* Samir
I caught my self staring at her again, she was smacking her lips after the second cup of milkshake. She and Sadiya loved it so much they went for two more cups each, having the third one packaged for later consumption. After that Sadiya had excused her self to go meet her boyfriend at the FIFA competition, but not before she gave me a knowing look and a teasing grin. I like Sadiya because of things like that. As outgoing and talkative as she was, she knew when to leave, she also understands me. We'd been friends for as long as I can remember. Neighbors for even longer. We used to see each other around the neighborhood, when we went on errands or once in a while when one or the other was outside playing around but we barely ever spoke till the day she enrolled into my school. I was in JS3 then and I felt I could use that as an advantage to bully her, just one of those things that little boys do to girls they want to talk to but can't find the courage enough to do so. If I think about it now, that is so counterproductive, didn't the girl always end up hating the boy?. I was proved not to be up to the task as Sadiya turned the tables on me, and made my life hell by making her friends point and jeer whenever I was passing, among other pranks. I called a truce one day and after putting me down a bit, Sadiya and I became friends. We'd been inseparable since then, it reached a point where our families knew about our friendship. A few times people thought we were dating but we never minded the comments, we were good the way we were. Later on she even guided me through all my relationship drama and whatnot. She thought me how to relate to girls.
"Treat them like you do me, they're just humans too" she would say and I would reply with "But I don't even think of you as a girl, you're my best friend", at which she always furrowed her brows and then sighed. Before I knew it she had become the most valuable person in my life after my Uncle & Aunt. Even after I went away to Uni for the two years before she could join me there, we stayed in touch. I really hated to see her sad and even worse heart broken, which was why before she and my then closest friend in Uni 'Aiman' started dating, I warned him that no matter how tight he thinks we are everything would change if he hurt her. He has been doing a good job so far.

Na'ilah raised the last cup giving it a good long look, a gesture that made me smile. I could bet she was wondering whether she should just take the third one now or later. She really looked quite adorable when she wasn't making sarcastic remarks and giving me death stares.
Na'ilah noticed me looking this time.
"What?" She asked
"You're pretty"
I didn't know what kind of reaction I expected , but it sure wasn't the silence that followed suit.
I blinked a few times. Unable to hold the long blank stare she gave me. After what felt like an eternity (probably 10 seconds), she turned away.
"Y-yo-you're not going to say anything?" Why was I stammering? I always seem to forget my self whenever she gave me one of her looks.
"Well, what do you want me to say?" She said flatly
"Umm, I don't know maybe thank you or just something"
"Hah, so I should thank you for stating an opinion?"
I was puzzled at this
"No, uh well" I started "It is an opinion that has to do with you"
She smiled. It wasn't the kind of smile that I wanted to see, it made me dread what was coming.
"You see..." She turned to face me now.
"There is this thing about guys, I'm not saying general but quite a lot I've come across." "You feel that because you compliment a girl you're entitled to a reply. What if, the girl doesn't appreciate being called pretty? Being reduced to such a narrow descriptive, Pretty. So because you get me milkshakes and you tell me I'm pretty I must feel some form of gratitude?"

I sat still, attention fixed on Na'ilah. I did not see this coming, all this because I said she was pretty?.
"Are you one of those new school feminists?" I regretted it the moment the words came out of my mouth. I expected her to explode at this point or pour the milkshake on me or walk out on me. But she smiled and tilted her head as if trying to size me up. If she was pissed her face did not give it away, she had a look that almost resembled pity.
"Feminist? Do you even have to ask? Aren't all Muslim women supposed to be feminists?" she asked "Quite alright it has been adulterated by the West and social media but I believe true feminists are Muslim women don't you think?"
I could only look at her, this type discussion was not your typical first meeting/hangout kind of discussion but it seemed to bring out a sort of passion in her, the most of which before now I had only seen her express when she was gawking at the milkshake menu at Traffic8's tent.
"Well, yes I-I guess so" I replied "But how exactly do you mean?"
She paused gave me another one of her exasperated looks then sighed "Either way I wasn't trying come of as a feminist, I mean it in general. Not just guys, humans, I've noticed. We can't get over our sense of entitlement. For example, someone asks you for something and you tell them you can't give it to them. They then proceed to probe you for the reason why you won't give them. Aren't they feeling like they are entitled to know why you won't give them what they asked for even thought it's yours to give? You can't say no and let it end there!." She paused "Ka gane me nake cewa (You get what I mean)?"
"Yes" I said nodding my head
"Or where someone falls in love with you, and all of a sudden they start misbehaving because they don't love you back" she continued "It's like you must by all means reciprocate feelings you did not ask for. People should take a breather and keep an open mind. Things won't always go according to plan so we should stop panicking because people did not follow the perfect scripts we laid out in our heads, you just have to accept things and try not to act so entitled."

"... wow, if I knew calling you pretty would make you talk this much those would have been the first words out of my mouth" I teased
She shook her head and sighed again.
"Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't compliment people just that you should do it sincerely because you want to and move along, rather than linger on it expecting a reply. That just means you only did it to get a reaction"
"You make a good point I agree," I replied "Sorry about that" I added
"It's alright, I do appreciate that you think I'm pretty. I don't even know why I went off like that" she started fiddling with the sticker on her cup as she said this. She really did seem bothered.
"It's okay, that must have come from a deep place" I said
She sighed again, she seemed to be fond of doing that.
"More than you know" she replied
I raised my eyebrow as I studied her. I had been focused on making her smile because I thought she was just having a bad day but now it seemed to me that it was much deeper than that. All of a sudden I started to notice a few more details about her. Like the slight slouch of her shoulders almost as if to indicate the weight of the thoughts she bore, the mean expression she kept forcing on her face as if to tell people to back off, the air of confidence about her which perfectly expressed that she was okay being by herself, the way she bit her lips every few minutes as if trying to hold her self back from talking and saying what might be inappropriate, and how smart & aware she actually is judging from the short intellectual lesson she just forced down my throat. This girl Na'ilah was far more complex than I'd ever imagined she would be.
"Care to talk about it?" I asked
She turned to look at me again, head tilted but this time there wasn't a condescending look, it was rather an apologetic one.
"You mean bare my deepest darkest thoughts?"
"Yes, of course" I replied smiling
"To a total stranger? No thank you" She had an expression that made it so clear that she was mocking me, but in a playful manner.
"Well, I wouldn't call me a stranger. We just drank milkshakes together, is there anything more powerful than the bond of those who take milkshakes together?"
She laughed at this
"No, I don't believe there is" she said
"So..?" I droned expectantly
"No, unfortunately that's not enough" she said
"Uh.. do I ask why or will that go against your 'let it go' principle?"
She smiled
"I'll think about it later on"
"Later on? So you're going to think about if you're going to tell me or not?"
"No, I'm going to think about if I should think about thinking about telling you or not, and then I'll get back to you on that" she said
"Wow! Sannu Tinker-bell (well done Tinker-bell)" I replied getting a grin in return, she really got my sense of humor "So later on? Does that mean I get to have your number?"
Rather than reply, she simply stretched her hand beckoning for me to give her my phone. I did so and she put her number in and returned the phone back to me.

I couldn't help but smile openly, there was always this feeling of accomplishment whenever one got a girls number. You had done enough for a girl to deem you worthy of getting her number. Some guys carried it on their head (metaphorically of course) like it was a special honor.  Whatever it was, it always felt good.
"You do know your phone is on airplane mode right?" Na'ilah asked
"Huh? Oh yeah, I didn't want to be disturbed. Especially when I want to be able to spend time with you without distractions"
"Hmph, cheesy pick up lines like that will never work on me" she said in her slow tone voice "In fact I almost feel sorry for the girls on whom lines like that actually work on"
"You are just a bundle of savagery aren't you?" She really was proving to be so.
She shrugged in a 'yeah, oh well' kind of way and stood up.
"It's 5:00PM, I should go find a place to pray why don't you do the same?" She said
"Ah yes" I stood up quickly, feeling perturbed that she had to remind me of this. It felt embarrassing that I didn't pray on time and I had to be reminded by she who took all my attention. There was that and a feeling of guilt because I dragged her along with me, influencing her not praying on time either, but then again this happens a lot at events like this. You have so much fun you lose track of time, that was one bad side to it.
"Do I get to see you again?" I asked her as she made to walk away
"Not today, I'll probably go finish my book first, I'm quite near the end"
"Oh, Kiss The Girls" I stated as I started walking backwards, away from her as well "Well I saw the page you were on and just so you know Dr Rudolph isn't Casanova he's The Gentleman Caller"
I took off almost in a sprint laughing at the top of my voice the moment the last word came out of my mouth. I could almost feel Na'ilah's rage and daggers burrowing into my receding back.

* Na'ilah
It has been over a week since the fun-fair now and Mr Challenge has proven to not be the ass I assumed he would be when he first approached me. He seemed capable of taking criticism and also take part in a serious conversation while easily being able to revert to playful banter, qualities he needed to have for both he and I to be able to stand each other. The jury was still out for whether I could trust him or not however. It is really hard for me to trust people and with good reason. As much as I hate to admit, it used to get to me whenever someone I got close to went out to spread false information about me or betray my trust. After a while I stopped caring. I gradually learnt how to choose the kind of company I kept. Whenever people tried to judge, I went out of my way to prove I was as picky and in my zone as they come, wicked and cold even just to help make certain they are able to sell that reputation of mine to their numerous friends. Whatever floats their boat and made them sleep better at night. Maybe this mindset had a negative effect on me as I am no longer able to take many things seriously, it was like I was willing to go with the flow of whatever comes or goes.
So far all this tactics have not worked well enough to push Samir away, or maybe I just wasn't going as hard as I usually do. But he should wait and see, I'll make this harder than I ever have. It'll be a thrill to see how far I can take it.

"Na'ilah," Lailah yelled from the hallway, interrupting my train of thought "Abba and Umma (Dad & Mum) are about ready to go"
"Okay, I'm just about ready" I yelled back though I was sure she was long gone
I turned back to face the slender looking woman on the other side. She seemed to have added weight from the last time I saw her, which was early this morning. Does it work like that? Her complexion looked a bit darker and over there on her forehead was the angry little red pimple calling all the attention of the world.
"Phuuuhh" I sighed as I put my scarf over my head and proceeded to tie it. The woman did the same thing, making sure to cover the oogly ziggly zit. I proceeded to tie my scarf the chic way I did once in while whenever I played at dress up. The woman mirrored my movements and ended up with a perfectly modeled head scarf, at least in my opinion it was perfect. She couldn't make mistakes, after all she was me and I was her. I got up to pick my bag then turned around and gave the woman in the mirror one last look.
Eighteen never looked so good.

I felt good, birthdays were usually nothing special for me and though people were always enthusiastic about celebrating it with me, I was uncomfortable with claiming a whole day to myself where people had to treat me with extra love and care. Being the center of attention rarely ever sat well with me, but as hypocritical as it may seem, I hyped the birthdays of people around me like there'll be no tomorrow. I always looked forward to giving them gifts and making them feel special, not so myself.
Today was different, you only turn eighteen once. Well technically you only turn every other age once but 18 was different. It meant I could now stand up to my parents and argue my rights to drive something Lailah had completely given up on, it meant I could vote but I probably never will I mean who can stand waiting in line in the hot Kano sun for hours just to get a voters card and go vote in another double faced liar, count me out. It also meant I get to have my own adult bank account where my bank won't inform my parents every time I used a POS to misuse funds like buying of chocolates and all the sugary goodies I could lay my hands on. I could now lie that I bought handouts & necessary school things even though Lailah is convinced that that ship has sailed and they were unto me, I knew how gullible my parents could be especially when it came to the baby of the house, me.

I went down stairs to meet my family, Abba was sitting next to Umma who was busy padding her face while looking into her portable mirror. My mother has always been a person who took her time to look good.
"Just because I'm approaching the fifties doesn't mean I shouldn't look litty" was her most recent catch phrase. We always squirmed at her use of the word 'litty', but it made her feel hip and we weren't going to 'cramp her style'. Abba as much as he complains that she wastes to much time seemed to enjoy the fact that his wife never let herself go. Maybe it inflated his ego when people always assumed his wife was a thirty something years old ex-model, (his words not mine). They gave me hope that love doesn't have to be a prison, it could also mean freedom. The way Abba Who is usually serious & moody looked at his wife with love and adoration and the spark in her eyes of child like vanity and bubbly personality, they were the perfect match. In a way Lailah was like Umma and I was like Abba, only God knows where a weirdo like Isma'il came from.
Speaking of the devil I could hear my dear elder brother closing his room door while shouting the lyrics to Gotye's 'Somebody that I used to know' at the top of his voice. People assume Lailah can be a bit obnoxious when she's in her complaining mood, I always tell them to thank the stars they hadn't met my brother. I and Isma'il have never been able to see eye to eye, we were like the North and South Pole of a magnet, we repelled each other. He likes FIFA, I love Uncharted, he loves waffles, I prefer pancakes, he loves playing music out loud, I preferred to listen to it on earpiece. We never have the same preferences, and sometimes it seemed like it was intentional on his part, maybe just to frustrate me.
"Wow, the musically deaf human is singing a sensible song for once" I said under my breath. Lailah snickered
The moment he got to the parlor he cast me with a wicked stare "What did you say?" He inquired, knowing I must have said something regarding him since Lailah was laughing.
"Oh nothing" I said with the best innocent look I could muster
"Whatever" he rolled his eyes
"Toh, mu wuce ko (We should get going)" Abba said
Umma gave her self one last look before closing the mirror and throwing it in her purse. She got up and trailed Abba with the rest of us behind them. I could feel Isma'il glaring at me as he was the last one out.
"Wanne irin dauri be wannan? (What kind of head tie is this?)" he jeered
"The kind that your girlfriend wishes she could do" I replied "oops, I forgot you don't have one"
"How would you know?"
"Believe me, I know" I said "And haven't you been pestering Lailah about Afra?"
"Wait, you told her?" He directed this question at Lailah
"Of course I did" Lailah replied "I told you since the beginning to ask Na'ilah didn't I? They're closer"
"But I told you I didn't want Na'ilah involved, she'd go out of her way to ruin it even" He groaned
"Of course I would. I want the best for my friend and you're just not it brother dearest" I taunted
I heard him hiss as we caught up with our parents by the car.

The drive was a noisy one as our parents were kept busy trying to stop I and Isma'il from going at each other's necks for most of it. We got to Pizza Hot with a loud cheer from Umma and Lailah
"Ahh, finally. This place was just about to turn into a war zone" Umma teased
"I'm just glad I'm not the one on Na'ilah's bad side today"
"Yes yes, and now" warned Abba "Behave yourself young man, we're outside"
"Why just me?" Isma'il plead "Na'ilah is just as well.."
"You're older, you're the man and it's her birthday." Abba finished. Making certain that this didn't come across as an arguable comment, rather an order.
As much as I didn't like the you're the man comment and what it may mean, I was glad Abba scolded him.
Isma'il knew to shut his trap when Abba got like this, so he refused to reply me when I taunted him by putting my tongue out at him.
We got out and walked into Pizza Hot, the atmosphere was very welcoming. It was cool and had beautiful ambient lighting, light music was playing in the background, all coming together to create a comfortable and intimate setting. We walked to one of the booths at the corner and sat. The booths were well spaced with plants surrounding the two other wise exposed sides creating a feeling of privacy wherever you sat.
A waiter was with us within seconds. We made our orders and the waiter left. It would take about ten minutes before we can get our pizza the waiter had informed us.

Abba who was sat across from me stared at me at this moment, the type of look he gave whenever he was about to say something important.
"Nilly (his and Umma's nickname for me), I cant believe you're finally eighteen" he said.
"Yes, the baby is no longer a baby anymore" Umma grinned from ear to ear
"Indeed" Abba continued "And with that there come a lot of responsibility, we've had this talk before but I've repeated it with both Baby (nickname for Lailah) and Dadi (nickname for Isma'il). You are already in the university, almost halfway through. And in the eyes of society now you're an adult in every way, so how you carry yourself and how you treat others matter.."
"Yes Abba" I said, knowing fully well that his pause was so he'd know I was listening.
"So, always treat others with kindness but also be careful who you trust. People are dangerous, it doesn't matter if it's males or females. And one thing is I'm not about to start berating you and telling you to avoid boys and never allow them be close to you because that will only prove to be counter productive later in the future. No, I trust you enough to know you can handle yourself and that you would never do anything to shame us or yourself in the eyes of God. We raised you right. Neither am I going to warn you against friends especially the female ones and how envy can make them turn against you, it's all part of life's experiences and from us you know where it can lead" he looked at Umma as he said this. She smiled and nodded her head.
"Yes Nilly" she carried from where he stopped "We hope you can use our experiences to avoid making our mistakes, but it's okay to make those of your own, as that's the best way you can learn. We know we raised you the best way we could, and we can only pray God guides you the rest of the way. You're about to enter a whole new world and we wish you strength and fortitude and good will as you embark on this"
"Yes, happy birthday darling" Dad added "We love you now and always" they both reached out to put their hands on mine, so did Lailah. Isma'il hesitated and gave me a stern look then he smiled and added his hand as well.
"We May have our differences but I'll always love and protect you sis" he said earning a smile from me. I felt all warm on the inside all of a sudden.
"And I'll always be there to scold you and get on your nerves when none of these three are around" Lailah added causing an all round laughter at the table.
I could feel tears well up in my eyes, all these beautiful words,
"You all make it seem as if I was leaving home or something" I teased but I knew this moment will forever stick with me. My family have always being dramatic but I loved them for that.

My phone vibrated all of a sudden, it was a text from Samir
'Happy birthday Na'ils, beautiful family you got there. Wonder if I should come say hello"

********
Authors' Note: Hey, I haven't been on here for awhile before the last 3 weeks that I decided to start writing and posting this story. So, you can say I'm relatively new to the current stuff going on, on Wattpad. If you have any tips I'd love to hear it, and if you have anything to say about this story please do, it'll be amazing motivation. Thanks for reading 😁.