It's been a week and today is the first day after the vacations. I was in my car, driving to Happy Smiles and all of a sudden, I felt a jerk. I was still in my car trying to process what just happened. 

I came out and saw that a car had hit my car's boot and I got mad. The owner of that car was standing with his right hand on his hip and his back facing me. 

"Excuse me." I addressed him and he turned. His face changed colours and I looked at him questioningly. I raised my eyebrows at him and he just stared at me. 

By looking at him, I could tell that he was just a few years older than me or probably of my age. He wore a baby pink shirt paired with grey jeans. His jet black hair was brushed to the side. His pale white skin reflected the morning rays. 

I cleared my throat and he put an end to his staring game. "I'm really really sorry." He genuinely apologised. 

"Sorry? Are you for real? Where was your concentration?" I blurted out abruptly and immediately regretted it. I closed my eyes and hissed at the harshness of my voice.

"I said I'm sorry. It was just a mistake." He put his hands up in surrender and I nodded my head in negative.

"No. It's alright." I said and returned towards my car. I sat in and drove away to Happy Smiles.

***

I reached Happy Smiles and parked my car in the parking. I opened the boot and took out all the gifts I had bought for the children. Closing it, I sighed looking at the damage done to it. 

I asked one of the security guards to help me carry the gift bags in. I entered the gates of Happy Smiles and met a smiling sister Jenny.

I ran towards her and hugged her. The joy of seeing her after so long was incredible. "I missed you sister Jenny." I spoke kissing her cheek and she chuckled.

"Then you could've met me during the vacations." she narrowed her eyes and my smile fell as I gave her a sheepish look. "I missed you too, Rey." She kissed my forehead and I smiled warmly at her. I asked her to gather all the children in the main hall and she agreed. 

All the children came running and hugged me. I knelt down to their level and their tiny hands snaked through my neck and my heart soared in Immense joy. 

I got up and with the help of other faculty members, distributed the gifts among the children. 

Jason came up to me and shared casual 'hi, hello'. Speaking to him, we both with Ash, Rose, and Emily proceeded towards the staff room. Jason cracked a joke, making the other girls laugh and I just smiled. What more can I do? I can't bring myself to just forget everything and live life like nothing happened. All the time, I felt someone's heated gaze on me but brushed the thought away.

We entered the staff room and went to our respective desks. My desk was next to a wall that had a window. It was in a cozy corner and I kept my things on it. The desks were clean and there was no dust in the room. Kudos to the non-staff members.

My back was turned towards the door and I heard someone entering. A masculine voice spoke and I found it vaguely familiar. I turned and saw that the man's back was facing me. It was the same outfit I had seen this morning.

He was introducing himself and I walked towards him. I parted my lips to call him and just then he turned and for a split second, I froze.

"You?" We both croaked at the same time. Wow! Perfect timing. I mentally slapped myself.

"Wait, You both know each other?" Ash asked pointing her index finger at him.

"No"

"Yes"

Again we both answered at the same time and Jason chuckled.

"Excuse me, We don't know each other. Well, at least I don't." I said narrowing my eyes at him.

"Oh yes, sorry. Actually we don't know each other. It just happened that we had a small accident this morning." He said clearing everyone's doubts and Ash made an 'oh' face.

"Anyways, I'm Adeeb. Adeeb Sulaiman. It's my first day here, as a teacher." He introduced himself and proceeded his hand for a handshake. 

"I'm Rey," I said giving him a tight-lipped smile and he looked at me confused. Nonetheless, he took his hand back and returned a warm smile. 

"Welcome to Happy Smiles, Adeeb." Jason patted him at the back and Erick did the same. Everyone in the room clapped and cheered for him. He smiled at all of them. I looked at him and our eyes met. I averted my gaze but felt his stare linger on me.

I turned back towards my desk and collected my things for the first hour. I entered my classroom and all my children heartily welcomed me with a long 'good morning' that was longer than usual.

"A very good morning, Children." I smiled warmly at them and they all returned huge smiles. 

"So let's start with the class?" I asked them mischievously, knowing all too well what their reaction's going to be.

"Nooooo" they all whined and I grinned at them. 

"Okay okay, No class today and stop whining," I said seeing their eyes lit up and they all clapped in happiness. 

I leaned my back on the table and asked them to play without making any noise. I stood there smiling at them when I heard a knock on the classroom door that was wide open. 

The door was to my left and I turned to my left to find Adeeb standing there. I stood still for a while. He looked at me with a glint in his eyes.

"Yes Mr. Adeeb, How may I help you?" I questioned him in a strict business tone, quirking my eyebrows. 

"May I come in, Ms. Rey?" He asked and I nodded and he walked towards me. He had his gaze fixed on me making me conscious of myself. 

All the children in the class stood up, greeting him in respect and he nodded excitedly at them, asking them to sit down. Sitting down, they resumed whatever they were doing.

"Sorry for disturbing. Can you please take me to sister Jenny's office?" He requested and I just looked at him with a not-so-welcoming look. 

"You can ask Mr. Jason or Mr. Erick. I'm a bit busy." I spoke sternly in the same business tone and he muttered something along the lines of 'Yeah very busy, I can see that' and I raised my eyebrows at him, questioningly.

"Sister Margaret said me to ask you because she knows you won't be taking any class today." He smirked slightly as soon as he ended and I huffed.

"Evan, baby come here," I called him and he came running towards me.  I bent down to his level.

"Make sure no one makes noise. Okay?" I said ruffling his hair and kissed his cheek. He willingly agreed and again ran to his bench.  

"Okay then, Let's go," I said nodding at the man standing beside me and he smiled excitedly.

What's with this guy and his excitement? I thought as we were heading towards the corridor.

"You know, the excitement is all because of the little angels and this good new place." He spoke and I immediately looked at him, hurting my neck. Was I thinking out loud? 

He just smiled at me and we continued walking. There was a breathable silence between us and it didn't feel awkward. 

I felt his gaze on me and I looked his way, He smiled at me. Like a proper genuine smile filled with many emotions, emotions I never wanted to recognise. 

His smile was so contagious that I was forced to smile back.  "We are here, this is sister Jenny's office. Have a good day, Mr. Adeeb." I finished and turned to leave when his voice stopped me.

"Ms. Rey, Can you please give me a tour of the orphanage after this?" He asked and I looked at him with a 'are you for real?' expression.

"Umm, I mean as you're not busy, Can you please show me the orphanage?" He asked with a soft look in his eyes and I unwillingly nodded.

I waited for him to enter the office first after he had knocked on the door, but then he said "Ladies first" holding the door for me. I nodded and "Excuse us, sister Jenny," I said peeking through the door.

She looked up from where she was reading her bible and smiled at me. "Yes, Rey. Please come in."

We entered the office and he directly went to sister Jenny. He took out his hand for a handshake and introduced himself. "Good morning, sister Jenny. I'm Adeeb Sulaiman."

"I know, Mr. Adeeb. Please take a seat." Sister Jenny spoke and he sat down smiling at her. "Rey, child come and sit down here." She spoke seeing me peeping outside the window and asked me to sit on the chair next to that guy.

"It's alright sister Jenny." I gave her a tight-lipped smile and she nodded in understanding.

Adeeb started talking to sister Jenny, making her smile while he laughed. I looked at him and he carried a different level of attitude altogether. Something out of the world.

 Later, I showed him all the classrooms, playgrounds, auditorium etc; and then "That's all" I said to him and he removed his hands from his jean's pockets.

"What's up there?" He asked pointing towards the rooms on the first floor.

"Nothing, just the bedrooms, washrooms, and kitchen for the Happy Smiles children," I said shrugging a little and he nodded slowly, assessing the information.

"Can we go there?" He asked and I looked at him weirdly. Why does he want to see the bedrooms?

"Nope. No one is allowed there during school hours." I said shaking my head in negative and pursing my lips.

"Oh, okay." he nodded and he shifted his gaze on his feet. "I really wanted to go there." He spoke again and I wiggled my eyebrows at him but didn't say anything.

"You wanna know anything else about Happy Smiles?" I questioned him and he looked at me.

"No. Nothing about Happy Smiles but I do have a question." He said I looked at him with raised eyebrows. 

"What?" I asked him curtly.

"Why do you refer Happy Smiles as Happy Smiles and not 'the orphanage'?" He asked and for a few seconds, I went numb, unable to form a coherent sentence. "It's okay if you don't want to answer." He added quickly.

"For me, Happy Smiles is a part of my life. It's not just an orphanage. It's a place of Hopes, Dreams, and Smiles." I said smiling sadly and something triggered in my heart. I had a faraway expression on my face and Baba's smiling face appeared in front of my eyes. 

"Ms. Rey, Where are you lost?" Adeeb asked clicking his fingers in front of my eyes and I came back to reality. 

"Sorry, Let's go," I spoke shaking my head and gave him a tight-lipped smile. 

"Seems like you are deeply attached to this place." The man beside me spoke in a hushed tone.

"As I said, Happy Smiles is a part of my life." I repeated seeing him nod and I gave him a small smile that went unnoticed.

"You seem like a nice person." He said out of nowhere and I didn't know how to react to that. I looked at him and he gave me a lopsided grin.

"Well, Thank you." was all I managed to say and chuckled dryly. He pursed his lips and smiled blinking his eyes. He smiles a lot. May Allah always put a smile on his face. I mentally prayed for him.

"It was nice to meet you, Ms. Rey." He extended his hand for a handshake and I just replied 'same here' and walked ahead of him. I felt his gaze on me but didn't turn.

***

The rest of the day passed at the pace of a snail. I played games with the children, told them stories. I also asked them about their vacations and after all that, I didn't had anything to do.

Sighing, I sat in my class with a palm under my chin. I huffed and sighed loudly. I had asked the children to paint something and they had readily agreed. The children were painting their thoughts into the plain sheet and I sat there waiting for the hour to get over.

A few minutes later, the bell rang and I was relieved. The children packed their bags and stormed out of the classroom.

Smiling at them, I took all my stuff and stepped out of the classroom. As soon as I took a step, I bumped into someone. All my things fell from my hand. I bent down to collect my things and met with a pair of legs in grey jeans.

The man also bent down and a smiling Adeeb faced me. "Hi again." He said and collected his things. Before I could take my things, he took them and handed them to me. "Thank you," I said, getting up and he too got up.

"So you're an English teacher and are the class teacher of grade seven?" He asked and I nodded at him. We walked together towards the staff room.

"And you?" I asked him and he grinned.

"I'm a Biology teacher and the class teacher of grade nine." He said and I nodded saying an 'Okay'.

"So, How was your first day at Happy Smiles?" I asked out of nowhere, surprising myself. Wow, Rey.

"I thought you would never ask." He grinned ear to ear and I cocked my eyebrows. He chuckled and added, "It was awesome. The children are so damn amazing. Everyone here gives out good vibes and I've started liking this place." He spoke animatedly, making me smile, reminding me of him.

"Good for you, Mr. Adeeb." I said and smiled at him.

"I have a request." He said looking at me.

"And what may it be?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Can I call you Rey instead of Ms. Rey? and can you please call me Adeeb without adding a Mr at the beginning?" He requested and my face broke into a grin.

"Okay 'Adeeb'." I stretched his name purposely and he gave me a lopsided grin. 

"Oh thank Allah! You are at least smiling now." He breathed out dramatically and I narrowed my eyes at him, demanding an explanation. "I mean, in the morning you had a grumpy look on your face and your smiles seemed forced, so" He explained, shrugging his shoulders and I nodded.

"My apologies. Anyways, How does your car look now with a damaged bumper?" I asked him casually. 

"Ugh! Don't ask. It looks horrible. It needs a makeover real quick." He said in a breath, making me chuckle. He looked at me with an emotion I never wanted to feel ever again. I calmed down and cleared my throat. 

We were near the staff room and I again walked ahead of him, feeling his gaze on me. I entered the staff room and went straight to my desk and took a deep breath. I packed all my things and turned.

"BOO!" Ash screamed on my face and I flinched. She burst out laughing, looking at my reaction and I put my hands on my hips, glaring at her.

"Haha, very funny," I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes at her.

"Okay, Sorry sorry." Ash apologised once she had calmed down.

"You are such a pain, Ash." I said, irritated.

"But you love me." She pouted pinching my cheeks and I waited for her to finish with a bored expression on my face. 

"Ms. Ashley Wilson, If you're done, Can we please get going?" I asked her and heard Rose laugh at our interaction. I looked at her and smiled.

"Aye Aye, Captain!" Ash exclaimed dramatically and I rolled my eyes at her but nonetheless smiled.

She grabbed my hand and took me with her. She said bye to the others, waving her free hand. "Bye, Mr. New colleague." Ash waved happily at Adeeb and he mirrored her actions. He waved at me as well and I slowly raised my hand to wave at him but Ash pulled me along with her and I didn't wave at him. 

"Ash! Slow down. What's the rush?" I stopped her abruptly and questioned.

"I have a date with Ryan." She said winking at me and I smacked her head. "Ouch! That hurt." She said rubbing the back of her head. 

"If you've got a date with him, then why are you taking me with you?" I crossed my hands over my chest and she scratched her temple and looked at me.

 "Oh yeah! Sorry sorry. Okay bye. I'll have to rush. See ya. Love ya loads babes." She finished it all in a single breath and stormed off after giving me a quick hug. I smiled, shaking my head at her.

"You both are so different from each other." A voice spoke behind me, making me turn.

Adeeb stood there with his bag hanging across his right shoulder and a brown jacket on his hand. His hair were messed and his eyes told that he was done for the day but his smile told otherwise.

"Yes, we are." I said mirroring his smile.

"You both are childhood friends?" He asked furrowing his eyebrows in question. 

"Not exactly. We became friends at the age of thirteen." I said looking at him as we walked towards the parking area.

"Oh cool. Then we can say it as 'teenage friends'. Yeah?" He asked with a small nod and I chuckled slightly, making him grin.

We reached the parking lot and he turned towards me. "It was wonderful to meet you, Rey. See you tomorrow." He said extending his hand.

"It was nice to meet you too, Adeeb. Meet you tomorrow." I said smiling and walked towards my car, seeing him take back his hand and walk towards his car.

Unlocking my car, I opened the door and looked his way to find him already looking at me. I gave him a tight-lipped smile and sat in the driver's seat. I roared the car to life and reversed it, feeling his stare on me. Without looking his way, I drove away into the busy streets. 

***

Twisting and turning in my bed for the millionth time, I couldn't sleep. Not like I sleep peacefully every night but at least I slept for removing my tiredness. Tonight, I just couldn't sleep. 

I sat up straight and scratched my head. Looking across the room, I found my water bottle at the nightstand. I stepped down and walked towards it.

I drank a few sips and the face of a smiling Adeeb came in front of my eyes, making me smile. Adeeb was exactly like him. Same humor and attitude. It was like he was there instead of Adeeb.

Smiling at the thought, I walked towards my bed and lay thinking of him. For the first time in all these years, I smiled happily thinking of him.

I closed my eyes and his face flashed across my face, putting me to sleep.

***

Hola, Beauties!!!

How are my wonderful readers??

I hope life's treating you well.

Can you guys believe?? Alhamdulillah, My book has 450 reads and I'm crying!!

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