I peeked at my rearview mirror, checking my hijab one more time. I tucked a couple loose strands of hair back into the dark golden-brown scarf that hid my hair and neck. I let out a breath, closing my eyes for a moment.

"You can do this." I whispered, desperately trying to reassure myself. "Just four more years."

I opened my eyes slowly, grabbing my purse and coffee before stepping out of my white Honda Civic. I took a second to look up at the sky, the rhythmic blue hidden in spots by puffs of white smoke as they drifted by. I dropped my head not too soon after and fixed the long golden necklace protruding from the front of my scarf.

My heels reflected the golden-brown of my scarf, the long heel tapping against the pavement. The front of my white shirt stopped right above my knees, while the back continued down to my ankles. I knew my friends would think I was overdressed, but these were the clothes that made me feel confident. And that was something I definitely needed today.

My purse began to buzz nonstop, vibrating against my side. I sighed in annoyance, pulling my phone from the bag.

"Meet up by the main gates?" Estrella had texted.

"Almost there. I'm by the library." Aileen responded with a thumbs up.

"Okay, I'm literally about to turn in there." Reina texted back.

"Alrighty. I'm almost there! Walking there now." I typed quickly. The text was way too cheery to be anything like me. Part of me was cheery, yes, but never as cheery as I seemed to be. How I acted somewhat annoyed me.

I walked down the brick side walk, short green trees and various flowers lining the wall of the building I walked by. Before I turned into the main area, where a plethora of students had congregated, I prepared myself mentally.

I put on a slight smile as I looked around at the building and walked to the glass doors. I spotted a girl with curly, dirty blonde hair standing by a tree. She was with another girl, one that was a couple inches taller than her and had dark brown, long, straight hair.

I lifted my arm and began to wave, a huge smile on my face. "Hey!" I called out as I began jogging over.

The two girls turned to look at me. "Salah! There you are!" I heard them call back. I ran straight into someone, shocking myself and the other person.

I stumbled backwards, my heel getting caught between two of the bricks. I twisted my ankle and fell to the ground. My cheery act shattered as annoyance set in, but I took a breath and calmed down. "The strongest among you is the one who controls his anger." I whispered to myself, allowing my anger to fall away.

The person I ran into leaned down and held out their hand. "Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.)." They spoke the name of the man who had said the quote I had just uttered. "It's a beautiful quote, diminishes all anger in an instant, really."

I put my hand up to grab theirs to get up, but immediately realized this person was a male. I had run into a male. A guy. I had collided with a guy. I was about to pull my hand away when he grabbed my wrist over my sleeve. "Yeah," I tried to ignore how my cheeks burnt bright red. "He was an amazing person, any of his quotes could calm me." I took a step back, never lifting my gaze enough to look at him.

My ankle ached, but I was too flustered to care. "Uhm, sorry, by the way. I didn't mean to run into you. I didn't see you there." He apologized even though it was me who ran into him.

"Oh! No, it's okay. I didn't see you there either." I apologized quickly. "I shouldn't have been running anyway."

"It's fine." He seemed to smile. "But, I've gotta go. My friends are waiting."

"Same." I replied quietly.

"Well, asalam walaikum." He walked off. I was a bit shocked. He probably just said salam because he knew Muslims say it, but... he had also grabbed my wrist over my sleeve.

"Could he have been Muslim?" I thought before looking back up. My friends were staring straight at me, now joined by a girl with long, wavy ruby red hair. They were laughing their butts off.

I walked over with a sheepish smile, hoping my face wasn't still red. "I can't believe that just happened." Aileen, the dark haired girl, tried to breathe through her laughs.

"I can't believe he just so happened to be Muslim!" Reina, the red haired girl commented.

"Wait- how do you know that?" I asked, confused. "And, he should've been watching where he was going. Now I have a twisted ankle." I complained. I didn't mean that, but it was something they'd expect from me. They would expect me to make a joke about not forgiving him.

The curly haired girl, Estrella, rolled her eyes playfully. "He was definitely Muslim. He said salam to you, didn't take your hand, and he wouldn't look at you."

"He wouldn't... look at me?" I couldn't help but think that this guys sounded like a Muslim.

"Yeah. He kept his gaze lowered." Aileen nodded firmly.

My friends were all Christians, and pretty religious ones, but they had learned a lot about Islam over the years. "Well, what does it matter? I just ran into him. Probably never going to see him again." I commented dismissively, moving towards the entrance.

The girls followed me, Estrella dropping her arm over my shoulders. "Come on. You're not the least bit interested in this guy?"

I kept my cool. "Nope." I popped the 'p' to accentuate how much I didn't care.

"Alright, fine. But if we see him again," Reina wiggled her eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes and groaned. "Shut up." I said playfully. "Lets get our schedules and we have to do all that dorm stuff."

"I can't believe we get to share a dorm." Estrella hugged Aileen. "It's gonna be a fun year."

"I don't know who I'm gonna be with." Reina laughed.

I kept my mouth shut as we walked to Estrella and Aileen's dorm room. I felt bad since they had wanted for me and Reina to share a dorm room, but I had applied early to get a single dorm. I needed time to myself so I didn't always have to be someone I wasn't. That would get exhausting.

I walked behind the three as we looked for their dorm. I could hear them laughing and talking and it felt terrible to be left out, but what was the point when I couldn't even be myself?

I just played with my fingers as I walked, more so limped, down the hall.

"Oh! Here it is!" Estrella unlocked the door and let us in.

It was a pretty okay dorm. It was perfect for the two of them, since they wanted a small space. "This is perfect for you guys." I commented.

"Yeah!" Aileen was already in one of the bedrooms. "I call this one!" She shouted.

"Well, I'm gonna go find my dorm, now!" Reina called out before leaving.

"I think I'll do the same." I was probably too quiet for them to hear me, but I didn't really care. I closed the door to the dorm as I left, not really sure where to go.

I had one of the only single dorms they had and I was really lucky to have gotten it. I walked around the place, trying to find where I was supposed to go until I spotted someone that seemed to be an administrator.

They helped me reach a small hallway in a different building. There was my single dorm and all the others. There weren't that many at all, only about a handful. I began to enter my dorm when I noticed a person walk past me, stopping at the door next to mine. "I guess you're my neighbor." I gave a smile and looked up them.

The person turned to me, "Well, nice to meet you neighbor." He looked up at me, his eyes immediately widening a bit.

I recognized his voice. "You're-!" I just about shouted. I lowered my voice. "Sorry, just-ehm-shocked."

"What a coincidence." He laughed softly, running a hand through his dark brown hair. "Well, I'm Badr. You?"

"Oooh! Named after the Battle of Badr?" I lit up with excitement. I had always loved that name and I never understood why people didn't name their child it.

Badr chuckled, "Yeah. My parents thought it was a miraculous battle, so they decided to name their kid after it."

"I would agree!" I smiled brightly. "I'm Salah."

"That's a gorgeous name." He commented. "After the five daily prayers, your parents chose the best name."

I felt my cheeks light up. "Jazakallah Khair."

"Wa iyaki." He smiled, his light pink lips quirking upwards.

"We-Well, I should get going. I still have to get all my stuff here." I quickly excused myself. "Asalam walaikum, Badr."

"Walaikum Asalam, Salah."

Words:
-Asalam Walaikum: May peace be upon you, Muslim greeting
-Walaikum Asalam: And may peace be upon you, the response to Asalam Walaikum.
-Salam: Short for Asalam walaikum.
-Hijab: A garment worn by muslim women upon their heads, but it also includes wearing loose fitting clothes and being fully covered.
-Jazakallah Kkair: May Allah (SWT) reward you with goodness, a way of saying thank you.
-Wa Iyaki: And to you, a way of responding to Jazakallah Khair.
A/N
So, yeah. This is really just a book I'll be writing in the five minutes of free time I get when I'm in-like-the bathroom or something.
Enjoy!