Chapter 13

• Hira's POV:
• Walking briskly to the main road to get to the bus for work, I look behind and release a breath of relief. I thought Zulqarnain will follow me today for sure. He is getting annoying day by day, just like Hassan. He tries to be a part of everything I do. I know that after having a job, I won't be able to talk to him much despite living in his house, because of our routine difference and well, I deliberately avoid him too.
• Yes, I miss talking to him and enjoying his stupid and overdramatic chats, but our circumstances are different now. Before we only talk on the phone, no one knew about our friendship and Baba was also there. Now, I have to be extra careful and should maintain distance between us. I am currently living in his house, teaching in his younger brother's college and I am his friend too. Being seen with him would only create hype in the media, which both of us cannot afford.
• Life isn't easy...
• I sighed looking at the other direction and a smile formed on my face when I see Mashal coming towards me. She is a chemistry teacher in the same college and is two years younger than me. Since the boy of the third year's class mentioned about hiring young teachers, I unconsciously start noticing teacher's ages and find most of the female teachers are young. So, I don't get what was that boy referring too.
• "Late again." I smile, shaking hands with her.
• "Our bus drivers don't seem to understand the meaning of getting late." She said, trying to control her laboured breath. She is very friendly and since we come and go by the same buses, she becomes a quite good company. Actually, she lives far away from the college and had to use two buses to come and it is quite favourable to me because I also told her that I don't live nearby.
• After a week of teaching, I conclude that teaching is fun if your students are willing to study - something college students don't usually do...
• "Mashal, I need your help." I said after she takes a seat on the bus.
• "In what?"
• "In making upcoming test questions. I know how to make them but still, it would be better if you give it a look."
• "Sure, no problem. Besides, our principle will be so happy if you make a tough paper."
• "Tough?"
• "Yep, he likes to push students to the limits when it comes to Urdu, Islamic Studies and Pakistan Studies. He thinks our new generation needs to be given extra attention to these subjects."
• "Well, he has a point." I nodded my head in agreement. "Students don't know much about our culture and traditional values."
• "You're right. Sometimes I also wonder what our students are doing. Have you seen the girls' uniforms? They are so tightly fitted that I don't understand why they even bother in putting them on."
• "I noticed on my first day" I made a displeased face. I really hate how tightly fitted their uniforms are.
• We talk about different things until we reach our destination. After getting off from the bus, we started walking towards the college when a motorcycle rider crossed our path in great speed, as though he wanted to hit us or scare us.
• "What the hell? Was he trying to kill us?" I mumble glaring at the rider's back.
• "That guy was... Ahmar. What's got into him?" Mashal said, looking at the same direction as me.
• "Who knows? Let's get going before we are late." I told her and we start walking again.
• Our suspicion about the bike rider is confirmed when we saw Ahmar standing with his friends, leaning against his bike. Both Mashal and I exchange glances to each other but didn't say anything.
• Ahmar and his friends have the reputation of being bad boys in their class, but not the worst. Their seniors are much troubled. I have seen their seniors disrespecting and fighting with others, but not them.
• To be honest, I don't think they are troublesome, with that sweet boy in their group named 'Faiq'. He is different from the three of them. Unlike many other college boys, he doesn't have that strange spike haircut or whatever, he wears his uniform properly too and the way he sets his glasses on his nose is super cute. Then, there is 'Tahir'. He is what you call loud, friendly and cool, he is everyone's friend and famous among the girls because of his nature, but I've heard complaints of him hitting boys because he was pissed at something they said about their class. 'Zaid' on the other hand is probably the most handsome in their group, with his silky long jet black hair and same coloured eyes. He is the serious and obedient type, he will do whatever the teachers say but have that look on his face of 'don't dare to get overboard'. And lastly, there's Ahmar. He is popular as the rest of his friends but famous among the girls because of his arrogance and well, he is the brother of Zulqarnain - another reason for his popularity. He really doesn't care for anything, what people say and do around him, he doesn't even care about his so-called girlfriends, which changes every month. He only cares about his friends and I don't know why he seems angry with everyone. I thought of asking it to Zulqarnain many times but it will only give him a reason to be with me.
• Whenever I think about Ahmar or see him around, my mind jumps back to the time when I was in school. There was a boy named Ali in our class, silent and lost in his own world like Ahmar. He never tried to mingle with the rest of the class, even if we try to drag him. He always sat in the corner and watches us with his sad eyes, like he is forbidden to join us. It made me sad and for some reason, whenever I see Ahmar, I feel an urge to help him out.
• The best thing in the whole situation is that Ahmar has friends. But still.... there is something, which he is keeping to himself, like the rest of his group members.
• Do I have the potential to help them...?
• ~*~
• Ahmar's POV:
• "Most of the poetry of Ghalib is in Persian but the work he's done is in..."
• Wow, her lecture is like a lullaby, putting me into sleep...
• I find my eyes closing on their own but soon open when I hear something slammed on my desk.
• "Ahmar, go and wash your face, then come back to class." My eyes shot open when she calls out my name strictly and find her standing beside my desk, glaring down at me. I turn my face to the other students who were looking at me, some with mocking smiles on their faces, even my friends are staring at me with blank faces.
• "I am fine." I comb my hair with fingers and lean back on my seat. She nodded and continues her lecture.
• I still didn't pay attention to any word that comes out of her mouth as I was busy in glaring at both Tahir and Faiq. The only class I usually see Tahir attentive to was the English class, and now this. But watching Faiq doing the same stupidity is something I never expected. He spends five minutes daily in setting his uniform before Urdu class. Something girls do, before Maths class because of math's young teacher.
• I sighed and looked at Zaid, who was looking at me. As soon as our eyes met, he winked at me and turned to the teacher.
• What is he thinking...?
• He normally does that when he is in the mood of teasing teachers and have fun.
• "Excuse me, Miss." He raised his hand and she turns her face to him.
• "Ji (Yes)?"
• "Is it true that Ghalib fell in love ninety-nine times?" He asked and the whole class starts smiling. This question always bugged teachers and most of us know that after bringing up this question, it is hard to get back to the lesson because students always start whining about him having ninety-nine lovers and but we only get one boyfriend or girlfriend, our parents irritate us. But I want to see her reaction.
• "Yes, it is true." She nodded with a serious expression.
• "True? How? Logically it cannot be possible. If he wasn't a rake and if he was like that, then why is this man so respected?" A student from the second row said.
• Good one...
• "It is possible without being a rake." She said, going back to her desk.
• "How is it possible?" Zaid mused like it's a matter of life and death.
• "It is possible. Even we fall in love many times."
• "Have you fallen?" Zaid shot a question and gain "OOOOH" from the class.
• A smirk formed on my face while Faiq and Tahir were also looking at her with interest.
• "Yes." She said plainly and my jaw dropped instantaneously.
• That's not something teachers would normally admit easily in front of students. Immediately, I regain my composure and look around to see everyone has the same expression as me.
• "When a person finds something or sees something to his appeal, he usually gets a certain feeling..." She starts saying, coming out of her desk. "It is a likeness. If you like something, you want to have it, to see it again and again or to touch it. Sometimes, this feeling crosses the limit of the likeness and turns into fondness and this fondness can easily be turned into love, another word would be 'obsession', which drives a man to keep thinking of the thing and sometimes openly express their love for it. Same goes with any person. That person can be a friend, a kid from the neighbourhood, or someone else. So yes, you may also have fallen for the characters of many movies, novels and idols, just like him. So if you express your feelings into words, would you be put in the category of a 'rake'?" She throws the question at us. But no one answered. I bet they were as astonished as me at her explanation.
• "But it doesn't apply to him, Miss. He clearly talked about a particular woman's beauty in his 'Ghazal'(poem)." A nerd of our class, Sumbul asked.
• "Right. And in his poetry, how much we've read is solely for a person, a woman. Not a thing." Zaid said.
• Okay! This is getting interesting...
• Zaid normally doesn't open up himself, meaning something is turning him on. I shift my face to her. She has a small smile on her face, making her appearance quite... graceful.
• "Agree! His poetry is mostly about the beauty of the opposite gender, a woman... Tell me Shereen, if I said I like Zaid's hair so much and write a whole paragraph on the beauty of his hair, what would that mean?" My head snapped towards him, as well as others.
• He looked like a deer caught in headlights and I think I also saw something which people called 'blushing'. He didn't say anything, just changed his position and start looking uncomfortably to his book.
• "It means you like his hair." The nerd answered and broke the silence.
• "Exactly." She nodded.
• "So Miss, you really like his hair?" A boy asked in amusement.
• All four of us shot him a glare but he was too busy waiting for a reply.
• "Yes, Mashallah he has nice hair and it looks good on him." She smiled, looking at Zaid, who turned to me with a weird expression.
• "Anyways, I will be making your test based on the first chapter to the fifth for this coming Monday. It is to see how much you guys have grasped the concepts of the things you have learnt so far." As soon as she finished her sentence, the whole class starts complaining.
• "We aren't doing any test just because you said so. This test is not even in the schedule." Zaid said angrily. I think he didn't like how she made him the centre of attention earlier.
• "You guys will be taking the test and if not then, I will make you go through all the chapters again. Giving you five minutes, make your decision and tell me." She said, with her eyes fixed on us and sat on the chair.
• "We will go with the test." Our class representative said and everyone nodded, except for me, Tahir and Zaid.
• Tahir is bad in Urdu, Zaid is pissed and I just don't want to burden myself. She noticed that we disagree but ignored it. She got what she wanted, the entire class are ready for the test.
• Is our class getting obedient or is she just getting good in blackmailing us...?
• As the bell rang, all of the students stormed out of the class like prisoners who had just been released from prison. When the class was almost empty, she calls us three.
• "Why do you guys don't want to be given test?" She asked us.
• "None of your business." Zaid answered.
• "Actually it is. You are my students and besides, if you look at your previous grades, you will understand how hard it is for you guys to pass this class. Getting passing marks isn't enough."
• "Stop trying to be a hero for us." I said quite rudely.
• ~*~
• Hira's POV:
• "If we want to get good grades, we will get it. You don't have to lecture us about what to do or not to do and stop bossing us around. We are not Prep kids."
• No, worse than them, at least they listen to their elders.....
• "I know you guys are not. But still, you should-"
• "You should mind your own business. You teach us to get a salary, so do your job and get the salary. Okay." He gets up and strides towards the door.
• "You can have my salary." I said before he could leave. "I will give my whole salary to you then you can throw into the garbage or do whatever you please. Teachers do not teach because of money."
• "Lies." Zaid scoff.
• "It is not." I glare at him.
• "So then why are you teaching?" Zaid asked.
• "Because I like being a teacher and want to clear the misunderstandings that people get from this profession."
• "Oh, that explains your heroic attitude towards us." Ahmar smirked and comes toward me.
• "So you want to make a change?"
• Is he mocking me????
• "Yes." I glare back in his eyes.
• "Then start with us." Zaid said from the back and Ahmar turn his face to him.
• "Good idea, Zaid. Then start with us. Show us how devoted you are." He smirked, settling himself on the desk of the first seat.
• "What?" I try to look calm, but I don't know... It feels like he is up to something.
• "Spend some time with us tomorrow and we will give you a test of our own." He said with a mischievous look in his eyes.
• Huh????
• "And hopefully you'll pass it with good grades." Zaid said, leaning back to his seat. He has the same expression as Ahmar. While Tahir is looking at me with an amused smile and Faiq is busy on his phone.
• "You are looking nervous. Come on, teacher, shouldn't you trust your students?" Ahmar asked, tilting his head to the right when I didn't answer for long.
• "Stop it, Ahmar." Faiq spoke for the first time and got up from his seat to leave.
• "No, let us see how a real teacher is like." Zaid holds his hand and narrows his eyes on me.
• What's with them, why do they suddenly have grudge against me?
• "It has nothing to do with my profession." I said politely.
• "So, now you are becoming a professional, eh....? People cannot change anything if they want to stay in their limits." Ahmar said, glaring at me and I stare back into his eyes.
• "Hmph! Teacher..." He scoffed, "Chal yar (let's go, friends)." He slides from the desk.
• 'People cannot change anything if they want to stay in their limits.'
• 'Come on, teacher, shouldn't you trust your students?'
• 'How a real teacher is like.'
• "Fine! I will go with you guys."
• "Miss, you don't have to." Faiq said abruptly.
• "It's fine, Faiq. Let me show you what a real teacher is. Wait for me outside the college gate tomorrow after school." I said and walk out of the class victoriously. But as I reached the staff room, I gulped and wipe the sweat from my face.
• What am I trying to do exactly.....?
• Going out with a bunch of boys? I barely know them. Students or not, they are grown boys, with bad-boy reputation. Well, it's not like I have many choices now, so better quit complaining and go back to them.
• Let's see who'll win in this stupid sort of quest.....
• ~*~
• "Assalam o Alaikum, auntie." I said, coming into Zulqarnain's portion after praying Asar prayer.
• "Auntie?" I call her when I didn't receive an answer.
• Is she in the bathroom....?
• Satisfied by the thought, I made my way to the kitchen to make tea for us. It's become my routine whenever uncle isn't home. I put the water on the stove and come back to the living room.
• "Auntie?" The silence in the house is giving me an eerie feeling and I want to find auntie as soon as possible but I hear no response. After waiting for two minutes, I peek inside her room.
• "Auntie? Where are you?" I couldn't find in the room so I went outside but halted the next moment when I heard shuffling noises inside her room.
• "Auntie, are you in here? Are you alright?" I start to panic a little, as I remembered that Baba didn't say anything when he collapsed on the floor last time. I rushed towards her bathroom, knocked and waited but no response. As I was about to open the bathroom door, I heard the sound of the door closing behind me.
• It startled me and I quickly turn around and find Zulqarnain leaning against the closed door.
• "Finally caught you. Now I will see how you're going to run from me." He said with a smirk.
• Huh????