From Aliya to Hafiz

Five.

[A/N: Carnations^^^^^]

Aliya.

"Wallah he's such a monkey's butt Ummi!" I complained to mom as we cleaned the table.

Auntie was out in the garden, taking a breather while uncle went up to hopefully knock some sense into Hafiz-the-ass' papaya head.

How could a man act like that? So disrespectful and spiteful towards his own mother? And a Muslim at that? Like what the what was wrong with the wiring of his brain?

I sneered. "I say his head got caught between the door when he was young. You can't convince me otherwise."

"Aliya."

"You don't have to say anything at all Ummi. I know already, you'll probably beat the madness out of him if he was my brother right?" I stacked the dirty plates and lifted them.

Getting no reply from mom, I looked at her direction questioningly only to be met with her unimpressed eyes. Whenever her eyes got like that, I knew I was going to hear something I didn't like at all.

"What?" I said, guarded.

"Aliya."

"Yes, Ummi."

"I didn't like your earlier behavior at all."

"Come on! You know he deserved it! Did you see the way he was treating Auntie—"

"I saw it, I'm not blind. But that doesn't justify your actions at all. Remember this clearly, Hafiz is your Auntie's son. It's not your place to correct him when both his parents are around. That's just insulting to them."

"Ummi?" I called in disbelief because what she was saying didn't make sense to me at all. "They didn't look offended. And I had to say it because no one else would. Guys like him become even more pompous when they're left to their wrongs. He'll only hurt Auntie more—"

"You're getting ahead of yourself, especially seeing as you don't know the history—"

"Then tell me! Because it's obvious to everyone that he hates—"

"You will not interrupt me when I speak to you, and you'll stop talking back to me. I'm telling you that your speaking out like that was not only disrespectful, it showed you had bad upbringing. You should be grateful they aren't Nigerians with our stupid mentality—"

"So you do know our mentality is stupid and—" I cut myself off when she leveled me with a warning look.

"You were the youngest there Aliya. It'll never be your turn to correct someone older than you in the presence of his parents. That's just showing yourself in a bad light."

Well when she put it that way and looking at it from a typical Naija perspective, it did seem wrong and disrespectful.

"Sorry," I dropped my eyes.

Mom took the food warmers and headed into the kitchen. "I'm not the one you should apologise to."

"I'll apologise to Auntie. But not uncle," I lifted the plates once more and followed after her.

"And why not?" She settled everything on the counter by the sink, pouring dish soap into it before turning on the hot water.

"He looked amused when I told off Hafiz, he's not a cheap person like his cheap son," I settled my own stuff beside hers and reached for the sponge.

"I swear your mouth worries me sometimes," she sighed and I smiled.

"And Hafiz?"

That made my smile go into hibernation.