Chapter 1
"Tumse Milkar Na Jaane Kyoon, Aur Bhi Kuch Yaad Aata Hai." -Pyar Jhukta Nahin
"Don't you hear the alarm, Maryam?!"
As Maryam Rehman started to open her eyes, she heard a click and her room filled with light. She covered her eyes with her hands and groaned, finally becoming aware of the alarm clock blaring on her side table. Before she could reach it, it was already off.
Maryam squinted up at her sister Samira who was glaring at her with her hands on her hips. Samira's small body frame seemed even more delicate than usual in a lacy white blouse and long pink skirt. Her waist-length straight black hair was neatly fastened with a clip and chandelier earrings with pink crystals were dangling from her ears.
"It was ringing for at least a minute," Samira told her. "Tum theek to ho?"
"Haan," Maryam answered, still dazed. "I had to take medicine for my allergies last night. It always makes me drowsy."
"Oh okay. Well, you should get up now. First day of school, remember?" Samira smiled cheerfully.
It was just like Samira to be excited about school. Just as she turned around to leave, Maryam remembered something.
"Apa, I almost forgot," she said, sitting up. "Happy Birthday!"
"Thanks," Samira replied, before returning to her own room, leaving Maryam to finally start getting ready.
The summer had been relaxing and fun, and Maryam was not happy about starting eighth grade. What was there to look forward to anyway? It was going to be another year of trying to do as well as her older siblings and failing to live up to their standards. Once again, it would take her double the time and effort to understand the material in her math and science classes than it took her best friend, Anne. She hated feeling dumb, which is why she hated school. The only good aspect to junior high was being on the basketball team, but tryouts were still over a month away.
Unaware of her sister's thoughts, Samira grabbed her backpack from her room and walked downstairs to eat breakfast. The idea of returning to John F. Kennedy High School for her third year excited her. Samira had enjoyed the summer, but was eager to go back to a routine. She liked staying busy and always having something to do.
In the kitchen, her four year old brother, Shamyl, was eating cereal at the breakfast table. Samira joined him and poured herself some Cheerios.
"Aur sab kahaan hain?" Samira asked Shamyl.
He answered, "Papa hospital chale gaye. Mummy went to meet the new neighbors."
"And Bhaiya?" inquired Samira.
"He just left five minutes ago."
Samira frowned. Her older brother Imraan had been in New York visiting a friend for the past week and had returned home sometime late in the night, while she was still asleep. She couldn't understand why he had left for school so early without even saying anything to her. Planning to ask him about it at school, Samira quickly finished her breakfast.
She wanted to wait and ask her mother about the new neighbors but had promised her best friend, Carissa, that she would meet her before class. She said goodbye to Shamyl and rushed out to catch the bus.
While Samira was on her way to school, a new student named Rehan was standing against a wall in the main quad of Kennedy High. He looked at all the unfamiliar faces, wondering how long it would take for him to make friends. Having lived in downtown Los Angeles for nearly his entire life, adjusting to suburban Fremont seemed like quite a task. A new house, a new neighborhood, a new school. All this to deal with while still trying to recover from an experience he wanted to forget.
Just as he was about to delve into the past, a girl with wavy brown hair walked up to him. She was holding balloons and a wrapped gift in one hand.
"Hi, are you new here?" she asked him with a smile.
Rehan responded hesitantly, "Yeah, but I'm actually a Senior. Just new in town."
"I didn't think you were a first year," she said. "I'm Carissa. Carissa Green."
She put her hand out and Rehan shook it.
"Rehan Akhtar. It's nice to meet you."
Rehan was relieved that he had at least found one friendly person.
The red brick building was as inviting as ever. Samira walked through the green double doors and down the hall. Stopping often to greet friends, she slowly made her way to the main quad.
Upon entering the quad, she saw Carissa standing near the water fountain holding balloons. When she noticed who Carissa was standing with, Samira immediately stopped in her tracks. Who was this guy? She had never seen him at Kennedy before. She watched as he ran his hand through the dark hair that was falling on his forehead, moving it away to reveal deep brown eyes. His smile was radiant and there was something about him that intrigued Samira.
"Hi Samira!"
Carissa's voice took Samira out of her trance, and she looked around, wondering if anyone had noticed her staring at the stranger. Silently cursing herself for being so silly, she walked towards Carissa.
"Hey Carissa," she replied.
"Happy Sweet Sixteen!" exclaimed Carissa, handing Samira the balloons and gift.
As she hugged her best friend, Samira stole a glance at the guy, who smiled at her.
Carissa introduced them to each other. "Samira, this is Rehan. His family just moved here from L.A. He's a senior, and you can probably tell, he's yet another one of your people."
Carissa was referring to the fact that nearly a third of their school was comprised of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and other forms of Desi students. This was hardly surprising considering that Fremont had one of the largest Desi populations in the United States.
"Rehan, this is my best friend, Samira, who I was just telling you about," added Carissa.
"Hi," Samira said to him.
"Happy Birthday," replied Rehan.
Carissa was about to start up a conversation, when the sound of her name echoed through the quad. Spotting her boyfriend, David, smiling at her from the entrance, Carissa excused herself and went to greet him.
"So…how do you like Fremont?" Samira asked after a few seconds of silence.
Rehan shrugged. "Seems nice so far. More peaceful than L.A. I guess."
"Is that why your family moved here? You were looking for a more peaceful place to live?"
"No actually, we just couldn't live in L.A. anymore because of something that happened. It's a long story," Rehan revealed cautiously, eager to change the subject.
Samira sensed his apprehension and decided not to inquire any further. "Well, I'm sure you'll like it here. My brother and I can show you around town if you like."
"That would be awesome," Rehan answered with a smile.
Samira returned the smile, and Rehan noticed her eyes for the first time. There was something familiar about them. Had he met her before?
Samira detected the pensive expression on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing," Rehan said, shaking his head. He was probably just imagining things. The name Samira certainly wasn't ringing a bell in his mind, so he decided to forget about it. "Where's your family from originally?"
"Lucknow, India," Samira answered, with a hint of pride. "How about yours?"
"Delhi. We came to the U.S. when I was about two, just before– "
The distinct chime of the school bell interrupted their conversation.
"What's your first class?" questioned Rehan.
Samira took out her schedule. "Spanish 4 with Mr. Rodriguez. Room 303."
"Same here," Rehan said, pointing to it on his schedule. "Is that on the third floor?"
Samira sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. I'll show you."
As they proceeded towards the stairs, Rehan was no longer anxious about being in a new environment. It was his last year of high school, and he intended to enjoy it.
Anne's red hair stood out in the crowd of students dashing down the hall to their second period classes. Maryam caught up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. Anne turned around abruptly, almost tripping over a blonde seventh grader who was tying his shoe.
"Sorry!" Anne shouted, as he stood up and ran towards his class. "Hey Maryam. Heading to Algebra right?
"Yup," replied Maryam, catching her breath. "The only class we have together."
"I know. This year is gonna suck."
Tell me about it, thought Maryam sadly. When they reached their assigned seats, the teacher was still organizing her papers, and there were two minute until the final bell.
Maryam was taking out her notebook when she felt a sharp jab on her back. She looked over her shoulder to see Jeffrey sitting right behind her, the very same Jeffrey who had spent the entire previous year tormenting her for absolutely no reason.
Jeffrey whispered in her ear, "Oops, did my binder accidentally poke you?" Then he broke into giggles.
Despite being enraged by his juvenile behavior, Maryam tried to stay calm. The last thing she wanted was to create a scene and attract attention to herself. Yet, she found it difficult not to remember Jeffrey's endless bullying and soon felt her blood pressure rising. Suddenly she heard a crack and realized that she had broken her pencil.
"Ooo, angry are we, Merry-yum?" Jeffrey added, in a final attempt to get a response out of her.
Maryam could feel her self-restraint diminishing, but Anne, who was sitting in front of her, came to her rescue.
"Trade places with me," she told Maryam. "If Mrs. Zimmerman notices, I'll tell her I'm sick, and couldn't take the air conditioning vent being above me."
Extremely grateful, Maryam traded places with her. Hearing Jeffrey grumble defeatedly, she smiled to herself. True friends could always be counted on to make difficult situations easier.
"Bhaiya!"
Imraan looked up to see Samira running towards him. She stopped right in front of him and crossed her arms in a mock angry gesture.
"Subah mujhse mil ke kyoon nahin gaye?" she protested.
Imraan responded with, "Pehle gale to milo! I haven't seen you in over a week."
Samira maintained the annoyed expression at first, but then ended up smiling and hugging him. "You don't know how much I missed you," she disclosed sincerely.
"Oh, before I forget," Imraan said. "Happy Birthday." He pulled out a small jewelry box from his pocket and handed it to her.
Opening it, Samira found a diamond pendant shaped like an 'S'.
"I bought it in New York," Imraan added.
"Thanks, Bhaiya. I love it! But this isn't going to excuse you from answering my question. Where were you this morning?"
"Sorry yaar," he finally responded. "They totally messed up my schedule. I had to get here early to get it fixed."
"Oh ok. Ab sab theek hai?"
"Yeah. Thank God. Repeating geometry didn't sound like fun, especially since I took it three years ago."
Samira looked up to see Rehan walking towards them. "Oh, there's the new guy, Rehan. I wanted to introduce you to him," she told Imraan, excitedly.
Imraan turned to look where Samira was pointing, but before he could see who Rehan was, his eyes went to a girl walking next to Rehan. He had seen this girl in his last two classes, and had barely been able to keep his eyes off of her. He wasn't the only one. Her dark curls, dimples and perfect figure were so alluring that all the guys had turned to look at her whenever she entered a classroom. Imraan couldn't remember ever seeing her before. She must have just transferred to Kennedy.
Rehan and the mystery girl both stopped in front of them.
"Hey Samira," Rehan said. "I'd like you to meet my sister, Sabah."
"Nice to meet you Sabah," Samira responded. "This is my brother, Imraan. Bhaiya, this is Rehan, who I was just telling you about."
Rehan and Sabah shook hands with Imraan.
Imraan asked them, "What grade are you guys in?"
"We're both seniors," Rehan replied.
"You're in the same year? Are you twins?" inquired Samira.
"Actually, Rehan's about 10 months younger than me," Sabah explained. "He skipped first grade."
Samira smiled at Rehan. "Impressive. So is it just the two of you or do you have other siblings?"
"There are actually four of us," Rehan explained. "Our older brother, Yusuf, is in college, and our younger brother, Amaan, was supposed to have his first day of high school today, but he's at home with an eye infection."
"Aww, poor guy," said Imraan, sympathetically.
"How about you? Any more brothers or sisters?"
"Believe it or not," Samira replied, "there are five of us. We have a sister in college named Aisha, a younger sister, Maryam, who's in middle school, and a four year old brother, Shamyl."
"Wow, that's quite a family!" exclaimed Sabah.
"Yeah, it sure is," said Imraan. "Hey, we shouldn't just stand around here. Lunchtime is only forty minutes."
"Yeah, we've already been here for at least five," Samira informed them. "I want to introduce you guys to our group of friends. What do you say? You want to have lunch with us today?"
"Sure," answered Sabah eagerly. "Shall we head over to the lunch quad?"
"After you," Imraan replied, with a gesture of his hand.
Maryam looked all over the cafeteria for Anne and finally found her sitting with Jackie and Preeti in a corner. They had saved a place for her.
"Thanks for helping me out in Algebra," Maryam said to Anne, as she sat down. "I don't know why he hates me so much!"
Preeti looked confused. "Who hates you?"
"Jeffrey," Maryam answered irately. "He was poking me with his binder today. I just can't understand what he wants."
Anne nodded supportively. "Seriously, he never bothers anyone else. Not even me, even though he knows we're best friends."
"Well, you can't just let him get away with it," stated Jackie with a mischievous gleam in her eye. "You should take revenge."
Maryam gave her a dismayed glance. "I don't want to get into any trouble."
"You're no fun!" Jackie retorted, rolling her eyes.
"Jackie, I'm serious. You know how my parents are. I don't want to disappoint them by being the first of their children to get a suspension."
"Okay, fine," replied Jackie. "But I think I have an idea that's completely safe. No one will know, and you'll have your revenge, but we'll all have to work together."
"We're listening," Preeti said.
"So here's the plan…" Jackie whispered, as they all leaned in closer.
"…and then there are the two sisters, Nisha and Anjali, and the girl with green eyes…I think her name is–" Sabah stopped talking when she saw Samira standing in front of her looking at her curiously.
Samira asked, "What are you guys talking about?"
"Sabah was just trying to remember the names of everyone she met during lunch," Imraan clarified.
"Oh, I see. Well, don't worry Sabah. You'll get to know them all soon enough. Wait, did you two just come from Physics?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Where's Rehan?"
Sabah laughed. "He walked down two flights of stairs before realizing he forgot his notebook in class. He'll meet us here in a few minutes. By the way, do you guys know where the stop is for bus 61?"
"Which way are you taking it?" asked Imraan.
"Um…I'm not sure actually. All I know is that we live on Corel Way."
Samira and Imraan exchanged surprised glances. "Corel Way?" they repeated in unison.
"Yes," Sabah insisted. "1092 Corel Way. Do you guys know where that is?"
"We better know, because our address is 1090 Corel Way, next door to your new place." said Samira.
"You're kidding!"
Just then Rehan joined them. "What's up, guys?
"Not much," Imraan answered. "We just decided that I'm giving you guys a ride home. I brought my car this morning."
"Oh okay," Rehan replied. "Do you live near us?"
Sabah opened her mouth to reveal the coincidence they had just discovered, but Samira spoke up first.
"Well, it's in the same general area."
When Rehan wasn't looking, she winked at Sabah, implying that she wanted to surprise him.
As they walked towards the parking lot, Sabah's hand brushed lightly against Imraan's arm. He looked towards her and realized that she hadn't noticed. As he watched her laughing and talking to Samira, he couldn't help thinking that no one else in the world was so perfect.
Just one question this time:
1. What do think of the characters so far?
Edited by SuhanaSafar - 17 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
