3 ??Why are handsome boys jerks??? (1/2)

PRESENT DAY

LEIA

My armpits were sweating like crazy. The sun had chosen that exact day to give the most heat and with the clothes I was wearing, I was sure going to pass out.

I bit my lip as I stared at the red-bricked building in front of me. Leroy High hadn't changed one bit—except this time, instead of junior building, I was going to the senior one.

Our school system was hard to describe to a foreigner. Since the British had—sadly—ruled over Pakistan, we were forced to follow their education system.

Except for, here's the shock, we were somehow also following the American system.

See? I said it was complicated.

Leroy High was located in a posh area near the airport and it was the biggest campus in all of Pakistan. It was also the most expensive.

How I was paying for it all on my own, was a story for another time. Right now, I had a killer entry to make.

It was going to suck so bad.

Turning the ignition off, I slammed my head on the steering wheel of my mini and groaned.

Half an hour of sitting in the same position, and I still didn't have the courage to face everyone. Real life was much different from books.

You have fears and you can't just live with the 'I don't care what people think' attitude. Because at the end of the day, you sometimes did care.

At the very least, you cared on the first day.

Especially when you'd been the gossip of town for years and you did not fit anywhere in the societal standards. At least, not anymore.

I took one last deep breath and forced myself to turn off the Qur'an playing on my phone. It was one hell of a phone too.

Don't judge.

Cautiously, I opened the car door and then stepped out. Already people in the parking lot were staring. Oh Gosh.

Deep breaths, Leia. Deep breaths.

I slammed the door shut but the car was so old, the door refused to shut. I gritted my teeth, feeling embarrassed flames all over my ears and cheeks.

It was a good thing nobody could see either of those things. They could just see my eyes and . . . well, I wasn't crying. Yet.

”Excuse me?” Somebody called from behind.

My head flew back, seeing the security guard look at me like I was a terrorist. Don't ask how I knew. It was just the way his narrowed eyes took in my ankle-length blue robe, my hijab and of course, the veil covering my entire face save for my eyes.

”Yeah?” I tried to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

He was probably just trying to ensure I wasn't a threat to the school. That was a good thing. Especially after the various attacks at schools over the years in Pakistan.

My gut tightened, anyway. I hated scrutiny. I had done nothing to be looked over at like I was going to put a bullet through his head.

People had made their own definition of terrorism. And according to them, terrorists were people who followed their religion—men who wore white thaubs, had a sunnah beard and women who were covered from head to toe.

I wished I could fix their brains but so far, I'd been unsuccessful.

”Are you a student here?” He asked in Urdu, our local language.

”Yes, Bhai,” I said, using the term of respect—brother. I unzipped my backpack and took out my student ID and passport—you know, in case he asked for that too.

You could never be sure.

His eyes were narrowed on the card—on my photo, no doubt. He looked back and forth, from me to the photo again.

I saved him the trouble and looked to the left and right, lifting my veil quickly. His eyes scanned my face, widening slightly.

Great, he knew who I was too.

He nodded, handing my stuff back to me. ”I'm sorry for any inconvenience I might have caused, ma'am. I'm just abiding by the school rules.”

I gave him a smile he did not see since I had lowered my veil again and locked my car, walking over the stone and grass.

My hands fiddled with the straps of my backpack as I felt every person in the parking lot staring at me.

I heard whispering but I knew this was nothing compared to the chaos that would be caused when I lifted the veil. When people knew who I really was.

For some reason, this was worse. It was sad that these were all Muslims yet they were judging me just because I chose to wear religious clothing.

There was another thing I hated—I was going to have to take this all off, save for the hijab.

School rules.

Still, this was a necessity and not something that was in my grasp. I was going to have to do it.

”Oho,” A guy with his group of friends called out from my right. ”What beauty are you hiding underneath all that?”

I kept walking as though I hadn't heard them. Useless boys.

”I would love to see!” He called out. ”Give me a call. Or better yet, send a pic. All the girls know my number.”

This time, I had to look back to glare at his filthy insinuation.

I bumped into someone and he grunted. It was definitely a he because that deep rumble was unmistakably all male.