Last First Chance (Al-Ameen Family Spin-Off)

High

"So who was it?" Naina asks, loading up her laptop to the presentation screen.

"Some family my aunt knows. They live in Leicester. They came, I mostly just sat there quietly, and then I obsessively avoided my grandma's questioning all night. I really didn't like the guy, he made me so uncomfortable. But I think my grandma and dad liked his family."

"What about Saif?" Hasan pipes up from the other side of the room. Both our heads turn to him. I see a glimmer of embarrassment in his eyes before he's back to his usual blank expression. Naina on the other hand full out chortles.

"Tumhe bohat fiqar ho rahi hai Saif ki? (You seem very worried about Saif?)," she asks him in Hindi, as others walk into the room.

"Main toh bas uss bichare ki jaan bacha raha hoon isse. (I'm just trying to protect the guy from her)," he looks pointedly at me.

"Kulu bhar paani mein doob jao Hasan. Kitna jalte ho mere khubsoorti se. (Go to hell Hasan. He's just jealous of my beauty.)," I flick my hair back.

Naina takes a step back so she's no longer in the line of fire. "Tum dono sach mein ek jaise hi ho. Akele maro ge. (You two are literally the same. You will die alone)," Naina shakes her head at us, walking away to talk to someone on the other side of the room I didn't know.

"So he's a no?" Hasan asks, taking his seat beside me. I don't remember inviting him here.

"It's not that simple. My grandma seems fun but she is very strict and traditional. It's hard to say no to her and my dad without a reason they agree with. I'm just trying to not get my ass whooped," I sit down beside him begrudgingly. He's twirling his pen, lost in thought.

"Kahan kho gaye? (Where'd you get lost?)," I snap my fingers in front of his face.

He doesn't answer, instead opening his laptop and getting ready for the meeting. "Ek baat batao. Tumhari Dadi kitna alag se bolti hai. Lucknow ke log toh kitni tehzeeb se bolte hai. Tum kyun inti jaahil ho? (Tell me something. Your grandma speaks differently. And I've heard people from Lucknow speak with so much eloquence. Why do you always sound so insane?)."

"Janaab, hum jab tehzeeb se pesh farmayenge, lazmee dil-e-kharaabon ki galliyan ho jaaye. (Sir, when I begin to speak with eloquence, there will be streets of broken hearts in town)," I grin back at him.

He looks kind of stunned for a second but then rolls his eyes. He mutters, "crazy."

----

"Lekin kaahe? Ladka sundar hai, susheel hai, parivaarak khadaani lagat hai. Kaahe zid lagay bheti ho sanka maya? (But why? The guy is handsome, kind, his family looks respectable. Why are you being such a rascal?)," my grandma was shuffling behind me, poking my butt with her walking stick.

"Dadi!" I whine. "Who kitna aankhen phar phar ke dekh raha tha mujhe. (He was staring at me so creepily)," my phone buzzes with another call from Hasan and I'm not able to avoid her jab with that distraction. That's going to leave a bruise.

"Maheenya aur kitne baal safed karao hoge? Shaadi biyah ke maamla ma nahi der karsakat ho. (Maheen, are you going to wait till your hair turns white? You should not delay in the matters of marriage)," she reprimands me.

My phone rings again.

I huff, holding up a finger to my grandma so I can take the call. "What Hassan?" My grandma's ears physically perk up when she hears his name.

"We gotta go now. Multiple suspects on the loose, the sting operation went south. I'll pick you up in 5 minutes, I'm on my way." He doesn't wait for me to respond and hangs up.