"Zubi,you will miss your Fajr°!" Hajrah said, shaking Zubaida to wake her up.
"Just five more minutes,aapi° ." Zubaida mumbled in protest.
"No!Do your wudhu° before Rizwan and Baba° get back from Masjid°. Rizwan has to leave for the book shop by 7.30,he can not afford to be late, second day in a row.The owner will fire him and you know...."
"That he desperately needs this job and the other two as well,to finance his law studies." Zubaida completed Hajrah's sentence for her.
"Yes,so c'mon wake up. I am going to check upon Amma° and when I get back,you should be on the janamaz°,praying." Hajrah said with a smile.

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Professor Marc Anthony was droning about the importance of advertising in marketing, when a janitor asked permission to enter the classroom with a note in his hand.
"Miss Ahmed,the principal had called you to her office. Please be there as soon as this class is dismissed." Professor Marc informed Zubaida after reading the note and the whole class turned to look at her.

Zubaida preferred sitting in the back row to avert the stares and glances of her classmates,who liked studying her with as much interest as they would an alien.
They would watch her with amazed expressions, when she entered the class wearing shalwar kameez° with a dupatta° draped around her head, as she was the only one who covered herself up the most,even in summers.
A male student had once asked her,when she was putting some books back in her locker after the business communication class, "Don't you feel hot wearing all this? It's more than 100 degrees!"
"Yes,I do." Zubaida had replied.
"Then why don't you take them off? I bet you would look hotter that way." He had said with a smirk.
Zubaida avoided being in the corridor,other than necessary,after that incident.

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"It's possible that baba was unaware that your fees is due or maybe he thought he had already paid it." Hajrah reasoned.
"Aapi! Baba knew that I was two months behind on my fees. My principal said that the time Baba asked for, has expired and now I would have to pay extra 20 bucks,ten for each month,as a penalty." Zubaida said,fuming with anger.
"20 dollars!" Hajrah exclaimed with surprise.
"Yes," Zubaida said, "But that's not the point, the point is that baba not only hid the notices he received from my college but also called
Mrs. Garner without even letting me know!"
"He obviously did that....." Hajrah was saying but Zubaida cut her in mid sentence," Stop defending him. You don't know how much humiliation I felt when she suggested that I apply for financial aid. I wanted to crawl under the carpet, I don't want to take zakat° from someone. I am not a charity case! "

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°Fajr: It is the first of the five daily prayers offered by practicing Muslims.
Fajr is an Arabic word, meaning 'dawn'.
°Aapi: This is an Urdu word,used to address elder sister,lovingly.
°Wudhu: Is the Islamic procedure of washing certain body parts in preparation for offering prayers(namaz or salat) and while handling Quran. English word for wudhu is 'ablution'.
°Baba: Is one of the many Urdu words used for 'father'.
°Masjid: A place where Muslims gather to offer prayers and worship Allah(the one and only God).
°Amma: Is one of the many Urdu words for 'mother'.
°Janamaz: It is a Persian word which refers to the prayer mat used by Muslims all around the globe.
°Shalwar Kameez: Are two different garments put together. It is worn by both men and women,with a slight difference in style and is mostly popular in South Asia.
A kameez is a long shirt or tunic while shalwar are a form of baggy trousers,the legs being wide at the top and narrow at the ankle.
°Dupatta: Is a long and wide piece of cloth used by women of South Asia,as a scarf or for covering their head. It is mostly worn with shalwar kameez.
°Zakat: Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam. It's an Arabic word, referring to the act of giving alms. Well to do Muslims are obliged to pay a minimum sum from their wealth to their poor counterparts and for other causes that makes Islam prosper.