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MINAL'S POV:
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"Banaji," Sister Hafsat, one of the MSSN officials, shouted. She glared at our side, and I could tell she was referring to the SS1 students.
Apart from the weekly sermon we received, reciting Qasidah (singing praises) is also one of the things I look forward to every Sunday. While the SS2 sing the verses, we all chorused in unison, answering them, which was always a sight for the boys. How they nod and give their full attention to us.
"I don't like how that witch is always bossy," Suffy said with a low voice, and we both chuckled.
She immediately turned her gaze on us, and we quickly followed suit with the chorus, singing: Manzo Daha!
That has always been the normal schedule on a Sunday fellowship. Reciting the Qasidah, some random picks to recite the holy Qur'an, the normal dramas from the boys' section with the MSSN officials, and lastly, the sermon, which is always the last part.
The Fellowship always ends before morning breakfast. We left for the mosque after the MSSN, while the boys hang around before breakfast, and the SS3 students always took forever before they come out of the hostels.
"I heard Yasman was given a suspension," Suffy says.
"Yeah," I said with a sigh.
Yasman and I kind of have a history together. We used to be close friends, or rather in a relationship, but things changed. But I've overcome whatever feelings they were, whether infatuation or love. I can't be friends with a bully like Yasman. I don't know what's the deal with Yazeed as well, but who changes from a regular student to a Borno-scholar? I've learned not to judge other people's choices, but I wished we were close enough to know what happened to him. It wouldn't have been easy for him to handle.
I often asked myself the difference between friendship and a relationship. Can friendship mean a relationship at the same time? Or are they two different things?
I remembered having a talk with my mum during the long JSCE holidays, asking her about the differences between friendship and a relationship. While my mum might seem a bit extreme and focused, she's the most understanding and caring when it comes to parenting stuff. She always gives a listening ear to our problems.
"It's okay to grow fond of your friends if the relationship is based on promoting one another. Friendship is more about companionship, mutual trust, and care. While friendship can be a foundation for a relationship, not all friendships lead to romantic relationships. However, it's advisable to refrain from anything you'll regret later in life. The feelings you're likely to develop at this age are short-lived; they don't last most of the time, and you tend to outgrow them as time goes on. You're still growing, still learning, and your feelings and understanding advance further as you grow older. That's when you start to feel and express love because that would be the reality for you, and nothing hinders it except destiny. So why start something you can't finish? Something you're most likely to run away from in the future? I urge you to explore your teenage years, have friends that would last a lifetime." Those words still ring in my head, but if only my mum knows how things are normalized these days.
But I almost forgot everything my mum said about infatuation the first time I met Huzzy. I overreacted to how I felt inside, which gave a really bad impression of me the very first day we met. But how else could I have reacted? It felt like he was someone I could spend the rest of my life with at that moment. But how do I know that? I guess only time can tell. My pride and respect come before anything; how could I have stooped so low? After all, I am Minal of all people, the last princess to Gobra kingdom.
I shrugged the thought off my mind as I buried my head in the mosque carpet once more.
"Oya, oya, let's go. They have rung the siren for breakfast," Suffy came into the mosque calling me out.
I didn't hear the siren; maybe I was lost in thought. I got up sluggishly to where she was standing.
"Muje," I murmured.
She dragged me out and gave me a slight slap on the head; "lazy girl."
The prefects served the hot moi-moi and pap, while we sat down to eat. While eating, I was using my eyes to check if I could spot Huzzy, but there was no sight of him.
"All SS1 girls should wait behind after breakfast," Sister Maryam announces.
"What did we do again?" Grace asked, and I just shrugged and gave her the "I don't know what's happening" expression. For all I care, visit is in two weeks' time now.
HUZZY'S POV:
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Stuck with this laborious thing, I don't think I can make it out alive. I have been in the physics lab since after the Sunday fellowship. It has been a series of sweeping and cleaning since the beginning of the week. God knows how happy I am today is going to be the last day. I was deprived of breaks during class hours, and now my weekends as well. We were served breakfast at our various places of punishment.
I met other students there as well. We only get a break when it's time for prayer, and now I look forward to only prayer times. I happened to bump into the BAES during the fellowship, and I wonder what made me like them in the first place. How I almost got to be one of them. I hope Yasman would face a million times of what I faced because this laborious thing is a whole lot of work. I can't remember the last time I washed a plate, and here I am sweeping and cleaning for a whole week.
"This isn't fair," I said out to myself as I went out to dump the trash.
"Hey!" I heard a voice and turned to see Yazeed coming towards my direction. I checked to see if the labor prefect was around, and luckily, he was inside as well.
"Are you even allowed to come visiting?" I asked, not knowing exactly what to say. The whole labor had me thinking if I did the right thing, but who gets punished for helping out someone?
"Sorry, I thought I should apologize. I caused you a lot," he said, looking at the empty trash I was holding.
Yazeed is one weird guy that I've ever met. I hardly spoke after the incident. His nonchalant attitude is one of the major reasons I kept doubting myself. He doesn't seem to care, nor acknowledge my help. Even though I didn't do it to be acknowledged.
"I had wanted to come earlier, but didn't know what your reaction would be after seeing the person who caused you your breaks. But it's something I should do anyway," he says, and my whole opinion about him changed. I never thought he could say more than a word. What is he?
"Thanks for everything. I wished there were more people like..."
"Meeeeeee," I cut him off and gave myself the credit, dragging the last letter 'E.' If he was surprised, he didn't show it, but rather burst out laughing.
"Who are you exactly?" He asked, still laughing.
"What? You don't know?" I asked, with my mouth wide open in surprise.
"Well, that's news," I added.
"Huzaifa Adams, get back here," I heard the labor prefect shouting out my name.
"Okay, see you after Zuhr," he says and left as well.
I turned and looked at the prefect who was still standing, waiting for me. I groaned and wished we never get to cross paths after this is all over.
MINAL'S POV cont'd:
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Dear Zarah, I can't stop thinking about you because you're my life already. Please reply back. I love you.
"OMG, whose love letter is that on the hostel's gate?" A new student asked with her mouth wide open in shock.
Well, that has been a tradition in the girls' hostel, placing love letters on the hostel gate from boys they don't like. But they would read it over like a hundred times from the ones they like. That obviously was from an unlucky guy. I don't know if it's ever okay with them, but I can't go that far to disgrace someone who says he likes me. A simple "No" or "I'm not interested" would have been better than pasting their letters, their names included.
I lay down on my bunk and watched as the junior girls played outside the dorm, while some of my mates were plaiting inside and gossiping about what happened earlier at the dining.
"I really thought we did something again," Easha says.
"I was already shivering. I remembered how painful Sister Maryam's cane used to be," the new student said, and we all laughed.
"Was I the only one ready to fight?" I asked, looking around the room with confidence.
"You? Fight?" Suffy asked, pointing at me, and we all burst into another fit of laughter.
"But there weren't many in number. We would have defeated them," she added.
We did far worse than that when we fought with the previous SS3 during our extension. They tended to be bossy with us, and we showed them we were no less.
The social prefect actually announced to us those chosen to participate in the upcoming queen's contest. A number of six SS1 students were chosen at the end, each representing their houses. The chosen queens get their freedom from SS1, where they get special treatment. They don't work, nor do other activities Zumas (junior students) do. It's actually one thing I looked forward to in the senior classes.
"There's no doubt Minal would be our queen in this house," Zainab says.
"Yurr, because she's a queen already," Suffy commented, rolling her eyes, and the rest laughed.
"Girls, I have news," Grace jumped into the room, shouting on top of her voice. You can always trust her to bring the latest gossip around the school. Even though she's a Borno-scholar, we had no such differences in the girls' hostel compared to the boys. At least not from our classmates.
"Oya, give it to us."
"Sister Maryam has a crush on Huzzy," she breaks out, and we all shouted in chorus.
Sister Maryam is a queen in SS3, and she's a renowned bully. But why her of all people? And why Huzzy? Not that I care anyway.
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