The next day, Abdullah did absolutely nothing.
For once, nobody needed him. No plans. No responsibilities. No airports. He lay on his bed, doomscrolling until the content blurred into one long stream of noise. When that got boring, he switched to music. Loud enough to drown out his thoughts, quiet enough that his mum wouldn't complain.
He told himself he was just relaxing.
But the truth was, he had no energy.
The next two days passed the same way — scrolling, music, staring at the ceiling, sleeping at weird hours. It wasn't sadness exactly. Just… flatness.
On the third day, he walked past the kitchen and saw his mom on a video call with Maryam Sara's mum. He paused for a second but brushed it off. They were always talking.
Later that evening, his mum called him into the living room.
"In our culture," she said gently, "men aren't supposed to hug the opposite gender."
"Is this because i tried to hug sara"
Abdullah frowned. "But she's basically my cousin. Or like my niece even. Is it really that big a deal?"
His mum sighed softly. "I know you have pure intent behind it. You're an affectionate boy. But it's just something you don't do, alright?"
The lecture annoyed him more than it should have.
"Alright," he muttered. "I won't ask for a fucking hug."
He stood up before she could respond and walked to his room, shutting the door behind himself. He put his headphones on immediately.
A few minutes later, there was a knock.
His mum stepped in anyway. She walked over and opened her arms slightly.
He stayed sitting.
"Can ya just leave me alone?" he said, not looking at her.
There was a small pause.
"Okay, beta," she replied softly.
She closed the door behind her.
Abdullah stared at the wall for a while after that.
Later that night, he texted Sara.
Abdullah: how was your flightSara: it was alr
He waited a minute.
Abdullah: what you do with my duck
She replied almost instantly.
Sara: none of your business
He stared at the screen a little longer than necessary before locking his phone.
The next day after school, she messaged him out of nowhere.
She held her phone up to show a picture of some brown guy.
"What do ya think of him?" she asked.
Abdullah squinted at the screen. "He looks like he's gonna scam me."
"Shut up," she said offended. "Don't be mean to him or I'll box you up."
"Oh my God, I'm shivering in my boots. Who is he, your cousin or something?"
"No, he's my dad's friend's son. Anyways," she said, "you're somewhat of a man. How would you know if a boy likes a girl?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You wanna know if he likes you?"
"Woah. You actually used your brain for once."
"Yeah, I'm smart, what do ya mean?" he said defensively.
"So like… what do you want exactly?"
"you wanna go out with the guy?"
"Yeah. But like… I can't."
"Why not though?"
"Because I don't even know if he likes me. And like… our families. And religion."
Abdullah sat up in bed.
"Yeah, I mean if it wasn't for family and religion you could just ask him out yourself. To be honest, even if he doesn't like you that much, he'd hardly say no. Guys usually try and give you a chance."
"That's not true."
"When's the last time you've seen a girl get rejected?" he replied. "See my point? It's way more risky for guys."
She paused.
"To be honest," she admitted, "you actually have a point."
"Yeah," he said, trying not to sound too proud.
They talked a bit more, but the conversation drifted. After they stopped talking, Abdullah lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
He had just given romantic advice.
And yet his own experience with girls was… nonexistent.
Maybe if I went to a mixed school, he thought. That would've helped. I mean, Lina would've been nice. But too late for that.
He didn't really know any girls. Didn't have female friends. Didn't even know how you were supposed to start.
Maybe just some female friends would be good, he thought. So I can be less awkward around girls.
He turned onto his side.
Who do I even know who could help me?
Tomek.
Tomek had dated that girl in first year.
The next day in school, Abdullah kept glancing at Tomek, trying to figure out how to bring it up. His heart was beating faster than it should've been.
Finally, Tomek noticed.
"What?" he asked, confused.
"Oh. It's nothing," Abdullah replied quickly.
He looked away.
Asking in person suddenly felt impossible.
So when he got home, he messaged him instead.
Abdullah: you know any people or like have advice or something. even just to get to know some people or make friends that are girls.
Tomek replied almost immediately.
Tomek: i cant lie youre like the last person i expected to get into stuff with girls. youre such a halal boy.
Tomek: whats your type i guess ill see what i can do
He hesitated for a second before typing.
Abdullah: shorter than me. brown. dark hair. and weird i guess
Tomek: what do ya mean weird
Abdullah: like unique. ya know what i mean
Tomek: alright i got you
A few minutes later, Abdullah got added to a group chat with Tomek and Agim. They immediately called him.
"Abdullah," Agim said dramatically, "I think I know the perfect girl for ya."
"Oh alright, that was fast," Abdullah said. "What's her name?"
"It's Rosa."
Something clicked in his head.
"Tomek," he said slowly, "didn't John have a cousin called Rosa?"
"Yeah, he does," Tomek replied.
Agim jumped in quickly. "Nah nah this is a different one. This is Rosa O'Sullivan."
Abdullah hesitated. "Alright…"
He added her.
The first thing he sent:
Are you John's cousin?
She replied:
yeah
His stomach dropped.
"What the fuck Agim," he muttered, immediately blocking her.
"Agim, that's literally his cousin. You lied to me."
Agim started laughing hysterically on call.
"Abdullah stop rizzing up John's cousin, what are you doing?"
"I didn't even say anything to her," Abdullah protested. "I just asked if she's his cousin."
A notification popped up.
John.
"For fuck's sake," Abdullah muttered.
He explained the entire situation to John as fast as possible.
"How stupid are you, bro?" John replied.
"How the hell was I supposed to know? He pulled a surname out of his ass!"
John demanded to be added to the group chat. Once he was in, he immediately threatened to fight Agim. Agim told him to bring it on.
The next day after school, Abdullah walked outside and saw John waiting.
Agim, conveniently, had already gone home.
Abdullah spent a good ten minutes calming John down.
"It's not that deep," he kept saying. "Nothing even happened."
Eventually, John let it go.
Later, Abdullah messaged Agim saying he didn't want any problems anymore.
Then he went back to Tomek.
"How do you usually do it?" Abdullah asked. "Agim ended up not being reliable at all."
Tomek replied:
"I just add every girl on my quick add."
"Yeah but like… how do you talk to them? I don't even know how to start a conversation."
"Listen," Tomek said. "It's as simple as five steps."
Abdullah sat up straighter.
"Step one: say hi. They say hi back. Step two: ask how they are. They'll say good. If they ask about you, say you're good as well. Step three: ask how old they are. If they're your age, continue. Step four: what they look like. Step five: where they're from, because they could live far away. Simple as that."
Abdullah nodded like he was taking notes.
"Alright, I'll keep it saved somewhere. What about after the five steps though?"
"Just talk about music or anything. It's not that hard. Find common interests."
"Alright. Thanks, Tomek."
That night, Abdullah opened Quick Add.
Bitmojis stared back at him. That was his only reference point.
He scrolled slowly.
Then one name caught his eye.
Kassi.
It's like Cassie but with a K, he thought. How unique.
He added her.
A minute later, she added him back.
He stared at the screen.
already feeling a bit nervous Abdullah typed out two letters.
"hi"
step 1...