Chapter 1

"I love you."

"I know. I love me too."

"No, I like you... like a guy likes a girl. I want you to be my girlfriend."

"Uh... okay, but why me?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"I think you should ask someone your age. You’re only ten. How can you ask someone older than you this question? Go and play."

"Uh. Okay then, I’ll ask Sana to be my girlfriend. She’s in my class. Bye bye!" He ran off waving at me.

"Bye," I replied with a laugh. Watching cute kids really made my day.

I’ve lived in an orphanage my whole life. That’s why I still come here, even after moving out. It's part of my identity, a place I could never truly leave behind. Sometimes, I see glimpses of myself in these children, and I try to play with them—to give them the sense of security I’m still searching for.

I’ve always believed in one thing: if you don’t receive something, give it to others. Just because I didn’t receive love growing up doesn’t mean these children should be deprived too. That’s why I try to bring smiles to their faces, even if it’s just for a little while.

❀

The room was silent. Everyone was waiting for something to happen. Our principal sat at his desk, flipping through papers. Ifra and I were standing in front of him, anxious for his decision.

Why, you ask? Well, because we were caught bunking class yesterday. And thanks to Ifra's ridiculous idea, we had no solid excuse.

“Miss Ahmed and Miss Raees,” Principal Bukhari called.

“Yes, sir,” we replied in unison.

“You girls know that skipping class without a valid reason or prior notice can land you in serious trouble?”

“Yes, sir. But we swear we won’t do it again. Please forgive us this once,” I said on both our behalf. I wasn’t about to risk any further punishment.

“You two are good students, so I’ll let you off with a warning. But next time, I won’t be so lenient.”

We both let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, sir. We’ll keep that in mind,” I said, then grabbed Ifra's arm and dragged her out of the office.

“Aree! What happened? Why are you leaving me here?” Ifra shouted, running to catch up with me.

I ignored her and found a seat at the back of our classroom.

“Are you mad at me?” she asked, bewildered, after sitting beside me.

“And why wouldn’t I be? If it wasn’t for your genius idea, we wouldn't have been in trouble.” I scowled, but she giggled, which made me laugh too.

Soon, the teacher entered and started discussing the syllabus for the year. As someone who’s a bit of a nerd, I already knew most of it. So, I let my thoughts drift.

Let me introduce myself properly. I’m Bilqish Ahmed, 22 years old, studying English Honours, and in my final year. You might wonder about my surname—truth be told, I don’t even know where it came from. It’s been there since I was a child, so I never questioned it.

I’m a scholar-type, always ahead in my class. I don’t have anyone in life except Ifra, my best friend. She might be over-the-top sometimes, but I love her to the moon and back. While I don’t have grand goals in life, I do find peace with the kids at the orphanage—something I never find in this fake, over-pretending world.

“Shh… Where are you lost? Let’s go to our next class,” Ifra whispered, snapping me out of my thoughts.

We grabbed our books, packed our bags, and headed to our next class after a 30-minute break.

The classroom was almost empty when we entered. We picked a random spot and sat down, gossiping about the K-drama we were watching—My Demon. We had just two episodes left but were delaying them because of some spoilers we’d seen online.

Soon, other students started filing in, chatting among themselves. That’s when something unexpected happened—a new student walked in, sat right in front of us, and said:

“Hi.”

Can you believe it? A guy just plopped down in front of us and wanted to talk? Huh!

“Hello,” Ifra responded, being the total extrovert she is.

“May I know the names of you pretty girls?” he asked, clearly flirting.

“Oh! I’m Ifra, and she’s Bilqish. Don’t mind her—she doesn’t talk much,” she giggled. Why she found that funny, I’ll never know.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Zeeshan Abbas,” he replied smoothly.

“I’m new here and don’t know anyone yet. Would you two be my friends?” he added, looking unsure.

And he should be unsure because I’m not interested in making new friends. I figured Ifra would say no too—

“Yes, of course! No problem at all. Let us know if you need help with studies,” she said cheerfully, and I stared at her in disbelief.

She didn’t even ask me! Now I had to deal with another person, thanks to her.

I turned my focus back to the professor, who had just entered to talk about 70s literature. Yawn.

After an hour of fighting sleep, we headed to the cafeteria—now joined by that new student. I don’t hate him, but can’t he make guy friends? Why join our duo and make it a trio? I needed my one true escape now. I needed chai.

“Guys! Classes are over. Let’s go. I need chai—desperately,” I declared, interrupting their chat. They nodded, grabbed their bags, and we headed toward the parking lot.

After giving the nearest cafe’s location to Zeeshan, he left on his bike, and Ifra and I drove there in my car.

In less than ten minutes, we arrived. I ordered chai and cookies, Ifra got cinnamon rolls, and Zeeshan was still nowhere to be seen—giving me the perfect window to talk to Ifra.

“So, care to explain why you so eagerly agreed to be his friend?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I—”

“Hey guys! Sorry, got stuck in traffic!” Zeeshan said, interrupting just in time. I gave Ifra a glare that screamed: We’re talking about this later.

“Oh! It’s no problem,” I replied with a fake smile.

“Did you order already?”

“Yes, you should too.”

“Alright, coming in a bit.”

❀

“So now tell me—why did you agree?” I asked once we were chilling in Ifra’s room. We’d gone to her house after university to catch up with her parents. Now we were in her room, sipping cold coffee made by Mrs. Raees.

“Okay! I knew you’d be mad that I said yes to being his friend, but it’s been so long since we talked to someone new. I was just trying to add a little change to our lives.”

“Oh, cut the crap and tell me the real reason.”

“Huh! How do you know me so well? Okay, fine. I-uh—I LIKE HIM.”

“What? Speak clearly. I can’t understand you,” I said, even though I had heard her loud and clear. But teasing her was my birthright.

“I know you heard me. But I’ll repeat it for your dramatic ears: I. LIKE. HIM,” she said with a huff.

“Oh my god! My little Ifra is in love,” I said dramatically, laughing.

“Shh! It’s nothing like that. And what about you? Why were you being so sarcastic?”

“Was I? Hmm… I don’t remember. Maybe you were just noticing too much,” I teased, feigning innocence.

“Okay girls, enough for the night. Dinner is ready,” Mrs. Raees called out from downstairs.

We quickly freshened up and headed down, giggling over our inside jokes.

Since I was crashing at Ifra’s for the night and tomorrow was the weekend, we stayed up binge-watching K-dramas. After finishing My Demon, we started another new one, and eventually passed out.

The next morning, we slept in till 12. We only woke up when Aunty came in, giving us a mini-lecture.

Now, we’re sitting at the breakfast table, eating brunch. Mrs. Raees is giving us her usual glares while Mr. Raees chuckles over his tea, thoroughly enjoying the chaos.

“Uh, Aunty… I think I should go now. I have to clean my room and stuff, you know. I’ll take my leave. See you later, Mr. Raees,” I said, practically bolting from my seat, leaving Ifra to deal with her mom alone.

Uff, that was intense. I thought I was going to die, my heart screamed dramatically as I laughed, relieved to escape Mrs. Raees’s wrath.