Love Without Borders

It was ten o'clock. Sara was watching TV and got bored, so she thought about going to her best friend's house.

“Mom, I’m going to Neha’s house, and I will be home by lunchtime.”

Sara was a very energetic and enthusiastic person. She had light skin, long hair, and was a very bubbly girl. She had lots of friends and was an outgoing person. She always wanted to become a fashion designer, but her parents wanted her to become a doctor, so she decided that she would fulfill her parents’ dream. Sara’s parents’ names were Emraan Khan and Ayesha Khan.

They lived in Helena, which is the capital of Montana. They lived close to the city of Helena Valley West Central. Most of the time, she wasn’t allowed to go to her friends’ houses, but she was just allowed to go to only one friend’s house, Neha’s. Neha was her best friend, and her parents and Sara’s parents were also close friends. Sara's mother was very protective of her daughter, but she wanted her daughter to live her life fully and get everything she wants. They didn't let her make any kind of decisions because they were afraid that if something wrong happened to their daughter, then they won't be able to forgive themselves or live without her. She was their only daughter, and she was so happy that her parents loved her so much.

Her mother was cleaning the kitchen and told her, “Alright, come home soon. Your dad will be worried.” Sara was already outside the house and barely heard her mother.

She drove to Neha's house and knocked on the door. Knock knock… Neha’s mother opened the door. “Hello, Sara. How are you?” Sara got inside the house and answered her, “I’m absolutely fine, Auntie; how are you? And where is Neha?”

Afsa wasn't her real Aunt, but to give respect to her elders, she calls them auntie or uncle. Sara also used to ask lots of questions at once before anyone could answer her first question. Afsa replied, “I'm fine and Neha is in her room.” Sara thanked Afsa while running to Neha's room.

Sara went to Neha’s room and saw that Neha was studying, but when Sara got close, she saw that Neha was looking at a magazine, which was inside of her biology book. She was looking at a fashion design magazine. It was their last year in high school, and both of them were interested in fashion design, but their parents didn’t want them to become a fashion designer. They wanted their children to become something that will raise their name and dignity. They thought that if their daughters become fashion designers, then it would ruin their dignity and their family’s name and reputation. So, that’s why both Sara and Neha majored in biology. But behind their parents’ backs, Neha and Sara look at stuff that was related somehow to fashion design like watching television shows and participating in high school clubs, etc.

“So, you’re looking at a fashion magazine behind my back? You should be ashamed of yourself. How could you cheat your parents?” Both of them laughed and shushed each other, “Shh...”

Sara started talking again and laid on the bed. “You are so bad; you didn’t even tell me that you bought this magazine, and you’re looking at it by yourself. You didn’t even bother to call me.”

They were lying on Neha's bed on their backs and looking at the magazine. Neha sat up and told her, “Chill, baby. I didn’t buy this magazine; I borrowed it from a friend of mine, okay? You know my parents; they won’t let me buy anything related to fashion design.”

Sara elbowed her with a teasing look. “Friend, hmmm. Don’t you think that I should know who this friend is? Her or him?” Neha tells her, “Shut up. It’s her not him.”

Sara and Neha used to tease each other as if they both were having an affair with somebody. But in reality, both of them didn’t have boyfriends. Sara didn’t believe in love, and she thought that love is just infatuation and nothing else. She believed that nobody could love somebody so much, but Neha thought that if there was no love, then the world couldn’t exist. Neha and Sara had different opinions about love. Sara never thought about having a boyfriend, and she thought that if she does get married, then her husband should respect her parents and care about them as well.

But Neha was the opposite of Sara. She told her that she was going to have a love marriage rather than an arranged marriage. She thought that her dream boy was going to be rich, handsome, and love her a lot, but it didn't come true because she fell in love with a guy at school who was different from her dream guy. But she couldn’t help it because she was so much in love with him.

Sara started talking again, “Anyways, I came here because I wanted to tell you about...” She rolled her eyes and let Neha guess what she’s about to tell her, “What?”

Neha never liked to guess whatever it was, but Sara told her to guess all the time, “Guess, what?”

Sara wasn’t telling her and was rolling her eyes, then Neha finally spoke, “Okay, fine. I give up. Now tell me.”

She took the tickets out of her pocket and waved them in front of Neha. “I have two tickets to a fashion show, and it’s going to be tomorrow. Yeah!” Sara bought the tickets to the fashion show, but they couldn’t go because it was at night, and their parents wouldn’t allow them to go. So, now they had to find a way to go to this fashion show, but they didn’t know-how.

Neha was always scared of going anywhere, so she made excuses. “I have this biology test on Friday and another test day on Monday.”

Sara got up from the bed and sat on the computer chair. “So, we can’t go to the show? I’ve been waiting for this day for so long, and now you are telling me that you won’t go? Look, I’ll help you study for your test,” Sara said.

Neha always thought that if both of them lied to their parents, then they will get into some trouble.

Neha explained to her, “I didn’t say that I wouldn’t go, but you know that I hate lying to my parents. What if they find out that we went to the show without asking them? We would be in big trouble.”

Sara stood up and walked around the room. She started to think of a good excuse to tell their parents. “They’re not going to find out because nobody is going to tell them. You know what, I got an idea.” Neha spoke softly, “Of course, you do.”

Sara always had ideas to go anywhere she wanted. “Go on, I’m listening.” Sara was still walking. “I will tell my parents that I’ll be staying at your house for a night because we have a lab project to do for our bio class, and then we can escape from this window to go to the fashion show. How do you like my idea?”

She got so excited and clapped her hands together.

Neha’s room was very neat and clean. She was a girl who liked to have everything organized and her room was giant. When you entered her room, you saw a bed with a beautiful bedsheet on it, which made it look like it was a queen’s bed. She had a dresser next to her bed, and her walls were painted in the same light purple as her bedsheet. Her computer was set far from the bed and beside the door. Her window was next to the bed, which she had also painted with flowers and hearts. She was a very creative girl, and she liked to paint anywhere she could in her room. So, whenever you went to her room, you felt like you are in the most beautiful room in the whole world.

“Well, I’m gonna have to think about that. Besides, I do have a bio test as I said before, which I will have to study for because I don’t want to flunk that class, and I hate to lie.” Neha always taught Sara that she should not lie to her parents because it’s bad.

Whenever she told her that, Sara started to imitate Neha’s words as she spoke, “You know that if you lie, then it keeps coming back to you. You have to tell another lie to hide one lie, and it keeps going. You know that I don’t like it.”

Sara was imitating Neha when she was talking, and when she turned to look at her, she stopped imitating.

“Okay, fine. I think you don’t want to be a fashion designer, and if you keep listening to your parents, then you will never be able to fulfill your dreams and stay the way you are right now. You will do everything they say, you will marry the person that they choose, and you won’t even say a word,” Sara intimidated her.

Neha told her, “I think you’re talking about yourself cuz I’m gonna have a love marriage, and you want to have an arranged marriage.”

Sara laid down on the bed again. “Love sucks and my parents will find the right guy for me.” Neha doubted that. “Yeah? How?”

Then Sara explained to her, “Well, they have more experience, and they’ve seen the world more than us. Plus, you're never going to tell them who you love cuz you're too scared to face the truth.”

Neha didn't want to answer her because she knew that Sara was right, and she would never tell her parents about the guy she liked at school.

So, she ignored whatever Sara said and asked her, “What if you fall in love with somebody, and your parents don’t let you marry to that guy? Then what would you do?”

Sara never believed in love. “Well, first of all, I’m never going to fall in love with anybody.”

Suddenly, she changed the topic, “Anyways, Neha, you’re gonna have to lie to your parents, and we'll come back before they find out. I promise. Nobody’s gonna find out if we’re in this room or not. Come on, you have to do this. I don’t want my dreams to shatter because our parents think that it’s some kind of bullshit. I love fashion, and I want to be a fashion designer. Just wait and watch.”

She was walking around the room, imagining. “One day, both of us will be on these magazines, and then they will be very proud of us. If we don’t go to this show, then we won’t have any kind of experience. How are we going to prove ourselves to our parents? We have to give it a try.”

It was like she used hypnosis on Neha to try to get her to agree to whatever she wanted. Neha agreed, “You are so right; we have to give it a try.”

Now Sara had to find a way to tell her parents that she was going to stay a night at Neha’s house. She was praying on the way home that her parents’ mood was good, so they wouldn’t refuse her.

When she got home, she saw that her parents were in a really bad mood because both of them were fighting over a show on TV. Sara got angry because she thought that God never accepted her prayer. She had only one wish that one day she would become the biggest fashion designer and very famous. She knew that God never accepted her prayer, but she still believed in God a lot. She prayed to God that hopefully one day God would listen and grant her wishes. She never told her wishes to anybody except God because if somebody found out what she wished for, then it would never come true.

Sara went to the kitchen and started walking around. She didn’t know how to tell her mother, then finally she spoke. “Mom, I was thinking if I could stay at Neha’s house for a night cu—”

Her mother interrupted her. “You were just at Neha’s house, and now you want to stay there for a night? What’s wrong with you?”

Sara told her, “Mom, you are not listening to me. I want to stay at her house because we have a lab project for our biology class. She has other tests as well, which she is gonna study for during the day. So, we can’t do the project during the day. That’s why I’m gonna have to spend a night at her house to do our project. If you don’t want me to pass biology, then it’s fine. I can just drop that class and change my major to fashion design.”

Sara’s mother used to get mad whenever she used to blackmail her mother about changing her major, but she also knew that she would say yes anyway. Her mother agreed and didn’t want to say no to her because she was their only daughter, so she agreed to all her little requests. After a while, she went straight to her room, which was upstairs.

Sara’s house was two-story, and they had four bedrooms. The master bedroom was downstairs, and three rooms were upstairs. Her parents stayed in the room that was downstairs, and Sara stayed in a room upstairs. Her house was very big compared to Neha’s house because their house was only two-bedrooms and one story. When you go upstairs, you see a game room next to the stairs and a room on the other side of the game room. The other two rooms were straight in front of the stairs, which were for guests as her mother told her, but Sara used them as well.

Her room was next to the stairs, and it was really big. It was messy too because she didn’t like to clean and didn’t know how to make her room pretty like Neha. Whenever Neha visited her, she cleaned the room for Sara, and it looked nice for that day. Her mother used to clean her room every day and didn’t let her daughter do anything in the house because she was their only daughter. Even if Sara wanted to clean someday, her mother didn’t let her. Most of the time, she wanted to be alone and didn’t want to be around people, so her room was the only place where she could be alone.

It was just two months until Sara and Neha graduated from high school. Sara was never into studies but was more into fashion design. She knew what she wanted to be even when she was a child. She always wanted to do something that gave her fame. She was really smart, which was the reason that she made it through high school and got really good grades. She was at the top of her class and had a really good GPA. She never told anybody that she was first in her class except Neha, but everybody knew that she was really smart and intelligent. She was going to get her bachelor’s degree in biology and go to medical school after saving some money by getting a job, so she could afford the university’s fees. But she didn’t know if she was going to get a scholarship for attending University because of her good GPA.

She had her clothes, books, and other things everywhere in the room. Her mother had cleaned it in the morning, but after she went to Neha’s house, she threw everything on the floor.

She started talking to herself. “Oh man, I wish I could keep my room clean. I don’t know how it gets so dirty, and I’m tired of cleaning it every single day. Hopefully, one day when I come in, it will be clean, and I can sleep peacefully.”

She picked up her clothes and books from the floor and tried to clean her room, so she could sleep well. She made her bed and put everything else away. She found her iPod on the floor and saw that it was dead. She got really mad at little things like the battery running out on the iPod, the room being messy, and things being on the floor. While cleaning her room, she thought that somebody was in her room when there was nobody. She used to see things that weren’t real because she used to watch lots of scary movies. Most of the time, she made her mother scared; whenever something was missing, she told her that somebody came to her room and took it, which made her mother think that there was a thief in their house.

For instance, one day, she was missing her calculus book, which she had put on the lamp table the other day. She found the book somewhere else. She asked her mother if she had gone to her room and put the book somewhere else. She was the only child, and her mother believed whatever she said. Sometimes, it made Sara’s mother think that she had some kind of problem with forgetting things.

“Now I can’t listen to my iPod. I have to charge it now, so I can listen to it when I go to bed,” said to herself.

She loved listening to music at night, and her parents used to get so mad at her because she used to get so lost in the music that she couldn’t go to sleep. So, she used to go to sleep in the morning and not wake up on time. She wasn’t a morning person and couldn’t sleep till late.

She was screaming from her room. “Mom, can you help over here? I’m missing my charger; I need to charge my iPod.”

Her mother replied, “It’s plugged into your computer. Remember the other day you were synchronizing music into your iPod?”

She found the charger, and she could hear her mother blaming her father because he couldn’t find the adapter for his memory card, which she had given to him yesterday. Sara smiled and went to take a shower.

After the shower, she went surfing on the net for a little while and was looking for cheap books for her next semester in college. She was already registered and her friend Neha as well. Both of them registered for the same classes.

Suddenly, she remembered that she should tell Neha about the books on Amazon are very cheap and both of them should buy the books from that website. Sara called Neha and told her about the deal on Amazon, but Neha, as usual, was too scared to do anything, especially on the net. To get the deal from Amazon, she would have to give out her credit card number, which she was afraid to do because she was afraid that somebody would steal the card number. So, Sara told her that she’ll sign up and order the books for both of them. She also asked her to tell her parents that she’ll be staying at their place when her mother calls to ask her parents, so they won’t refuse her mother. Neha’s parents also liked her and didn’t mind her being with Neha or at their place. They hung up after talking a while.

It was six o’clock in the morning. The alarm went off. She was awake even before her alarm, but she hit snooze and pretended that she’s asleep. She didn’t want to get up, but she had to. She also picked her classes in the morning times for next semester. She wanted to sign up for the afternoon classes, but her parents didn’t want her to stay out very late. She was pissed because she wanted to go to some college far away from home. Her parents didn’t want her to leave them because she was their only child, and she was only 17 years old.

After ten minutes, the alarm went off again, and Sara’s mother came in to wake her up.

Before her mother could say something, Sara got mad, “I’m awake, Mom. I’ll be ready; how many times do I have to tell you that I can take care of myself? You don’t need to do all this for me. For God’s sake, I’m turning 18 in a couple of months.”

Her mother got sad and left the room immediately.

Sara, underneath her breath, “Why can’t she leave me alone?”

Sara got up and went to the bathroom to take shower. She got out a dress for school and went downstairs to go to school. Her mother caught her at the door and asked her if she wants to have breakfast. But Sara was still mad at her because her mother always looked into whatever she does. Sara left the house without saying anything to her mother.

She drove straight to Neha’s house to pick her up and then went straight to school. Sara didn’t say anything in the car while driving to school. Neha knew that whenever Sara was quiet in the car, she was mad at her mother for some reason. Both of them didn’t say anything else and listened to music.

She had a Toyota Camry, which her parents gave her on her 17th birthday. She took a driving class and got her driver’s license when her parents told her that they would give her a car.

There was a guy in their school who liked Sara, but Neha was in love with him. His name was Johnathan Nelson, and everybody called him John. He was tall, slim, with brown eyes and light brown hair, and looked handsome. She only liked him as a good friend and also explained that to Johnathan so many times, but Johnathan never understood her and still liked her. She didn’t want to go out with him because she thought of him as a good friend, and Neha was in love with him. Besides, her parents didn’t want her to date.

She was a Muslim girl, and in the Muslim religion, “girls are not allowed to date anybody” as her parents told her. Johnathan never cared about her being a Muslim because he loved her so much that he didn’t care what her religion was.

Her parents told her that it is Haram to have a boyfriend in the Muslim religion. Haram is something that is forbidden, illegal, unlawful, or impure, according to the Muslim religion. Her parents were not very religious because they let Sara wear any kind of clothes she wanted and let her do anything she wanted, except having a boyfriend.

The Muslim religion says that women are not allowed to wear clothes that show a women’s body, but Sara wore lots of clothes that showed her body.

Sara and Neha arrived at their school at 7:45 a.m. and John was waiting for them outside the school. John always waited for Sara because he loved to talk to her all the time and didn’t want to miss even a word she said. Neha got out of the car first, and John talked to her while Sara parked the car. Neha also knew that he liked Sara but didn’t care because she loved him without any conditions. She didn’t care if he loved her back or not; she only wanted to see him every day, and she never told him that she loves him. Sara knew that and wanted to tell John, but Neha always stopped her.

“Hi, Neha. How you’re doing this morning?” said Johnathan.

Neha replied with excitement, “I’m fine, and you?”

Johnathan was still looking at Sara, “I’m great.”

When Neha didn’t get attention from him, she just thought it was better to leave. “Hmm… I’ll see you later then.” Sara came to the school door.

John and Sara started walking inside the school. She was already in a bad mood. “What’s up?” Johnathon asked her. “You’re not in a good mood, what happened?” Johnathan could always tell if she was in a good mood or not because he was madly in love with her.

Sara rolled her eyes, “I’m fine.”

Johnathan lifted his hands in the air and said, “Alright, you don't wanna talk about it; that's fine. I just wanted to ask you if you would go to the prom with me?”

Sara knew this would come up sooner or later, but she had to refuse him, “Well, the prom is tomorrow night, and I can't go because I'll be staying at Neha's place tonight, and my parents won't let me stay out for another night. You know how my parents are.”

Johnathan begged her. “Please, just go with me; this is the only time we can go with each other as a date.” He blushed while asking her out just for a day.

Sara knew that Neha liked Johnathan, so she had to refuse him no matter what, “Please, try to understand. I can't go.”

Johnathan still insisted, “Just ask them. Maybe they will say yes.”

Sara again rolled her eyes and nodded her head sideways. “Ha ha ha, they will never say that especially if you're gonna be with me.”

Johnathan got excited. “Alright, just give it a try. Maybe—”

“Okay, fine. I'll ask them.” They were already by her classroom. “I'll see you at lunch.”

The bell rang, and both of them headed to their classes. Her first period was Newspaper, and she was the Editor. So, all the students under her were writers, photographers, and designers. She had to check all the work when they were done with their stories.

Sometimes, she had to go take pictures and write stories for some new students. She had been taking that class for three years, and this was her last year. She also received awards for being an editor for the newspaper. Her teacher, Daisy Watson, was impressed with her work, and she liked her so much.

Her teacher looked at Sara. “Hello, how are you? You are looking low today.”

Sara put her bag down, “I'm fine, Ms. Daisy; how are you? I just don't want to do anything today, is that fine with you?”

Ms. Daisy stood up and came up to her table. “Yeah, of course. You can take a day off. We don't have anything important to do today, but you do have to understand that you do have some stories to edit and check on other students because I need to publish them as soon as possible.”

After Sara did the editing, the stories went to Ms. Daisy for final touches, and then the teacher published them in the school newspaper or yearbook.

Sara put her hair in a ponytail. “Yeah, I'll do them on Monday, and don't worry. Everything will be done by the deadline.”

Sara went out of the class and wandered around the school. Nobody could say anything to her if she walked around the school because she had a press pass, which only newspaper or yearbook students had. So, the whole period, she was out of the class and went to get Neha’s class because she was really upset and wanted to talk to her. Sara knocked on the door, and Neha's teacher opened it.

Sara knocked on the door. “Mr. Brooks, can I talk to Neha for a minute? I need to interview her for the newspaper.”

Mr. Brooks looked down to see nothing in her hands. “Well, you don't have anything in your hands. How are you going to interview her?”

Sara made up some excuses. “Hmm, I know my questions, and I won't take her for long.”

Mr. Brooks knew that she was from the Newspaper, so he had to let her talk to her, “Alright, but don't take too long because we have an important review to do for our upcoming test, and I know that Neha wouldn't want to miss that.”

“Sure, Sir,” Sara said. Mr. Brooks called Neha, and she came out of the class.

Neha closed the door behind her and got angry, “What do you want now? I can't miss my class, and you know that I hate missing stuff in the class. Why don't you do me favor? Go tell the principal to change my schedule and put me in the same classes as you. Then I can listen to you any time you want, and you won't have to worry about lying to everybody anymore.”

Sara replied sarcastically, “That's a great idea, but right now I'm not in a joking mood. I want to talk to you about something important, and don't waste time cuz Mr. Brooks will come to get you soon.”

Neha said, “Okay, tell me, what is it?”

Sara turned her face away. “I was rude to Mom, and I know that she loves me, but when she comes to my room and is always overprotective, I get so mad. I just want to say sorry to her and tell her that I love her but that she doesn't need to be so protective of me because I can take care of myself.”

She wanted to cry, but she hated to cry in front of people, even in front of Neha. She didn't want people to know that she was so weak. So, she made everybody think that she was very strong. Sometimes, people and her own family believed that she is very strong, and she’s always happy.

Neha turned her, so they were standing face to face. “If you feel sorry, then call your mom and talk to her. I know that she'll understand.” She was still listening in her class because she hated missing her lectures.

Sara replied, “You know I won't be able to do that. I can't be nice.” Both of them laughed.

Neha suggested, “You can do one thing. Why don't you just forget about it? Your mom will forget it too pretty soon.”

Sara was still worried about her mother, but Neha didn't pay attention to her because she had a test coming up, and she didn't want to miss the lecture. Suddenly, Mr. Brooks came out and told Neha that they're going to review now.

Neha hurried to get back to class. “I'll see you at lunch, and we'll talk there.”

Sara sadly said, “Yeah, see ya,” while waving at her.

Sara felt better after talking to Neha and went back to her class. Sara decided to edit some stories and finish the work that she had to do. Ms. Daisy was surprised because she thought that Sara wanted to take a day off.

Ms. Daisy said, “What happened? I thought you wanted to take a day off.”

Sara said with a smiling face, “Yeah, but now I'm fine, and I thought why not finish the work instead of wandering around.”

Ms. Daisy was still worried about Sara. “Are you sure?”

Sara put her hand on top of Ms. Daisy’s hand. “Of course, I am. Don't worry about me; I was just upset about something that wasn't important.”

Ms. Daisy said, “Alright,” and went back to her office to work.

Sara did her work, and after 15 minutes, the bell rang. She went to her next class, which was with Mr. Brooks, who was her biology teacher as well. She had lots of fun in the class because Mr. Brooks made the class very interesting and fun. The class was going to review for their upcoming test as he said in the morning when she went to see Neha. She loved when there was nothing to do in class because she knew everything.

That's the reason she didn't have to study for her tests, and Neha always used to get mad at her because she studied a lot and still didn't get as good grades as Sara. Her teachers appreciated her so much because she was so smart and knew everything. She was really smart in science, and that's why her parents wanted her to major in it.

When she was young, her parents used to make her read a lot, which is why she knew more than her classmates. Also, her parents used to bring upper-level books for her to read and learn as much as she could. For instance, when she was in first grade, her parents already taught her the material ahead of time, so she knew the material before the teachers could teach her.

Kate came from behind her and said, “Hey, are you going to the prom with Johnathan?” She sat beside Sara. Kate liked Johnathan too. She wanted to go to the prom with him and already asked him to go with her, but he refused her.

Sara knew her intentions. “Hmm... I don't think so because I have some other things to do.”

Kate’s smile got wider when Sara told her that she wouldn't go with Johnathan. “Do you think that he'll ask me?”

Sara looked in her bag. “Why don’t you ask him?”

Kate said nervously, “I want to, but I’m scared to ask him. Can you ask him for me? Please?”

Sara looked her in the eye. “Look, Kate, I have lots of other things on my plate right now. Why don't you ask him?” Sara got bored with her questions and wanted to end the conversation.

Kate bit her lip. “I did, but he re—”

The bell rang, and Sara got up immediately. She interrupted Kate. “I have to call my mom. I'll see you later, and I'll talk to Johnathan. Don't worry, okay.”

Sara was so happy now because the half-day was gone. She was very desperate to go to the fashion show. Neha and Sara were in the same class. She was in hurry to talk to Neha about the show and was so excited. Johnathan saw her in the hallway and saw that she was very happy.

Johnathan ran up to her. “Hey, you look very happy now.”

Sara smiled. “Yeah, of course. I just can't wait for tonight.” She was in hurry to go to class. Waving at him, she said, “Got to go, bye.”

Johnathan's face looked confused when Sara turned back to look at him, but he was happy because Sara was happy. He would do anything to bring a smile to her face. Sara entered the class and saw that Neha was already there.

Sara put her hands on her shoulder. “Hey, baby, what's up?”

“My mom just called and said that you can't stay at our place tonight cuz we are going to some stupid party.”

Sara got angry. “What? How could you do that to me? You didn't tell her when I called you last night?”

“I did, but she had it planned before I could ask her.”

Sara put her hand through her hair. “Oh man, shit. Now how are we gonna go to the show?”

Neha laughed. “Chill, I was just kidding.”

“Neha, I'm gonna kill you. Don't ever play this kind of joke on me again, okay?”

Neha gave up. “Alright, I won't. But I must say that your face was worth watching. You looked very scary.” Both of them laughed together, and they didn't realize class started already when Mrs. Peter called their names.

Mrs. Peter looked at them. “Is there something funny, Miss Sara and Miss Neha?”

Sara and Neha replied together, “No, Mrs. Peter. Not at all.”

Both of them were waiting for the class to end because they wanted to go to the fashion show. Mrs. Peter was giving a lecture about the Civil War, but Sara wasn’t listening to her and wrote a note to Neha. She wanted to know if her mother gave them permission to stay at her house or not.

Neha put the note away. “Don't write anything cuz Mrs. Peter will get mad and will get us detention. If my mother finds out, I'll be in trouble. Please, we'll talk at lunch.”

Sara said, “You're a scary cat.”

Neha stuck her tongue out, and Sara started laughing.

Mrs. Peter said in a loud voice, “Pay attention, Sara. Or else you'll fail this test, which is next week.”

“Sorry, ma'am.”

Sara waited for the clock to move faster. She wanted to go up and change the clock, but it wasn't in her hands to change the time. Sara thought that even one minute moved like an hour, and she wanted to escape from the class but couldn't do it.

Neha begged. “Only ten more minutes. Come on, you can do it. Don't worry, we have lots of time to chit chat.”

So, Sara waited for those ten minutes to pass, and after ten minutes, the bell rang. Sara took Neha's hand and left the class immediately. They both went to the cafeteria and stood in the lunch line to get their lunch.

Sara talked while waiting. “So, your mom's okay with me staying there, right?”

Neha replied, “Yeah, baby. Just chill. You know my mom's never upset when you are with me. She thinks that you're so smart, and whenever you are with me, you'll teach me something good. She doesn't know that whenever you are around, you always make me take the bad path.”

Sara squinted. “No, I don't. I just tell you to do whatever your heart says because you always listen to your parents, not your heart.”

Suddenly, Johnathan arrived from nowhere and put his hand on Sara's eyes. He told Neha not to say anything to Sara about whose hands they were.

Sara touched his hands. “Who is it? Neha, tell me. Who is it?”

John nodded his head at Neha, so she wouldn’t tell her. “Guess who?”

Sara heard him. “John. Please, you guys, stop surprising me. First you, and then Neha shocked me this morning.”

John said, “Well, I didn't do anything except ask you to go with me to the Prom, and you promised me that you would ask your parents about it.”

Sara pointed at Neha. “Why don't you go with Neha because I won't be able to go, and I already gave you the reason why?”

John left the lunch line, and Sara tried to stop him, but he didn’t stop.

Neha guessed. “If you like him, why don't you go out with him?”

Sara turned her head and faced Neha. “How many times do I have to explain to you and everybody else? I don't like him in that way. I like him as a friend. You're always telling me to go out with him, and it makes me think that you like him and want to make sure that I don't like him in that way. So, you can go out with him.”

“I don't like him.”

Sara put her hand on her shoulder. “Baby, I can see it on your face. Just go and ask him because I don't like him, and you know that I hate to swear. I don't know what to do to make you believe that I don't like him in that way.”

Neha said, “Are you serious? You don't like him like that?”

Sara asked, “You tell me. Do you want to go to the Prom with him?”

Neha confirmed, “Yeah... but—”

Sara interrupted her, “Alright, then. I promise that he will ask you to go with him to the prom. You love him so much, and I believe that if you love someone so much and if it is true, then nobody can stop you from having true love, not even God.”

Neha made a funny face. “Oh, really? I thought that you didn’t believe in love.”

Sara was caught by Neha because she told everybody that she didn’t believe in love, but in reality, she wanted somebody who would love her more than anything in the world. She didn’t want anybody to know that she was waiting for somebody who was the one.

Sara confirmed, “Yeah, I don’t.” Both of them went back to their classes. Now, Sara was waiting for the day to end.

School ended around 4 pm, and Sara went to the parking lot because she wanted to go home to get her things for the evening. Sara ran to her car and waited for Neha to come, so she could go home. Neha walked so slowly, which made Sara so mad.

Sara shouted from her car, “Neha, hurry up! We got to go home.”

“Wait a minute. John wants to talk to you about something important.” Still standing at the school door, she gave her a wink.

“What?”

Neha called to her, “Just come here.”

Sara talked to herself, “Great, I don't know when I'm gonna leave. Please, God, just make me a ghost. That way I can just stay away from everybody.” Now talking to Neha, she said “I'm coming.” She cut the engine and got out of the car.

Sara asked, “What's up?”

Johnathan looked at her. “So, you're not going with me tomorrow?”

Sara said, “I told you, I can't. I'm so sorry—” John cut her off and said, “It's alright because I asked Neha to go with me, and I wanted to make sure that you don't have any problem with me and Neha going to the Prom together.”

Sara with relief said, “Of course not. I'm so happy for both of you guys. I wanted you to go with Neha because she is the best girl for you—” John cut her off again. “You are still misunderstanding me. We are just going to the prom, and we're not going out. Get it?”

Sara whispered to John in his ear, “Oh... Well, maybe one day, you will ask her out. She's the best girl for you.”

John whispered in her ear back, “But not you.”

Sara told Neha, “Come on, we got to go. We are getting late for the show. I have to go home, and you have to pick a dress for me. There are lots of things we have to do today. We're getting late.”

They left school and went straight to Sara's house. Sara's mother was waiting for her; she wanted to tell her that whatever she did was wrong, she wouldn’t do it again.

Ayesha at the door said, “Hey, sweetheart, I want to tell you something. I'm sorry about whatever happened in the morning.”

“Mom, you're still thinking about that?” Sara took her mother's hand. “It's okay, and I know whatever you do is because you love me so much. I understand your concern.”

Ayesha cried. “No, I need to understand that you need some privacy, and I don't need to treat you as a child because you are a grown-up now.”

Sara wiped her tears. “Thanks, Mom, for understanding me, but it's okay. I wanted to apologize because I was the rude one. You were so nice to me, and I ruined your morning. I'm really sorry, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart.”

Neha pushed them aside. “Now, can both of you stop blaming yourselves?” The three of them laughed together.

Ayesha said, “Hello, Neha. I didn't see you.”

Neha smiled. “It's because you were lost in your daughter.”

“Sorry you had to listen to our mother and daughter conversation. Why don't you girls go to the room, and I'll send the food upstairs?”

Sara hugged her and said, “Thanks, Mom.” Both of them ran for the stairs, and Sara's mother called her again.

Ayesha said, “And Sara, you can stay at Neha's place. I've already spoken to Afsa, and she said that she doesn't have any problem with you staying at their place tonight. I hope you won't give them any trouble.”

“No, I won't. I promise,” Sara said happily and went with Neha to her room.

Sara and Neha dropped their bags and jumped on the bed. They laid down on the bed for five minutes and relaxed.

Neha looked at the ceiling. “I wish whatever you told me today comes true.”

Sara also looked at the ceiling. “It will; trust me. He will come to you one day. I'm 100% positive about that. Now, let's pick some clothes to wear tonight.”

Sara took Neha to her closet and opened her bag of new clothes. Whenever her mother went to the mall, she bought her new clothes and put them in that bag. She had all kinds of dresses like skirts, long dresses, prom dresses, and short dresses. She had so many dresses in the bag, and Sara wanted Neha to wear one of them.

Neha never wore any kind of dress like that one because she was also a Muslim girl, and her parents were really strict about her dressing up. They only allowed her to wear jeans and a shirt, which covered her body. They didn't want her to wear clothes that showed her body. There were dresses in every color, but Neha didn't want to go against her parents.

“I can't wear these kinds of dresses. Please, can you find something appropriate for me?”

Sara shuffled through dresses. “Of course, ma'am. Why don't you wear a Pakistani dress for tonight's show?” They laughed.

Neha and Sara were born in America, but their parents were from Pakistan. They never went to Pakistan after their parents settled in America. Sara had family in Pakistan: grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. She never went to Pakistan to visit them because her parents wanted her to be like an American, which now she was, but now her parents regretted making this decision. They didn’t want their daughter to be spoiled like she was.

Neha's parents were strict with their daughter. They didn't want their daughter to be spoiled like Sara. They allowed her to be around Sara is because she was smart, and she taught a lot to Neha.

Neha told Sara, “Come on, please. Find something appropriate for me?”

Sara replied, “OK, OK.” She picked a long blue dress, which she liked the color of but didn’t want to wear. “How about this long blue dress? I love this color, but it's too long for me.”

Neha said with excitement, “It's very beautiful. I love it! Can I wear this one?”

“Of course, but I have many more dresses if you don't want to wear this one. Just look at more dresses, and if you don't like any of the other ones, then you can wear this one. Just put that one aside.”

“That's a great idea. “

They searched for dresses, and Sara didn't like any dresses that her mother picked for her. She's really beautiful so whatever she wore looked great on her, but she didn’t like any of them. She likes to wear dresses that she thinks don't suit her. Her favorite color is blue, and she wanted to wear something blue. Her mother knocked on the door and came in with a tray of food in hand. She placed the tray on the table.

Ayesha looked at the girls. “What are you girls doing?”

Sara was not looking at her mom and still searching for a good dress. “Mom, we are looking for some dresses to wear tonight.”

Ayesha was confused. “You said you are going to Neha's house, not to a party. Honey?”

Sara then got nervous and replied, “Mom, I forgot to tell you that at 8 o'clock we'll be at the university because of our project, so I thought of wearing something formal. I hope you don't mind.”

“Of course, I don't.” Ayesha still looked confused because she didn't want her daughter to stay out late.

Sara came to her mother and held her hands. “Don't worry, Mom. We'll be home in an hour or two, and we'll be safe.”

Ayesha replied, “Maybe I can help pick the right dress for you. If you don't have any problem with that?”

Sara said, “Yeah, sure.” She didn't want her mother to pick the dress for her, but she didn't want to make her mother more upset.

Her mother looked at many dresses but didn't find the right dress for her. She had like two dozen dresses in that bag but still didn't think that any of those dresses would suit her daughter. So, she thought she might find a good dress in her own closet. She left the room and went to her room because she puts Sara's clothes in her closet too. She brought a really beautiful white dress, like a princess dress, for her, and Sara started laughing.

Ayesha looked at the dress and then at her daughter. “What happened? You don't like the dress?”

Sara answered, “Mom, it's like a princess dress. How can I wear this kind of dress to college? It will look funny. I mean, it's pretty, very pretty, but not appropriate for school. I want a short dress in red. Maybe something like this one.” She held up a short dress to her mother and said, “I think this is the perfect dress for me. What you think, Mother?”

Ayesha didn't want to make her daughter sad, so she agreed. “Yeah, it's perfect for you. Whatever you're gonna wear will look good on you. I'm very lucky that God blessed me with a such beautiful daughter.”

Sara's mother left the room. Sara and Neha sat at the table where her mother placed the food and started eating. Her mother was a good cook, and Sara didn't like anybody else's food except Neha's mother's food. After eating, they went to Neha's house with their dresses and school bag, so no one could doubt them. It was evening already.

When they arrive at Neha's house, her mother was waiting for her. She was going to a party and was waiting for Neha, so she could leave with her father. Neha stepped out of the car.

Neha asked her mother, “What happened? Why are you standing in the doorway?”

Afsa told Neha, “Your father and I are going to a party, and we're gonna be late. If both of you get hungry, there is food in the refrigerator. I know that you girls will be busy studying, but please do eat something. Okay, I think we should leave now.” Neha's parents left the house.

Sara got so happy and looked around the house. “This is the best night ever. I mean, both of us are going to be alone, and if we do come back late, then your parents won't know because they're gonna be late too. I think we should get ready because I don't want to be late for the show.”

Neha responded, “Yeah, I don't want to be late either.” Both were so excited, and they ran inside the house to get ready.

Sara went to Neha's room and started putting her stuff together. She gathered her things that would match her dress. Her dress was a red halter with a gold fabric belt. She really loved the dress and was eager to wear it. Sara and Neha jumped around the room but didn't get anything done. They wanted to get ready, but they were so excited that they didn't know where to start.

Neha took a deep breath. “Okay, wait. I know how we can start. Why don't we take a shower first? And then we can do something else.”

Sara smelled herself. “Yeah, you're right. I think I stink, and you do too.” And both of them started laughing.

Neha told Sara, “I'll go to my parents' room, and you can use my room.”

Both of them took a shower and put their clothes on. When Neha came to her room to check if Sara was ready or not, she saw her friend looking so gorgeous, like a princess. Neha also thought that Sara's the most beautiful girl on earth. She told her so many times that she should participate in the Miss World competition because she was so beautiful, and she would win the competition for sure. Sara got ready, but Neha couldn't get ready because she didn't know how to put make-up on and how to do her hair for parties. Sara always did her make-up and her hair whenever they went to a party.

Sara walked back and forth to ask Neha, “How do I look?”

Neha with big eyes said, “My, my, my. You look fabulous, and I'm sure that everybody will be looking at you, not the models.”

Sara looked very beautiful. She had a perfect body, and the dress looked very pretty on her. She's slim with light skin and light brown curly long hair. She has a dimple on her left cheek, which suited her so much. When she smiled, she looked even more beautiful. She had hazel eyes and people always asked her if they were real. There's another thing about her eyes, which is that whatever clothes she wore, her eyes changed color and that's the reason why nobody could believe that they were her real eyes. She almost looked like an American girl, and nobody could tell that she's from Pakistan. Of course, she was born in America, but children are known by where their ancestors are from. Everybody in her town wanted to go out with her, but she never liked anybody. Students in her school tried to talk to her, but she picked her friends because she believed that friends can't be made just like that; they have to be trustworthy. It took lots of time to become one of her friends. She doesn't have lots of friends, except for Johnathan and Neha, but she talked to everyone in the school.

Sara rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right? You always say that, and look at you. You're still not ready. I thought you must be ready by now.”

Neha sat in front of her vanity table. “You know that I don't know how to put make-up on. You have to help me get me ready.”

Sara opened up the drawer. “Let’s get you ready.”

So, she started putting make-up on Neha and also did her hair. She made her hair curly like hers. Neha always wanted to be like Sara, so whatever style Sara did, Neha wanted her hairstyle to be the same. Neha's not as pretty as Sara, but Sara never cared about Neha not being beautiful. She looked like every other girl. She's a little darker and taller than Sara but as slim as her. Sometimes, Neha felt very bad because whenever they're together, people would praise Sara but not Neha. This thing never lessened their friendship.

“I think you're ready now. Look at yourself in the mirror. What do you think? We both look twins, don't we?” Both of them laughed.

Neha looked in the mirror at both of them. “Yeah, we do almost.”

Sara turned around. “Please, don't start that again. You're the most beautiful person in the whole world, and if you don't believe me, then ask yourself in the mirror. I can lie, but this mirror won't lie to you. Don't you think you look beautiful?”

Neha responded, “Yeah I do. Thank you; it's all because of you. If you don't— Sara cut her off and said, “Shut up now. I think we are ready to go. Shall we?”

“Of course.”

Sara left the room, and Neha took the house keys. They both stepped out of the house, and Neha locked the door.

Sara held her hand. “Wait, I forgot my keys inside.”

Neha stomped her feet. “Shit, man. Why do you always forget things? It’s a very bad habit, and you need to change it.”

Sara quickly said, “Yeah I will, but open the door right now because if you don't open the door, then I won't get the car keys, and we'll be late for the show. It's gonna be your fault then that we're late.”

Neha rolled her eyes. “Blame it on me.”

After a few minutes later, Sara had her keys, and they left the house.