Project Muslimah [COMPLETED]

Lesson Thirty-Three: Lightening Up

Assalamu Alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuhu :) 

Please attend to your prayers right this moment! And enjoy the chapter :) 

Amarah 

My jar dropped wide open, and I stared at my drenched apron. Shuaib's mouth opened wide, and he just stared at me with guilt. It was the first day in a long time where we were actually working at the same time. And that's when he dropped an order for two all over me. 

"I... am so sorry." He said. The look on his face made me want to laugh, but then I quickly reminded myself of the situation I was in. 

"It's alright...." I said, dropping everything and going to the washroom to get cleaned up. "Now this isn't something I expected today..." I said to myself. But when I saw Shuaib today.... for some reason I felt happy. Was happy the right word? Maybe relieved? Yeah, probably a little. At least he was alive, right? When I came out of the bathroom, I saw Shuaib cleaning up the mess he made. After that we said nothing to each other. We spent the whole day in our own groups, and doing our own work. 

"Are you leaving already?" Janice asked. 

"Yup. My shift's over." I said casually. 

"Oh, would you look at that Shuaib's shift is over too." She said, smirking. I gave her a funny look. 

"Janice, I thought you wanted to conceal that little crush of yours on Shuaib." I said, grinning. She gave me a poker face. 

"How dare you say that to a married woman?" She asks. "Don't even joke about something like that!" She scolded. I laughed. 

"Then the same goes for you, Missy." Janice always had that habit of poking fun at people, and from the start she would always group Shuaib and me together. "Oh, by the way, you never told me you were married before." I said. 

"Did you think my kids popped out of nowhere?" She asked me with a dull look. 

"Oh, come to think of that... I never really thought much of anything. Wow, I feel lost." 

"You are one lost child." She said, putting her apron back on. "Well, I was married. But my ex turned out to be a loser. And he was never much of help anyways, so I threw him out of the house with a bunch of divorce papers." I stared at her. 

"You're so strong. I don't know how I'd survive as a single mother." 

"Stuff like this, you get used to. Just don't make the same mistakes I did. If a guy says he loves you and he promises you a paradise after marriage, but he doesn't even have a job to support you... that's a red flag." 

"But it was also a blind heart, wasn't it?" I asked her. "It's okay for human beings to make mistakes. We weren't created perfect and neither will we ever be. Plus you're lucky you got rid of him. Maybe there's a prince out there right now waiting for you." I said, grinning. She scoffed. 

"Ain't nobody got time for fairy tales anymore." She said. "You on the other hand already have a man with a job." She said, keeping a grin on her face. I stared at her disapprovingly. 

"Marriage seals the deal." I replied. "And so far, I'm thinking I'm way too young for that." I replied. When I left the shop, I saw Shuaib at the park with a little girl. That little girl looked way too familiar. When I squinted my eyes I saw Umar's little sister. Well Umar and Shuaib are practically friends thanks to my generous move in allowing them to meet. Okay, I'm only joking, But still, I've gotta take some credit for this friendship. I walked closer, and when I got closer, I saw her eyes widen. 

"Marah!" She said, reaching out for me. She was turning three soon so she was getting to the very talkative stage. The first time I met her, she rarely talked because she was always shy around me. But as time passed, we both became very good friends. Her name for me was always Marah which was close to my real name anyways.