Chapter 4: Friday

x HIRA x

"Mum, I'm scared." I said, putting the forks next to all the plates that we had set up on the dining table, making sure they were all perfectly aligned.

"Why, honey?" She asked softly, rubbing my back in comfort as she walked past me and into the kitchen to take out the teacups.

"I don't know. I know that don't want this to progress, but I still feel nervous to meet them." I sighed.

From the moment my alarm had gone off this morning and all through my shower, until after I had dried my hair and prepared my outfit, I couldn't stop the increased beating of my heart and the millions of questions going through my head.

I was nervous and there was no doubt about it, but why? Surely, I wasn't excited for this and I clearly didn't want to get married. So why wasn't I completely calm? Why did I feel the same way a bride would feel on her wedding day?

Naturally, you would assume that since I didn't want to marry Amir, I wouldn't be nervous of meeting his family, but I was more than nervous. It was odd and I didn't like it.

After Amir's first day at our school, I hadn't talked to him at all. He had managed to fit right into the 'cool' group and had made many friends already. Just about all the girls in the school were practically in love with him and the amount of times I'd hear his name from people talking about him annoyed me greatly.

"That's normal, love. It's the first time a potential spouse is coming to our house for you." She said, trying to validate the way I was feeling.

"Mum, he's not a potential spouse. I'm not getting married to him, period...or anyone else for that matter." I added.

"Oh, stop being so quick to judge." She said, waving her hand dismissively as I put the jug of orange juice on to the table while she made a platter of tomatoes, cucumber, cheese and olives.

Even though she knew I was going to say no, she was still excited.

"Yeah, okay." I mumbled to myself. Apart from Hawwa and Waleed, no one knew that we went to the same school yet.

"You'll be perfectly fine, honey, and it'll all go by smoothly. Don't worry." She finally spoke, dismissing the conversation with a kiss to my temple before telling me to go upstairs to get dressed. The guests would arrive any time now.

"InshaaAllah, mum." I sighed, walking up the stairs and beginning to get ready.

I opted to wear a pair of blue jeans and a white tunic with my plain black hijab - nothing too fancy. It was only breakfast anyway.

I'd change into the outfit we bought at the shops with my mother for the lunch reservation after the men had left to jumu'ah.

"Hira," My dad said in a warning tone as I walked down the stairs. "I told you wear a skirt or dress."

"Baba, I'm not going to dress up for breakfast." I said. Like my mother, my dad was also more excited than me and they were both making this 'meeting' seem way bigger than what I wanted it to be.

If it were up to him, I'd be wearing a dress that was worthy of being worn to an engagement.

He shook his head but kept walking nonetheless as I walked back into the kitchen where my mum was yelling at my little brother for picking at the cheese on the platter before the guests came.

We continued setting up the table until my dad's voice broke me out of my reverie.

"Hira! Mariam!" He called, increasing my already high heart rate which jumped to record high beats per minute after I heard the doorbell.

"Oh no, mama, they're here." I stressed, my nerves displayed on my facial expression.

"Shh." She said to me sternly. "Calm down, you'll be fine. Just relax, okay?"

Easier said than done, mum.

I took in a deep breath and exhaled through my lips as she nodded.

"Now smile!" She exclaimed, kissing my cheeks then pushing them upward with her fingers before chuckling and hurrying to the door to stand beside my dad.

I released another deep breath and fanned my face, trying to get rid of the redness that I'm sure was covering my cheeks right now.

I followed after my mum and stood next to her as my dad stood across us, opening the door for the guests.

"Assalamu alaykum, Musab!" My dad exclaimed as he held the man's hand and they shared a kiss on either of their cheeks as Amo Musab, greeted him back.

He was a chubby man with a short beard and a bald head, his skin dark, matching his brown eyes.

The woman walked in next. She was slightly taller than the man and much skinnier with a very dark tan and blue eyes.

Wow. MashaAllah she was gorgeous.

She looked a lot like Amir besides the defined jaw line and big build...and the facial hair of course.

"Assalamu alaykum." She said to my mum as they hugged and kissed each other like the men had done after my mum responded to her greeting. The woman's voice was high-pitched and she seemed to be genuinely happy to be here.

"Assalamu alaykum." I spoke, smiling shyly as I accepted her warm hug, having to go on my tippy-toes to reach high enough.

"Wa alaykum salaam." She replied happily, a wide smile on her face as she pulled away, but she held onto my shoulders and looked me up and down. She did that fake spitting thing before saying mashaAllah three times. "You're beautiful, Hira. Allahumma barik."

I smiled at her awkwardly with what I'm sure were tomato-red cheeks and thanked her for her compliment.

"Ah, and you must be Amir!" My dad said, extending his arms and hugging Amir, patting him on the back.

"Yes, amo." He said, giving my dad a small nod and a respectful smile.

I let the fake smile on my face drop instantly, knowing that no one was watching me anymore as I followed them into the living room with a scowl on my face.

My dad and amo Musab sat on one couch, facing each other and my mum and khala...whatever her name was, sat on the opposing couch. I was left with no place to sit and so I stood up, crossing my arms over my chest as my eyes glanced over at a nervous looking Amir who was sat on the single chair, his hands on the arm rests, making his shoulders look even more broad than they already were.

He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a tight grey sweater that hugged his body perfectly.

My eyes caught his and I looked away immediately, feeing my cheeks warm up yet again.

At this point my heart felt like it was going to break through my ribcage.

I looked at my mum, breathing heavily. "I'll go and finish up fatuur if that's okay?" I said and she nodded with a smile on her face but didn't say anything as she kept listening to whatever Amir's mum was saying to her.

I walked to the kitchen and rested my hands on the bench top, taking deep breaths in and out as I gave myself five minutes to calm myself down.

I put bread into the toaster, finishing up everything that needed to be done before looking at the completed table and walking back to the living area once I was pleased.

"Fatuur is ready." I said nervously, my hands joined in front of me.

Everyone stood up and walked to the dining room where my dad, my mum and I sat on one end, Hassan sitting next to me, and Amir, his dad and his mum sat on the other end.

Just as I was praying to Allah swt that I wouldn't be required to say anything, his mum, whose name I learnt was Khadija, decided to ask me a question.

"So, Hira, how are your grades?" She asked.

I smiled softly and swallowed the bit of food in my mouth. "Pretty good, Alhamdulillah." I replied with a soft smile.

"That's wonderful, mashAllah." She smiled as amo Musab asked another question.

"What do you want to study in university inshaaAllah?"

"I'm praying I get into law." I said making them chuckle and look at my dad, clearly knowing I was going to follow in his footsteps.

"Can I have another cup of tea, please?" Amir asked. My mum smiled widely, straightening her shoulders and nodding.

"Hira, do you mind?" She asked me.

What!?

Oh my god, watch me drop the cup of tea on the floor now.

"Course not." I muttered, a fake smile plastered on my face as I stood up and walked behind my dad, extending my shaking hand and taking the cup out of Amir's grasp before turning back to walk into the kitchen.

I filled the cup up, the contents reaching just under the rim. I waited for my hand to stop shaking so violently before taking the cup.

Ugh, I was a nervous wreck and I had no idea why.

As I walked into the dining room, I saw Waleed was now here and was sitting right across Amir, in the seat Hassan was previously occupying.

I couldn't see Waleed's face, but I could definitely see that the nervousness displayed on Amir's face had increased slightly.

"Baba?" I said softly, not wanting to interrupt his conversation with amo Musab. He didn't hear me, but Waleed did, thank God.

"Pass it here, sis." He said, turning around and taking the tea from my hands to give to Amir. He raised his eyebrows with concern as if asking whether or not I was okay. I gave him a small nod and smiled lightly and he turned back around, putting the cup in front of Amir who mumbled a quick 'thanks.'

I sat back down in my seat and looked at Hassan who was spreading Nutella from his slice of bread all over his cheeks as he tried to only eat the centre, avoiding the crust. I smiled and took the bread from his hands, peeling the crust away and putting it on my own plate as I grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth while he smiled up at me, trying to look innocent.

"You need to get used to it." I whispered.

"I know, I know, it's haram." He said, rolling his eyes, repeating the same thing I always told him whenever he refused to eat the crust.

I let go of his chin and leant forward, kissing his forehead. "Good boy. Allah made this for you to eat, so you can't throw it out." I said.

He smiled, nodding his head but then telling me to eat it 'just for today'.

We'll see about that, Hassan.

I turned back around to face the front of the table only to see five pairs of eyes looking at with smiles.

What the hell?

"MashaAllah, you seem like you're very good with kids." Khala Khadija said, making my cheeks heat up very quickly.

"I'm good with Hassan." I said slowly, causing for her to smile before looking back at my mum.

I glanced at Amir then looked away when I saw that he was still looking My way. A second later Waleed cleared his throat, causing for both Amir and I to look at him instantly.

Waleed was glaring at Amir. "Stare at your food instead." He said, not loud enough for the parents to hear.

My eyes widened as Amir looked very uncomfortable, but he scoffed slightly and stabbed up a piece of cheese on his plate.

So...how long left until jumu'ah?

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