*Amaal pov*
I scrolled on my phone,  Turing down  hall  to the auditorium for the team draw

Yes , today was the team draw which mean sports were going to be held like every previous year and would end with carnival , I always wait around this fest to come . Not because I'm a sporty or something , it just that the end of carnival will have a donation which will be given to one lucky winner , many rich brat will not nominate but then the poor critter like me, who is up with scholarship will definitely do

I entered the auditorium and sat at the empty seat next a girl who looked like a junior

"Hello my dear students , as all you know this week is for the fest week and I'm so excited to say that like every year this year too there would be a special prize for the winning team and the carnival will be holding a special fund donation , so be energetic and be sporty and make your team win " the principal Alan Seth claimed off the stage after giving his speech which then was followed by ms maria giving instructions on  what to do and what not to do etc etc.

I texted Arham before walking upto the counter that was down the hall

'hey where are you '
Seen

'yea coming , just on the way'
Seen

Leaving her text on seen , I stood behind a big que , the line started slowly descending as the students collected their paper and walked down the counter .

Finally after waiting for 20 minutes or some my turn popped , I walked upto the stadium and picked up a cheat from the big bowl which was as big as me , there where four bowl's  placed, were students from each line marched up and collected their cheat ,

"Bismillah" I murmured and took out a cheat to see yellow

"Yellow yellow dirty fellow " I rymed the line walking down the stadium and then to the counter

"Name " ms Angelina who was on the counter 3 ,asked

"Amaal Abbas " I replied , then some information were exchanged before she handed me the yellow coloured band with my name

I pulled out my phone again to text Arham

"Hey where are you "
Seen 3mintues

"Meet me at the cafe "
Seen

The text sounded dire , my mouth twisted while thinking what might have been happen, I kept my phone back on my cardigan pocket and walked out to be greeted by a familiar face

"Hola"

"Hey " I said jerking a bit back by his abrupt presence

"So which team "he asked , I should up my wrist with my band to see his eyes sparkle

"Hey teamy " he should up his wrist with the yellow band

"Let gonna rock " I thums uped , a giggle escaped our lips as we gazed at eachother

"Will you join for a coffee ?"after a second  I invited him for a coffee for which he approved with a nod

"Why not " saying it we started to amble toward the cafeteria while discussing some topics on studies

"Yea that was really easy , I just solved it in a minute " we entered the cafe to see the seats occupied by a mass crowd

"It's full " Daniel said looking at the crowd and then back to me

" Wait , arham must be saving a seat's for us " I looked around to descry the short figure near by the window

"There she is " I pointed at Arham whoes back was facing us , we made our way  near her to see her spaced out while staring at the wall board

"Arham " I placed my hand on her shoulder when she said

"It's green this time but again with Sam " she stated looking straight the wall , not bothering to glance up

I remembered her saying of how badly she survived last year after being in same team with Sam , she being praying not to be in same team with Sam this year, but cruel fate just did.

"Fate "I uttered taking a seat opposite to her, followed by Daniel on my next

"I'm not gonna tolerate this time , I will tell me madoox to change my team " this time here eyes were met , there was rage of fire burning on her eyes .

"But that's not possible " I asseverated looking at her with straight face ,her eyes travelled up the board as if there were something written over it

"By hook or cook I'm gonna do that " her eyes showed the stubbornness there was silence until Daniel voiced his words

"Alyhan got the green house" Daniel imparted abruptly, scrolling through his phone , his eyes then laid up at us , a amaze was written over his face when he saw Arham gazing at him with sparkle while drool hang on her corner of the mouth

"Really? " she shrieked , gaining the attention from the people around us who's chitter-chatter were subsided by her bawl

"Get your voice down " I muttered making her to seal her lips , the stare of confusion and glares where thrown at us before they begin with their own chat

"Really " she hushed with enthusiastic in her voice

" Yea , he just texted me " Daniel said Woolley , his eyes stared at Arham when he said

" Don't say that your crushing him ?" he questioned with brows chocked at her

" One word for it " I stooped my head on the table when a leg blootered my foot beneath the table

" Ouch " I glared at Arham who just did it

"But Arham don't take alyan seriously or his words for granted " Daniel said making a funny- serious expression

" Okey , okey , I gotch it " she stood up and collected her bag " I need to go and catch up with ms Yasmin regarding to the projects , bye " she waved and strode out

" Wasn't it someone  saying something about changing the team " I joshed, her pace halted as her body slowly turned to face me

" Forget it , I think Sam is not so bad , I can keep up with her " saying it she stromed out before I could say something

I chuckled gazing at her back , who then disappeared with a turn.

" She is funny " Daniel commented to get a nod from me

>>>>>>
"Assalamualaikum " I said entering the house to be greeted by the silence

" Mom must be at shop " I said to my self as I made to my room , I tossed my bag on the table and first thing I did was to get a shower ,I was stinking as hell after the long day , I carried my dress and entered the washroom

I turned on the shower as the droplet of water touched my skin , the hot shower always serened me ,  the rose fragrance shower jell was sweet to smell as I applied it to my body .

After done with my shower I offed it and walked out wearing my losse hoodie and a pj , I took out the bottle of Cetaphil face wash and applied to my face and cleansed it and washed of with Luke warm water.

I covered my wet hair with a towel and walked to the kitchen to grab something

" Sandwich is in the refrigerator , heat it " I read the note pad that was sticked on the refrigerator

I took out the milk and sandwiches and heated it , after pouring the milk to a cup and sandwiches into a plate I marched to my room

" Selena Gomez new album " I munched on the sandwich as I scrolled down the news and then some texts when mom message popped on my screen

"Don't forget to give dad his tablet and food " - mom

I finished up my sandwich and drank the milk in a go and ran to his room

I smiled as I walked near him , dad mouth frowned a small smile , my dad was paralyzed , he couldn't talk nor he could do anything , he was just like a living corpse

My eyes wetted as I sat beside him , no child could bear to see their father in this state ,

He couldn't talk , he couldn't eat by himself even he couldn't use the washroom , he used to pass out the waste in his sleeping state

I took his dipper and cleaned his body with wet clothe and applied a new dipper and a clean cloth

" Dad, again a year and I will pass out my senior year " I holded his hand in mine , his eyes looked at me as if it was saying something

" I promise I will be a good doctor and will help the needy, I promise to go on the way that you showed me and I will do all that things that you made me to promise , I will make your wish come true  " I remember mom saying that if we had money then we could have saved him from this , not a single doctor helped us for the free treatment , everyone demand for the money which was out of our reach .

Dad always wanted me to be a doctor so that I could save some lives with free coast.

" Now take some tablet " I kept a tablet on his mouth and made him drink some water to glup it

" I promise you will be cured soon " I squeezed his hand with a brief smile

" Love you dad " I kissed his forehead like how he used to do for me when I was young  .

After shutting the door behind me I walked to my room

>>>>>
"Ufff" I shutted my books after reading and revising it . my eyes glanced up at the time to see 9 in the night , my throat dried as I started to feel thirsty , I stood from my seat and made myself to the kitchen  to get some water ,I opened the drawer and took a cup and filled some water and gluped it down in a go, I again filled it and strated to sip this time when I heard the front door open and shut.

"Assalamualaikum" I heard the familiar greet , I kept the cup down and walked to the front door to see mom with some groceries bags in her hand

" Walikum Salam ummi " I took some bags from her hand and carried it to the kitchen

"How was your day " she asked taking a glass of water and sipping it , I kept the bags on the table and sunk on the wooden chair

" It was good " I shrugged my shoulder

" How was your day " I asked . it was our thing to do when one get home

" It was good ,but " she flopped on the chair opposite to me , I could say something was bothering her as her eyes were kneeled the floor , she looked this sad when something bothered her

" But ?" I repeated. she loosened her hijab and strechted her neck and shoulder  , I gently got up and walked near her , my hands strated to move around her neck  and to shoulder as I started with a massage

"Thank you dea , this is what I exactly needed after a long exhausting day" she sighed . Her hand blindly covered upon mine before she planted a small kiss on back of my hand .

"So what happened ?" I demanded running my hands in circular motion around her shoulders

" Bills happened " she snorted this time. my hands stopped , I walked and stood in front of her

" This month the bills are high , I don't think I can pay it , even rents are pending " she stopped her face while pressing her index and thumb near her temple

" Don't worry mom , Allah will show a way , trust him " I placed my hand on her shoulder , giving a fine squeeze

" Hope so " a small smile pasted her lips

" You know carnival is around the corner " I cheered enthusiastically , trying to flip the topic and Change the temperature

" Really?" She asked where I nodded vigorously

" This time the donation is high , it's worth 10k dollars " her eyes lightened for a minute ,but then faded with a second.

" How can we expect to get the money when so many students will participate " she looked glum , hanging her head in hand

" Think positive mama , think Positive " I squeezed her shoulder , a small smile curved her lip

I walked back to my room after the few chat with mom , my phone lightened indicating a call , I walked near the table and took the phone in my hand to see a call , I squinted my eyelids looking at caller id

Zairaa

" Wohhh , am I dreaming " I pressed the green button and slided the phone near my ears

" Assalamualaikum " came high pitch voice from other end , making me to take the phone away and tuck my ear,

"Im all hear " I said putting back the phone near my ear after a second

"So finally you remember you have a cousin " I says, sounding to be Stern .I could imagine her rolling her eyes at my comment

"You know the call work two sides "came a sardonic response .

"So what's up zai " I collapsed on my bed , bouncing twice .

Zaira was my paternal uncle daughter who lives in UAE , she was the only relative I had from my father side , she was year younger to me , we shared lot strong bond even though we were so far .

"Nothing much " came a monotonous reply , I could hear her huffing and shuffling sounds .

"This junior year is so stressful and frustrating " she whined " except the fact of Arab lad, wallah they are so handsome that I couldn't resist my self from gazing at them " she carolled, I could imagine her sprinkling eyes and that dumpy smile

" Arab kids in your school ?" I blurted, flabbergasted. as per my knowledge ,Arab kids had a separate and specialised school for them, unlike the common people living there .they were hard to glance at .

"Not in my school idiot , I saw them out at the mall" she articulated

"And I was thinking you were dating one " I joshed , stifling a laugh . I could imagine her glowering face from other end

" Haaa, lameeee " her sarcastic voice boomed .finally giving upon myself ,I started to laugh like a manic , falling on my bum.

After few chitter-chatter , zai ended the call . I could feel my back pain by the posture of seating all day .I fall flat on my back, staring  at the ceiling blankly when something on my right hand vibrated , indicating a notification . I brought my phone over my face as I pressed on the new notification to see a text from a unknown number

Hi -
Unknown

I could feel my lump on my throat as I stared at the text ,my hands started to Shiver . I shot up straight in a sitting position while staring at  the phone .

A text from unknown number kinda felt strange to me  as I never shared my personal contact number with anyone else then the people I know and if I did shared my contact then I would be the first one to save it on my phone, i was kinda dubious when it came to sharing a number after whole thing happened in my past , I had this phobia of doubting everything that happened around me - more like to say I never trusted anything or anyone after that unforgettable incident .

I would have just gave upon a text and would have deleted it,  but what made me to shit my life out was that sarcasm .

Silence is golden and duct tape silver-
Unknown

I could feel my heart raise and fall with loud lub dub sounds . I rubbed my hand over my face anxiously.

"He is back. It's him " a voice from my mind uttered . I glupped the sore full lump down my throat

"No , no it can't be him "  I ranted , shaking my head vigorously from left to right

*Flashback*

"Is potato an instruments "  i rolled my eyes at his lame joke ,

"Is orange a fruit or a colour " he could be annoying sometimes , but then he was my life , my love .

"Can you please shut up with your lame jokes , I'm really pissed " i uttered with announce

"You don't like it " he pouted like a kid , I nodded my head in negative

Tears ran down my cheeks as I collapsed on the floor with my back sliding slowly . I brought my knees up to my chest and covered my face , trying not to make a sound .

"I will be back " his venomous voice echoed my ear

My nerve started to ache as I felt dizzy , I felt like to pull my hair out from the scalp, so much fustrating it was even to think about him now.

" He is back , your life is going to end , he will destroy it " a voice on my head ranted , I clenched and unclenched my teeth

" No , no , nooooo" I shouted , my tears started to flow down

"He promised to be back "  I throwed my phone with all my might , it smacked with wall and bounced back . I bent my face to cover my sobs that escaped my mouth

"Everything was beautiful until it happened"

••••
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Gypsy 💕