The Colors Of Love - Episode 3

 

I walk into the hostel breathing fire from my nostrils, you could probably see the steam coming out of my ears if you looked closely enough. Thank God for ebony skin, I'd have been as red as a tomato if I was light skinned. I look like I've rolled in dried mud, my shoulder hurts, my bum hurts and itches and I can't even scratch the itch.

I'm not a cry baby, but I can't help but let the waterworks flow as I get into our room. I practically run the way from the gate to my room . Thank goodness most people had classes by that time, so I was probably not noticed by many people.

I scrunch my face and yank my hijab, throwing it across the room. I  struggle with my dirty jeans as I try to get them off and fail, so I just sit on the floor and cry my heart out. Aliyah's not in the room and my cries wake up a sleeping Ilhaam.

"Aarfa, what's wrong? What happened? Are you okay" she rushes to my miserable sitting form.

Have you ever noticed the effect 'Are you Okay?' has on a hurt or crying person? Its the enzyme that facilitates the smooth passage of tears you didn't even know existed.

I try to speak but succeed in saying a few incoherent words that even I don't understand. She seems to understand my need to let it out, for she hugs me and makes soothing circles on my back

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/the-colors-of-love

. That just makes me cry harder because that's what my mum always did when I cried.

I miss you Momma.

After crying for about a good fifteen minutes, the tears have stopped and only the hiccups remain. Just then, Aliyah comes in singing at the top of her voice..

"But I’m only human
And I bleed when I fall down
I’m only human
And I crash and I break down
Your words in my head, knives in my heart
You build me up and then I fall apart
'Cause I’m only hu..."

That song is like salt to my open wounds_I'm just replaying the image of me sprawled on the floor, my body bared for all to see_how can I ever go to class again? I think I'll start wearing Niqab( A cloth that is used to cover the face)

She halts when she sees us both sitting on the floor, I_with my tear stained face, hiccuping and Ilhaam's sleep lidded eyes. She rushes to my our side, dropping her precious IPhone 8s on the floor, asking us what's wrong.

Geee, Aliyah really loves us. She  loves that phone more than her life_What? I'm dead serious_you can see I'm not in the best of moods to crack jokes_so her keeping her phone on the cracked cemented floor of a dormitory room says a lot.

"Will you tell me what's happening here?" She asks again,seeing we aren't about to give her an answer, she stands and appears every bit of the mother hen she is to us.

Ilhaam sniffs and I just realize she was crying as well. The whole thing makes me burst out laughing and they look at me like a newly diagnosed dementia patient.

"Are you alright?" Ilhaam asks, her forehead creasing in worry.

"Ya Ilahi (Oh My God), she's hysterical." Aliyah yells in horror.

This only makes me laugh harder. I don't really blame them though_just a few moments ago I was hiccuping and sniffing, and then suddenly I'm laughing_they probably think I'm crazy. Seeing their horrified and worried expressions make me zip up my laughter and I go on to narrate my horrible day in detail.

How he got Dr Zafar to ban me from his class for the rest of the semester_well himself as well_not that i care though. How he yanked me and threw me to the ground, how almost half of the school saw me half naked_well, okay at least a quarter if not half. How I slapped him_ That was probably the rainbow in my stormy day_I relished that memory, and how he said hurtful things to me.
I don't mention the parts where i was mesmerized and dumbstruck by his lashes and eyes_ of course. Its not like I still am, so mentioning it is of no use, right?

Aliyah swore to chop off his fingers, then his toes_she'd shave off his eyebrows and cut his lashes and Ilhaam promised to make Nabeel deal with him when they finally got together_For real?

I know_she's pathetic.

And then we're rolling on the floor laughing like maniacs_like we don't have a care in the world.
I love my friends_very much. And then Aliyah asks the question that has been ringing in my head since I was sent out of the theatre.

"What are you going to do now? Dr Zafar regards attendance as  50% of his assessment. And its a prerequisite course?" She questions, her forehead creasing in worry.

"Its Official_We hate this guy". Ilhaam adds.

Tell me something I don't know.

I'm too overwhelmed, so I just shrug and tell them it'll be fine, but then I know it isn't. If I fail Dr Zafar's course, I'm automatically going to spill over_Allah Forbid. The thought alone makes me shudder.

We stand from our lying positions and clear the room. I take a bath again and we eat _Aliyah made Cheesecake before she went out. And trust me that's the one thing that makes us partially forget any worries we have_no matter how big.

We're just done when one of Ilhaam's posh friends_SadyVuiton comes in smelling rich_but repulsive to me though. My nose has a strong dislike for designer perfs. She got that pen name for her absolute love of everything LV_she supposedly hails from a wealthy family but I have my doubts. Aliyah and I  give her our best fake smiles_as Ilhaam hugs her. We(I and Aliyah don't like her). She's too fake_wearing wigs, nails, lashes, butt and boob uplifts, hooker inch stilletos. Her dress looks like it was made on her_I'm sure she has to Peel it off with soap or something. Not to mention the several layers of paint and cement that makes a cake on what she thinks is her prettily made up face.

But then, Who am I to judge?

Ilhaam leads her to her bed and they start giggling like school girls. Sady suddenly squeals out "Ilhaam, I'm friends with your Nabeel's friend" she says in such a smooth, purring voice that I think is supposed to match her phony personality.

Great, another member of "Nabeel's Dedicated Fan club". I'm sure his ego is probably too big for his head with the way all the girls are worshipping him like he's some form of Deity.

"OMG, are you serious? Do you know which department he's in? What year, where does he live and his phone number?" Ilhaam fires at Sady and for a moment, I kinda pity the poor girl.

"Easy Ilee, I have no answers to any of your questions but I promise you this_I'll make sure Nabeel Kamba falls to his knees for you by the end of the semester.

I roll my eyes and throw up a little in my mouth. I'd better mind my business and get ready for my four o'clock class. Its the one course that I love and dread at the same time_Advanced Enzymology. The course lecturer Prof. Bukar  looks like a poor and skinny version of Olusegun Obasanjo. I've never seen him smile or frown_the man speaks with the precision of a linguist. I don't even know how he managed to be a biochemist. And he doesn't tolerate being lateness at all.

Aliyah insists on escorting me to class but I indignantly refuse saying I don't need protection.
Deep down I want to curl on my bed and never attend lectures again.

" I can face that pretty guy and for the rest of the school, don't worry, I've dealt with worse" I tell her.

She gives me a look that says 'don't give me that nonsense' and I smile weakly in an attempt to convince her I'll be fine. Out of all the people that know me, Aliyah is the one who understands me the most. She can know what I'm thinking by just looking at me. I can't hide things from her. We even have an eye language that we get to communicate without words.

I quickly change clothes_this time wearing a loose brown gown before putting on my hijab. I love wearing hijabs, not for religious reasons solely, bit because I get to hide all the things I don't want people to see. Like my earpiece_My earpiece and Taylor Swift are my saviours in boring lectures. And my chocolates and peppermints_I'm always munching on something. Especially when I don't want to be bitchy_else I just can't help it. I wave at Ilhaam and 'her' friend and Ilhaam gets up to hug me and  she whispers 'Teach that jerk a lesson'. I laugh out loud at that and bid them all goodbye

I hop to class lip-syncing " You're not Sorry " and looking down for most of the journey. I occasionally meet some familiar and friendly eyes when I look up and I have to smile at them. I check my watch and see its 3:48 when I enter the class and my dress latches on a nail by the door. I yank it a bit forcefully and I lose my balance in the process, making me almost fall off. I close my eyes_ silently thanking God for falling when I'm the only person in the class as I await the pain of crashing on the dusty floor. Thank God my dress and hijab are dusty brown so I don't need to look like a new mental patient to everyone. I open my eyes after a few seconds seeing I didn't fall and suddenly realize I'm in the embrace of a strong, hard body. I look up to a familiar set of amber eyes and long, pretty lashes. I sigh in appreciation of such amazing, God-given pulchritude and look lower to find his mouth in a grim line.

"Will you please stop smiling like a foolish, lunatic wacko and stand?" The gorgeous specimen of human who also happens to be very ungentlemanly says, bringing me back to reality.

I quickly stand and move away when i realize who it is. I yelp and jump away from him like he's the plague. That's when i realize there is a queue_more like mob of angry students by the door wanting to come in. I'm blushing crimson and I've probably turned purple from embarrassment.

This guy is surely going to be the end of me.

We silently move to take our seats. Prof is still not in so I tap my feet and my pen on the desk_ a habit I exhibit only when I'm nervous. The pen falls off the desk and I bend over to pick it up. Unfortunately, he bends over at the same time I do and we lock heads. My hands instinctively reach out to touch my throbbing forehead as his hands touch his as well. Our hands brush and I look up to his face and our eyes lock. It's like I'm in a trance_I can't look away and he doesn't also. I try to smile but can't. Its like we're passing messages through our eyes.

"You're so good looking it makes me want to cry" I say.

"Pssst, says the person that looks like a Picasso painting, do you know how Picasso painted people? You're like a frigging masterpiece." He says as he smiles, his perfect white teeth showing. I suddenly have the urge to run a hand into his soft mane of shiny black hair.

I blush and say "Are you flirting with me?"

"If I were blushing with you, Pet_You'd know"

I am brought back to earth by the girl beside me, who whispers 'Prof is here' and suddenly he looks away and the spell is broken. We both move back to our seats and I see him swallow hard.

He lets out a heavy sigh as if in pain and turns to me with an odd expression. They look like serial killer eyes to me.

"My name is Nabeel Kamba. Forgive me for all I did in the morning" he blurts,  as he walks out of the class. I see him glance at me and I could swear o saw his eyes glistening_the reflection of the sun or Tears perhaps?

To say I'm shocked is an understatement. He is Nabeel_Like 'TheNabeel'? Ilhaam's Nabeel? The school's most talked about guy Nabeel? And He apologized. Wow. What was that about?

And did that conversation take place or did it happen in my head? What the hell just happened? I'm confused.

And thanks to that little incident I kept thinking of, I didn't even notice the lecture was over till the girl by my side jolted me out of my world of thoughts again.

"Its getting late and everyone has left. Do you need some help?" She questions.

I smile and say "No, thank you. I'll manage_I'm just leaving now". She nods and leaves me sitting alone with my jumbled thoughts