Love through time

Internship

Zarah had worked so hard and she was glad to have been chosen to be one of the interns at Jamil's company, although she was wary of working with Jamil, she knew she wanted to gain experience in her career. She laid down in her bed thinking of how the first day of her internship will be. The office was located in the city centre, she had mapped out how she would get there and got her ticket. She didn't want to be late. She thought about Jamil and wished he would stay out of her way. She could not afford distractions.
The next day Zarah was up early, said her fajar prayers and had a cup of coffee. When it was time, she stood in front of her cupboard thinking of what to wear. She did not want to admit or acknowledge the fact that her mind had wondered about the fact that Jamil would be there and she wanted to be well presented. Zarah picked a suited white shirt, black pegged trousers and a trench coat to go on top. She wrapped a black veil on her head and wore her bracelet. The bracelet was her mother's and she loved that she owned something her mum wore in the past.
Zarah got to the office building early enough. She sat in the hall with the rest of the interns and at 9 am, an individual came in and introduced himself as Ajay. He spoke in an Indian accent.
'Welcome to RoonTech. We are going to have lots of work and lots of fun
'Each one of you will be assigned to a project and that will be your station for the rest of your time here. Some of you will be under my supervision while some of you will be supervised by Mr Haroon.'

Zarah listened attentively, she did not want to be under the supervision of Jamil. That will be detrimental to her concentration and work.
They were all handed an envelope and when she opened it, she had a sigh of relief. She was under the design and development of software and she would be supervised by Ajay. Others were under testing, while some were placed under maintenance.
They all moved into the main office hall with Ajay showing each of them their workstation. The hall looked nothing like an office. The decor was modern, fun and colourful. There were lounge chairs at the corners with expensive-looking pillows. In the middle of the hall was a large glass box with boardroom furnishing. Another large glass office with a sleek desk and a large desktop system was by the far end of the hall. She could also see a fully functional kitchen within the hall, it had a glassdoor fridge well-stocked.

'You all have met Mr Haroon, right' Ajay said
Zarah turned to see the familiar face of Jamil. She tried not to look nervous, but she was failing. She stood behind James from her class to avoid eye contact with Jamil.

'Welcome everyone, let's get to work, and also have some fun while at it.' Jamil said.
He didn't acknowledge her presence in the group. He walked to the only glass office and sat on the desk. Zarah was glad but her inner consciousness was disappointed he did not.

A week had gone by, and Zarah was engrossed in her project. She would spend the entire day, and sometimes into the evening doing projects. It was the holiday so all her friends had travelled or were busy doing other things. Nadia had travelled to Kenya with her parents to see her grandparents before her wedding walimah.
Her Housemate had also travelled home and because most of the houses on her streets were students' accommodations, the streets felt empty and deserted.
On Saturday, she had nothing to do so she decided to go to work. immediately she entered the hall, she saw him sitting on his desk. It would be awkward for her to go back because he had seen her already considering it was just the two of them around. So she walked into the hall and got to her station after what seemed to her the longest Hall walk. She contemplated going to knock on his glass door to greet him, after all, he is her boss. She stood up and made her way to his office she was not looking his way, but she felt him looking at her as she got closer. By the time she got to the glass door, Jamil was standing with the door open.
'Salaam Mr Haroon'she said
'I think we have passed such formalities Zarah' he said.
'Come in and have a seat please'
Zarah did not like the idea, she just wanted to say salaam and be back at her workstation. She looked around and saw his work station was well organized, and by the side of his desk was a mushaf Quran, this impressed her.

'I wanted to get in some work before others come in, I was not expecting to see anyone this early.' she said still standing by the door
'Yeah I usually come in very early, it affords me some needed concentration for the work'

When Jamil sensed her hesitation in coming into his office. he said
'It's okay, I'll not hold you from getting to your work'
Zarah was relieved and went back to her station. There was always something about Jamil she couldn't place her hands on. She felt it but was not sure what it was and she was not eager to find out.

****
He sat in his office trying his best to concentrate, but could not. Jamil had been in a relationship before now, but nothing felt like this. Every time he sees Zarah he has the feeling of drawing closer to her, but there is always a shield she puts up. He was usually good at solving puzzles, but hers had proven difficult, and his heart was at stake. After seeing her with Ahmed and Nadia, he was certain about his feelings for her. He has wondered how he could have such strong feelings towards a girl he knew nothing about. It was hard to deny what he felt, and when he saw her name on the internship list. He made a note to Ajay not to put him as her supervisor. He wanted to know Zarah but he valued professionalism. Whatever was gonna be of them both, he wanted it to be organic and not forced.
She was always in his mind, but at work, he made sure not to bother her or show interest.
Some moments later, other people came into the office and made it less awkward.

There usually was a well-prepared breakfast by the office chef but it was the weekend so he did not come in. Jamil was famished and ready to eat. He thought about inviting Zarah but she was not at her workstation.
On his way out, he realized the sunny morning had given way to drizzle. As he drove out of the office building, he saw Zarah adjusting her head wrap to keep the rain from wetting her face. She was headed to the bus stand when he quickly got by her side and startled her a bit.

'So sorry I startled you please allow me to give you a lift' he said
Zarah looked relieved, she must have thought she was in danger.
'Please' Jamil insisted sensing Zarah's reluctance. She got into his car and he handed her a handkerchief
'Thank you' she said
After a brief silence, she said 'British weather never ceases to annoy me'
Jamil let out a laugh, and asked
'How so?'
'Well between the rain, heatwaves, thounder storm, and windy cold snowy winter, what is there to like?'
Jamil glanced at her in fascination, he had just witnessed the snippet of who she was.

'I can understand you, I've been to Nigeria and the weather is quite predictable' he said
'And pleasant' Zarah added
'I get that you are not a fan of the British weather, but the last time I was in Nigeria, I felt like I was melting from the heat'

'I'm not going to bash the British weather, that has been well articulated by the Briton already' Zarah said with a mockery smile.
'Right, I give up on this' Jamil said raising his palm up from the steering wheel.
He did not want this their conversation to end, so he pushed his luck by asking-
' I was on my way to get lunch, I'd love for you to go with me' he held his breath expecting a no-
'That kind of you but I don't want to impose' she said "I have some food at home."
' "I promise you the place is good. As good as the best Nigerian Jollof rice' Jamil said
This got Zarah giggling,
'I bet your Jollof journey is limited to the Nigerian street food on the streets of London. So don't make claims you can't prove'

'Okay, take my offer and if I don't prove it, you have the opportunity to prove me wrong with the best Jollof rice there is'

'Fine' Zarah said
Jamil smiled, she had no idea what that 'fine' meant to him.  'Baby steps, baby steps' he said inwardly.