"Wakeup Zoya.You will be late" Di(aka Ziya,my elder sister) yelled her head off. I disengaged myself from my tangled up pillow and sheets to look at the clock glaring at me from the opposite wall.It read 7:30am.Yikes...I had to be in college by 8. Then I realised today was Wednesday..double yikes...today's 1st hour was Prof.Matheson's lecture and she hated students coming in late. The most lenient way she dealt with latecomers was by assigning them overtime in the Urology Department. Needless to say, I HATE catheters.
With the fear of such an impending fate I dashed to the bathroom and did the bare minimum to make myself presentable and rushed down the stairs to the dining table with my bag and downed a glass of juice in 40seconds. I called out a goodbye, im leaving to Di and Mama simultaneously checking my mobile phone for any missed calls from Ria. I met Ria in Kintergarten and ever since she punched the boy who stole my pencil and made him return to me my pencil, she had become my best friend.We went to the same school and 15yrs later we were still together and went to the same college.I checked the time-7:45
..whoa, Iam impressed with myself...I got ready in less than 16minutes.My phone screen lighted up with Ria's smiling face staring at me above the script that read'Ria calling'. I went outside and spotted Ria smiling and waving to me from her scooter. I crossed the road that seperated me from her and slid behind her on the scooter ."You look very happy today. Since when, do you look forward to Matheson's lectures?" I teased her.She turned to face me and said with a twinkle in her eyes"Got good news to share.Will tell you about it later" and started her scooter. In 10min we reached the magnificent iron gates of our college. Actually, it was not just a college , it was a hospital combined with a college and it was divided into numerous blocks that held students of medicine(aka med students), dentistry and nursing. Ria and I too (obviously) were students here and aimed to graduate as nurses by the end of next year.As soon as Ria parked her vehicle I grabbed her hand saying"Run...its Matheson's lecture. We cant afford be late" and ran with her up the two flight of stairs that led straight to our lecture hall hoping we were not late already.
Thankfully, we were not late. A minute after finding seats side by side and settling down Prof.Matheson entered. Without as much as a 'good morning' she started her lecture.After spending 2 hours trying keep our eyes open as Matheson continued on and on with her lecture which she delivered in a manner akin to singing a lullaby, she gave us some assignments and left us to ourselves."You girls got lucky today...I heard there is shortage of nurses in urology"Isha, one my batchmates laughingly said.I dramatically wiped imaginary sweat from my forehead and replied"Phew!I know Isha, that was close". I shifted on my chair to a more relaxed postion. Dont get me wrong, we are usually not allowed any "free" time but we since ours was a class of 100 students and there were only 50 mannequins available to practice upon in the skills lab, our class was divided into 2 groups(groupA and B) each containing 50 students. While GroupA students spent their 2 hours in the skills lab, group B were left free and then after groupA is done groupB gets their 2hours of practice in the skills lab and groupA gets free time.
I streched at my leisure and poked Ria" so what good news were you talking about?" Ria was kind of the tomboy of our class, not that she dressed or looked like a boy it was simply because she was very bold and outspoken and had a history of punching boys, pinching girls(she never hits girls), climbing trees, jumping walls and what not. Plus she loved to proclaim herself as a tomboy to anyone who anyone who cared to listen. So you guys should not judge me for my reaction at what happens next. Ria's face lit up with a smile very different to the ones I have witnessed these past 15yrs I had known her."I am getting married"
My eyes almost bugged out of their sockets with surprise.My bestie, the tomboy excitedly telling me she is getting married...she must be kidding."Wha...t? You?marry? Wait....You ?Marrying?Whom?
She narrowed her eyes at me" Yes, I am getting married.Why are you so shocked? Iam 21yrs old and you know the custom here. Infact, did not Di get married when she was 20yrs of age. We both called my elder sister Ziya, Di. Ziya was working as an engineer wheb she got married about 5years back. Currently, she is on maternity leave and is expecting her first child."But...but" I stammered" This is so unexpected and...and sudden...Who is the guy? You liked him already? Are you ready for marriage?". She gave me a small smile and continued"You know Aman right? You saw him at last weeks get-together...well, as you know his father is my dad's friend and they suggested it to us and we liked the idea. As for my liking him, I have met him a couple of times before and I do think he is handsome, sweet and friendly. And about being ready for marriage....Iam ready for it now as I ever will be...Iam just trusting my dad's decision....if he thinks Iam ready, I probably am ready.Anyways,this is not 'sudden'- Iam not getting married tomorrow ; between the engagement and wedding there will be plenty of time to get to know him" Then she added as an afterthought"Papa has been hinting about this since my 21st birthday last month. I told you about it. You being the idiot you are must have zoned out when I told you.So its not my fault you are surprised. You should listen to people without zoning out when they talk to you. What if they a say something of importance and you miss it?" I shrugged my shoulders"Sorry..It is possible that I must not have been listening to you when you told me that." She was right - I did have a bad habit of zoning out when boring topics came up.
"I wonder why aunty and uncle(my parents) have not started thinking about your marriage..."Then she added with a sly grin" I suppose they will start now, once they hear about my marriage.You know how it works here, news of one marriage triggers usually triggers more marriages to occur".
At that time something clicked in my mind like the echoing of a fastened deadbolt."Ya Allah...Mama asked about this last week when I was watching that movie and I zoned out and did not listen to what she was asking.When she asked me if I was fine with ' that' I answered 'yes' just so she would back off and let me watch my movie in peace.That 'that' was about this.Yikes....she was asking me permission to start the manhunt for my groom....Wait....this is all your fault...your marriage must have set off this marriage frenzy in Mama."I accused her blatantly.
Ria burst out laughing, her head rolling back and said" Iam glad Iam not in this alone. Now you too will get married and I can discuss my wedding plans and celebrations with you freely without the fear of rubbing your nose in it".
"I forbid you to discuss wedding stuff with me and I am going to ask my parents to drop this idea of marriage and even if they disagree I will just reject every guy they suggest and make sure they take ages to find my Mr.Right" I smugly repiled.
"I dont think so" she winked at me to which I rolled my eyes at her..........
Dont get me wrong, I dont have anything against marriage.Its just that I was not ready for the responsibility involved in marriage. Plus,Iam very lazy and shy, so th thought of spending the rest of my life with a stranger creeps me out.I always had this dream of finding my prince charming by myself but much to my chagrin, I have never found anyone fit to be my 'prince' nor has any guy ever expressed that type of interest in me........ I may not be the prettiest flower in the garden but Iam not ugly. I have hazelbrown eyes with long black hair(usually tucked neatly under a colorful scarf) and Ria alwaysgushesaboutmylongeyelashes.................................................................................................Suddenly a memory popped up in my head which gave me new hope.When I turned 18 and my relatives started dropping subtle hints to my parents to get me married off, I put forth my demand of finding my soulmate by themselves and they agreed to it provided that I would keep a clear head and find someone atleast they can accept even if our community does not....this memory gave me fresh hope."You know Iam good at convincing my parents, maybe they will postpone this idea of marriage ...and you should side with me and talk to them supporting me too.Yup, that will work because they think you are a model person.So will you stop by my house to support my cause today?"
"No way"Ria said . "What?Why dont you want to help me?....Iam your BFF" I demanded
"Because I feel their decision is right for you.You dont have to get all worked up about this. I know you very well. You tend to freak out just at the thought of a minor change in your routine and life but this is good for you.You have always harbored the dream of finding Mr.Right yourself but you are just lying to yourself and your parents because you never try.You have friends who are males but you dont ever give them a second glance in this aspect and as for meeting new guys you are so shy that you run in the opposite direction when anyone approaches you.You just push people away from you before they even get a chance....."
"No I dont" I interjected angrily" I may take some time to get to know anyone new but that is because thay are strangers.Iam sure if I meet my soulmate I will not push him away"
"We both know know that you are just trying to escape this situation and the truth. You never give anyone a chance to come close to you and its time you get married...I mean this is the 21st century and its not like we cant study or work as we wish after marriage..almost everything will be the same and you will have the added benefit of one more person caring for you"
I narrowed my eyes at her"So you have deided not to help me. You dont trust me to make good decisions for myself?"
She let out an exasperated sigh"I do trust you..but I feel that you are getting defensive simply because you are startled by this news.I want you to give it time and think about it atleast,,...Okay? THink abut it for a day and then whatever you wish me to do I will agree to it.Deal?
"Fine" I replied
"Come on, the others are back from skills lab..Lets go"One of my classmates called out. I slung my bag on my shoulders and walked to the skills lab with Ria beside me.
