The first day they arrived, Sara chose to sit in the front seat next to Abdullah's dad.
Abdullah ended up sitting beside Sarfaraz in the back while Maryam and his father talked during the drive. Abdullah stayed mostly silent, watching Sara's reflection in the front mirror.
She looked… sad.
Is she okay? he thought.
As if on cue, Maryam turned around.
"Are you alright?"
"Yea," Sara replied.
That was it.
When they got home, Abdullah's mom pulled him aside.
"Try and make sure they have a good time and have fun. You're good at making people have a good time."
Abdullah took the words seriously.
I'll make sure they have fun, he told himself.
He went to bed soon after.
I'm so tired.
The next morning, everyone woke up and had breakfast together.
Sara tried to get her mom's attention.
"Mummy, can you get me this guitar for my birthday?"
No response.
"Mum, can you gimme some toast?" Sarfaraz asked.
"Alright, one second," Maryam replied immediately.
Abdullah saw Sara's expression change. She got up quietly and stormed off to her room.
He followed her upstairs.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"She doesn't care about me," Sara said.
"If she knew it'd make you this upset, she would've listened," Abdullah replied gently.
He went back downstairs and tried to speak to Maryam.
"You should try and listen to her. She can get her feelings hurt."
Maryam sighed. "She always does this — making a big scene. Like I care, but she needs to control herself."
"Yeah, I know," Abdullah said carefully. "But she's just a kid. Try your best."
Later, they went to a fast food place. Abdullah, Sarfaraz, Sara, and Aaliyah sat together.
Sara's Coke can bent strangely when she opened it.
"Be careful, it's sharp," Abdullah warned.
She kept touching the edge anyway.
Then she dragged her finger across it and cut herself.
A thin line of red appeared.
Abdullah froze.
"What the fuck… why didn't I do anything? I just watched it happen. What's wrong with me?"
Regret flooded his thoughts.
In the car, Sarfaraz told their mom that Sara had accidentally cut her finger.
But Abdullah knew it wasn't that simple.
He had warned her.
When they got home, he asked her quietly, "Why did you do that?"
"Forget you saw that," she said.
From that moment on, Abdullah decided to keep an eye on her.
I can't let her get hurt again.
That night, he lay in bed staring at the ceiling.
I'm so tired.
The next day, they went to a bouncy castle place in Cork.
On the drive there, Sara nudged him.
"Can you play a song I like? I'm too embarrassed to ask myself."
"You think I wanna ask? That's gonna be so awkward asking my parents. Like, what song do you want?"
"Like, I don't know. Anything by X."
"You're killing me."
"Fine."
Abdullah asked for the song, then immediately pulled his jacket over his head in embarrassment.
But he saw Sara smiling.
"The things I do for you," he muttered.
"You do a lot for me, don't ya?" she replied.
That night, he collapsed into bed.
I'm so tired.
The next day, they went on a boat across a lake to visit an island.
An Irish man with a strong accent steered the boat, talking nonstop about the island's history. Abdullah and the others nodded politely, but none of them understood a word he was saying.
Abdullah looked at Sara and gave her a subtle look.
You understand him?
She shook her head slightly.
Ali, who was with them, seemed to be the only one who understood anything.
That night, Abdullah went home and fell straight into bed.
He felt drained.
Another day, they went out to eat again.
Abdullah sat with Sarfaraz but kept glancing at Sara.
"Doesn't she look kinda sad? Is she alright?" Abdullah asked him.
"Yea, she's fine."
"You sure? Maybe someone should check on her."
Abdullah waved at Sara.
She flipped him off.
He blinked, unsure what to make of it.
Back at home, Aaliyah was playing Piano Tiles on her iPad.
Abdullah, Sara, and Sarfaraz took turns.
Abdullah got the highest score.
Sara tried to beat it but kept failing, getting more and more frustrated.
So Abdullah chose a harder level — one he struggled with.
When he finally lost, Sara smiled.
"I like seeing you suffer."
It threw him off.
What the hell?
But he brushed it aside.
as just an odd comment.
That night, staring at the ceiling again:
I'm so tired.
The last day before their departure came. They didn't do much.
Then something unexpected happened.
"Abdullah, there's some guy here for you," Sara called out.
He walked over.
"No fucking way. The man, the myth, the legend — Johnny boy."
John cringed.
"It's been a while." Abdullah said.
Abdullah hugged him.
"Bro, you made me lose all my aura by saying 'the man, the myth, the legend.'"
Abdullah laughed. "What are you doing here?"
"I was just gonna buy a gift card. Wanna walk with me?"
"Yea, sure."
They walked together for a bit. Abdullah realised how much he'd missed that something simple. Something normal.
That night, he passed out from exhaustion.
"it was nice seeing john" Abdullah thought to himself.
The next day was departure day.
They waited in a room while Sarfaraz and Abdullah played Roblox together.
Abdullah looked at Sara.
"Did you have fun?"
"Yea, I did," she replied.
Relief washed over him.
"I'm glad you had fun. Enjoy your duck as well."
"Yea, I will."
At the airport, he hugged Sarfaraz and Maryam.
The days replayed in his head.
They were fun.
He stepped toward Sara and opened his arms slightly.
"You don't deserve a hug," she said, backing away.
It stung.
He stepped back.
On the drive home, his father asked, "Did they have fun?"
"Yea, they did. I asked them."
"That's good. Good job, son. I'm proud of you."
"Thanks, Dad."
When Abdullah got home, he lay down on his bed.
The house felt quiet.
He covered his face with his hands.
And then he broke.
The tears came slowly at first, then heavier.
"I hope I did good," he thought to himself.
His chest ached.
"im so"
tired...