Trust Me (An Islamic Love Story)

Chapter 71

After the class, I compliment the teacher, Miss Dalia's recitation. She introduces me again to the kids, "Say salam, kids, this is Mrs. Abeer—" I gesture at her to stop her from giving me a title.

"You can call me whatever you like," I tell the kids. "Even Abeer is fine. How was the class?"

"It was good," the kids murmur in a singsong way. My eyes linger over Hussain silently staring at me. I don't acknowledge him to not single him out and look back at the teacher. "Are they free now?"

"Yes, do you want to go to the playground or your dorms?" She asks them. Most of the class insists to go to the playground, so the teacher follows along. "Form a line. Don't push, okay?"

Miss Dalia tells me where she got her education from as we watch the kids playing. Hussain is sitting on the swing still, looking intently at the two boys playing football on the grass, Amir and Laith, who are two to three years older than him. The youngest two kids, Asif and Huda, are in a corner, pretty busy playing with mud. The girls, Wafa, Fatima, and Zainab, are giggling and running away from Asma, who is wearing a blindfold and has her arms stretched out, attempting to catch them. Huda comes running over to Miss Dalia. "Asif pulled my ponytail!" She complains, showing her the hairband.

"Aw! Asif, don't do that," Miss Dalia reprimands him lightly from afar, but he gives no sign of acknowledgment that he has heard her.

I gently pull Huda towards me, brush the dirt off her dress, and turn her around. "I'll tie it for you," I offer, taming her loosened hair. "What do you want? A ponytail or a braid?"

"A braid! A braid!" She answers excitedly.

"Be still, okay," I tell her as she jumps up and down. She obeys, and I french-braid her hair. Miss Dalia goes over to Asif as I do so.

"All done," I say at the end.

"Thank you, thank you, Abee," she says, unable to say 'r' at the end, and I smile at her adorable face. "Can I see it? I want to see it!"

"Okay, wait," I say and take out my mobile. I open the front camera and show her. She squeals happily at herself and jests, "I want to take a picture!"

Just as I click to take one, Huda surprises me by kissing me on the cheek, and then she runs off to the ground. The gesture makes me feel all fuzzy inside. I look over at the girls playing marco polo, now Wafa being the catcher. I notice Wafa moves over to the crack in the path and grass. I rush to her side to prevent her from tripping, but she hugs my abdomen and declares, "I caught someone!"

She lets go and removes her blindfold. "Sorry, you were about to trip," I say to her, but to my dismay, she says.

"You have to play now!" She exclaims. Before I can say no, the others surround me and sing the pleases.

I give in to their insistence and wear the blindfold. The darkness makes me uncomfortable, but the giggling sound of the girls distracts me. I stretch out my arms as I try to reach out but end up catching Wafa really quickly. She seems upset, so I take her turn and put on the blindfold again. After roaming around for a bit, I finally do catch someone. I remove my blindfold and realize I am holding Azar's wrist. I let go of it the moment I register it, my face growing pink from the embarrassment. "What are you doing here?" I ask him, trying to ignore how amused he looks.

"This is not resting," he points out instead.

"It's not working either," I retort.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him again, but the girls have surrounded him now.

"Oh hello," he says a little awkwardly to them.

"You have to play now! Pleaseeee!" They insist.

"What? Why me?" He asks them, looking surprised.