Chapter 7: Partner

x HIRA x

Sitting in class, I looked at the reflection of myself on my phone screen, adjusting my hijab while Mrs Jensen spoke away about an upcoming science project.

She mentioned that it was partner work and everyone groaned, knowing that Mrs Jensen never let us pick our own partners.

I didn't really mind.

I had no friends in my science class anyway and so in a lot of ways it was easier for me. This way, she made someone work with me and I didn't have to float around to find someone.

There was only one person in the class that no one wanted to be with to be honest - Jacob McLauren.

Jacob was what people would call the typical 'school bully'. He was a rude, arrogant, mean and loud guy who picked on just about everyone in the school. It didn't help that he also towered over every other student in the entire school either.

Me, being a Muslim with a small group of friends, was an easy target for him. I had been going good for about three weeks now so I knew that he'd try mess with me soon. He also knew how to get to me.

Knowing that in Islam it is sinful for me to touch non-mahrams, he would always try to touch my arm or my face. He also made terrorist jokes which were a tad too old and overused for me to get offended over in any way.

I didn't take it badly. I never felt the need to tell a teacher or my parents, hell, I never for a second felt like telling Waleed.

He messed with people in the 'popular group' so of course I was going to be yet another point of interest.

He was always paired with his friend but no one commented that it was unfair as they didn't want him to be their partner anyway so it suited them.

"Hailey and Justin." She began reading off the paper. Justin, who was sitting next to me smiled and waved a small goodbye before getting up and walking over to sit with Hailey.

"Kayla and Olivia." She announces, the pair also getting up to sit next to each other.

"Amir and Hira."

Hold up. Wait.

Did she just say Hira?

"Me?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"Is there another Hira in the class?" She questioned sarcastically and I groaned, throwing my head back.

I looked around the classroom only to see that Amir wasn't even here.

Just as I was letting a relieved smile takeover my lips, three loud, firm knocks were heard on the door before it opened and the devil himself was standing there, mumbling a careless apology to Mrs Jensen for being late.

What was the saying...speak of the devil and thy shall appear? Yeah, that.

Astaghfirullah.

I crossed my arms over my chest and rolled my eyes, pursing my lips as Mrs Jensen told him to sit next to me, briefly explaining that i was his partner for the project.

I didn't even look at him but I heard a loud and frustrated exhale, before heavy footsteps walked closer towards me and the empty chair beside me was pulled out, rather harshly, might I add.

"Asked to be my partner, did you?" He said and I scoffed.

"In your dreams."

"Nightmares." He corrected.

I narrowed my eyes and turned to look at him, only he wasn't looking at me. Instead, he was looking straight ahead, his arms crossed across his chest and a small smirk on his face as if he was so damn proud of his witty remark.

Okay, it wasn't that bad of a reply, I'll have to admit, but it was still...stupid...sort of.

"Ha, ha. You're hilarious." I muttered dryly, with no sense of humour whilst rolling my eyes.

He chuckled to himself quietly as he leaned forward, crossing his arms on the desk rather than across his chest, his leg bouncing absentmindedly.

"Alright, now that all the pairs have been announced, get to work." Mrs Jensen said before taking her seat at her desk.

The silence in the room was broken as the pairs began talking, most likely discussing anything but the projects.

Although I prepped myself mentally, telling myself that we could both be mature about this and that it would only take a few days, if that, I decided that I wasn't going to start the project today. We could meet up tomorrow or something and start it. Just a few days. You're both adults. Everything will be fine.

"I thought you were a straight-A student." I heard him say after about five minutes of me scrolling through my social media.

"I am." I didn't look up at all as I responded simply.

"Well, I don't see you doing any work."

"That's because you're here."

"Oh, please. Don't let my good looks stop you." He arrogantly responded, but the tone he used let me know that he wasn't saying that seriously.

"Good looks?" I questioned. "Clearly your mirror isn't working properly. You should invest in a new one."

"You should invest in a new pair of eyes." He retorted.

Apparently we couldn't be mature about this. Or better yet, he couldn't be mature.

I shook my head and took out my exercise book, beginning to write up the work load he had to do for the project.

This project had to be done one way or another and seeing as though I wasn't going to be doing it on my own, I'd write him a list of the subheadings he had to complete and then I'd join it with my own sections.

"Can't think of a witty remark for that, can you?"

"Who said I was even trying to?" I mumbled indifferently, rolling my eyes.

He leaned back in his seat and used his phone for the rest of the lesson, not even looking at the checklist that I had put on his side of the desk.

The bell rung and when he placed a single pen in his backpack before turning to leave, not bothering to take the checklist, I stopped him.

"You need to do this before the 25th. One week." I said holding the paper out towards him.

He laughed loudly as students made noise, trying to push and shove each other to get out of the class first. "You seriously think I'm going to help you with this shit?"

I gaped for a moment, not expecting that response. "You need to do this so you can pass." I told him. "If you don't, I'll write that I did all of it and you'll fail."

"Okay," He began, taking a step closer. "Clearly you don't know this, but my classes are filled with failed assignments, so don't think that I give a crap about this one."

I arched my eyebrows initially, rather shocked that he was so carefree about having failed multiple assignments, but then I remembered who he was and narrowed my eyes instead. "Maybe if you actually tried you wouldn't be such a failure and actually pass."

The class was almost empty at this point except for the three students who stayed back to talk with Mrs Jensen.

He also narrowed his eyes to match mine, looking down at me darkly. His eyes had changed from carefree to annoyed in a split second once I had called him a failure and I couldn't help but think that I had hit a soft spot.

"Well maybe if my parents actually gave a shit about me then they wouldn't have made me move to Egypt when my grades were going perfectly fine and then not send me to school for five years before coming back here and expecting me to be getting A's, alright!?" He bursted loudly and at the volume of his voices Mrs Jensen and the other students turned to look at us. Even I had recoiled backwards in shock, not expecting him to break out into a rant of that sort.

His words registered in my mind and I felt a slight pull at my heart strings.

I frowned, looking up at him in silence as I took in his words. What I felt wasn't pity per say. It wasn't sadness either...it was more like commiseration.

I wondered why Amo Musab and Khala Khadija didn't send him to school but there was no chance that I was going to ask him. That was a very personal question and I wasn't completely sure whether or not I wanted, or was even ready, to have that connection with him yet. No doubt opening up to someone about personal issues creates a stronger and more deeply-rooted bond between two people.

He continued to look at me, both of us breathing quite heavily and right when I was about to say 'I'm sorry' over the constant back on forth which had negatively effected his education, he exhaled and turned around, storming out of the room, not giving me enough time to say anything.

Well, it looks like I'm doing all of this on my own then.

Great.

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