Chapter 17 Humairah

Yesterday was amazing, my Ahmad got me a phone, a sim card, and opened an instant savings account for me. I didn't know how to thank him, he had done so much to me. He paid me my salary and we drove back home.

One impressing thing was how ATM cards were made, mine was erected in front of me using a machine. The banker in charge told me I was very lucky to have Ahmad Jaafar by my side, if not even BVN could take me days to get. Well, I was lucky indeed!

Today Sarah didn't come to work early, she was kind of ill so she had to take some pills first. I did her chores for her and as soon as she arrived she began helping me with mine despite asking her not to, she said she was fine already. Well, I didn't argue with her.

We were in the kitchen chitchating and cooking dinner when Naziha bounced in without a Salaam. "Hey Humairah, where is that phone?" She glared at me.

"The one Oga (boss) bought me?" I quivered.

"No, the one I bought you! Yar iska kawai (Stupid girl)" She said almost giving me a slap. She was so engrossed in anger.

"Okay, ma" I said as I quickly brought out the phone from my bag which was on a stool and handed it over to her.

"He doesn't have money to pay for my trips but he has money to waste on you!" She said bouncing out of the kitchen. Just then we started hearing Ahmad disputing with her, we couldn't clearly hear what they were saying but in few seconds she came back with the phone and handed it over to me. "I never knew you took loan to buy it, I thought it was free!" She mischievously smiled and left.

"Loan?" Sarah giggled as she gently pats me. "So, Ahmad told her you took loan?"

"I guess so, meanwhile it is free" I said.

"Well, you should keep your mouth shut before she hear that from you. Seriously, I am scared of that woman. She can kill" Sarah said as she washed the vegetables gently into a glass bowl.

"She can't kill me" I said as I returned the phone into my bag and continued with what I was doing before she came.

"Like seriously? She can not kill you because Ahmad loves you too, right?" Sarah hypothesised with a wrinkled brow. She had been saying Ahmad loved me ever since she came, I didn't know why and she wasn't willing to tell me. Was she jealous or something?

"Why are you always saying he loves me? Did he told you that?" I queried.

"Maybe not, but his actions says it all" She said as she gave me a weird gaze.

"Well, it is not a crime if he does" I blushed.

"I knew you love him too!" She squealed.

"Huh?" I wrinkled my brows.

...

As soon as we finished cooking dinner we served Ahmad and his wife, thus Sarah took excuse and left before time due to her piercing headache, it had started again.

I ate my own dinner in the kitchen and just as the boss and his wife were through with theirs, he texted me.

"Humairah, we are done"

Of course I could read, I didn't drop out of school until I reached secondary level remember? I smiled at his text and unhesitatingly left the kitchen to the dining area. Before, it was a scream but now it had turned to text message.

I cleared the dining, took the tableware to the kitchen and washed them. That was my final task for the day so I went back to the dining area and bade them goodbye before going outside. Faisal and Mubarak were busy eating their meal when I teasingly announced my presence to them with a vehement clap.

"God of mercy!" Mubarak squealed.

"Mtsww (hisses), I thought it was oga (boss) or madam" Faisal muttered and continued eating.

"Well, I am your madam" I smirked.

"Yes, you are his madam!" Mubarak giggled pointing at Faisal.

"Hey, didn't I warned you to..." I said as he cut in.

"Stop calling you his girlfriend? Come on Humairah, you know for sure that you are his girlfriend" Mubarak teased.

"I–am–not–his–fucking–girlfriend!" I said laying emphasis on my words.

"Yes, you are not my girlfriend!" Faisal chimed. "And what will I even do with a short girl like you? You don't even know how to cook"

"Well then spill all the food you've eaten so far and go get a girl that can cook better than me, mumu (idiot)!" I hissed, and that made both of them to bust into a scornful laughter. They loved teasing me a lot.

"I will surely..." Faisal was saying when he quickly drew back his words.

"Good evening, sir" I heard the two fools said in unison and that made me to wonder what was going on.

Was I the one they were calling 'sir?' I mulled over. But, if I was the one why weren't they looking at my direction? Was someone behind me? I gulped. Hence, I decided to turn and see for myself. Behold, it was Ahmad with his hands in his pocket standing like a statue. "Huh?" I wrinkled my brows.

"Your voice is very loud" He said to me with no iota of smile on his face. What was going on? Had Naziha done something that changed his mood?

"I am sorry sir" I gulped with my heart beating fast.

"You should be!" He coldly said to me and then turned to Faisal. "Stop eating that food and take her home, it's getting late!" He commanded and walked away.

"You see what you caused, right?" Faisal said to me while washing his hands with a kettle.

"It wasn't my fault but I am sorry" I said to him.

"It's okay, just go and wait for me in the car" He said forcing a smile on his face. "Mubarak will keep the remaining food for me, so don't worry" He added.

"Okay" I muttered as I went to the car and stormed into the back seat. Just then, a text arrived in my phone which reads;

"I don't want to see you talking to those fools in that manner ever again. If you keep on doing that I will replace them!"

Ahmad's text made me to puzzle. What was he talking about? I wondered while staring at the screen when someone got into the driver's seat. It had to be Faisal so I didn't mind looking up. I kept staring at the text message with lot of thoughts pacing my mind when a voice brought me back to reality. It was Ahmad, and behold he was the one that hopped into the car not Faisal.

"Humairah, that text is just a warning so don't be obsessed" He said.

"Huh?" I blurted out totally confused.

"Yes, and by the way I will be the one to drive you home today. So if you haven't fastened your seatbelt please do that" He said and just then he gave me a cute wink through the rearview mirror.

"Huhhh?" I wrinkled my brows with a smile, my happiness knew no bound!

"Why do you always do that 'huh' stuff?" He said as he quickly ignited the engine into action. "I am asking you"

"I don't know, sir" I blurted out.

"Like seriously?" He huffed.

"Yes, sir" I gulped.

"Okay then" He said and thus drove us out in speed like he did yesterday.

...

Ahmad Jaafar didn't know where I lived so I was his navigator. Throughout the drive, I was pointing out directions to him from the back seat where I was.

"Thank you, sir!" I said as soon as we reached our destination, and just as I was about storming out of the car he told me to wait which I unquestionably did.

"Naziha was angry when I told her I was the one that bought you that phone, I was surprised how she reacted" He huffed with a smile and continued. "So I lied to her that you took a loan for it and she fell for the trick"

"Hmm" I sighed.

"Let it just be a secret between us. She shouldn't know it's free, okay?" He said.

"Okay sir" I nodded my head.

"Goodnight" He said.

"You too sir" I said as I gently alighted the car.

"Alright" He gave me a cute smile and drove away.