Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Aymaan's POV

It was on a Saturday morning and I have to attend a meeting with the CEO of the transmission company of Nigeria,CBA Abuja on Monday on behalf of my father.Laila was going to school as it was her first year at the university,I decided to drop her off at school just to see the girl of my dreams again,it is said that when one is in love it doesn't matter how or where or when you did it or get it,I knew she was studying at Nile university Abuja and so as my little sister,so I called my cousin sister Ramla ,who's in her third year at the university studying pharmacy,she helped Laila with her bags and showed her a room to go call Amaani.it was so easy because as Ramla told me earlier one of Amaani's friend Maryam is her course mate and they get along so perfectly.some minutes later she came out in a dark blue abaya which fitted her silhouetted figure perfectly,a fair lady tailed behind her,I said my salam and they both turned and answered, i could tell she had a mixed expression on her face ,I knew I looked stupid because I didn't know how to start the conversation,so I apologized and she said a thank you,even thou she was trying to sound rude her splendiferous placid voice deceived her,so I thought I should go on with the introduction,I told her my name and she was like who cares and I told her that i do care a lot,thou my mind was somewhere else I was staring at her shamelessly and came her beautiful voice once again,ooh this girl is gonna be the death of me!she asked if I was following her and I said I was only their to apologize then I asked if we could be friends,she answered with a Nah,thank you and left me there day dreaming about her.

The next morning

I laid on my bed dreaming about the woman who won my heart,how much ever I tried,her image refused to get out of my mind,so I had finally gave up resisting her image when my phone buzzed I picked up the call without checking the caller ID,before I could say a word I could hear farouq's voice shouting my name at the top of his lung,hey guy slow down don't damage my ear drum.

"You brainless badaam,what were you thinking that you had to go see her,who gave you the right?"

"No one I just decided to see the love of my life,so what's wrong with that?"

"You ain't serious,I explained it to you that you should take your steps slowly and sensitively"

"I know I just couldn't resist myself from seeing her,I'm madly in love with her,I see her everywhere"

"Ooh I see"he said and laughed wholeheartedly"

"Don't go see her again without telling me about any of your plans,she had a Little misunderstanding with my babe all because of your stupidness"

"Ooh I didn't mean to,pls apologize to my in-law on my behalf"

"How did you even get her to come down?"

"My cousin helped me you know"

"Ooh I see"

"So when are you returning?"

"Tomorrow after the meeting"

"Okay I will be looking forward to see you on Tuesday morning at work"

"Okay man,thank you"

"Your welcome"he said and ended the call.

"It was 10:30Am already,I freshened up,and left for Laila's school as It was a Sunday,there's no lectures and I got nothing to do,as I promised Ramla earlier if she help me then I will take her out"

"I grab my car keys and left for Nile university"

"Hello Ramla,get ready in the next 10minutes and come down,I will be waiting for you in the parking lot okay?dont make me wait for a second you know how I hate waiting"

"Okay"she replied and I ended the call focusing on the road.

"I reached their school and I could site them coming down,right timing I said and giggled softly.

"Hello Yaya ooh how I missed you,Laila said while hugging me"

"I missed you too butterscotch"

"Yaya you won't stop calling me this name ko"she complained.

"Habaaa my butterscotch"I said teasingly.

"Now let's get going"

"Where are you taking us exactly?"Ramla asked.

"Dominos pizza"

"You cool with that"

"More than cool"Ramla said.

"Yayyy I want ice cream pls Yaya"

"Okay butterscotch"

"Yayaaaaaaaaaaa"she said dragging the yaaaaaaaaa.

"You two are unbelievable"

"Make your orders and I will go pay the bills"

"Yaya I want pepperoni supreme"laila said.

"And I want extravaganzza"Ramla said.

"Okay,is that all?"

"Yeah"

"Okay I'll be right back"

"I payed for the bills and I was about to go meet my siblings,when I bumped into someone"

"Ooh I'm so sorry Miss,I said while picking her bag"it's okay she said,her voice sounds familiar.

"I handed her the bag and looked up at her  and that was  when I saw it was farouq's babe"

"Ooh Aymaan,what a coincidence"she said.

"Yeah,how are you?"I asked.

"Fine,alhamdulillah"

"I'm so sorry for what happened the other day,I didn't think twice before doing what I did,farouq told me everything and I felt really bad,pls forgive me,I didn't mean to cause a rift between you two"I said with all sincerity, I could site  Laila coming towards me.

"assalamualaikum"she said to halima.

"Waaliakumusalam,how are you?

"Fine,alhamdulillah"

"Looks like she's your sister you look so much alike"halima said.

"Uhmmm yeah,her name is Laila,she's a JJC"

"Yayaaaa"she said  while  pouting.

"Laila you have no shame wllhi,ain't you even shy of halima?"

"Don't worry feel free with me Laila okay?what course are you studying ?"

"Human physiology"

"Wow that's nice"halima said and smiled.

"you should come visit me when your free okay?"okay.laila answered.

"Uhmmm Aymaan I have to go the girls are waiting for me,see you next time,Laila I will be waiting for your visit"

"Okay thank you so much Halima"

"Inshallah"Laila said and smiled.

"We grabbed our pizza and left"

"What took  you two so long?"Ramla asked.

"I bumped into halima,so we chatted a little"

"Yaya who is she?"

"She's just a friend"

"Ya Ramla do you know her?"

"Yeah,what?"

"She said I should visit her some other time"

"Okay we will go to her room when we are free"

"Yaya don't forget my ice cream"

"Okay butterscotch"

"Habaaaa yaya,if you call me with this name in front of my course mate they will laugh at me"

"And that's exactly what I'm going to do"I said and giggled softly.

"We went to cold stone ,bought some ice cream then I dropped them at  school and headed to the hotel"

"It was a long day huh!i said while laying on my bed"

"I don't know why I'm sad but maybe it's because I didn't see her today,seeing halima there  gave me hope that I would see her,i knew she was somewhere there because I felt her,I looked almost everywhere but I guess luck was not on my side this time.

"I LOVE YOU AMAANI,I really do,I can't deny the fact that I do"

***************

Halima's POV

"It's Sunday and Sundays means free day,so we decided to go grab some pizza and ice cream,we bought ice cream and went to dominos pizza to grab some delicious pizza,all the girls insists that They would be waiting for me in the car,I went in and I bumped into someone,luckily it was Aymaan we chatted a little and I asked his sister to come visit me some other time,we said our goodbyes and went our ways"

"Hello girls,I said with a big smile plastered on my face"why are you smiling like a fool,Amaani asked.

"Guess who I saw?"

"Farouq?"you ain't serious she said.

"I saw Aymaan"she blurted out.

"Thank God I didn't go in there with you,I never want to see his ugly ass face"

"He's handsome don't deny the fact"zeenat said.

"Well maybe some one is crushing already"Amaani said and winked .

"Unserious being"zeenat said and we all laughed.

"Amarsus when are we meeting your fine ass husbands?"Amaani again.

"Well,maybe today"Yusrah said.

"Yay"fatiti squealed in excitement.

"Don't let them see your husbands oo,before you will hear ayiriri ga sabuwar amarya"Maryam said and we all laughed.

**************

AMAANI'S POV

"After halima gave me the news,I thanked God for making me not to see that bad ass of a guy,i would have definitely have a bad day"

"It's a Sunday funday"

"We went back to our hostels and dig in our foods"

"It was a beautiful Sunday we gist about everything and nothing"

"Then we we decided to play 21 question game"

"So who's first?I wanna be the first"Halima said.

"Okay"we said in unison.

"What is the TLDR version of your life Amaani?"

"I assume the question is what is the (Too long didn't read)version of your life,it is what we are all trying to discover one way or the other,a lot has been written ,there are different perspectives and theories some claiming to know but the answer is easy,but we don't know,it is to me the big question with no answer it can be beneficial to read some of what the great minds have produced in this regard even if it seems Long rather than remaining in a TLDR state of ignorance"my placid voice filled the room and they all paid much attention to what I was saying.

"That's so true"Yusrah said.

"What is something that most people learn only after

is too late fatiti?"

"That they lived their life based off,of the opinions and influences of others rather than living life how they truly wanted to"

"Yeah that's a fact"Maryam said and we all nodded as a yes.

"Maryam how much do you know about the world outside your country?"Fatiti asked.

"A Fair amount!like knowing about other cultures"she answered.

"And now Halima if you would live your life again,is there absolutely anything you would do different?"fatiti asked in amusement.

"Uhmmm,the most important thing in life is,we don't know what comes next,I can't change my past but I could sculpture my future.so I'll love this once again,I will enjoy my moment, repeats my mistake,I will analyze more and once again start from where I am now,I don't wish to improve by luck,I wish to improve by effort.but even if I'm not permitted to live once more I can mentally relive any moments of my life,analyze and work on my future"

"Bravo,Bravo mon chèriè"zeenatu said while clapping her hands.

"Do you believe in love at first site Abeeda?Maryam asked.

"Yeah,I think"

"Yes of course I believe in love at first site,I'm going to find that guy,I really want him ,he's been my dreams and all,my crush"Maryam blurted.

"Forget about that guy,You can ruin your relationship you know?she doesn't even know his name or have his pic and she's daydreaming"yusrah said making each word clear.

"But I love him"Maryam confess

"She's not serious,forget about her"fatiti said.

"Wareva"Maryam said.

"How much do you judge a person by their appearance zeenat?"Abeeda asked.

"I don't think it's appropriate to judge people just by their appearance.who knows the homeless man at the end of your street may turn to be A DOCTOR IN ASTROPHYSICS.!!isn't it right or what do you think?"

"Your absolutely right zeenat"I said and they all nodded.

"How many kids do you want to have Yusrah?"zeenat asked.

"At least four"ok .

"What do you think about toxic people?"it's a general question.zeenatu said in a sad tone.

"Why are you asking?whats up with you?"I asked.

"We all have toxic people in our life but how do you deal with their toxicity?i have a toxic boyfriend but how do I tolerate him?"

"We have all had toxic people dust us with their poison. Sometimes it's more like a drenching. Difficult people are drawn to the reasonable ones and all of us have likely had (or have) at least one person in our lives who have us bending around ourselves like barbed wire in endless attempts to please them – only to never really get there.

Their damage lies in their subtlety and the way they can engender that classic response, 'It's not them, it's me.' They can have you questioning your 'over-reactiveness', your 'oversensitivity', your 'tendency to misinterpret'. If you're the one who's

continually hurt, or the one who is constantly adjusting your own behaviour to avoid being hurt, then chances are that it's not you and it's very much them.

Being able to spot their harmful behaviour is the first step to minimising their impact. You might not be able to change what they do, but you can change what you do with it, and any idea that toxic somebody in your life might have that they can get away with it."I said.

"Yeah Amaani is right but always remember that Some people can't be pleased and some people won't be good for you – and many times that will have nothing to do with you. You can always say no to unnecessary crazy. Be confident and own your own faults, your quirks and the things that make you shine. You don't need anyone's approval but remember if someone is working hard to manipulate, it's probably because they need yours. You don't always have to give it but if you do, don't let the cost be too high.Maryam added.

"They will keep you guessing about which version of them you're getting, Toxic people figured out a long time ago that decent people will go to extraordinary lengths to keep the people they care about happy. If your attempts to please aren't working or aren't lasting for very long, maybe it's time to stop. Walk away and come back when the mood has shifted. You are not responsible for anybody else's feelings. If you have done something unknowingly to hurt somebody, ask, talk about it and if need be, apologise. At any rate, you shouldn't have to guess."fatiti said trying to put a hint of seriousness.

"I don't know much about toxic people but I will still say this to you zeenat,I've experienced something similar to that with my EX boyfriend,I couldn't take it any longer I kept thinking I was always wrong and I felt guilty for no reason all the time. He's always angry and won't take responsibility for it,he might accuse me of being angry with him. It might be as subtle as, 'Are you okay with me?' or a bit more pointed, 'Why are you angry at me,' or, 'You've been in a bad mood all day.'

I always find myself justifying and defending and often this will go around in circles – because it's not about me.Be really clear on what's yours and what's theirs. If you feel as though you're defending yourself too many times against accusations or questions that don't fit, you might be being projected on to. You don't have to explain, justify or defend yourself or deal with a misfired accusation."Halima said and looked up to zeenat with a sad smile.

"They'll also lie before they ever apologise, so there's no point arguing. They'll twist the story, change the way it happened and retell it so convincingly that they'll believe their own nonsense.

People don't have to apologise to be wrong. And you don't need an apology to move forward. Just move forward – without them. Don't surrender your truth but don't keep the argument going. There's just no point. Some people want to be right more than they want to be happy and you have better things to do than to provide fodder for the right-fighters.And don't ever forget what flows flows and what crashes crashes ,what is meant to be will forever be and what's not meant to be will never be,so don't stress yourself too much,keep the relationship healthy,if things ain't working out then you walk out,it's probably for the best,don't go too deep in this,make your decisions wisely okay?"

"Okay,thank you all girls,thank you so much Amaani,your the best I could ever ask for,you always give the best of advices all the time and it never fails,thank you"she said and gave me a bone crushing hug"

"I can't believe the person who gives the most advice has never dated not even once"Maryam said trying to put a hint of seriousness."

"Exactly"Halima said.

"I guess it's not bad"I said between gritted teeth.

"You will make a perfect relationship with your partner"fatiti added.

"I think it's high time our love counselor should also move to the next level,that stage where he sends tingles down her spine with his words and she becomes all red"Abeeda said teasingly.

"When the time comes and when the right person comes inshallah"I said with a small smile.

"See who's talking Halima said,now you want to give me one of those cheesy speech right?"I asked teasingly.

"Ooh so that's what you think about my speeches?"I smiled sheepishly.

"Of course not"

"You can all ask her how many of them came and she pushed them all away"

"Because they are not the right once,I want someone who will stop me right in my track,someone who will make my mouth pop open in unbelief"I winked.

"We can see"they said in unison and laughed hoarsely.

I think Aymaan is that guy"zeenat said and winked.

"Wareva"I shrugged.

"The game always breaks down into a conversation"fatiti said.

"And That is the whole point of the 21 Questions Game,it is meant to facilitate conversation and find out new things about a person. So if a lively conversation gets going, we forget about the game.i said flashing my million dollar smile"

"We decided to call it a night"