Prisoners Of Paradise (CTBB Spin Off)

-1-

"You can't be serious, babe!"

"Oh, but I am, Hud-Hud," Elif grinned, flapping the Fiji brochure in my face. I snatched it from her and let my eyes drink in the rich sunsets and colourful people and food. It was like a paradise!

The only problem was; my parents would never let me go.

"What's wrong?" my bestie was quick to pick up on my sudden mood change, and I sunk onto the bed with a sigh.

"I don't think I can go."

After a beat of silence, I glanced at my friend, and for some reason she sported a wide smile. "Don't tell me you're happy I can't go. I thought you were my friend!" I half-joked, and Elif rolled her eyes.

"No, Huda, don't be silly. I already talked to your parents! They've agreed to let you come with me."

As soon as those words left her lips I squealed. "For real?"

Elif flipped her hair over a shoulder and batted her eyelashes at me. "For real. Now who's the bestest friend in the whole wide world?"

I flung my arms around her and shouted, "You are! I love you so much, Ellie!"

"That's exactly what Talia and Sofia said when I told them," Elif said, and my eyes widened.

"They're coming too?"

"Well, duh! Daddy let me bring three friends, so we could share the double hotel room," Elif replied, examining her glittery nails.

"So is it just us? Or are your parents coming too?"

Elif wrinkled her nose as if I had just said I like to drink apple juice from my brother's sneakers, which was, by the way, totally disgusting. "Of course not! We're adults, for God's sake! My parents are just paying for it all."

"Do my parents know we're going alone, just the four of us?" I still couldn't believe they agreed! But then again, it made sense, since they didn't have to pay for it, and they would be able to get rid of me for a few days. Plus, Elif's family were Muslim, and in my parents' eyes, that made them trustworthy. I was lucky to have a loaded friend like Elif, not that her being extremely rich determined my friendship with her. It was just an added bonus.

"Well, we're not going to be completely alone," Elif responded. "My brother's bringing his friends too."

"Your brother? As in, the one that is rarely home and never speaks?" Elif's older brother Ilyas was like a ghost – you'd have to see him to believe he existed. I'd been to Elif's house millions of times, but I'd only saw him once, and he didn't even say hello or anything!

"Yeah, that one. He's come back from studying abroad and Dad is rewarding him with this trip," Elif explained. "I don't think he deserves it, though. All he's been doing is probably partying with European girls and skipping classes."

"I definitely deserve this holiday," I expressed, falling back onto my bed and using the ceiling as my screen to picture tropical jungles, white sandy beaches and clear blue water speckled with tropical fish. After three hard years earning my bachelor degree at Swinburne, a trip to Fiji was just what I needed to relax.

Suddenly, Elif's head appeared in the way of my fantasies, and I poked my tongue at her. "Daydreaming, are we?"

"Can you blame me when you just told me I'm going to Fiji?" I exclaimed.

"I mean, it's no biggie. I've literally been to Hawaii two times and the Bahamas. It's just another island," Elif's nonchalance got on my nerve, and she was aware of it.

"Well, for me, it's more than that. It's a destination of pure happiness, it is a place of beauty, and the prize of all my hard work..." I cracked a grin. "Plus, all the pictures we'll take will get so many likes on Facebook and Instagram."

Elif chucked a pillow at me, and I caught it in time, laughing. "Hey, it's true!"

"I swear your social media obsession is getting too much," Elif tutted.

I sat up, tossing the pillow back at her. "What obsession? This is the age of technology and communication. Nowadays everyone is obsessed," I reasoned.

"Well, you're more obsessed than anyone I've ever met, and that includes Talia, the selfie queen," Elif threw the pillow at me, and I hugged it to my chest with a pout.

"I thought I was the selfie queen?"

"Oh, Huda. Sometimes I don't know how I put up with you," Elif rolled her eyes with a smile. "Now come on, we need to go shopping."

"Shopping?"

"Yeah! We need to get some new clothes for Fiji. The trip is next week," Elif yanked my arm and dragged me off my bed, guiding me towards my wardrobe. It was nothing compared to Elif's walk-in, which had steps and mirrors and everything, but it still held all my prized possessions – clothes. You could never have too many.

"Geez, it's a scorcher today," Elif fanned herself as I located my favourite violet scarf and draped it over my head.

"That's such an Australian thing to say," I chuckled as I used the mirror as my guide. This scarf was the first one I ever owned thanks to my cousin Mariam, and on the plus side it brought out the hazel flecks in my brown eyes.

"I guess being here for ten years has turned me into a true Aussie," Elif said. Until she was twelve she had lived in places like Germany, Turkey and Egypt, more places than I've ever been in my entire life, and that only included Lebanon and the United States. She was originally Turkish, and she could speak four languages. Plus, she was super gorgeous and smart, at times I felt small next to her. But she was a great friend, the best anyone could ask for, and I wouldn't trade her for the world.

Elif and I met in uni, since we shared some classes. I was glad I hadn't met her before uni, since I was such a horrible person, and not the most practising of Muslims. Just looking back made me feel ashamed of how reckless and bitchy I was. Alhamdulillah, during my gap year after school, Mariam helped me become closer to my faith. It was easier to stop the partying and flirting with boys and wearing revealing clothes when I was out of school, so that year, I worked on myself. It was a slow process, but by the end of that year, I had a better view on life and more knowledge on Islam. I became proud of who I was; so proud that I wanted everyone else to know it before they even knew my name. So that's when I started wearing hijab.

"Okay, I'm ready," I announced after swiping some pink lip gloss across my lips. "Let's go."

"Forgetting something?" Elif held up my sparkly phone with a knowing smile, and I almost screamed.

"My baby!" I retrieved it from her fingers and held it dramatically to my heart. Elif regarded me in amusement.

"I bet you couldn't live without that thing," she said smugly as we left my bedroom.

"Then you'd win that bet," I beamed, hooking my arm with hers.

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Salam, guys!

So I've returned with a new Spiritual story, and I'm so excited to write this! It was one of those things that just comes out of the blue, but I am glad I had this idea because I've missed writing. The updates won't be consistent - basically whenever I feel like it I will write a new chapter, but I will try my best in the beginning! 

This is a spin-off of CTBB, though that doesn't necessarily mean you have to read that before you read this. Only a few characters from CTBB will be featured in this story, but of course, it's Huda's story now, and I thought it would be cool to write about her since she was such an...interesting character.

So yeah, hope you enjoy this story, thanks for reading the first chapter (even though it was kinda boring)! I'm going to go now before I start babbling about nonsense, so peace be with you! ✌