"Then what happened?" Olivia asked as she skipped in circles around Asiya, who was dragging her feet along the pavement.

Olivia's box-dyed blonde hair bounced on her shoulders as she kicked her feet into the air.

Although her hair colour resembled that of a yellow highlighter, Olivia still looked good, like sunshine.

The hair dye hadn't rendered Olivia's strands brittle and straw-like as it had done to Asiya's when they impulsively tried to dye their hair during a sleepover over the summer.

Olivia's hair still looked healthy, whereas the ends of Asiya's hair had looked worn and frazzled until Aminah had revived them with pulpy hair masks and deep conditioner.

But by then, Asiya's image of herself had started to mould, so Asiya had cut out all the colour from her hair.

Olivia's strands glowed with vibrance as they sashayed around her shoulders.

Olivia looked like a Barbie doll. The best kind. One that was designed, manufactured and hot-stamped by Mattel. She was shaped like one, too. Olivia's body looked slim and smooth under her white turtleneck and blue jeans like it had been rolled out of plasticine.

If Asiya wore something like that, she would look bloated.

Asiya refocused back onto their conversation and tried to parrot what Sarah had loudly said in front of the boy, who she had since learnt was called Yusuf. But Asiya's voice had more venom, and her words were hot and frayed.

"Yikes," Olivia grimaced as she stopped skipping and slowed her steps to match Asiya's pace.

"I was so angry," Asiya said.

"I can see why."

The girls walked beside each other in silence. But unlike the one that had surrounded Asiya and Sarah all day after Sarah had embarrassed her, this one was like a warm fire.

Their friendship felt comfortable and safe, even though it was unusual.

School was cliché. The students in Asiya's year spoke and shared jokes with each other occasionally. But when it mattered, they sought similarity and stuck with students who looked like them, like pieces of blue tack bulbed together.

Olivia and Asiya weren't meant to be friends, at least not to this extent. They wouldn't have been if Olivia hadn't complimented Asiya's hijab one day in year eight and asked her why she wore it.

Asiya's guard dropped when she was with Olivia. She didn't feel like she had to plan every word, rehearse every sentence, and prepare herself for a verbal attack before speaking to her.

There was no constant tug-of-war between the two. Olivia just let Asiya be and seemed happy enough with who Asiya was.

Olivia would also never deliberately embarrass her in front of someone either.

"She claims that it was an accident." Asiya rolled her eyes. "Sarah said she didn't know how loud she was and didn't think he'd hear her."

"You calling bull?" Olivia asked.

"Olivia! He was standing right in front of us! There was this much gap," Asiya posed her thumb and finger, mimicking the small distance between her and Yusuf, "between us! He isn't frickin' deaf! Of course, Yusuf was going to hear! He would've heard her even if she had whispered! She shouldn't have said anything!"

"Hmm." Olivia's hum sounded inquisitive like she was holding a magnifying glass to her eye and scrutinising the situation, trying to see every side. "Why would she say that, though?"

Asiya rolled her eyes again. The sun was a pacifist, a peacemaker that couldn't help forcing clouds apart and beaming its rays between them.

"Because she's Sarah, and I'm currently her biggest enemy," Asiya replied dully.

Olivia remained quiet.

She couldn't argue with Asiya on this one. Olivia had even pointed it out once, sat them both down on opposite ends of a table, and placed herself in the middle with a straight face like a professional mediator.

But Olivia hadn't been a mediator. She had been a bubbly sixteen-year-old girl who had wanted her friends to stop pulling against the rope that held them together. But wanting something wasn't enough.

"Sarah, for some reason, hates me!" Asiya moaned.

"She doesn't hate you!" Olivia argued.

"Then how do you explain all of last year? The tension? The digs? How do you explain this morning?"

"I don't know," Olivia shrugged. "Maybe she's jealous. Maybe she felt threatened by you."

"Ha!" Asiya cackled. "Sarah? Threatened? By me?"

That's hilarious.

When it came to the looks department, Asiya felt like she was no competition.

Asiya could accept that she wasn't ugly. However, she wouldn't class herself as pretty. Let alone stunning, which Sarah was.

Asiya believed she had average features, which were bumped down to below average when she was standing next to Sarah.

It didn't matter how much Asiya primed her pores, coloured her skin over with different shades of concealer, and how many hairs she faked with pomade into her brows, the beauty of her soft round features was always blunted by Sarah's sharp and striking ones.

Asiya knew Allah had made her in her perfect form, but it was easy for her to forget that when she was with Sarah. Her friend's presence naturally watered down every single part of Asiya's.

"You had Yusuf's attention," Olivia said.

"Yeah, but not because of those reasons," Asiya countered.

"You still had his attention, though, and I've heard he's fit. You know how Sarah can get sometimes...she can get a bit...competitive...," Olivia nibbled on her lip, "You know what I mean! You just had his attention!"

Olivia was probably right. For a few minutes, Asiya had held the attention of the person girls had branded the hottest guy in sixth form, and Sarah, in her never-ending battle with Asiya, couldn't stomach that.

That was why she had shouted out that sentence in the corridor, denied doing it deliberately, called Asiya paranoid, and told her she could walk home after Asiya had confronted her.

"I'm sorry," Olivia sighed.

Asiya, trapped in a bubble of insecurity, couldn't bear to look at the pity that would be prettily printed across Olivia's face.

Her eyes followed a passing car until it turned and disappeared at the end of the street.

"Don't be," Asiya said. "This. Whatever it is, whatever is happening, is between me and her. I don't want other people to get involved or be dragged into it."

Olivia hummed in agreement.

"So," Olivia sang giddily. "Tell me about this, Yusuf! Everyone is talking about him! It's so unfair! I wish I didn't have that lunchtime detention, so I could've preed him in the hall! I feel like I'm the only girl that hasn't set eyes on him!"

"Sorry, Liv. I can't help you. I barely looked at him," Asiya shrugged.

Olivia's feet screeched to a halt. Asiya turned around and was met with a hard stare.

"There's no way you didn't stare at him!" Olivia shook her head wildly, sending her hair spraying across her face.

"Staring is haram," Asiya replied as nonchalantly as she could.

"Haram, my ass! You're allowed a look! You tell me that whenever that ice cream boy Emmanuel gives you a free scope. Are you telling me that nothing caught your eye in that look that I know you definitely took? Nothing?" Olivia shrieked dramatically.

"Olivia!" Asiya hissed.

Their route back home wasn't unique. Plenty of other sixth formers in their year trekked this route.

Ruby Bairnes, popular before she even had the platform that came with being a prefect, was only five steps ahead of them, walking home with a few girls from the netball team.

"Please lower your voice, or everyone will hear us," Asiya said.

"Sorry!" Olivia hurriedly skipped back to Asiya's side. "Come on, just give me something to work with here. I need something to fall asleep to at night," she whispered.

"Okay. But I can't remember much," Asiya said.

Liar.

Asiya remembered everything about Yusuf. The image of him was imprinted in her brain.

Asiya remembered how he was tall, probably the tallest boy in their year, and well built, which was obvious by how his grey hoodie pinched at his arms and elbows when he animatedly verbalised his thoughts.

She remembered how his dark curls shifted slightly when he turned away from them, suggesting he didn't care enough to stick them down but took care of himself enough to do something.

Maybe he had clapped gel between his hands before quickly running them through his hair. That seems like him, Asiya dreamily said to herself.

Asiya remembered his brown eyes which looked like thorny tree branches when he glared at her, and how she had told herself that labelling them as just brown would be a disservice to their colour. They were a mesh of colour, seemed to hold specks of green, and contrasted perfectly against his tea-coloured skin.

But remembering Sarah's voice distorted all those goose-bump-producing memories.

Asiya remembered her frantic apologies and high-pitched explanations. Her sweating, rambling and panicking while Yusuf stood in front of her, looking almost bored before he lazily tucked his hands into his pockets and sauntered away from her.

A shudder pushed its way out of Asiya's skin.

Stealing such a look had most definitely been a sin, one that felt both sicklier and sweeter when Asiya's stomach fluttered with feelings.

Feelings?

What had that look confirmed other than Asiya's desire? There was no such thing as love at first sight. A crush couldn't be formed on something as shallow as looks, and Sarah's comment had most definitely crushed any possibility of Yusuf looking at her ever again.

Shake it off, Asiya inwardly instructed. She could only be embarrassed by Sarah's actions if she allowed herself to be.

Asiya decided to block out the jabs Sarah had taken at her throughout the day. She wouldn't pay any more attention to her embarrassment, and she most definitely would not allow herself to care about the opinions of a boy.

Even if every girl in their year had already decided to vote him most likely to become a model in the yearbook. Even if her heart seemed to shiver whenever Asiya thought about him.

She had fallen, front-facing, on a boy. A non-mahram. It's shuddering out of disgust, Asiya inwardly concluded. That was disgusting to her, even if he wasn't.

"He had dark hair," Asiya supplied simply.

Olivia's throat made a noise that sounded like she was gargling mouthwash while simultaneously strangling a cat. "That can't be all you've got for me," she whined.

"That's all," Asiya fibbed. Just how many sins am I going to rack up today?

"Come on, Asiya–"

"Olivia." Ruby Bairnes stopped in front of them and twisted her head around, causing her posse to do the same. "You're being a perv!" Ruby grinned while the netball girls giggled into the folders they were carrying.

"Alas!" Olivia placed a hand on her head, matched Ruby's grin and swayed her body from side to side as though she was about to faint. "I am no better than a man."

Asiya picked up her feet and wished she was wearing running shoes because if she didn't get home now, unlike Olivia, she would actually faint.

-

Author's Note: He, he, he. I used to love going home from school, but not because I was going home. It was because that journey back with my friends was always chaotically fun. 😂. We probably intimidated adults because I am now an adult, and school kids scare me. 😂.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to vote! 🤍

-

Chapter Glossary

Hijab: A head covering worn by Muslim women. Hijab is meant to cover your hair, ears, neck and chest.

Allah: The One God

Preed: Slang. It means seen.

Haram: Something that isn't allowed in Islam.