeah,” I say smiling

“And thank you for forgiving me,” He says with a big smile on his face. I don’t say anything but smile back at him not knowing what more to say.