After the family members had left for work, Nafisa gave herself a tour around the house. First the living rooms, balconies, garden and bedrooms; except for Saeed and Maryam's room for it was locked. She rolled her eyes - It was the only room in the house that was securely locked. "I wonder why they locked it up," she mumbled and went back to her room. The instant her head hit the pillow, she drifted off to sleep; totally forgetting she had unfinished chores to do.

She slept for a very long time and awoke by 2:00pm. She realized she had not washed the dishes, swept or even cooked for Manal and she would be back any minute from then.

"Oh no!" She exclaimed and got out of bed. She raced to the kitchen in anxiety.

Approximately forty minutes later, she had finished with the dishes, swept the living room, dusted everywhere and was preparing to make lunch for Manal. She wanted to make rice, but later decided otherwise after she had brought out all of the ingredients she would be needing to prepare the meal from the pantry. Noodles would be much easier and faster for her. She brought out few packs of the noodles from the pantry.

She was just about to mix the ingredients into the pot, when she heard the doorbell ring.

"Oh no! If that's Manal's mom, she would definitely be angry I didn't cook lunch for her daughter earlier." She muttered to herself in panic. She feared she would be fired. She didn't want that to happen.

The doorbell rang again, making her run towards the door. She breathed deeply before unlocking the door. She released the breath she didn't even realise she had been withholding when she saw it was just Manal and the driver..

"Good afternoon." she greeted him.

"Good afternoon to you too." he greeted back, handling Manal's school bag and lunch box to her.

She collected them from him and he walked away.

Walking into the house, Manal ran straight to her room.

Nafisa sighed and followed her - the little devil was back to give her a migraine.

Arriving in her room, she met her playing game on her iPad, with her school uniform still on."What a spoilt brat!" She muttered, through gritted teeth.

"Manal!" She boomed. "Change out of your uniform right now, before continuing with that game." she commanded and surprisingly, she obeyed immediately without complaining.

"Are you hungry?" Nafisa questioned.

"Yes." She replied nonchalantly. She quickly went to her closet and changed into a simple dress. After she was done, she went back to playing temple run on her iPad.

Nafisa snatched it from her and set it down on the table. She couldn't believe the nerve of the scamp.

Manal glared at her, but didn't say a word.

"Come downstairs NOW! The food will be ready in five minutes." She ordered and sauntered out of the room.

Entering into the kitchen, Nafisa smelt the food already burning - she gasped. She had forgotten to turn off the gas cooker and almost the entire content of the pot were burnt. She quickly turned off the gas and fetched more than half of the noodles into a plate for herself and the remaining burnt part in another plate for Manal.

Emerging from the kitchen, she saw Manal already seated in the dining room, waiting to be served her lunch. She placed her food in front of her and also sat down on one of the chairs and started devouring her meal like an hungry lion, making Manal stare at her baffled.

She noticed that and narrowed her eyes at her. "What?" She snapped. "Why are you staring at me like that? Didn't your parents tell you it's rude to stare at someone in that manner?" She asked, her voice muffled by the amount of food in her mouth.

Manal bursted into laughter at the sound of her voice.

She rolled her eyes."If you don't eat your food up now, I'm going to take it away from you. It seems you're not hungry at all. I still am." She hissed and continued stuffing more food into her mouth.

She finished eating and walked to the kitchen to return the used plate. She sighted Manal's lunch box and decided to wash it as well. Opening the lunch box, Nafisa gasped at what she saw - the food was untouched. She gnashed her teeth. "Manal!!" she boomed and she came running to the kitchen few seconds later.

"Why are you calling me?" She inquired angrily.

"Come closer you little-" She bit her lips to control herself from raining insults on her.

"I told you to come closer, didn't I?" She asked through gritted teeth.

Instantly, tears prickled her eyes - obviously, she was not used to people yelling to her, especially strangers.

Nafisa moved closer and grabbed her roughly by the arm. "You're such a disrespectful little thing! I have siblings your age at home and they don't dare to disobey a word I say, who the...who do you think you are to disrespect me?" She released her arm and shoved the flask full of food right in front of her face. "Why didn't you eat your food? Many people out there are not privileged to eat even once a day and some that are, do not get to eat to their fill and here you are wasting food. You- if your parents failed to teach you some manners, then I will happily do that for them, " She yelled, suddenly recalling how her family had to beg for food one time in the village in other to survive and not die in starvation. It angered her when she saw the food Manal had wasted and wondered if her little siblings at home had had anything to eat that afternoon.

Manal couldn't take the yelling and started crying. "I will tell abi and ummi when they return." She said amidst tears.

Nafisa's eyes widened as realization hit her - she had made the "precious child" cry again. If Manal happened to tell her parents about what transpired between them, Maryam might not take it seriously, but she was sure Sa'eed would. He might even fire her instantly.

"You will tell her what exactly?" Nafisa asked smiling sheepishly.

"Everything you just said." She replied, wiping her tears with the hem of her dress.

"And what did I say?" Nafisa asked. She wanted to know what was playing in the little girl's mind.

"You said I'm very disrespectful and stupid. You also said you'd beat me up," Manal said and started crying again.

Nafisa knelt down in front of her and wiped her tears. "When did I say that? " she asked. "You know that's not true Manal, my sweet baby! You're very obedient. I said all that to make you understand that it's very bad to waste food," she explained, hoping to have convinced her into not telling her parents. She continued. "And if you tell your ummi and abi, they will be very angry and disappointed in you. Do you want that, sweetheart?" She asked.

Manal shook her head.

She smiled. "Then don't tell them anything that happened just now, okay?"

"Okay," she replied.

"Have you finished your meal?" She asked.

Manal shook her head."No."

"Go ahead and do, before your parents come back," Nafisa pushed her out of the kitchen, gently. Her gaze trailed behind her as she left the kitchen. She sighed and followed suit.

Her jaw dropped and she was flabbergasted by the sight before her - the entire table was littered with food and even the floor. She gnashed her teeth."What am I going to do with this foolish girl," she muttered under her breath. She went into the kitcten and came back with a broom in her hand and handed it to Manal. "Start sweeping now."

Manal gazed at her gullibly.

"Your ummi will be verrrrrry angry at you when she returns and sees the mess you've created, so take this broom and clear it up," she said, laying emphasis on 'very'. She shoved the broom in her hands aggressively.

She was about to start sweeping, when Saeed walked in and witnessed the last scene unfolding."Manal?"