Over the next couple months, Zaid got Talia used to phone calls.
"Hey, how are you doing?"
"Horrible." Talia wished she could have forced her enthusiasm a little more, but it was impossible to smile with the sheet of paper in her hand. "Hope your day's been better."
She heard the click of a door locking before his voice came closer to the speaker again. "Mind telling me what's wrong? I've spent the last thirteen hours slaving away over a lab report in the library, if you wanted to get an idea of my day."
She dropped to a random bench outside the chemistry building, happy no one would recognize her on this part of campus. "Still sounds better than mine. I just killed an exam and not in the good way."
"Did you just take it or get the grade back?"
"The grade." The red letter mocked her as she stared down at the paper in her lap, almost as red as her face. "It's ugly, Zaid."
"Impossible. I'm sure you're just exaggerating." When she said nothing for a few moments, he sighed. "Could at least tell me what it is?"
She closed her eyes. "An eighty-two."
"What?"
"I know right." She drew one knee up to her chest and buried her face into it, as if he could even see her. "It counts for thirty percent of my grade, too."
"No, no—I mean, what are you talking about? In engineering an eighty-two is worth celebrating."
"It's a B minus, Zaid."
"All I hear is a passing grade. But wait..." He paused for a moment, seeming to rethink his words. "Is your GPA that bad you needed an A in this class to boost it?"
"It's the opposite," she croaked, trying to withhold her first grade-induced cry of the semester. "A B minus will destroy my beautiful three-point-nine-seven."
A pause.
"I'm this close to blocking your number, Talia."
She squeezed her eyes shut, now almost on the verge of laughter. "My grades have gotten me places, okay? They're the only reason I have an internship this summer that will pay me seven-grand a month. I'm not ruining them this close to the end."
"Fuck it," he grunted, "maybe I should become the housewife. A B minus is now a terrible grade, Talia."
"Zaid."
"No, no, back to studying you go."
He hung up.
***
Zaid زيد
How's Arabic going?
Talia
I still can't believe I'm taking it
Did you know I was the last person to sign up for the class?
Zaid زيد
What can I say?
I'm a great influence
Talia
No you're a horrible influence
Arabic is somehow worse than Topology
And that class has one of the highest fail rates at my college
Zaid زيد
YOU ARE READING
Other Side
Romance[COMPLETE] Talia Awwad trades a familial nightmare overseas for a relaxing winter break with her grandparents across the country. Too bad the fate she ran away from comes back to haunt her in the form of a surprise housemate named Zaid. Stuck in th...
