His footsteps was loud on the sleek posh floor. Mama had just cleaned it. It was an airy morning, the wide sliding door that Papa had forbidden to remain open was open a bit, with the curtains folded up. Breeze blew in with content, as trees swayed in the distance. The living room was bright and shiny.
Somehow, the moment Papa stepped foot into the living room, it darkened. Faride couldn't fathom why. Was it just in her head? It was still morning, everything was the way it was, but his presence cast a shadow making the entire room making it sombre and dim. "Good morning, papa." They all greeted.
"Good morning." He sat, fuming grumpily. Looking around, sniffing to find a fault somewhere. From what Faride could see, the place was starkly clean due to the fact that Mama and Hajara had cleaned the entire place that morning. Faride ran Nana a hot bath while she herself got ready for school.
The whole siblings focused intensely on their plates. Faride swallowed slowly, becoming self-aware of her own breathing. Was she breathing too fast? Chewing too loud? Dummy, dummy. She chided herself. Her precious egg sauce and pancake didn't look so inviting anymore. Not with the sour face that Papa was making. Ibrahim caught her eye and made a sad face.
"Don't you have class now? Why're you all eating slowly?" Papa shouted at them.
In a spark, they all took their food to the kitchen to wash. They had brought a dish washer some days ago but they never used it so each of them rinsed their own plate and cup. "Goodbye, mama." They all whispered to her, as she kissed them all in the forehead, muttering a silent prayer. They passed Papa in the living room and bid him a low goodbye as he was cheerily talking on the phone with a friend. Faride wondered how his mood could change in an instant. At home, he was mostly moody and angry, controlling and manipulating. Outside, or on the phone, he was cheerful and happy. No one knew the real Papa, except his family and the very few people who worked with him.
The five of the siblings burst into conversation immediately the lifter closed. "Guys, that girl I was telling you about, guess what? She replied."
"Which girl? Your crush?" Faride asked, struggling to remember which girl Farouq was talking about. The rebel in the family, he was a year older than her and closest to her. Tall, dark and handsome, girl found him attractive. According to him, he would be a fool to not give them the attention they deserved. As far as she could remember, there were many girls around him - Hamde, Nadia, Juliet, Anna, Mary… and was it Hamdiyya that last time? What worried her was Papa finding out. But somehow, Farouq knew how to cover his tracks well. Papa never found out.
Farouq rolled his eyes. "Small sis, has your brain cells already began diminishing?"
"What? I just forgot her name. You have like tons of ladies, so yeah it's not easy to remember. Not my fault."
He smirked. "You're right about that. Anyway, she is the new one. The Kazakhstani."
Faride still looked puzzled.
"The blond one? Tall? Brown eyes? Diana?"
"Ohh, shit. I remember. The pretty girl huh? So you finally got her to talk to you."
"Ouch are you still in doubt of my player abilities? So I might be sneaking out for a while."
Hajara laughed. "Let's see how you will sneak out in that house."
"Are you underestimating my ninja capabilities? Watch and learn." He laughed, as he walked ahead of them, down the lane and towards the train station. They followed suit, as Nana jumped and played around. "Look how happy she is." Abida commented.
"Of course. She's out of that house. This is the only place she can get to play, then school." Farouq replied.
Hajara simply sighed. Faride glanced at her. Something was bothering her sister again. Was it that guy again? Were they in talking terms now? Wasn't he already married? Or were they back together? Even if they were, Faride wondered how they could cope with their relationship being world apart. She prayed Hajara would find happiness wherever it was.
They all went to the same college, with the exception of Nana and Abida. Nana went to a primary school while Abida was enrolled in a day secondary school. Their routine was easy. Go everywhere together, stop by Nana's school first, then take a taxi to Abida's school which was less than 10 minutes' drive, and then take the train again to their own college. Their faculties were different but they had classes most days.
"Good luck, guys." Faride prayed as she climbed the steps to her class building. The feeling of excitement in seeing other people overwhelmed her. It was always the same. She felt happy to see others, but nervous at the same time. She never got to feel normal talking to others. Anxiety would fill her, then sadness and anger at herself. This city was very different from her town in Nigeria. Here, she could be free even if it was for a bit. She at least had two friends here. Her classmates, Nur and Liu. As usual, Nur was waiting for her just outside class. "Heyy. Good morning."
"Hey. How're you doing."
"Same. Bored. But now you're here, not so much." She giggled, then sipped more of her shake. Class was interesting as Faride had come to realise. It was nice to be in an environment with others who were constantly trying to learn. She was always quiet but loved to see others talk and express themselves. She sat in the third row, with Nur by her side and their new friend, Liu, behind.
The class - Cultural Management went by quickly. Faride and very few others were attentive, but a lot were playing with their phones. Faride dared not. Who knew, maybe papa had put a spy in the school. Ugh. Why do I have to think negatively all the time, she thought. It was taking a toll on her health. "Let's make a stop at the waffle shop outside before our next class." Liu nudged Faride who froze for a moment before smiling warily. "Oh okay, o. But just for a moment." She prayed Papa's spy was not around because the siblings were certain there was a spy somewhere around.
"What the…" Nur barked into a laugh. Outside, the weather was cold, as the sky closed in at the world. The skies were completely grey, lightening sparking at intervals. "The forecast indeed said it would rain today." Faride told them. Thank God it was going to rain. That spy must be headed home. She hoped he would get wet in this weather.
Nur looked at her weirdly, "are you kidding me? Who looks at the forecast anymore?"
"Um, hello, the news? Don't you watch news?"
"I sure as heck no!" Liu and Nur laughed at the same time. Faride smiled, amused.
"You're something else. You know that right? I mean, you read your books, you listen to the news, including the forecast. You have your hoodie even. And your glasses. You're like a nerd, all in one."
"But a pretty one." Liu interjected.
"Uh, exactly. A pretty nerd."
Faride was the one laughing now. "Nah. I'm not pretty, I know that. But a nerd, yeah."
"Oh my. Stop! Why don't you accept it when we tell you how beautiful you are?"
The three of them walked to the curb, waiting for a black jeep to drive away before crossing the street.
"Because I know I'm not."
"Well, then if we're wrong, I doubt those guys are."
Faride became wary of herself all of a sudden. "Which guys?" She asked, horrified.
"Don't look. But maybe look in style, ya know. Not to let them know we're talking about them. They're behind us. Huddled in a group. I saw one of them in our class. I think he's Russian."
"And so handsome." Liu giggled in her usual bubbly self.
"I wonder why they're looking at us though."
"Us? Nope. You."
Nur started once more, to the laughter of her two friends. "There's nothing to worry about. I'm pretty sure they're not some bunch of axe murderers."
Faride just rolled hr eyes. If they were, who would know? It wasn't like it would be written all over their face or forehead. As they reached the shop and made their order, she casually looked around and caught one of their eyes. From afar, he looked indeed handsome. He had light blue eyes, and a small face. Medium height, slim. He smiled at her while she just jerked her face away. Why were they looking at her? But so what if they were. She bet they don't want anything to do with her. Probably gossiping about her.
Thunder struck in the air, startling them all. Faride muttered a silent prayer for the rain as they ran back to the school building just in time for a downpour to erupt. She caught sight of her siblings at different areas in the sitting area. She rolled her eyes at the sight of Ibrahim talking to his new crush while Farouq was in the midst of his new friends. Hajara huddled in a corner on the phone. The sitting area was large with the bursary, accountant, and help assistants' desk at the far corners. Random seats and chairs were in the centre, and sides. Still, some students preferred to sit on the cold floor. Orange light lit up the area, intensifying the art pictures on the wall. As she glanced at the door, she was surprised she couldn't even make out a thing. It was completely dark. The sound of heavy rain pouring with vengeance was a distant noise in the enclosed building. She shivered, feeling colder by the second. She wondered how the classes in the upper floors felt now. Probably ice cold.
Faride found a seat in a dark corner as well and huddled with her friends. They had another class by 1 so they had to wait it out. Nur took out her phone and clicked on Netflix. "Let's watch some vampire diaries."
"Yay." Faride brought out their waffles and iced lemon teas – she bought the one with strawberry jam, Nur the one with chocolate and Liu the one with peanut butter. One thing with Faride was that she loved food. Sometimes she ate little especially when her anxiety was rising. Normal times, she ate to her fill. She had a big appetite. Faride was the type of girl that could be found eating 2 medium pancakes, an apple juice, and a cup of coffee, a slice of cake, two waffles, fries, and a large burger for lunch. She loved her food and she never joked with it.
Taking a huge bite of her waffle, she sighed. The deliciousness overwhelmed her. It was still a bit hot but she didn't care.
"Excuse me, mind if I take a seat here?"
Faride looked up to see a tall guy, freshly shaven looking down at her. She simply nodded as he took a seat beside her. His minty cologne filled the air instantly. Nice, she thought.