Six

The sky outside was intense grey, recovering from the storm it passed through. It was breezy and looked like it was early evening. Faride marvelled at the sky staring down at her. Completely opposite to the one she saw hours ago. It was indeed a miracle that only God can perform. Sited on a one arm chair at the sitting area, she hugged her friends goodbye. "See ya tomorrow."

Nur winked at her. "And please check your WhatsApp today."

They had finished lectures for the day but Farouq had one more class and as the rule was, they had to wait for him as well before they all went to take Nana and Abida from their schools. Hajara was dozing off in a classroom in class 1A while Ibrahim sat next to Faride playing a video game. Bored to death, she shrunk into her seat, watching the endless school advert on the wall TV. "Mind if I join you?" A deep voice vibrated behind her.

Oh God. What was he still doing here? When they finished class, she looked around but couldn't see him so she concluded he was gone. But here he was. "Ohh ok." Came her timed reply.

Rolling his sleeve, he sat next to her, and crossed his legs, intently looking at her. Even though they were sitting side by side, she could feel the burn of his gaze. Oh God. This man better stop looking at her. She felt warm all over. Excited to be in someone's attention. What if he was a rapist? Ugh. Faride why must you always ruin everything? She glanced towards him, before quickly averting her eyes. His eyes were too brown. Too sharp. "Um, don't you um, have work?" Stupid, stupid! How can you ask this man that? Scratch that. This hunk, as Liu told her hours ago. What did that even mean? Hmm. She would check that in the dictionary later on.

"I do. But I have other people taking care of that." He glanced at his watch. "What time is your next class?"

"Ohh, I don't have class anymore today."

His brows furrowed. "But you're still here and your friends have gone."

"Yeah. I'm waiting for my brother. He's in class."

"Can't you go home on your own?"

She stalled. What could she say? He would realise how weird she was. Her mom's words came back to her. It was always better to tell the truth. "We always go together. Never separately. All of us," and she pointed at her brother.

He relaxed. "I see."

Silence filled the air once more. Faride fidgeted, praying he would say something else. The silence was too disturbing. Now what would he think of her? That she was controlled? Oh God. She turned on her phone and played a game she had installed last night. Hopefully papa wouldn't see anything wrong with it and delete it. Super Mario had always been her favourite game and she knew she would be distraught if he banned her from playing it.

Laughter and footsteps filled the air signalling that classes were over. Before long, Farouq stepped into the area with his bag over his shoulder. "Hey. I'm done. Where Hajara?"

"She's in class 1A. Sleeping." Faride yawned, stretching. She felt weak and tired from sitting. Farouq bounded up the stirs to wake her while Faride and Ibrahim went outside. To her surprise, Alejandro was also following them. "Let's go." He told them, dead in the eyes.

"Wha-what?" They both stammered.

He repeated, cold as ice. "I'm taking you home."

Faride and Ibrahim looked at each other. Ibrahim gathered the nerve to speak. "Oh but its okay. Thank you. Um, we can use the train."

"But what's the deal? I'm here. It'll be easier. Don't you think?"

The deal is that you are a stranger. And a hot one for that matter. We can't just follow you around. But of course, she didn't say those words aloud.

"Besides, the city is not a good place for kids like you." His eyes rested on Faride. Something underneath his voice scared her. He was impatient, she could tell. What this man would do if he was annoyed, no one could tell. But it looked like it wouldn't be good.

Hajara and Farouq joined them, wondering why they were looking all scared. "What?" Hajara repeated when they told her. She looked over at Alessandro who was leaning against his car. "He wants to take us? What if Papa sees us?"

"There's no what if. Cos we ain't following him. We don't know him for goodness sake. He could be anyone. Maybe even sent by Papa to test us. You know he can do that."

"Exactly." Ibrahim agreed.

Farouq rolled his eyes at them. "Guys, not everyone is under Papa's payroll. Besides we need to live a bit. I suggest we follow him. That way we won't pay a dime and it'll be cool. Just check out his car. Hajara, you know you're still weak. This will be a good opportunity for you to rest instead of trekking all around."

Hajara didn't know what to say. It was true. She was still sick and a good opportunity like this was hard to come by. Who knew, she might faint on their way to the station or something. She still felt dizzy.

The weather suddenly turned grey, whipping sounds coming from afar. Cars rushed past them in a bid to get home fast. Faride pulled her cloth closer, as she shivered in the cold. She looked up at the sky, which was getting darker by the second. A storm was going to erupt. Cans and leather high up in the sky.

"Okay, let's go." Hajara finally agreed.

They all trooped in his sleek red Mercedes. A misty scent hit Faride's nose. Inside was cool, beautiful and well kept. They were no papers littered around. She loved the serene feeling it gave her. Snuggling deeper in her seat, she let the world flow by as she imagined being in a different environment. Where she was free and happy.

"Please, we have to stop by our sisters' schools first." Farouq who was sited in front of the car told Alessandro.

"What's the address?"

The car ride was smooth and bumb free. Hajara had started dozing off when they reached Nana's school. Ibrahim went to pick her up then they reached Abidas'.

"Who is that?" Abida whispered to Faride.

"A random guy who wanted to drop us." She whispered back.

Abida nudged her again, and pointed her chin to the rear-view mirror. They locked eyes. Oh God. He was glancing at her all this time. What was wrong with this man? She kept a straight face a she looked directly ahead.

They reached Jalan Putra at the same time droplets began falling. "Stop here, please." They had already rehearsed that they wouldn't tell him where they lived. It was safer that way. They all climbed down, thanking him for the ride. He didn't smile but at least he acknowledged them. "Faride."

She looked at her siblings who shrugged, and walked a safe distance waiting for her. "Yes?"

His eyes bore a lot of pain. He looked like he wanted to tell her something important but changed his mind at the last minute. "Till we meet again."

What? That was it? She stood back watching his car drive away. That man was out of his mind. Till they meet again, where? Nonsense. She would never see him again, she hoped. Handsome or not, he was dangerous.