She walked inside the crowded hallway. Crowded hallways were always her favorite. Crowd means unrecognition. She walked to her locker and jerked it open. A pink xoxo was written with lipstick on the wall of her locker. She smiled and took her art sketch pad with her. Monday, first period: arts class. Just when she shut the locker door, a kind face awaited her. Long hair braided into multiple pigtails, long eyelashes, and a little blush on cheeks. Just like ever, Karina was looking no more than a weirdo. "You scared me for a second. Don't ghost around." Minha snapped.
"Where were you? I thought you texted about half an hour ago that you left for school." Of course, Karina knows everything. She could just read it in her eyes. "Gale caught me up." She said trying the right key for the locker.
"You know it's the one with the rust. Don't be an introvert around me. You are lying."
"What? No." She inserted the right key and started looking through the timetable.
"You got a sketchpad in your hands and you are looking through the timetable. Wasn't it you who made me memorize it because you memorized it too?"
"Fine. I am hooked. Can we talk about it later? I don't want my early comers' record to get ruined because of your useless Q and A session!"
"Hey. Why are you being mean? I am not asking if it's too private to keep from your best friend." Karina was sorely disappointed, but just for Minha to get emotional and spill whatever she is keeping. Minha only acted like that when she was highly stressed. Karina was worried too. She walked back to her and pushed her arm into hers and smiled, "Walk with me, your highness."
Minha couldn't do anything but smile. She nodded and they headed to the art class.
Sitting at the back, they pulled their sketch pads out and started to draw. It was a free hand drawing today. She pulled the pencil on the rough paper. It kept whirling above and messed up nice with the paper. Some strokes here and some strokes there. Again and again they whirled with every memory. She didn't know what she was drawing. But she knew it was something similar. The curves she knew well. The gestures she embraced well. The drawing she drew well. Soothing lines along the wall of the paper, the tied up knots and some faded moments. She was sad but she was smiling. She was alone but she felt along with the rhythm. She was silent but the picture kept saying. She was done but the picture was dead.
"I am highly anxious about you, Min. You are drawing this for the third time today. Stop it!" She heard Karina say. Karina snatched away the sketch pad from her.
"Do you know who this is, Kay?" she questioned, lost somewhere far away.
"It's your brother. Maaz Qureshi Haider. I know."
"Right. He is Maaz Qureshi Haider. My only brother who got snatched from me. I can see him, Kay. I can see him everywhere. He wanted to run the manufacturers of this world. He wanted to eat a banana that day and I didn't allow him because he already had 3. His hair was always brushed back with a Gel. He used baba's perfume. And sometimes he smelled like him too. His eyes reminded me of my mama and his smile reminds me of baba. We don't have the same hair color but his name starts with the same letter. M."
"I don't feel like you are okay. We need to get you home, but just wait for the classes to end. I can't leave you all on your own." Kay sighed and managed to get the day off.
When they went to Minha's house, she gave her a few tablets, switched on the heater, pulled the blanket on her almost gone friend. She didn't want to call a doctor, because she knew this wasn't a physical pain, it was an inner pain, Minha was mentally hurt. A lot hurt.
When she woke up, it was dark. The side table's lamp was off. She switched it on and looked here and there to get an idea of her current situation. Karina was sleeping beside her. Did they come from school? She didn't remember a thing. She wanted some space, so she got up silently, and got out of her apartment.
Silent night walks. Peaceful and stress-free. She hovered her leather coat more close to her skin. The winds blew and every time they blew a new dryness approached her face. She was not sad, but she wasn't happy either. She started recalling what happened today, after all, that was a huge pie of her day today.
While her small footsteps took turns, she reached the coffee shop. It was open. Monday nights were always signed up here. The shopkeeper nodded when she entered. She went to the last empty table. The coffee shop was as peaceful as it could be. Not so crowded, not so empty.
"Howdy, child. You okay?" a husky but soft voice lifted her chin up. An old man with his hands in his coat's pocket was surveying her appearance and kind of looked worried. For a second, she couldn't calculate the math of the situation, but then she nodded. "May I sit here?" but then he sat himself without confirming the allowance of the anti-social girl.
"You're here with your pals?" he asked. She, who was sitting more closely to herself with her hand caned over her neck, answered, "No."
"Well, then let's have some caffeine together." A kind gesture. People in this world are never kind, or if they are there is a purpose. She needed to get out of here. The waiter brought two mugs of hot coffee and exited with a smile. What if this contains sleeping pills? Or some poisonous ingredient. No one has ever offered me coffee here. I have been coming here for the last 4 years. Get out of here, Minha. She thought.
"I am good. I need to leave sorry." She paid for the coffee and stepped out of the shop.
When the winds took her back to her apartment, Karina was awake and sitting cross legged where she was sleeping. "Care to explain?" her pigtails were now brushed open and tied up in a huge bun.
"Coffee shop." She replied and sat next to her and draped her neck over Karina's shoulder.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?" She heard her say. And that's the Kay way. That's the feeling of belonging that always makes things easier between them. That's the affection that had always brought Minha together. She had always lost her ego, her privacy when she heard the soft, belonging voice of Karina. It felt like something she owned. Something that was hers to keep, something that she could trust blindly. She could never lie to that voice. She could never keep secrets from that soothing voice. And she decided to tell her about Rohail.
"He came today. After decades he came and called me Min. But he didn't come for me. He came for her. Because she needs me." A hard truth, which didn't sound as hard as it should when she spoke it out louder. Maybe it wasn't as big as she took it to heart. People always come and go. What did she ever expect from a man who could never keep promises?
"You don't have to say anything now. I can see why it upsets you. What did you tell him?"
"He drove me to school today and said I should come back to her. But," she looked at Karina's face, "I don't want to. I have tried my best to forget I ever had a sister. Why do they have to come up and ruin it again? They stole everything, my brother and my life. What good do they find now in my rough life that they think should be taken away from me?"
The winds swung and the warmth in the room started turning cold.
"Min. think straight. If he would want to come and steal your house number, your contact number, school name, who you're living with and blab la. HIS FRIENDS WORK IN A GODDAMN AGENCY! He can get the information himself. Or talk you into it if needed. He better not waste his time, money and of course self-esteem talking to you after what you did last time. I am surprised he drove you safely to the school!"
"What even? Did you lose it, Kay?" she looked at her friend with the tensed face she just painted and heaved a sigh. If there was one thing that could keep the girl out of her world and bizarre thoughts, she would go for it. She walked towards Minha and held her up. She giggled after being held in her friend's arms. "That is not even half romantic. Whatcha tryná do?"
"We are going to Eve's party tomorrow. Select your dress." Kay dropped her on the bed and swung open the wardrobe in front of it.
"Eve, Evelyn's party? When did we accept that?" Minha was surprised for sure. Evelyn was the most popular girl and her chunky followers were gonna be there, with her Instagram live and cringe follower captions. Evelyn expected Minha and Karina to come but they excused themselves because Karina thought they could enjoy a movie at home.
"Just right now. You need to get dressed and we are going to be tomorrow's boom. You get that? Step out of your circle, tomorrow is your chance." Kay was saying.
"Chance? Am I gonna die after that?" Minha was stuffed while wrapping the blanket around her. Karina shut the wardrobe and pushed Min on the other side. She went rolling in the caterpillar blanket dress she created. And then flipped down on the other side. Her little head popped up and stared at her in exasperation and shock. Who wants to get jagged by their best friend?
"If you don't do it, I am going to push you off the roof. Deal?"
"What an amazing deal. Seems like I don't have an option, meilleur ami." She toppled herself up.
"Good night." Karina switched off the lamp and slid behind her blanket while Min followed her leap and after a minute wrapped herself around Karina. "You know that I love you, right?" she whispered in her ear.
"Yeah." She wasn't sleeping but you couldn't see if her eyes were open or not. Minha kissed Karina on the cheek. "You are the best, Kay."
"There you go being emotional again. Tomorrow is a big day." Karina turned over her side and faced Min. She was nervous. "Hell, I'm nervous." She said, a smirk appeared on Karina's face and she toppled on top of her friend whose heart started blushing more than her face and they played until worn out.