The Badboy, the Catfish & Me

Five

"What's got you so focused?"

I blinked and looked down at my mom. Standing next to me, she looked a lot shorter than five foot one. We were preparing a marinade for tonight's dinner.

My face heated up, and I quickly thought of something.

"Oh, I'm just thinking about how to finish all my work with time for a break." I stopped myself, unable to tell my mom about the game now that I was seriously going to add Valentino on there. Instead, I said, "Also, I have a pre-calculus quiz next week."

Mama leaned forward and used her shoulder to adjust her glasses over her nose. "I'll have some free time today once I get my report done. I can help you study precalc...or we can go shopping."

I hesitated. If I spend this free time with my mom, in addition to my homework, I might not have time to level up and participate in the Battle Parley. But it wasn't every day my mom went out, and I couldn't pass up on the offer.

"Shopping, Mama. That'll help me!" I smiled. "And maybe we can go shopping now? After we finish up with this," I added.

"Hmm." My mom submerged the chicken pieces into a bowl of zested liquid and stopped to think. "If we come back by seven, I think it'll work. We'll be home before your father gets here and have dinner ready. Did you pray Asr?"

I made a face. "No, but I can right after this."

My mom ignored the look, placing a reusable wrap over the bowl of chicken.

"When you're in college, I'm not going to bother you about it anymore," she said. "But I will for now, so you understand its importance."

I walked over to the sink to wash my hands. "You don't ask me about fajr," I mumbled, referencing the predawn prayer. Mama and Baba stopped waking me up for it after I turned sixteen.

"Small steps, Inaya."

At least my mom was promising to trust me more as I got older. After finishing my prayer, I put on my outside clothes and adjusted my hijab as I walked to my parents' room. I expected my mom was waiting on me already but instead saw her sitting on the neatly-made bed with her back facing the door.

There was something book-like with laminated pages on her lap, and her hijab and abaya were crumpled on the bed beside her. The scene was all too familiar.

"Mama?" I said. My voice was low, but it sounded like a shout in the deathly silent room.

"Sorry, I can't go. You can still go if you want. Take your baba's card." I swallowed hard and exhaled through my nostrils. "Sorry," Mama repeated in my silence.

"No, it's okay, Mama," I said, forcing a happy tone to show my mama that it was okay. I didn't know what caused it, but I understood that if my mama needed time for herself, then it was okay to let her have that time. When my mom didn't reply this time, I added, "We can go another time. Yeah, let's do that."

I turned away and fished for my phone as I returned to my room. With the phone to my ear, I flopped on the bed. And waited.

"Hello, my little princess," Baba greeted at the other end.

"Hi, Baba. Mama's in a sad mood again," I said, staring at the ceiling.

My dad's voice lost its cheer. "Yeah?"

"We were supposed to go shopping, but she froze up."

"Where is she now?"

"In your guys' room."

Baba inhaled and exhaled before speaking. "Don't worry, Inaya. Go shopping if you still want to. You can take my card."

"I kinda don't want to go anymore."