Trust Falls

Thank You

"...no way for a lady to act. Think about how old you are! I can't believe my child was the one to do this! Even Adam and Aqsa act better than you! And they're so much younger!"

      My mother stopped and glared at me. I pressed myself further down into the couch and tried to make myself look sad. Or guilty. Or anything remotely like that, really. I bit my lip and looked down, trying to think of sad moments in my life. Like when my pet rock escaped out my window. By itself.

"...an embarrassment to the family. How do you think your cousin feels? Why can't you be like your siblings?"
Oh yeah. Compare me to my siblings. Add in the next door neighbor's dog too while you're at it. And why not? I suck.

      The other adults had taken the kids out into the backyard to help break up the food fight. Yunus was crying over his ruined cake. I felt bad for him, I really did. And now I was getting yelled at for it. It's not my fault they started a flipping food fight. All I did was swat a paper plate to keep it from hitting a poor little toddler on the head. A paper plate full of cake. That landed on someone else's head.

Not like I did that on purpose.

"Are you even listening to me?"

I glanced back up at my mom before staring at my fidgeting fingers. "Yes, ma'am."

"You should be ashamed of yourself!"

I nodded.

"I want you to sit here and think about what you've done!"

I nodded. "Yes'm."

I dared to look back up at her. Her eyes were flaming, cheeks flushed as she loomed over me. Darn it.

"What are you doing, just sitting there? Go in the kitchen and clean it up!"

I furrowed my brow. "I thought--"

"Don't you dare talk back to me!"

I ducked my head. "Yes, ma'am."

My mother stormed off, presumably to cool off and help the other adults instead. I slid myself off the couch and onto my knees. Ick. I have to clean up someone else's mess. I hobbled over to the kitchen on my knees and stared at the warzone from twenty minutes ago. Those kids really knew how to throw.

There were outlines of bodies against the walls, and chairs overthrown. There was a potted plant overturned and leaking in the corner. Must be broken.

I sighed and got up to find the paper towels. Great. Yesterday I had to clean my house, and today I get to clean someone else's. Wonderful.

I got back down on my hands and knees and started wiping the floor, my lip curling as the wet, squishy cake bits smeared across the tiles and the wetness seeped through the napkin onto my hand.

I wouldn't even have to do this if...had I really even seen him? In the last hour or so since the food fight had started, I had seen neither hide nor hair of Yousuf. It was as if he'd never even been here. Maybe he hadn't. Maybe I'm going crazy and it was all just in my head.

I fisted my hands around another napkin. Oh, what I'd do to have his hide! I'd kill it, and roast it, and, and--

"Ew."

I whipped around, standing up as I dropped the napkin onto the growing pile of paper towels on the floor beside me. Yousuf.

He gave me a lopsided grin as he leaned against the doorsill, arms crossed. "Ew. What'd you screw up this time, Iqra?"

I made a face at him and hissed. "It's all your fault, you big dummy!"

He gave me an exaggerated look of surprise, his eyebrows going up into the fringe of his hair, mouth dropping open. "Me? What'd I do, Iqra? You're the one who tried to throw a cake at me."