It was about 8 p.m. and as usual, the entire Ahmed Family was in the living room,sitting around the dastarkhawan°,except Rizwan.
He did night's shift at Rocky's Pizza,his third job and was never there at dinner time.
They were having chicken biryani° tonight.

"Amna,how many times would I have to remind you to use your right hand to eat?" Hajrah scolded her,"and did you recite dua° ?"
Zubaida was about to lose her patience. Hajrah was supposed to talk with their father about her fees and here she was, teaching table manners to her daughter.
"Baba, you now have 20 more dollars to worry about." Zubaida said at last, as calmly as she could, earning a death glare from her sister.
Naeema eyed her husband with a puzzled expression, Zubair Ahmed arched an eyebrow asking,"What for?"
Before Hajrah could stop her,Zubaida said," For my late fees penalty."
Zubair Ahmed turned pale. He had kept Zubaida from knowing this but now...
"Why is the fees not paid yet?" Zubaida was demanding.
"It will be soon." He said.
"Yeah,sure!" Zubaida said, sarcasm was evident in her speech.

....................
It had been twelve days but the money was not arranged and her fees was still unpaid. The ambiance at home was always tense when Zubaida and Zubair Ahmed were in the same room. They argued a lot.
"What is taking you so long?" Zubaida would ask.
"I have asked some friends of mine to lend me money, I can not beg them! You will have to wait." Zubair Ahmed would say.
"Till I am terminated from the college?" Zubaida would question in reply.
"You will not be,I am doing everything I can." Zubair Ahmed would try to calm his daughter.
The arguments mostly ended with the daughter stomping her feet and leaving the room and the father cursing under his breath.

Zubaida immersed in her thoughts, wasn't paying much attention to where she was going and bumped into Pete,who was exiting the classroom, just as she was entering.
"Sweetie pie! Wanna hug me?" He said and surprised Zubaida by actually hugging her.
"Let go of me!" Zubaida exclaimed,trying to wriggle free but Pete's grip was strong.
"Hey,lover boy! Leave her alone." It was Kristen, the Goth girl,as she was called due to her spiky black hair,black mini clothes,black nail polish,heavy black eyeliner and countless tattoos and body piercings.
Zubaida wondered,why she was not already expelled, even after violating so many rules and being called to the dean's office countless times.
Pete left, giving Zubaida a wink.
"Thank you so very much." Zubaida said to Kristen, who was watching her with keen eyes.
"No need. Why don't you join me and my friends for lunch?" Kristen asked her with a smile.

Zubaida could not believe her ears.

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°Dastarkhawan: The term may refer to a tablecloth which is spread on the floor as a sanitary surface for food and is used mostly by Muslims.
°Biryani: It is a main course dish originally from Indian subcontinent. It is made with rice, spices and meat or vegetables.
°Dua: It is an Arabic term, meaning to 'call out' or 'summon'. In Islamic terminology,dua refers to the Muslims' profound act of worshipping Allah.