When her father dies, Salma feels her world has been blown up by an atomic bomb. She caves into the grief and becomes a shadow of her once bubbly self. Her mother tries all she can to help her grieve 'healthily', but Salma doesn't want any of that...
Happy New Year guys!! I wish you guys a fruitful and successful 2022 in which all your dreams will be fulfilled. 2021 wasn't the best of years for most of us, but we can turn that around this year, right? I appreciate you for everything you've done to support me since 2019 when I first joined. I love you all so much!!
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"Test week is the worst!" Mona exclaims, throwing her hands in the air with an eye roll. She was acting as if she was the most unfortunate person on earth who had just been cursed. We were walking on the pavement leading to the dining hall with Rahim by us. I looked at Mona and smiled.
"At least we get breaks," I shrugged. We had just completed our Elective Maths Test (which wasn't so fun) and were walking to the dining hall for the first break.
"I just hope the teacher can decipher my messy calculations," Rahim says absent-mindedly. I turn to face him and chuckle. We had not been given ample time for the test, but I guess that was part of mocks and tests.
"I almost pulled my hair when Miss Ivy kept saying 'speed and accuracy'" I replied, giving an imitation of the annoying teacher's voice. Rahim and Salma laughed and I joined in too. We talked and walked for a few minutes before entering the dining hall.
Students filed in and took their usual seats with the various cliques. Mona and I headed for the seat we usually had with Rahim as he climbed up the stairs to start distributing snacks. I took my phone out of the pocket of my skirt and scrolled aimlessly on Instagram for some time.
"So you'll be going to see Nadia today?" I asked as the thought of Nadia popped up in my mind. Mona looked up from her phone and nodded.
"She called me last night and said I should meet her at the mag's office at 4:30. Not a minute late and not a minute earlier," she replied, giving a sigh. I looked at her with wide eyes.
"That's what she said?" I asked.
"Not a wordless, not a word more," Mona said, turning her attention to her phone. I chuckled. Nadia sure was something.
I removed a bottle of water from the lunch bag that had been draped on my shoulders throughout my walk with Mona and Rahim and took a swig of it. Mona then dropped her phone and gave me a questioning glance.
"By the way, what did you do with the card Nadia gave you?" she asked, frowning. I suddenly remembered the events of Saturday and everything Mom said about Nadia. And Salma choked. I choked on the water I was still swallowing.
Mona looked alarmed and handed me a tissue which I graciously coughed into. Thankfully, I had not drawn the attention of other students who were too busy with their animated chatter to focus on me.
"You said?" I asked even though I had heard perfectly well.
Mona raised an eyebrow and sighed, "I asked about what you did with the card Nadia gave you."
