I AM SO EXCITED because I have made a TRAILER for this story, which is right up there 🔝so you can watch it. I also added it to the Synopsis and Preview of this story too, and I love it! Hopefully you guys will love it too ❤

Dedicated to skyblue0077 for teaching me how to type in Arabic!  

جزاك الله خيراً 😚

________

Mariam's POV

"Congratulations. You've passed the test. You have now earned your provisional license."

As soon as the driving instructor said those words, my face broke into an ecstatic grin. "Really?"

The instructor nodded with a smile as she scribbled something on her clipboard. "Yes, really. You did well. I trust you will be a responsible driver on our roads."

It was only when she said those words that the reality of it really sunk in. I was going to be a driver! Like, a responsible, adult driver. Whoa. "Thank you so much! I won't let you down!" I shook her hand a little too excitedly, but I couldn't contain this new feeling of power inside of me. Alhamdulillah. I also couldn't forget to thank the One who granted my success.

"You did it?" Yasmine was the first to receive me with Nasr, Zeinab, Immi and Baba behind her in the waiting room. They all insisted on coming to support me for my test, and I was glad they did.

"That's right, I passed!" I exclaimed, squeezing her with all my excitement. "And now I get to drive you home."

"Whoa, I can't believe you have your license now, that's crazy!" Zeinab cried.

"You know you could start getting yours soon too," I reminded her.

"No way. I don't want to yet, I'm too scared," Zeinab bit her lip. "What if I crash?"

"You won't, habibti, and neither will you, Mariam," Immi slung an arm around my shoulders, kissing my cheek. "I prayed you would pass, and it worked!"

I laughed. "Alhamdulillah." I turned to Nasr, who had his arms folded, his car keys dangling from his fingers. "Hand them over, bro."

Nasr hesitated. "Do I have to?" he whined.

"Yes, you have to, Nasr, let your sister drive," Baba commanded, and Nasr sighed, chucking them over to me, and I caught it with flair, jangling it like a little kid.

"Don't worry, Nasr, I won't let Ronda come to any harm," I assured him with an angelic smile as we approached the carpark.

"You better not," Nasr grumbled.

While Immi and Baba got into their own car along with Zeinab, since I wasn't allowed to carry more than one passenger under 21, I took the wheel of Nasr's, with him in shotgun and Yasmine in the back.

"Now that you can drive, we should go on a road trip!" Yasmine suggested.

"Is that even safe?" Nasr asked.

"Of course it's safe, because I'm driving!" I responded chirpily.

"That's exactly why I was asking," Nasr retorted.

"You know, Nasr, you need to learn to trust your little sister more," I said, both hands firmly on the wheel. Being in control of the car wasn't completely new to me, but the only new thing was the fact that I could do it on my own, whenever I wanted. Freedom.

"I will when you start listening to me," Nasr replied.

"I listen to you," I claimed. Nasr cocked an eyebrow at me. "Most of the time," I added.

"That's more than I do with Yusuf," Yasmine contributed with a chuckle. "I would've gotten into less trouble if only I had taken his advice."

"Or if you listened to my advice," I teased. "I'm a wise owl, Yasmine. Hoot, hoot."

The light turned yellow, and I slammed the brakes, jolting us all in our seats. "Yeah, very wise," Nasr rolled his eyes.

"Don't tell me you're going to be one of those annoying drivers that stop at yellow lights," Yasmine groaned.

"We're not annoying, we're careful," I insisted.

"More like stupid," Nasr muttered. "Cars could hit you from behind. It's still dangerous."

"I agree with Nasr. Plus, red is stop, not yellow," Yasmine said. "Get it right, sister."

"See? Even Yaz has my back," Nasr glanced at her over his shoulder, sending her a secret smile that was both heart-warming and sickening. For me, anyway.

"Just get married already," I murmured under my breath as the light turned green. The two of them became very quiet after I said that, which was great because the silence helped me concentrate.

"So about that road trip..." Yasmine broke the silence.

"In Sha Allah," was all I replied.

"That's a yes, right?" Yasmine whispered to Nasr, and he just shrugged.

Truth was, I was on Easter break, and I had a lot of work to do for uni. A road trip would just be inconvenient right now, plus where would we go? Yeah, I wasn't very adventurous. But it was hard to be when it risked my religion. If only I lived in a Muslim country...

***

Damian's POV

"It's getting worse?"

I was almost afraid to hear the answer.

"The cancer has spread to the liver and the pancreas," Dad informed me steadily, and I sighed, raking my fingers through my hair as we stood in the hallway of the hospital. I was in class when Dad called me, and I just knew it was bad. "The doctors are going to have to keep her in here to do a biopsy, and work out whether the cancer is removable or not." The more he spoke, the lower my heart sunk in my chest.

"But she was fine," I choked, and for the first time since I arrived here a glimmer of emotion flashed across Dad's features. It was as if he was restraining himself from showing any feelings, not just to protect him but to protect me. "She was fine..."

"Your mum is a strong woman. She doesn't complain," Dad stated this as if to remind me what kind of person my mother was. As if I had forgotten this fact. "She wants us to believe she's fine."

"That's not how these things work," I groaned. I couldn't believe it. Actually, I could. All this time I had been living in a false illusion that everything was going great, but I knew nothing lasted forever, and maybe I should start praying instead of playing.

"No one knows how these things work, son. It's just life," Dad said, patting me on the back. While he went off and got coffee, I slipped into Mum's new hospital room and watched her sleep. She had been doing a lot of that lately, and we let her, even encouraged her, to rest, though she said that whenever she relaxed she felt helpless, like she was a bad mum. I told her she had every right to relax. Mums were there to raise their child, and I was all grown up now. But I still needed her around.

I fumbled with my phone, contemplating whether I should call Mariam or not. She was the first one I had told Mum about, so she should be the first to know this time, but I was reluctant to. I didn't want to burden her with my problems. I had done plenty of that last year. She had her own problems to worry about.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my hand, scaring me slightly, and I looked down to see a text from...Subhanallah. It was a text from Mariam.

Passed my driver's test today! Finally I can drive :P

An involuntary smile crept across my face, and I texted back, Congrats 😊 Took you long enough.

Sure did, but it was worth it! I no longer have to depend on my bro as a chauffeur.

She sounded happy. Why wouldn't she be? I could only hope that she stayed that way.

How's your break going?

Seeing those words pop up made my throat close up in a sob. I blinked back the stupid tears and felt slightly guilty as I texted back, Great. Very relaxing.

And your Mum?

It was like she knew. I glanced up at Mum for a moment, her face peaceful and breathing steady, the sight of her in a hospital bed all too familiar now, it was saddening. I couldn't pretend this wasn't happening anymore. No amount of trips to the beach and the park were going to erase the fact that Mum was still sick, and all those smiles she smiled were like boats floating on turbulent water. It wasn't long before they all sunk.

She's good, Alhamdulillah.

I felt bad for lying. But maybe it wasn't a complete lie, because she was good. And by good, I meant alive.

***

Mariam's POV

Driving to uni had always been a dream of mine since I started, but the only problem was I didn't have a car. No way was Nasr lending me Ronda the Honda, so I was stuck with my usual mode of transport: the tram.

Good thing Amy and Priti, my university friends, caught the same one, so we all sat together, catching up on what we did Easter break.

"Every year we have a family gathering on Easter," Amy said with an eye roll. "And we don't even celebrate it! We just stay up late and sing karaoke."

"Sounds like my ideal family gathering," Priti chimed in, sipping her tea from her thermos. She was a tea addict, and so was Amy.

"How about you? What'd you get up to?" Amy asked me.

I grinned. "Oh, nothing special. Just got my provisional one license."

Amy and Priti's eyes widened. "Really? That's amazing! Congratulations, girl!" Priti wrapped her arms around me, sharing my excitement. Amy opted for a high five.

"Damn, you beat me. I still got thirty hours left," she said. "I don't have much time since I got a job at the gelato shop."

"We gotta go sometime and get free gelatos," I suggested.

"Yeah, totally," Amy smiled.

"God, now I'm craving ice cream," Priti groaned as she sipped her tea. "And this isn't satisfying my cravings at all."

"How about we all go together in the afternoon? I've got my shift today," Amy offered.

"Awesome!" I exclaimed.

"Do we have to wait that long? Why can't we just ditch class today and go now?" Priti whined, but of course she was just joking. Mostly.

"Because that would be stupid and irresponsible and not right," Amy reasoned.

"But we're young! We're meant to be stupid and irresponsible and not right," Priti proclaimed.

"There's plenty of time for that after class, Priti, now let's go," sure enough, we had reached our stop and we all hopped off the tram, facing the large building before us that would build our futures.

"One day we shall live our potential, Mariam, you just wait," Priti continued. "We shall be young, wild and free!"

"Yeah, when we graduate," Amy snorted.

"It never ends, does it?" I sighed. "We thought we were free when we graduated high school, but now look at us. We're still trapped."

"It's a dystopia!" Priti gasped dramatically. "The government is controlling our lives and barring us from our freedom to live!"

"You read way too many books," Amy laughed.

"Hey, that's a good thing," Priti shot back.

"Exactly," Amy smiled.

"Isn't it ironic that the same thing that's trapping us is also our way of escape – books?" I stated.

"You and your irony," Amy tutted. "But you do have a good point."

"When does she ever not have a good point?" Priti put an arm around me with a grin. "This girl is smart."

"This girl says thank you," I laughed. "Now let's get to class. It starts in less than five minutes!"

"Run!" Priti hollered, and as we did, in those breathless moments, I did feel young wild and free.

***

"A job?"

"Yeah, why not? There's a spot open, and I don't want to hire some random stranger," Amy said as she served us our gelatos. Priti had mango and passionfruit while I had lime and pineapple, a bittersweet combo.

"I'll think about it," I replied, dipping the plastic spoon into the cold creamy texture of my gelato and moaning with delight. "You know what? I don't need to think about it. This is proof enough that I should work here."

Amy beamed over the counter. "Awesome! You start tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Wow, so soon," I remarked.

"The sooner the better," Amy smiled.

"You know, if I wasn't already working at my parent's Indian restaurant, I would've totally accepted the offer," Priti said as we took a seat. The place was pretty crowded today as it was a little warm, and the majority of the customers were also students.

"How's that going for ya?" I asked, licking my spoon.

"I used to hate it, because whenever I served the food the guys would give me creepy stares, but I guess it isn't so bad," Priti shrugged.

"What, the guys giving you creepy stares?" I smirked.

Priti's eyes widened with horror. "No! I meant, the job itself. Of course, I will never get used to that. Indian guys can be so creepy sometimes. But I don't blame them for checking me out, I mean, just look at me!" Priti flicked the end of her braid pompously, and I laughed.

"Typical Priti," I muttered.

"They call me pretty Priti, actually," Priti winked.

"Of course they do," I rolled my eyes with a smile.

I watched Amy serve the customers, scooping gelato from the tubs and bidding them all to have a nice day and enjoy. Had I really just got a job at a gelato store? You bet.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed, and I smiled when I saw Denise's contact flash on the screen. "Yellow," I swiftly pressed the phone to my ear, my lips curling into a smile.

"Green," Denise replied, a little joke we had whenever we answered the phone. Sometimes we'd go on until we said all the colours, but today we cut straight to the chase.

"Where are you now? I'd love to see you," Denise said, so I told her where I was, but not after telling her about my new job here.

"That's great! So does that mean I get free gelatos because I'm your bestie?" I could practically hear Denise batting her eyelashes and pouting her lips slightly.

"We'll see," I laughed. "Is Theo with you?"

"No, why does everyone always think we're together 24/7? Seriously!" Denise pretended to sound exasperated but I could hear the affection in her words when speaking about Theo. I swear, they were on the road to marriage, but it was a long road.

"You guys are high school sweethearts, I wouldn't be surprised if you were together all the time," I teased. "But is he really not with you?"

"No, he isn't," Denise sighed sadly. "He's got a class, while I'm at home, chilling."

"I'm literally chilling right now with my gelato," I joked.

"I knew you were going to say that!" Denise exclaimed.

"That's why I said it," I smirked. "Anyway, I'll see you –"

I stopped short, for someone just walked into the ice cream store. Someone by the name of –

"Hello? Mariam, are you still there or did you hang up on me?" Denise's voice pulled me back to reality, but the reality was that Damian and a blonde girl were here, and I couldn't believe it.

"I'm here, it's just...so is Damian," I answered.

"Really? Say hi to him for me," Denise said before we said our goodbyes and hung up.

Damian and his cousin Tracey stood in line, and I watched them carefully from our seat. Priti noticed where my gaze was at and cocked an eyebrow.

"Who's that hunk of a man?" she then noticed Tracey beside him. "Damn, he's got a girlfriend."

I snorted with laughter. "That's his cousin."

"Well, damn." She then narrowed her eyes at me. "How do you know that?"

"He went to my high school," I shrugged. Priti still looked suspicious, so I added, "And he's my friend."

"Boyfriend?" she said slyly.

"You know I can't have a boyfriend," I snapped, feeling my cheeks heat up. Why were they doing that so much lately?

"I know, but it was worth seeing the blush in your cheeks," Priti grinned mischievously. "Why don't you go say hi to him?"

For some reason, doing that sounded daunting. Going up to someone you haven't seen in ages and saying hi? How terrifying!

It's only Damian, he won't bite, my mind assured me.

Thanks, mind.

"Ooh, he's coming this way!" Priti whispered excitedly. Even though she'd never met the guy, she seemed more pumped than I was for this encounter. And to think of all places, we reunited in a gelato shop.

"Mariam?"

I turned to the source of the voice, and as soon as I did, his features lit up. "It is you!"

"See, I told you," Tracey nudged him while sending a smile my way. "Hello, Mariam. Long time no see."

"Yeah, it's been a while," I returned the smile, feeling a little uneasy. I briefly glanced at Damian, who seemed to be staring at me until he flitted his eyes away, clearing his throat.

"How are you?" he asked, and I shrugged.

"I'm good, you know, just enjoying my gelato," I held up my half-finished tub to emphasize this, and for some reason Priti smacked a palm to her forehead, so I thought I'd introduce her.

"Priti, this is Damian and Tracey."

After all the formalities were down, Damian and Tracey joined us, with Tracey sitting beside Priti and Damian...next to me. I was fully aware of his presence, of his breaths, and his cologne. Stop smelling him, Mariam!

"Out of all the gelato shops, we chose this one. What a coincidence, huh?" Tracey chuckled.

"A good coincidence," Damian added, shooting a smile at me. "We've been apart for so long, it's almost a crime."

I laughed, unsure of what to say to that, until Priti asked, "How long have you two known each other?"

"Long enough," I muttered, while Damian replied, "Since year seven. But I didn't really know her until last year."

Priti was smiling weirdly at the both of us, and I shot her a look while slightly inching away from Damian so I had enough elbow room to finish my gelato.

"Would you believe this girl converted me to Islam? What an influence," Damian recounted the story to Priti, who was on the edge of her seat with interest.

"Wow, so you're a Muslim? I never would've guessed," Priti raised her eyebrows.

"No one would've, that's the beauty of it. I'm full of surprises," Damian winked.

"You sure are, Dam-Dam," Tracey teased, and Damian glared at her, while I laughed.

"Dam-Dam? Is that a nickname or something?" and all this time I thought my nicknames were ridiculous.

"It was my pet name for him when we were kids," Tracey told me while Damian continued to seethe, until he eventually cracked a grin too.

"I was sure she had forgotten about it, but I guess not," he exhaled in defeat.

"I will never forget, Dam-Dam, and it'll haunt you forever," Tracey said ominously.

"Dam-Dam, it's so cute," Priti giggled. "My nickname is now the name I go by on a daily basis, but Dam-Dam..."

"Okay, enough with the Dam-Dam! Gosh, Tracey, you just had to embarrass me, didn't you?" Damian scolded his cousin with the twitch of a smile.

"It's my specialty," Tracey winked.

"Did your friends know about it?" I asked him.

"God no, if they did, I wouldn't have been cool," Damian replied in appalment.

"You weren't cool," I teased.

"Oh, that's right, because I was hot?" Damian arched an eyebrow, and I groaned.

"I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

"You sure did."

We continued to talk for another ten minutes, and then Damian and Tracey had to leave.

"Going home?" I asked.

"No, we gotta go back to the hospital," Tracey replied as she grabbed her bag. "Auntie Karen's had the biopsy today."

"Biopsy?" I glanced confusedly at Damian, who was now avoiding my eyes. "What happened?"

"The cancer has spread to her pancreas and liver," Tracey informed me on the details Damian failed to share. "Didn't Damian tell you?"

"No, he didn't, actually," I looked pointedly at the man in mention, who was still averting his gaze.

"I forgot to," Damian mumbled, but I knew it was a lie.

"Oh." Oddly, I felt a little hurt. I thought I would be the first person to know when something happened with Karen, since I cared about her as if she were my own mother. But I guess I thought wrong.

"Anyway, it was nice seeing you again, Mariam, and it was great to meet you, Priti," Tracey waved at us as they left, but I just stared at Damian's back with a frown.

"He didn't tell me," I muttered as we stood up from the table.

"Tell you what? About his mum?" Priti was quick to catch on. Quicker than me.

"Yeah. I thought he'd – oh, never mind," I sighed, throwing my plastic spoon in the bin. "Thanks, Amy! See you tomorrow!"

"Be here by two p.m.!" Amy called back.

I saluted her before leaving the shop with Priti. Amy still had to man the shop along with the owner, a nice middle-aged Italian woman, so we left by ourselves to catch the tram.

As we waited for it, my phone buzzed in my hand. A text.

I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I just couldn't.

He just couldn't? I sighed, texting back, It's okay. I understand.

I understood it was hard for him. I understood that. But what I didn't understand was why he lied.

Why do you care? Stop caring so much! My mind pestered me.

How could I not care? I cared about Karen's condition. I felt a connection to her, maybe because I had met her a few times and seen her face to face. Or maybe because I knew her son.

Do you care about Damian?

Did I? Maybe I did. It would explain a lot. But I wasn't ready to admit this to my mind, because if I did, it would just complicate things. And things were already complicated as they were.

Are they really, Mariam? Or are you just making them complicated?

Shut up, brain!

***

Damian's POV

I didn't want her to find out that way, because now she probably hated me. And I didn't blame her. I hated me too sometimes.

"The doctors say they will be able to remove the cancer in the liver, since it is small enough," Dad filled me in as soon as Tracey and I returned. Aunt Kate was sitting in the room with Mum, and I could hear her talking softly, though I knew Mum was still recovering from the anaesthetic.

"That's good, right?" I breathed a sigh of relief when Dad nodded.

"However, the cancer in the pancreas cannot be cured easily, so further chemotherapy will be done to control it," he continued, but his words just made me feel numb. I was used to hearing "chemotherapy" and "cannot be cured." I had been used to it for over a year now, so used to it that it didn't affect me anymore. All I could do was hope and pray to Allah that it'll get better. Even if it got worse.

"She's awake," Aunt Kate told us when we all walked into the room. We gathered around Mum's bed with me closest to her so I could look her in the eyes for the first time in a couple of days.

"Damian," Mum croaked my name, and every time she did that I felt like a little boy again.

"Honey, how are you feeling?" Dad went up to her other side, kissing her hand that wasn't attached to a drip.

"Tired," Mum answered honestly. "And a little thirsty. Could I have some water?"

"You most certainly can," Aunt Kate beat Dad to it, pouring her some from the jug. Mum drank slowly, and as she did a nurse came in to check her blood pressure. The nurse wore a hijab, and she reminded me of Mariam, which made me feel a little sad. I smiled at her and said, "Salamu Alaykum," and the surprise on her face was priceless, but nevertheless she returned the greeting before informing us that the doctor would be coming in half an hour to see Mrs. Brewer.

The doctor spoke of the treatment Mum would have to undertake, and as he did, Dad held her hand, staying by her side just like a real man should. I used to think Dad was a bad father and husband, but he had really cleaned up his act lately and proved to us that he was more than just a businessman. He was a family man too.

The cancer was taking over Mum's vital organs, and the only way she could improve was if she stayed in the hospital for a little bit longer. Last time the doctor said that she ended up staying here for two weeks. Now I knew this hospital like the back of my hand.

"How long does she have exactly?" Dad asked, and the doctor hesitated.

"We can't give you an exact scale, but once we begin the treatment, everything will become clearer, and we'll be sure to inform you," the doctor replied.

"Will she make it to next year?" Aunt Kate asked.

"We cannot know for certain at the moment, Ms, but for now, it's best we focus on controlling the cancer," the doctor answered. As soon as he left Tracey sighed.

"Doctors never give you straight answers, do they?" she said with a shake of her head.

"They can't exactly predict the future," I reasoned. Only God knew the future, and all I could do now was pray that it'd be a good one for all of us.

"Well, he could've at least given us some idea," Tracey grumbled.

"Tracey, dear, it's okay, don't focus on the future too much," Mum said feebly. "I'm just happy to be here with all of you right now. That's all that matters."

"Yes, that's one hundred percent true, honey," Dad kissed her cheek. "We will be here all the way to support you."

Mum nodded, tears appearing in her cloudy blue eyes. "Thank you."

"No need to thank us, Mum, we're family," I grinned.

"I know, but I just feel so grateful to have you all," Mum began to sob, and before I could do anything, Dad pulled her into an embrace, rocking her gently from side to side.

"Darren, I feel a bit..." Mum covered her mouth, a sign that she was about to vomit, and I quickly passed the vomit bag to her, wincing when she threw up into it, but all that came out was liquid. Tracey called the same nurse as before, who gave Mum a pill to help with the nausea, saying it was normal after anaesthetic.

"Sorry," Mum grimaced once she was all settled, leaning back on her freshly plumped pillows, courtesy of the nurse.

"Don't apologise," Aunt Kate scolded. "You don't need to."

"Sorry," Mum mumbled, making us all laugh.

I sure did love my mum.

***

Mariam's POV

My first day at the gelato shop was great. I learnt how to scoop perfect spheres of gelato and even served a few customers, though it wasn't exactly warm outside. It was autumn, but I believed there was no season for cold desserts – I was perfectly fine having ice cream in the winter.

There were so many cool flavours, like tiramisu, pear and rhubarb and pandan coconut. Of course I got to try a few with the owner's permission. Her name was Gina and she was such a warm and cheerful character with an Italian accent, so she said my name as, 'Mariama.' I almost forgot it was a job until I had to sweep the floors at the end, and then wipe the tables. It was a small shop, so it didn't take long, and then my shift was over.

"Thank you so much for your help today, Mariama. Here is your pay," Gina handed me seventy five dollars, which was more than I expected. "Now let's organize your schedule." Gina pulled out a leather book that looked pretty old, since this shop was a family business, but her grandkids were all successful lawyers and doctors, and so she had to take care of it for now.

"Wednesday sound good?" Gina asked, and I nodded, reminded of my Wednesday shifts with Zaid at the hospital last year.

"You work two days a week, and Amy work three days," Gina informed me. "Angelo work here when I'm not here. He's my nephew, not very successful in his life, you see. But he's a good boy."

Gina seemed to like telling others about her family, so I just smiled. "Will he be working on Wednesdays?"

"Sometimes, if he feel like it," Gina replied with a shrug. "He only twenty two, not too far from you, but he still no have girlfriend." She seemed to be scrutinizing me, and so I cleared my throat uncomfortably.

"I need to catch the tram, so..."

Gina nodded, waving me away. "Of course, go, go! See you tomorrow, Mariama."

I left the shop and noticed a text from Nasr informing me that he would be swinging by the gelato shop to pick me up. It was sent ten minutes ago, which meant...

"Oi, Mimsi! Get in!" Nasr beeped the horn, and I rolled my eyes, ignoring the stares from the pedestrians around me as I opened the door. I was surprised to see Yasmine in the car too, along with Alex in the front, the music pumping from the speakers.

"What are you doing here?" I asked after giving Yasmine a hug.

"Nasr offered to drive me home," Yasmine replied with a smile.

"How nice of him," I drawled, glancing at my brother who was head-banging to the song on the radio, along with Alex. They looked like a couple of maniacs.

"How long did you have to put up with that?" I asked Yasmine, and she shrugged.

"Only for about five minutes, it's fine," she replied.

"Well, now that I'm here, you won't have to put up with my idiotic brother any longer," I told her, before yelling to Nasr, "Hey, can you turn the music down?"

Nasr obeyed, however that didn't stop him and Alex from nodding their heads while we drove.

"Finally, I can hear myself think," Yasmine joked.

"You think?" I teased, earning a whack from her.

"Mims, why are you so mean to me?" Yasmine pouted, and I laughed at her cute face.

"Yeah, stop being mean to Yaz!" Alex called from the front. "She's a nice gal."

"Gal?" Nasr repeated with a scoff.

"I meant lady," Alex winked at Yasmine, who forced a smile, though I noticed Nasr clenching his jaw a little. Whoa, calm down, jealous brother!

I rolled the windows down, letting the cool breeze whip my cheeks and flutter my hijab. Would you believe that sometimes I forgot I was wearing a hijab from how I was so used to it? It seemed to be a part of me, like a body part, and removing it in public would be like removing an arm or a leg. Imagine if I hadn't won that bet, and I actually went through with the consequence. I shuddered at the mere thought of it. Alhamdulillah, even though I participated in something mildly haram I at least benefitted from it in the end.

"I love this song, turn it up!" Yasmine ordered.

"As you wish, milady," Nasr answered a little sarcastically, filling the car with some pop song from last year. I swear, the radio loved to recycle songs and play them years after their release.

Once the song was over, we ended up in a bit of traffic, the kind where you inched forward every few seconds and every car was bumper to bumper.

"Stupid traffic," I groaned.

"Did he just overtake us? Oh hell no!" Alex cried indignantly as a silver car just decided to hop into our lane, and Nasr beeped that horn like there was no tomorrow.

"He's so slow, too. Is he asleep or something?" Nasr hated slow drivers.

"Hey, let's pull out of this lane and see!" Alex suggested, so Nasr merged into the next lane and we all turned to the silver car, which was filled with guys and girls who looked a little cramped in there. The driver had a backwards cap on and a tattoo on his shoulder, with a cigarette hanging from his lips. I coughed, rolling up my window.

"You drive like my grandma!" Alex yelled out the window.

"Alex don't do that," Nasr said through gritted teeth, but Alex had a mind of his own, just like his little brother. And it usually landed him in trouble.

"What the fuck did you say, c***? Oi, check it out, this wog thinks I drive like his grandma!" the driver called back to his mates, who laughed.

"Nasr, drive faster," I commanded, feeling uncomfortable. I hated conflicts, and Alex had just started one.

"I can't! We're in traffic!" Nasr replied exasperatedly.

"Look, they're mozzies too! Alakbar!" I cringed when I heard the guys in the back calling through the window, completely ruining the declaration of God's greatness.

"Kaboom! I bet you're a car bomb, ready to blow up this traffic! Terrorists!" The rowdy boys in the back kept on going, and after a few exchanges of insults between Alex and the driver, they zoomed off, the traffic finally clearing up a bit.

"I fucking hate people like him," Alex slumped back into his seat, radiating with fury.

"Dude, I told you not to bother with them. They're just stupid," Nasr said bitterly as he gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"That was scary," Yasmine exhaled. "I can't believe he called us terrorists."

"Not the first time," Nasr grumbled.

"And not the last, either," I sighed. Why did people have to be so ignorant?

"I swear, if we weren't in a car, I would've beaten his ass up," Alex cracked his knuckles, gritting his jaw.

"Me too, bro," Nasr said, and I frowned at him.

"No, you wouldn't, Nasr. Please don't get into any fights," I said sternly. I remembered when Damian and Aidan fought, and my heart clenched. I hated when people fought. Why couldn't everyone just live in peace?

"I won't, Mariam, just metaphorically speaking," Nasr replied.

"You know what we should do to let our anger out?" Alex said.

"What?"

"Assassin's Creed at my place," Alex suggested with a smug smile. "Let's shoot some mofos in the throat!"

"Yeah!" Nasr whooped, and I exchanged a look with Yasmine.

"Boys," we said simultaneously with a roll of our eyes.

____________

The last bit is inspired from what happened to me on Friday while waiting for the bus with a bunch of other kids at school. A man in a car with his girlfriend shouted, "Allahakbar!" through the window and made explosive gestures to me and my sister, which was seriously uncalled for. As a Muslim I am simply disgusted with people like that who think it's right to just insult us with no knowledge of what our religion is all about.

Sorry, I just had to vent a little on that topic, since it does happen, especially with all that's gone down in the media, we as Muslims are always targeted, and I am sick of it. I just get so angry...😠

Anyway, peace be upon you all, and don't forget to spread the peace, because that's our duty as human beings (and Muslims) to be kind to everyone and ignore the haters because they just be jealous 😉