Undying Affinity

by Sara Naveed

  ‘Miss Zarish,’ he muttered under his breath and smirked.

  Zarish came home feeling exhausted. She greeted her parents and hurried towards her room. She threw her bag on the floor and picked up her laptop to check her Facebook account. While going through her newsfeed, she came across a post from her university’s page where Ahmar had commented.

  Without thinking much, she sent him a friend request.

  ‘I don’t think he will add me back,’ she muttered to herself.

  Just then her mother came into the room.

  ‘Zarru, how was your day? Are you hungry?’ she asked and sat beside her on the bed.

  ‘Yeah, Mom. I am,’ she said.

  ‘I’ll bring you something to eat,’ she said and stroked her cheek.

  ‘What were you doing?’ Zarish asked.

  ‘Nothing much. I was watching this new soap on TV.’

  ‘Which one?’

  ‘Humsafar.’

  ‘Oh. I want to watch it too. My friends were discussing it the other day,’ Zarish said and got up from the bed.

  The protagonist, played by Fawad Khan, again reminded her of Ahmar Muraad.

  ‘Mom,’ Zarish said.

  ‘Yes, honey?’ Zarina turned to look at her.

  ‘Umm,’ she murmured, ‘there is something I need to tell you.’

  After hearing the story, her mother advised her to apologize. Zarish agreed.

  ‘How was your first day?’ Muraad asked his son.

  ‘Good,’ Ahmar replied, his eyes glued to the laptop screen.

  Ahmar always checked his social media profiles before going to bed. He was shocked to see that Zarish had sent him a friend request.

  ‘Why would she want to add me?’ he thought and shut down his laptop without adding her.

  The next day Zarish felt lighter and happier for no particular reason. She wanted to believe that Ahmar had forgotten what had happened and forgiven her.

  ‘Your assignment will be uploaded on the main server. You may download it from there,’ Ahmar announced in the class.

  He was dressed in a pair of beige pants and a maroon pullover. She noticed his fiery eyes as he delivered the lecture. A strand of hair had fallen over his brows and it made him look sexy.

  ‘I wonder if he responded to my friend request,’ Zarish thought, trying hard not to let his good looks drive her crazy.

  ‘So, if you have any doubts . . .’ Ahmar said to the class, ‘please feel free to ask me. Are we clear?’

  The students nodded.

  ‘Hey Zarish, up for a cricket match?’ Haroon asked her after the class.

  ‘You know I don’t play cricket.’

  ‘Who’s asking you to play?’ Sherry joined in.

  ‘Uh, then?’ she asked.

  ‘Just come and watch the match,’ Haroon said.

  ‘It’s going to start in fifteen minutes. Do you want to come?’ Sherry asked.

  ‘You want to go?’ Zarish turned towards Saleha.

  ‘Uh, okay. Sure,’ Saleha said.

  By the time they reached the playground, the match had begun.

  Zarish was happy that Haroon was taking an interest in sports again. At least he was not chasing after those stupid girls. Zarish spotted Ahmar and Jamal on the other side of the playground.

  ‘Zarish, look who’s here,’ Saleha said.

  ‘Of course, I know. Your Sherry is going to bowl.’

  ‘No, stupid. I’m talking about someone else,’ Saleha said and giggled.

  ‘Sir Jamal?’ Zarish asked innocently; she knew what Saleha was getting at.

  Saleha tapped her lightly on her head.

  ‘Ouch!’ Zarish squealed.

  ‘I’m talking about your nemesis, Sir Ahmar,’ Saleha whispered in her ear.

  ‘As if I care,’ Zarish said and shrugged her shoulders.

  ‘Are you sure you don’t care?’ Saleha asked.

  Zarish found herself staring at Ahmar. She observed his every move and facial expression.

  ‘Why is he so intimidating and extraordinarily sexy?’ she thought.

  Ahmar and Jamal were enjoying the match. Later, Maleeha joined them too.

  ‘How’s the match going?’ Maleeha asked.

  ‘It has just started. Our boys are doing really well,’ Jamal said with a grin.

  ‘Ahmar, do you like cricket too?’ Maleeha asked him.

  Ahmar turned to look at Maleeha.

  ‘Yeah, I do, but not more than football.’

  ‘Right, right,’ she said and rolled her eyes.

  ‘Do you want to drink something?’ Jamal asked her.

  ‘I wouldn’t mind a Diet Coke.’

  ‘Sure. Do you want anything, Ahmar?’

  ‘No, I’m fine, man. Thanks,’ he replied.

  Jamal went in to get the drinks.

  ‘It’s good to see you here, Ahmar,’ Maleeha said and patted him gently on his hand.

  ‘It’s good to see you here too,’ he replied.

  Ahmar, Jamal and Maleeha had attended college together and had been friends ever since.

  ‘How’s Samira?’ she asked.

  ‘She’s good. Busy with her married life.’

  ‘That’s lovely. I’m so happy for her.’

  Ahmar nodded.

  ‘Muraad Uncle must be happy that you’re here,’ she said.

  He nodded with a smile.

  Later that day, Zarish called Saniya to tell her that the same guy had joined their university as a professor. Saniya gasped in horror.

  ‘So, what are you going to do?’ she asked

  ‘Nothing,’ she said. ‘He hasn’t confronted me yet.’

  ‘That’s good. Maybe he has forgotten about it.’

  ‘Yeah. Right.’

  ‘As far as I remember, he was very handsome,’ Saniya said with a chuckle.

  ‘Yeah, just like Fawad Khan?’ Zarish said with a smile.

  ‘Yes. Why don’t you ask him out!’ Saniya exclaimed.

  ‘Hey, c’mon. He is my teacher, I can’t date him.’

  ‘So, what, Zarish? Don’t behave like a weirdo. This is the twenty-first century. There is nothing wrong with dating a teacher.’

  ‘I don’t know. No, this can’t happen,’ Zarish finally said. ‘It’s not right.’

  ‘But you want this to happen, right?’ Saniya probed.

  Zarish didn’t say anything. She changed the topic and quickly hung up. Later, she again checked her Facebook profile to see if he had accepted her request. It was still pending.

  ‘Damn. When are you going to add me back?’ she wondered.

  A feeling of emptiness filled Zarish as she sat with Maha and Saleha in the cafeteria. She felt like something was missing. But she could not put her finger on it. Perhaps it was because she had not seen Ahmar yet. Why did she think about him all the time? Her stomach twisted into a thousand knots at this thought.

  ‘Why don’t we girls plan a shopping spree?’ Maha asked Saleha and Zarish.

  ‘Sounds like a good plan,’ Saleha said excitedly.

  ‘Later we can also catch a movie,’ Maha suggested.

  ‘Guys, please. No romantic movies. I would love to see some action,’ Zarish said as she dipped a French fry into ketchup before putting it into her mouth.

  ‘Err. Okay. As you wish,’ Maha said.

  ‘Thank you,’ Zarish replied.

  ‘But why do you hate romantic movies?’ Saleha asked.

  ‘Because she doesn’t have a boyfriend yet,’ Maha said with a giggle.

  Zarish gave her a dirty look.

  ‘Am I right?’ Maha inquired.

  Zarish nodded with her mouth full of fries. She wanted to change the topic.

  ‘Then what about Haroon?’ Maha asked.

  ‘What about him?’ Zarish asked innocently.

  ‘Aren’t you a couple?’ she wondered.

  Zarish’s brows lifted in surprise.

  ‘Aren’t you guys in love or something?’ Maha asked.

  ‘Well . . .’
is all Zarish managed.

  ‘Hmm?’ Maha looked at her with curious eyes.

  Saleha listened to their conversation cautiously.

  ‘Okay, hold on. What do you want me to say, Maha? Just tell me. I swear to god I will say it,’ Zarish snapped.

  ‘I want to know the truth,’ Maha declared.

  ‘Ok. What do you think the truth is?’ Zarish asked, smiling artificially.

  ‘I don’t know. It just seems like you are attracted to each other. He appears to be very affectionate and protective towards you.’

  ‘That is true. We are best friends, but we’re not in love with each other. I love him but only as a friend,’ Zarish answered, hoping to put an end to the volley of questions.

  ‘Just as a friend?’ Maha asked again.

  ‘Yes,’ Zarish said in a firm voice.

  ‘Fine. I believe you.’

  ‘You should,’ Zarish said curtly.

  ‘Are you both done here?’ Saleha finally broke her silence.

  Maha nodded.

  ‘Shall we go to the library? We have to finish an assignment, right?’ Saleha reminded them.

  ‘Are you talking about Sir Ahmar’s assignment?’ Zarish asked.

  Zarish could not wait to attend Ahmar’s class. She wanted to ignore the storm inside her as she was not sure what she felt for him. As soon as he stepped into the class, Zarish felt relieved.

  ‘Done with your assignments?’ Ahmar asked.

  Zarish did not want to, but she could not stop herself from gawking at him. He was dressed informally in a white shirt and blue jeans. He scanned the room through his thick-rimmed glasses, his eyes intense as usual. His hair perfectly framed his face, with strands falling on his forehead. A pair of loafers completed the look. ‘This guy surely has a sense of style,’ she thought.

  Danish, who had been assigned the task of collecting assignment papers, tapped her shoulder.

  ‘Your assignment?’ he asked, interrupting her daydream.

  ‘Here you go,’ she said absent-mindedly as she handed him the paper.

  ‘What about yours, Haroon?’ Danish asked.

  ‘Mine is with Zarish,’ he told him.

  ‘What is it doing with Zarish?’ Danish asked. ‘Did she write yours too?’

  ‘That’s not your concern,’ Haroon spat.

  ‘What’s going on here?’ Ahmar asked, folding his arms.

  Haroon gave Danish a cold stare.

  ‘Nothing, Sir. Danish and I were just discussing the assignment,’ Haroon lied.

  ‘May I see your assignment, please?’ Ahmar asked politely.

  Haroon took the assignment from Zarish’s hands and gave it to Ahmar, who flipped through it quickly.

  Both Zarish and Haroon exchanged a quick nervous glance.

  ‘Have you written this?’ Ahmar asked.

  ‘Uh. Yes. Why?’ Haroon asked nervously.

  ‘Hmm. So, Haroon, can you please name the five companies that you’ve selected for your project?’ Ahmar inquired.

  Haroon went totally blank. Obviously, Zarish had written the assignment, and he had no idea about the details.

  ‘Yes?’ Ahmar probed.

  Haroon remained silent.

  ‘Okay. So, Zarish has written this paper for you. Get ready to face the consequences. Especially you, Zarish,’ Ahmar said, pointing at her.

  ‘But, I . . .’ she blurted.

  ‘No ifs or buts!’ Ahmar interrupted her. ‘I won’t tolerate this sort of behaviour in my class.’

  ‘But he is my friend, Sir!’ Zarish said out loud. Everyone turned to look at her, including Ahmar. ‘I just wanted to help him. This is what friends are for,’ she said assertively. Ahmar crossed his arms and looked at her disapprovingly.

  ‘Sir, it was just an assignment. He was busy so he asked me to do it. It won’t happen again. Don’t make a fuss over it, please,’ she boomed.

  Saleha, Sherry and Maha were stunned to see her confidence.

  ‘Still, if you want to deduct my marks, go ahead. The decision is solely yours. Nobody can change that,’ she said.

  ‘Done with your melodramatic speech, Miss Zarish?’ Ahmar asked briskly.

  She nodded.

  ‘Good. Thank you. Let’s proceed with our lecture now.’

  Zarish could not believe that he just snubbed her.

  ‘How can he treat me like that?’ she asked herself.

  ‘I need to ask him what his damn problem is!’ Zarish told Saleha after the class.

  ‘Zarish, he is just doing his job,’ she told her.

  Zarish’s face turned red with anger.

  ‘You need to calm down,’ Saleha said as she caressed her shoulder.

  ‘Does he want revenge?’ Zarish asked.

  ‘I don’t think so. He’s mature enough not to think that way,’ Saleha said.

  Zarish leaned against the wall and moaned. ‘This day is getting worse by the minute. First, Maha pissed me off and now him,’ Zarish whined.

  The weekend passed quickly. Zarish went out shopping with her friends but could not stop thinking about Ahmar. She longed to see his face. On Monday, Zarish could not hide her enthusiasm. She wanted to talk to Ahmar and clear the air between them.

  Her eyes lit up as Ahmar walked into the classroom. Dressed in a white shirt and grey pants, he looked breathtakingly handsome. Zarish noticed that he’d not brushed his hair like he usually did. His messy hair made him look even sexier.

  ‘He looks sexy as hell,’ Maha commented.

  ‘What? No way. He can’t be called sexy,’ Zarish protested.

  ‘Of course, he can be called sexy. Just look at him. You can see his sexy chest hair beneath that white shirt.’

  ‘Stop it, Maha. Please. You’re disgusting!’ Zarish bellowed as Maha burst out laughing.

  ‘What’s your problem anyway? Can’t I admire his sexiness?’ Maha asked.

  ‘Keep your dirty thoughts to yourself, please,’ Zarish snapped back. She hated Maha for putting this image in her mind. She could not stop staring at his chest now.

  ‘Damn . . . he’s sexy,’ she thought and then abruptly lowered her gaze. She could feel her cheeks burning up.

  Ahmar greeted everybody in the class and began the lecture. After the class, he distributed the assignment papers and left the room. Most of the students had scored well. Zarish was astonished to see her marks. She had got only six out of ten.

  ‘How much did you get?’ Haroon asked her.

  ‘I got six. Only six,’ Zarish cried.

  ‘You scored better than me. I got four,’ he said with a chuckle.

  ‘This isn’t funny, Haroon. I can’t digest such low marks.’

  ‘I know, I know, you’ve always been a good student,’ he said with a hint of humour in his voice.

  Zarish rose from her chair and ran outside after Ahmar.

  She stormed into his office without knocking. He was busy reading a file.

  ‘This is not fair, Sir!’ she said.

  Amazed by her sudden appearance, Ahmar tilted his head to look at her. Her cheeks were red with anger, and hands closed tightly into fists.

  ‘You know you didn’t ask for permission before entering my office,’ he said brusquely.

  ‘I know, but what you don’t know is that I don’t deserve such low marks,’ she said with a frown.

  He shut his file and placed it on the table.

  ‘I have scrutinized your assignment and given the marks it actually deserves.

  ‘No, Sir. I know I deserve more marks. If this is about helping Haroon then . . .’

  ‘No. It’s not about that,’ he said before she could complete her sentence.

  ‘I know it is, Sir. Or maybe you still want to take revenge,’ she said accusingly.

  ‘What?’ he gasped in shock.

  She nodded.

  ‘What revenge?’

  ‘You still haven’t forgotten what happened that night, have you?’ she asked him at last.

  ‘What are you talking about? W
hich night?’

  ‘Don’t pretend. You know what I am talking about: the night when my friends and I insulted you. This isn’t our first meeting and you know that.’

  Ahmar sighed and leaned back in his chair.

  ‘Well, Miss Zarish . . .’ he said. ‘This is surely not about that night. In fact, I had completely forgotten about that. I know it was not my fault. You suddenly bumped into me. Later, you and your friends played a really stupid game. But trust me, I still did not take it seriously. I forgot about it the very next day.’

  She studied his face and realized he was telling the truth.

  ‘I’m not a kid who would come and seek revenge. C’mon. Mature people don’t do that,’ he said and smiled.

  ‘That smile . . . oh my!’ Zarish thought.

  ‘Oh, really?’ she said, acting innocent.

  He nodded slightly.

  ‘What about my assignment then? I worked really hard on it,’ she said with a sad face.

  ‘Keep it on my table. I will look at it again.’

  ‘I was just trying to help my friend and . . .’ she explained.

  ‘It’s okay. I understand. But don’t do such things in the future; it might affect your grades.’

  ‘Okay,’ she muttered.

  ‘Anything else?’ he asked as he picked up his file again.

  ‘Are you still angry with me?’ she asked.

  He looked at her again, his expression softening.

  ‘I was never angry with you, Miss Zarish,’ he put down his file and looked at her intently.

  Zarish could feel his eyes on her and that made her blush. His seductive stare made her go weak. She looked away as colour filled her cheeks.

  She felt a sudden urge to leave, but her legs refused to move. Her body stiffened and her hands began to tremble. Her heart thudded against her chest.

  ‘Are you okay?’ he asked in a concerned voice.

  ‘I’ve never felt this good before,’ she thought and then smiled at him.

  Zarish could not sleep that night. She kept tossing and turning in bed. She could not get his burning and sensual stare out of her mind. The way he stared at her, the way he talked to her, everything was so mesmerizing. And how could she forget his smile? Around him she was caught in a vortex of emotions. She was a different person with him. She wanted to look good for him, wear pretty clothes.