Chapter 4 The Secret

Jameela woke up in the late afternoon. It seemed she had been sleeping for a while. Her phone kept creeping up with notifications as she lazily dragged herself to the side drawer and pulled out the phone. Three were from Ibraheem, one from Mariyam and four from Drew. They were all informing her of their meeting at the cafe. Oh my, she uttered aloud. She had completely forgotten about it. Nina had also sent a voice note telling me to go to the cafe without waiting for her because she had to escort her mom to the dentist before heading there.

Jameela prayed Asr before rushing downstairs to take a bus. The school was less than thirty minutes away from her house and the cafe was located just behind the school. She was taking driving lessons during the weekends, but she was still scared to be behind a wheel. The feeling, while driving a car gave her goose bumps, so she always found a way to delay her driving lessons. Sometimes, Ibraheem would give her a drive to school.

By the time she arrived, her friends Mariyam and Jamie were already there. They were both seated outside the café sipping their drinks. She already knew what their discussion would be about - tha sleepaway camp.

"Hey." They greeted each other. She found a chair next to Jamie and sat. A waitress immediately came and she ordered a strawberry juice. Skybay High School was originally a leading high school in Florida. Over the years, it expanded to other state in the United States and years ago, it launched in other regions – Asia and Africa. Nigeria being the giant of Africa was lucky to be one of the countries the school was launched in. Over the years, more and more parents enrolled their children in the school for it was known for its academic excellence and the students love it. Because of this, a lot of foreign workers, and ambassadors from other countries enrolled their children there. Hence, why Jameela's clique was diverse.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to buy some few items for Saturday," Jameela told them.

"I have been feeling out of everything lately. I don't know why. Actually, I even took my pills before coming here." Mariyam blew air loudly, pushing back her long hair. Mariyam was the daughter of a businessman who specialised in mining from India.

"That's sad. But aren't you taking them a bit too much?" Jameela asked. Mariyam was bipolar. She took pills every day, but lately Jameela had noticed that she had been taking them a bit too often.

"Nah, I'm taking them normal. Besides, sometimes I have these flashes that disrupt my brain. I can't do anything when I'm having them. The pills calm me," She explained.

"Don't worry. Camp will take everything out of your system. You will be refreshed. You'll see," Jamie reassured her.

"Yeah, he's right. But does your aunt know? I'm sure she would persuade your parents not to let you go." Jameela said, a mental picture of her friends tough aunt coming to mind. Aunt Faridah was a very strict lady, who had a strong say in Mariyam's family. Her knowing about the pills, would just be enough for Mariyam's trip to be cancelled.

"Nah. She doesn't know. I mean, you know how she can get. I begged Mom and Dad not to tell her." They laughed relating experiences they each had with Aunt Faridah. She was the toughest lady they had ever seen. Always wanting to be in control of everything. Jameela admired her strong willed attitude and doing whatever she wanted. But her controlling everything? Nah. It wasn't right. Everyone was created to have their own unique thoughts, different from others. Allah SWT created everyone that way. No one had the right to forcefully make another do what they didn't want.

At that moment, her other friends - Nina, and Natalya made their way towards the cafe. Nina was the same height as Jameela. She weighed a bit more, but they still borrowed each other's clothes. Natalya, on the other hand, was quite skinny and tall. Had blue eyes, shallowed cheeks, and pale skin. Jameela teased her a lot about how she should model for Victoria's Secret. She had the looks.

Nina was the talkative of them all. Hence, she began bombarding them with stories from home. "I was washing a rug. Johnny spilled milk on it and Mom being mom, insisted I wash it. Ugh. So tiring and boring." She began, removing her blue striped coat and placing it on the chair.

Jameela smirked, "you are so lazy. Who did you want to clean it?"

"Him of course. He makes a mess. He cleans it. Simple. That's how it should be. He makes so much mess that I'm just so tired. And why do I have to always be the one? Thank God, we are going away for a while. You don't know how happy I am. At least for the time being, Kenny and Jenny will clean his mess." She laughed, "Oh, how I wish I would be there to see how their faces will shrink and burn." She laughed again.

Mariyam chirped in, "You were once a kid too. You know?"

"Yeah. But definitely not as horrible as him."

Jameela widened her eyes, "You? With you, I can only expect worse."

"Hey! That's not true. I was actually a good baby. My mom has always said that I have been the quietest as a kid."

"Hmph. Story for the gods," Jameela smirked.

All this while, Nat had been beaming from ear to ear for no reason, just listening to them ramble about. Nat, being a Russian-Spanish, had golden skin, with wide blue eyes. Her heart shaped face correlated evenly with her shoulder length dark hair and thin lips. She was talkative when the need arise, otherwise, she was usual silent.

"What's up with you, Nat? You seem weirdly excited." Jameela inquired.

"I'm super excited. I mean, Ryan is also going to camp. I was remembering fifth grade when we went to that museum and he was sick. Before we even arrived, the bus had to stop to take him to the hospital," Natalya talked really fast, so fast that Jameela had to blink several times before she made out a single sentence. As if she mumbled all the words into one.

"Yeah. And you went hysterical and kept crying. And how old were you then? Oh mi God. Nat, you have been crazy since you were born," Nina teased.

"Oh please. I was just worried that the poor boy would get really sick, ya know," Nat said flipping back her hair and straightening her posture.

"Uh-huh. And when we were given a singing activity, you going in front of the whole class to show them your 'skills' is also part of, let me guess showing him how to sing right?" Jamie added.

"You guys are right. I think she kind of is obsessed with him. Like really obsessed," Nina winked.

"Nina, I think we should name her obsession as ORD. Namely - Obsessive Ryan Disorder." Jameela teased.

They all laughed expect Nat who was not taking it likely.

"Really, guys. Why do you keep doing this to me? This is why I don't like talking about him." Nat snapped.

"Chill sis. It's a joke. Okay we're sorry. But seriously, I mean, we have been at this since like forever. Just tell him." Jameela told her.

"Just do it. We are in the twenty-first century and you honestly think a girl should not speak first. It's so outdated. And outrageous by the way." Mariyam commented.

Mariyam turned to Jamie and asked, "What would you think if a girl told you she loves you?"

He smiled, "Well, you know me. I would be glad, and if I like her too, then no problem." Jameela smiled. That was why she loved him. Jamie was the kind of guy that was so easy-going and normal. He never kept grudges. When he was angry with someone, he said it. His motto - shake any bad feelings away. Be optimistic, because it was make you glow.

"Definitely. You're right, bro. See? We haven't got any problem." Joe smiled. He was the most outgoing of the group. A bulky guy, he was the one in charge of protecting them from any bully. Luckily, due to his huge figure, the bullies would be scared of him and even apologize instantly.

Jameela huffed, "At least, you are not like those chauvinistic men." She turned towards Nat, "see? Be modern, please."

They spent the afternoon discussing about the trip. Mainly about the activities that would take place there. Joe showed them his new wrestling band. He had been into it since he was just a kid, and was planning to be a professional wrestler someday.

"See you tomorrow. I better get back home and rest. I plan to sleep early today. You know I'm not a late sleeper." Joe yawned.

"Bye guys." They each went their separate ways, while Nina and Jameela walked together. Their houses being close, just two blocks away from each other.

********

A message crept in to her phone just as she was about to sleep. After she arrived home, she performed Maghrib and Isha' and ate dinner. The screen blinked as she turned it on. She clicked open the message, grinning all the way.

"Hey beautiful. Where has you been? Are you ready for the journey? Can't wait to see you on Saturday. Love you Querida." 'El es un secreto' put in a heart emoji. And a short voice message which she played, snuggling into her duvet further. It played, "Te amo mucho nene. Tu sabes que tu eres la most amazing cosa en mi vida. Adios." The voice was so smooth. There was always a heavy Southern Spanish accent when he was speaking. In this case, Spanglish.

She kissed the screen, laying it on her chest. Mi secreto, she said aloud. She fell asleep soon afterwards.