Something Fairytale-ish

Something Cinderella-ish (Part IV)

The next day, Hanan sat inside of her living room waiting for the doorbell to ring. Amina had insisted upon carpooling with Hanan so that they could go to her house later. Hanan was relieved that their friendship had been restored, but she was still worried about the dance; was Amina still insistent upon going, or had she finally seen sense?

The doorbell rang and Hanan jumped up, grabbed her bag, and rushed to the door. She opened it to be met with Amina's wide smile. "Salaam!" she exclaimed, before glomping Hanan. Hanan giggled and hugged her tightly.

"Wa'alaikumussalam," she greeted back happily. Amina released her and the two made their way to Amir's car. "Salaam," she greeted Amir politely.

"Wa'alaikumussalam," he replied, his eyes briefly flickering towards her before gazing back ahead. Such behaviour never hurt Hanan because it was proper etiquette; a brief exchange of salaams is the most that is necessary. Anything more is weird depending on the situation. These thoughts filled Hanan's mind as she slid inside the back of his car, Amina sliding in beside her.

"Guess what, guess what!" she said giddily.

"What?" Hanan asked, humoring her cheerful friend.

"Noor is coming home next week!" she shrieked. Hanan gasped.

"NO WAY!" she exclaimed.

"YES WAY!" Amina shouted. "And she's staying for two weeks!"

"Amina, please stop shouting in my car. I need my ears so that I can listen to the professor's lectures," Amir scolded from his driver's seat. Amina pouted while Hanan stifled a laugh.

"You always have to rain on my parade!" she sulked, her eyebrows drawn, lips puckered, chin tucked in, arms cross, and back slouching.

"Sit straight, slouching is bad for your back," Hanan chided jokingly. Amina just glared at her while Amir struggled to keep a straight face.

"Quit ganging up on me!" she whined. Hanan laughed and hugged her friend.

"But it annoys you and annoying you is so much fun," she said, this time her being the one to pout.

"Wow, your relationships must be healthy. I wonder what your future husband would say," Amina teased. Hanan just gaped and Amir choked, something that did not go unnoticed by her. That little--! Thankfully they had finally arrived at the university, so no further conversation was made.

After stepping out of the car, the trio made their way to Amir's first class for the day, Cell Biology. After attending the previous lessons, Hanan was relieved to say that she understood a lot of what she heard. There were a few confusing things every now and then, but for the most part, she understood the lectures, so she was fairly confident that she would understand the lecture given in this class. Before they walked in, Amir turned around to face the girls.

"Listen, I don't want a repeat of what happened yesterday," he began, his eyes staring intently at Hanan. "When class is over, we'll be the last to leave, so stay seated until most of the students have left. Do you guys understand?"

The girls nodded. "Good," he said, as he opened the door for them, and like the day before, ushered them in. Hanan quickly scanned the room and was relieved to see that that blasted Jake wasn't there. "Jake doesn't have this class," Amir assured her, as if reading her thoughts. Hanan smiled in gratitude. They sat in the back of the class, like usual, and the professor walked in to begin his lecture.

The rest of the day went by in the same fashion, and finally it was time for Amir's last class, Immunology. The trio had been resting in the courtyard and eating a late lunch; well, late for Americans at least; 2:00 wasn't late in other parts of the world. Anyways, they had been eating when Amir said, "By the way, Jake has the next class with me."