School began once more in January. Classes were just as boring for Badr, who either slept or wasted time throughout the lessons. Thankfully, his shoulder recovered in the past month, since he was taken to the doctor to cure it properly. Malak was focusing a lot on her studies while Yousef was slacking off more than usual.

Training began in the club soon enough, and everyone was getting the same type of training. Mohamad taught them some basics about martial arts while Louis was researching about swordplay.

After nearly a week of basic training, Mohamad decided it was time to test the students' strength. So on Wednesday, he demonstrated how to crack a wall in the sunny clubroom.

"Come on, guys, come on!" Mohamad punched the wall once more, creating a crack. "You need to be able to break walls with your bare hands! Let's test your strength and see who can make the biggest crack! Yousef!"

Yousef stepped forward and with all his might, he punched the wall.

"Oww! That hurts!" he whined. His knuckles were red and bruised.

"Not good, not good!" Mohamad shook his head in disappointment.

"Mohamad! They should wear gloves so their hands won't hurt!" Donia argued.

"No, they should be able to break walls today. Yahya! Come forward, show me your strength!"

Yahya punched the wall hard and a crack was heard.

"Wow, Yahya!" Malak exclaimed brightly. "You cracked the wall?"

"No..." Yahya replied. "I cracked my knuckles."

"Oh my God!" Donia was about to faint while Yasmin laughed at her mother's reaction.

"Not good enough!" Mohamad was unimpressed. "Next! Badr!"

"Please stop this and give them gloves!" Donia protested as she watched Badr punch the wall.

"Oww it hurts! It hurts! It huurts!" Badr hopped backward and wiggled his hand. "It hurts so much..."

Bilal was urged to try next, but it only ended in pain for his knuckles. Mohamed sighed in disappointment. He called Jack over, hoping that he would be better than the others.

"No! Stop! Seriously, are you crazy?" Donia shouted.

"I'll do it, I'm strong!" Jack claimed, stepping forward. He punched the wall with all his strength but still couldn't crack it. He repeated this multiple times and Malak cheered him on. Donia quickly pushed Jack lightly away from the wall.

"STOP!" Donia took all the kids and shielded them away from Mohamad. "Go wash your hands, right now!"

The kids obeyed and left to the bathroom. Mohamad rolled his eyes and dropped down on a chair.

"How will they get training like this if you keep spoiling them?" he asked Donia.

"How will they train if you hurt them?" Donia argued.

"They have to endure the pain!" Mohamad told her. "Right, Louis?"

"Hmm?" Louis was staring at the laptop on his lap while chewing gum. "Yeah, we need to make cake. I'm hungry."

Mohamad sighed deeply. "Have you found anything about teaching swordsmanship?"

"Nope."

The kids opened the door and entered the club room. Badr and Yousef leaned their backs against the wall while Yahya sat down on the table. Malak and Yasmin stayed near the door and Yasmin started telling Malak about her new pink watch.

"So," Jack peered closely at the screen of the laptop that Louis was holding. "You said you know how to teach weaponry."

"I do," Louis lied. "I'm just making sure."

"Making sure about what? I thought you're already professional."

"I AM!" Louis was annoyed now. "I told you: I was just checking!"

"Hmm..." Jack shook his head and stood next to Bilal. "He's useless. We should've joined kendo or something."

"Daddy! When will we start using weapons?" Yasmin inquired.

"Soon enough," Mohamad assured her.

"Yasmin," Donia recommended. "If you are tired, you can just sit down here and rest."

"Okay," Yasmin sat on the couch next to Noor. "So, Noor, how are you?" she conversed.

"I'm fine," Noor sat up a little straighter. "I actually have news."

"News? What news?" Badr was interested.

"Some...guy was stalking our club the other day. I think he wants to join," Noor remarked.

"Really?" Mohamad stood up. "Let him come! We always welcome new people here!"

"I don't think it's allowed," Malak informed him. "I don't think he can join in the middle of the year."

"Oh, that's too bad..." Mohamad scratched the back of his neck. The bell was heard shortly afterward, so the kids grabbed their bags and headed outside. "We'll buy gloves TODAY!" was the last thing they heard before leaving the corridor.

Malak, Yasmin, and Noor watched the boys as they raced to the school gates. Malak waved goodbye to them then strolled near Yasmin and Noor.

"So," Yasmin put her arm around Noor. "Do you know that guy?"

"Which guy?" asked Noor.

"The guy who wants to join the club."

"Oh, that guy...yeah actually, I do."

"Who is he?" Malak queried curiously.

"He's...he's my classmate. Actually..." Noor turned her head sideways. "He likes me."

"What? You have a lover?" Yasmin exclaimed. "Ooh! Tell me!"

"N-no!" Noor blushed. "H...he just...confessed to me in September."

"That's so cool!" Yasmin was literally jumping up and down.

"Did you accept his confession?" Malak questioned.

"No."

"Why?" Malak and Yasmin both cried at the same time.

"I don't...like him. Actually, I hate him! He's creepy and huge!"

"Wait-what's his name?" Yasmin suddenly wondered.

"Tarek," answered Noor.

"Ohh, I know him!" Malak proclaimed. "He used to be in our class last year! The really tall one with black hair who used to sit behind you, right?"

Noor nodded and Malak continued: "He's in art club with me."

"Ooh, nice!" Yasmin said. "So, Noor, why did you say no?"

"Because-I told you-he's not my type. I just don't like him," Noor answered while remembering the scene.

*****

The rain was falling down, droplet by droplet on Noor's light pink umbrella. She walked slowly because she didn't want to wet her legs with the puddles. As she passed the school gates, she began wondering about life. The clouds grew darker as Noor ventured forward. The mint-green bushes beside her were wet while the sky above looked lifeless.

Suddenly, she heard a faint sound of splashing. She glanced up to see who it was.

A tall, sharp-faced boy with dark hair that fell just below his ears was standing in front of her, stretching his arms towards her. He was holding a small bundle of palette-colored flowers. Noor noticed that his umbrella was on the damp ground.

"Uh-um..." he stuttered. "I...I like you! Please, take these."

Noor stared at him to see if he was sincere. His cheeks were a dark shade of red and his eyes were shut tight. His body was also shaking a little.

"I...I'm...I don't know you..." Noor replied quietly. Tarek opened his light brown eyes and gazed at Noor.

"It...um..." his head fell to the ground.

Noor took the flowers from Tarek's rather big hands and sniffed them. "Thank you...for these."

"U...um, you're welcome..." Tarek covered his face with his right hand. He was rejected.

The rain poured all over him and soaked him completely. He watched as Noor twisted the stems of the small flowers he picked for her.

"I don't like you," Noor spoke after a while. "I don't hate you. But I don't like people who want to date from such a...young age. I'm not that type of person."

Silence followed, so Noor decided to continue awkwardly. "I don't want to be in a relationship with someone like...you. Um...well, bye."

She ran away as quickly as she could, splashing water all over him. He just stood in the rain, not believing that he actually just confessed his love to his first crush. He instantly regretted that decision.

*****

"Noor! Noor!" Malak and Yasmin were waving their hands in front of Noor's face.

"Huh? What?" Noor realized that she zoned off for a while.

"What were you staring at?" asked Malak. She looked around for something interesting to stare at but found nothing but students passing by the trees.

"Well, guys, I have to go! My parents are calling me, bye!" Yasmin waved happily as she strode off, her two ponytails bouncing behind her.

Malak disputed. "I can't believe you rejected him."

Malak walked away slowly. Noor didn't know if she had imagined it but she saw a hint of disappointment in Malak's pale face. She scowled and decided to leave soon afterward.

Days turned into weeks and the club was progressing little by little. They finally got to train with swords, and whenever they did, they were extra careful. Some of them had a hard time grasping the moves and positions, while others had more free time.

Badr paced around the clean hallways one lunch break after his boring History lesson, waving at some people he knew. When he finally reached his destination, which was Yousef's classroom, he found Yousef chewing on some nuts.

"Hey," Yousef greeted. They went outside the corridor and met with Yahya later on. The three boys strolled to their usual hangout, which was near the spacious green field. There, they realized it was extra crowded. It was mostly the seniors' fault, since they were gathering together, taking pictures obnoxiously.

"What's this?" Yousef said irritably.

"I hate crowds and people," growled Yahya.

"Let's go," suggested Badr. The trio miserably turned away. The breeze felt nice against their cheeks, so they decided to enjoy the weather while it was still spring.

"Wait, guys," Yahya stopped instantly. "I know a place we can go. No people, no noise, no nothing."

Badr and Yousef laughed and then followed Yahya to his peaceful place. It was a narrow pathway near the end of the playground. The bricks were a little dusty and there was a stairway at the corner. Badr noticed that Malak was sitting down on the stairs.

"Oh, hey Malak!" Badr yelled.

"Hi," Malak responded, smiling.

"What are you doing?" Badr peered over to see what paper Malak was staring at.

"I'm studying for the science quiz," Malak glanced over at Yousef. "You know, we have a quiz after this break."

Yousef rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know, I studied."

"Mind if we join you?" Badr questioned and without waiting for a reply, he sat down next to Malak.

"Sure, come sit," Malak welcomed them. Yousef and Yahya sat on the bottom stairs below Badr and Malak. Malak returned to her papers while Badr gazed around him.

Yousef glared at Malak's paper. "You're not studying!" he accused her. "You're just drawing stupid doodles!"

"What?" Malak examined at her paper. "That was from before! Now I'm just revising!"

"Wow, keep lying," Yousef rested his chin on the palm of his hand.

"Did you study?" Malak ignored Yousef and asked Badr.

"Hmm, me? I had a science quiz last week."

"How was it?"

"Well, not that bad," Badr scratched his head. "Because Bilal helped me study."

"Great! And you?" Malak turned to Yahya.

"I had a quiz on Monday," he answered. "It was till chapter seven."

"Lucky! Me and Yousef have chapter eight! It's the Biology stuff," Malak groaned.

"Oh, yeah, it's not that hard though," Yahya pointed out.

"Yeah but there is way too many definitions like the red blood cells," Malak huffed. "But the tissue stuff is easy."

"What's a tissue? Do we seriously have that?" Yousef was shocked.

"Oh my God you don't know? That part is like the easiest!" Malak closed her eyes. "Tissues are groups of similar cells having the same shape and function."

"Shut up," Yousef grumbled while waving his hands dismissively.

"And organs are several different tissues working together to carry out a special function."

"I said shut up!"

Malak opened her eyes and studied her paper. "Yay, I got them right! You didn't study at all, did you?"

"I did..." Yousef lied.

"Oh well...I wonder how you're gonna pass the quiz," Malak stated. "It's after the break, you know? Take this paper and revise!"

"No. I don't need your paper."

Malak threw a paper at Yousef and resumed studying. Yousef picked up the paper and started revising.

"There's like, one hour left," Malak informed him.

Yousef ignored her and continued staring at the paper. Yahya stood up and observed above. There was another stairway which was leading to the second floor.

"You guys wanna go up?" he suggested.

"Sounds good," Badr agreed.

They all stood up and climbed the stairs. The steps were steeper than any other stairs in the school. When they finally reached the second floor, Yahya noticed that there was another stairway.

"I wonder what's up there," he said with a tone of curiosity.

"Probably leads to the roof," assumed Yousef, glancing upwards.

"Guys, I don't think we should go there," Malak cautioned. "It's forbidden. A supervisor came and told me not to go there."

"Wow!" Badr exclaimed. "He told you not to go there? He's probably hiding some secret there! Let's go up!"

"No! What if we get in trouble? Let's go back down!" Malak took a few steps downwards. The three boys ignored her and went up the stairs.

"Guys!" Malak checked from the high balcony if anyone saw them. She spotted two young boys walking around but she decided to ignore them so she followed Badr, Yousef, and Yahya.

"If you don't want to go, don't!" Badr dictated. "Just stay down."

"No, I'm coming, just make sure no one sees us!" Malak whispered. Badr chuckled and continued climbing the stairs. Yousef, Malak, and Yahya trailed behind him, leaving their footprints on the layer of dust that was covering the steps. The path was getting darker with each step they took. As they made their way to the last step, Badr noticed that a small door was positioned in front of him.

"Guys, look, there's a door," he pointed. He grabbed the rusty handle of the door and turned it clockwise.

Author's note: Hey guys, this is part two of chapter 25. Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoyed it! What was your favorite part?

The picture above is the scene described in Noor's mind. We got inspired by that picture drawn by the artist Buuta.

P.s: What do you think is behind the door?