Before: Zahni
I was booking it. Power walking in long strides so I could make it to my first class on time. I left this morning in such a panic I forgot to take a picture of my class schedule. Rookie mistake.
On top of that, the universities web page didn’t work well logging in on your phone. Of course, I could stop and pull out my laptop but the Wifi password was in my university email.
This was all Zanib’s fault. If only she’d of come out of the bathroom earlier. Seriously, it doesn’t take more than three minutes, if that, to put on your hijab. Unfortunately, it was my responsibility to drop her off to school and she had decided to try out a new wrapped style with a chiffon scarf for her first day of senior year. Seriously? A Chiffon scarf, one of the slipperiest of all slippery scarfs!
Okay, so maybe it was a bit my fault too. We stayed up late last night gorging ourselves on sweets and watching The Great British Bake off; mourning the last night of summer vacation and celebrating my first year of college and her last year of high school. I usually screen shot my upcoming schedule the night before and print a copy to tape to my wall. But somewhere between signatures, technicals, show stoppers, and first day outfits, I forgot. I had two whole months to do this, how am I so ill prepared already?
For some reason, I also thought it was a good idea to take a 8 am class since I had to take my sister to school and was use to having class at 7 am. I guess I thought I would get my day started early so I could finish early. I see now that was yet another freshman error. Morning traffic and a sleepy slowpoke sister will probably make me late even on mornings when I actually know where I’m going.
The only thing I remembered about my schedule was Clifford Hall for Psychology 101 at 8 am in room 205. After asking a few students and getting a few smirks and points in the general direction, I believed I was headed to the right place. The front steps of the building were in view when all of a sudden I bounced off another body and onto the cold hard concrete. Great.
“Hey what gives?”
“My bad, I’m late, ouch.” I heard a deep voice say as his head bumped into mine and knocked my glasses off while we both scrambled to grab our things.
“Alhamdulillah. At least my glasses didn’t break.”
I put them on and immediately snapped my head away from them.
“Sorry, those must be mine. Here try these... oh As-salam alaykum sis.”
“Wa alaykum salam…”
I was momentarily taken aback. A beautiful chocolate boy with curly hair, a blinding smile, and honey-caramel colored eyes had slipped my glasses through the underside of my scarf back around my ears and was holding them there. I could feel the heat radiating off of his hands or was that my face?
My hand shot up to my temple to fix them in place and the tips of our fingers accidentally touched, while I looked deep into those beautiful amber eyes of his. We stayed like that a beat too long, this stranger not quite but kinda cupping my face, before we remembered ourselves and looked down. Snapping away from each other like hands touching a hot flame.
“S-sorry I don’t know why I-I guess I could’ve just handed them to you,” he stammered.
“Thanks,” I mumbled. “You have no idea how badly I need these- well I guess you do.”
“Yeah I know, I have a thique prescription. I’m basically legally blind,” he said.
We laughed while gathering up the rest of our stuff. I handed him his phone and the school web page was still loading.
“Are you trying to pull up your class schedule?”
“Yeah that’s why I was rushing. My first class of the day and I’m already late. My fault for running while looking at my phone though. I can see my mama shaking her head at me now. You’re not hurt are you?”
“No cuts or bruises and both pairs of glasses unscathed and still intact. So no harm done I guess.”
He lets out a breathe and shoots me a grateful smile.
“That’s true without my glasses I might as well give up. I’m looking for Clifford Hall for my psych 101 class. But the map won’t load. Someone pointed me in this direction.”
“Same, something seems to be wrong with the schools web page though, so I wouldn’t waste your time. But I guess we both found our way here.”
“Well it’s a relief not to have to walk in late alone. Shall we?”
He jogged towards the door to hold it open for me, almost tripping a little bit over the final step. Smiling I looked down and pretended I hadn’t seen.
We head into the elevator to go up to the second floor. The doors close and we catch each others eyes again in the shiny reflection and look down until the doors open to let us out.
“So are you a psych major or are you taking this class to be a well rounded student,” he said putting his hands in quotes.
“No,” I laugh, I’m a business major. “What about you?”
“Oh, it’s definitely to be a well rounded student. I’m a computer science major” he said. Just as we find the room and peak in through the narrow glass window.
“Here let me get the door for you.”
“Ever the gentleman,” I whisper as he starts to open it, “or are you just making sure I walk in first?”
He gives me a sheepish grin. But when he opens the door he moves quickly to stand beside me as about twenty odd or so faces turn to look at us. Were both shoulder to shoulder and foot to foot like we’re standing in line for salat, but smooshed awkwardly into a classroom door frame.
The professor who must’ve already been going over the syllabus sighed and put the paper down.
“Well don’t dawdle in the doorway, come in and sit down. What are your names?”
“I’m Zahni Ali.”
“And you’re companion?”
“Oh we’re not- he’s not- I stumble while there’s snickers around the classroom. Bruh! Why did I say that?!
“Ms. Ali I’m not asking for your relationship status just his name.”
He looks toward him expectantly.
“S-sorry, I’m S-Shahid Abbas.”
“Hmm, neither of you are on my roster.”
He shakes his head.
“Well have to deal with that after class. Once again everyone I am Professor Stevenson and this is Statistics 103.”
Shahid and I looked at each other with shock and dread in our eyes. Crap I mouth as he sunk down deep in his seat. I mime a choking motion with my scarf and the corners of his mouth turned up.
“Hopefully, that will be the last interruption this morning and everyone else who should be here is already in their seats. As I was saying you should’ve already read your syllabus but we’ll go over what the school and I expect from you briefly.”
I spent the remainder of the class doing what I’d normally be doing anywhere else, trying to make myself as small and unnoticeable as possible… not that it was possible. Shahid's only movement from his sunken position was to place a hand on the side of his face. If I didn’t know any better, he could pass for being in deep thought. But I knew he was hiding just like I was.
At the end of class, we both tried to hurry and sneak out with everyone else.
“Hold on you two. We still have the matter of putting you on my roster. Come on up here and write your names so I can find you in the system with the correct spelling. I have to get to my office hours and I’ll fix it then.”
“Um, actually Professor I think I- well, we're in the wrong class,” I said.
“I see. So you sat through the entirety of my class, that you came into late, rather than leave and find the correct one?”
“We didn’t want to disrupt your class any further,” Shahid said. "Or walk into another class late,” he added a little under his breath.
“Very well, where were you suppose to be? Show me your schedules so I can point you in the right direction.”
I winced and shared a pained look quickly with Shahid.
“Were suppose to be in Psych 101 in Clifford Hall Professor,” I said.
Clifford Hall?” Suddenly Professor Stevenson started laughing loudly. Obnoxiously loud. “This is Stilton Hall! Clifford Hall is the building next door.”
I felt my face heating up. The skin on my cheeks tingling as he continued to bellow with laughter.
“Oh…thank you. I’m sure we can find it on our own from here.”
I turned immediately to make for the door but saw Shahid seemed frozen in place. He was looking down with his right hand grasping hard around his phone.
“Shahid,” I hissed.
He raised his eyes and I bucked mine back at him while jerking my head towards the door. Finally, he made to move.
“Good luck with that! There are three different Psych 101 classes happening in that building this semester. It is the Psychology building after all,” Professor Stevenson said several octaves louder than necessary while following behind.
“Seeing as you couldn’t even find the right building to start with, I don’t have high hopes for you find the correct class.” He continued to laugh obnoxiously loud behind us in such a way that it seemed he was hoping to attract attention. He was successful because the professor from the class just beginning next door stopped mid lecture to listen and once again several sets of eyes were looking in our direction.
This was not in line with small and unnoticeable. I didn’t even bother with waiting for the elevator. Just shot through the door to the stairwell as quickly as possible.
