Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 2
I could seriously smell auntie Mariam’s
homemade cupcake from two blocks
away. No kidding. I still remember how
Sobia and auntie Mariam worked day
and night to save money to start up
their own little bakery two years ago
and now it’s one of the best bakeries in
town. Even though it’s September, the
wind is still quite chilly, I guess autumn
will be arriving sooner than I expected
and I was very much excited. I loved
autumn, there is something so beautiful
about the way trees change their colors
and the way everything becomes cozy
and warm. I spotted Sobia front of her
bakery waiting for me. I waved at her
and quickly picked up my steps towards
the bakery. As soon as I reached there I
was embraced by her world famous
hugs , honestly this girl is super
affectionate. “Sobia jaan I missed you
too but you gotta let me go, I can’t
breathe” I laughed, but I was seriously
struggling.
“Opps” She chucked while losing up her
grip. “I missed you so much Laila, how
was your first day of college? Oh my
gosh I am so excited for you. I am sure
auntie Nasreen and Sabir are thrilled as
well, by the way how are they?” She said
all of that without taking any break.
“One thing at a time dear, first lets go
inside. I am so hungry” I said rubbing
my little belly, laughing.
“Oh yes sorry, come inside, Ammi Jaan is
waiting for you, she made a fresh batch
of red velvet cupcake just for you, she
loves you more than me” Sobia said
jokingly.
“Oh stop it, as if my Ammi isn’t a crazy
fan of yours.” I hooked my arms with
Sobia and went behind the kitchen
counter to meet auntie Mariam.
“Asalam O Alikum, Auntie Jaan” I said as
soon as I got inside the bakery.
“Oh you are here Laila, how are you my
daughter?” She said giving me a warm
teddy bear hug.
“I am doing great auntie, how are you?”
I asked her.
“I am good, the work here is picking up
quite fast. We have a huge order for this
weekend for a birthday party.” She said
proudly.
“Oh Masha’Allah, that’s wonderful, if you
need any help then let me know.” I
offered her.
“Yes you should come along Laila, it’ll be
fun I heard the Ibrahims are quite
wealthy and have a really nice place”
Sobia stepped in the conversation.
“Oh that would be lovely, come along
with us on Saturday”. Auntie Mariam
said. “Now you two have a seat, its not
busy right now. I will bring you some
coffee and cupcakes.”
Sobia and I sat near the windows in the
corner. “Who are the Ibrahims?” I asked
Sobia.
“Oh you don’t know, they just moved
here in the town. There is a lot of buzz
about them these days. I think they used
to live in Berlin before. I don’t know a lot
about them but when Ibrahim Raza
came into our bakery couple of days
back I knew they were a big deal. He is a
nice man but his wife Ayesha is quite
rude. She was constantly telling her
husband to go to a different bakery for
the order.” Sobia explained.
“Wow, what is the order for?” I asked
again. Whoever these Ibrahims were,
they didn’t sound too pleasant.
“Ibrahim Raza’s little daughter is turning
9 this Saturday so they came to our
bakery to place the order. And Ibrahim
Raza also gave Ammi 250 pounds just
like that; they sure know how to use
their money. I really want to see their
house; a lot of my friends are talking
about them.” Sobia said.
“Yeah we’ll on Saturday.” I just left the
topic about them there. Sobia and I
continued on with our conversation and
talked about other things. After stuffing
my stomach with countless cupcakes
and a delicious cup of coffee, I said my
goodbye to Sobia and mother and
headed home.
“You should at least pick up your phone
Laila, I was getting worried.” That’s the
first thing I heard from my mother as
soon as I stepped inside the house.
“Asalam O Alikum, Ammi Jaan my phone
battery died. I forgot my charger at
home.” I went straight towards the
kitchen because obviously where else
would my mother be. I hugged her from
the back and she smiled, meaning
everything is now under control.
“Bacha, I get worried that’s all.” She said.
“I know.” I kissed her cheek and went to
the fridge to get some orange juice.
“Where is Sabir?” I asked her placing my
coat on the coat stand.
“He went out with his friends to play
football, just got home a while back and
now is finishing up his homework.” She
said while cleaning the countertop.
“I went to see Sobia and her mother,
and they have a big order this Saturday
so I will be going to help them out.” I
informed her.
“Chalo that’s good. Both of them are
really kind, its good that you offered
your help meri bachi.” She smiled and
continued on with her work. She was so
busy that she even forgot that today
was my first day of college. When she
forgets things like that I don’t really take
it personally, besides she works so
much, she can’t remember everything.
“My teacher, Mr. Charlie is very nice.” I
told her. Now she is going to go on
about how bad of a mother she is.
“Uff Ya Allah I am so forgetful, how did I
forget. Hmm…how was your first day
meri bachi?” She put away her cleaning
cloth and come over to the kitchen table
where I was sitting.
“It’s okay Ammi Jaan. You know I can
never be angry with you. The day was
good. Everyone is good to me”. I know
lying is bad, but technically they weren’t
bad, kids at my college were raised that
way. They didn’t say anything bad to me.
They just looked.
“That’s good, you are a bright girl Laila,
you will go far if you continue working
hard.” She comforted me.
“I am going to my room; I have a paper
to write for next week so I am going to
get started on that. And don’t worry
about the food I already at the bakery” I
told her, gave her another hug and went
straight toward my room.
When I stepped into my room, I instantly
plugged my phone with the charger. The
second thing I noticed was how messy
my room was. I am quite a clean person,
but when it comes to get ready, my
room turns into a hot mess. I started
picking up my stuff to put them where
they belong. After I was satisfied with
the way my room was looking, I went to
for a quick shower.
Once I stepped outside from the
bathroom, I slipped on my comfy sweat
pants and plain black hoodie. I tied my
curly hair once it dried and prayed Isha.
When my phone was fully charged I
opened my phone to see if there were
any messages from Sobia. And there
was one, except it wasn’t from Sobia it
was from an unknown number.
When I opened the message, I saw two
texts. One was sent from my phone that
said “Hello Handsome” And the reply
from the unknown number said “Its not
safe to leave your phone behind without
a screen lock Laila. smiley face.
YAAA ALLAH ITS HIM. THAT CREEPER WHO
TOOK MY PHONE IN COLLEGE! I yelled in
my head. What the hell is his problem?
How dare him to use my phone like that.
The next time I see him, he is a dead
meat for sure. I will complain about him,
that’ll teach him something.
I put away my phone and opened my
laptop and began working on my
assignment to keep me distracted. But
after a while, I knew it wasn’t going to
work so I picked up my phone again, set
up a screen lock on my phone. I know I
should have done this a while back but
sometimes my mother uses my phone
and she always forgets the password,
but now since she is getting a phone for
herself I can set up a password. But
that’s not the point, the point is that if I
ever find someone’s phone I would
never use it even if its unlock but then
again that Jerk is nothing like me. In fact
he is the polar opposite. You know what
I really don’t care about how he is. I hate
him and he is testing me this time. Badly.
I hope I don’t see him anytime soon or
Allah knows what I will do to him.
I went to Sabir’s room after who needed
some help with his science homework.
Sabir is a bright kid as well but he is
more passionate about football no
wonder he is the new captain of the
team in his school. #proudsister. Sabir is
not like the other kids around his age,
maybe that’s because even though he is
young he still feels like he is the
protector of the family. He doesn’t let
Ammi go outside alone at night and also
walks me to the bus stop if I have
somewhere to go in the evening. That’s
the way it is, we only have each other
but that’s enough. This is all I need.
After telling Sabir about atoms and
neutrons, all three of us, Ammi, Sabir and
I gathered in the living room, where we
had some tea and croissants and we all
watched some episodes of The Big Bang
Theory and by some I mean a lot!
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