Dawud.

Chapter 19: Back to School

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Jannah's P.O.V

I was wrapped up in my scarf and coat, cozy in the back of the train. It's been two weeks since I stood in the alley with Dawud and here I was, on my way to school from my mother's house, wishing the new semester was over.

The space I took from him gave me a lot of time to think.

I asked myself how I felt about Dawud. I knew that it was too soon to say that I love him. I barely knew the guy! And my mother always told me that you can never truly know a person until you see them in their own home, so, I still have a lot more work to do than I thought. I was angry at Dawud for leaving me standing there but at the same time, I was glad. He stuck to his principles even when I begged him not to. I hadn't realized in the moment how much of a messy situation it had been but Alhamdullilah, I know now.

I asked myself if I wanted to be a married university student and I tried to play out how that would work. Mornings would be spent eating breakfast, studying over my notes and heading to school with Dawud, Insha'Allah. Afternoons would consist of on-going classes and lunch breaks with my girls. Evenings would be spent coming back home, making dinner and studying some more. It seemed simple but I didn't know how I would manage married life, university, and my job. I guess we'll have to see, right? Allah will make a way out for me, Insha'Allah.

I asked myself what I wanted to do for my wedding if I ended up marrying Dawud. The answer was simple. I wanted to have a nikkah first, of course. Insha'Allah my father would be my wali, my favorite uncles AbdulJabbar, and AbdurRazaq would be the two witnesses and everything would play out fine. For my wedding, I wanted to keep things small and simple. No music, alcohol or mixing of the two genders. I wanted to please Allah, not the guests arriving. Oh! I also wanted to invite very few people: my two best friends and many relatives. I don't know how big Dawud's family was but I was hoping he had the same mindset as I did.

I stepped off the bus and made my way to my first class of the day. I had an Economics class in the Maxwell Hall, so I made a turn to my left and walked towards the building. It was awkward going to the same school as Dawud, it was extremely weird when I saw him at his locker every day and it was overbearingly awkward when we both sat in the cafeteria for lunch. I took a deep breath.

At lunch, I sat at my usual table in the center of the cafeteria (see picture above) and waited for Warsan and Muna to arrive. I munched on my baby carrots and looked over my study notes. I had an assignment due tomorrow and I needed to do well in order to keep my average.

"Lil' Juji!" Muna called. She grabbed her mouth in embarrassment when she realized how loud she was. Warsan scolded her and the two of them made their way towards me.

"How was Boring-nomics?" Warsan asked me with a grin. I threw a highlighter at her.

"How did it feel when you were dissecting a dead mouse?" I teased her. Muna and I snickered.

"I'm going to be a nurse, not a biologist! You know we're not in a high school biology course, right?" She said, pushing her glasses further up her nose. We all laughed at that.

"Yeah, high school was amusing." I said reminiscently.

A voice from behind me sent shivers up my spine. "I'm surprised they let you out."
I looked up to see Parihan walking in my direction. She was surrounded by a group of girls who were all older and much prettier. They were extremely overdressed for a day at university but not one soul could deny their beauty.

"Oh, really? You're acting pretty petty. Maybe you're the one who needs to go back high school." Warsan replied angrily. Parihan responded with profanities upon profanities. Her friends joined her, cussing at us side-by-side.

"Guys, forget about them." Muna told us. "They're clearly incapable of structuring proper and intelligent sentences." She said with a grin. I pulled out my macaroni salad and handed Warsan a fork, ignoring Parihan as she shouted and cursed. It wasn't until Dawud strolled in with Abdallah and Akhlaaq by his side that Parihan shut her mouth. They were about to walk straight passed us until Dawud whispered something in Abdallah's ear. Abdallah looked at my bothered face and at Parihan's clenched fist.

"Jannah, is she bothering you?" Abdallah asked me.

"Yeah." I said flatly.

Dawud bit his lip. He had his hair down and it  twisted in curls under his ears. He wore a dark green flannel, light-wash ripped jeans with patches covering the holes and beige Timberland boots. "Leave her alone. Your problem is with me, not her." He ordered. Parihan's face looked defeated. I could tell how much she liked him. It hurt to watch, so I looked away from the two of them. Abdallah shot me a small thumbs up and led his friends to the back of the cafeteria.

I winced when she was out of sight. "Jannah, will you explain what just happened?" Muna demanded. I mentally high-fived the girls for having my back and defending me without even knowing what was going on.

I sighed and told them everything. Warsan already knew about what happened at Parihan's house, and mentioned how terrible she felt about saying that comment in her store. I waved her off and caught them up with the drama. I told them about the alleyway, Parihan's dramatic exit and Dawud walking away from me. When I concluded, the two of them looked at me with wide eyes. "That's crazy." Muna said. I nodded in agreement.

After my last class, I made my way to the bus station. I sat on a bench, doing dhikr (a form of remembrance with one's fingers) and asking for Allah's forgiveness. I tried to remember Allah as often as possible because of the verse from the Quran that states: Verily, in the remembrance of Allah, do hearts find rest.

The bus Dawud and I took in the afternoon came to a halt a few meters away from where I was. I grabbed my backpack and stepped on the bus. Once I was seated, I found myself looking for Dawud. He wasn't anywhere to be found. I sighed and leaned back in my chair, waiting for the bus to drive on. A deep exhale was heard behind me and I turned my head around nonchalantly.

There he was, looking out the window with a pained smile. I cleared my throat and turned back around awkwardly.

Chapter Twenty ->