In the staff room, the same boy sat across from Miss Aisha while Sir Hashim stormed in, visibly irritated.
He collapsed into his chair and groaned, "It's already boiling outside — and on top of that, that menace Anabiya nearly gave me a heart attack today!"
Miss Rubina raised an eyebrow. "What did she do now?"
"She climbed the school wall, Rubina. The wall! If I didn't have any respect left for her mother, you would've seen what I'd do."
Miss Aisha quickly sent the new boy with Sir Ali to the classroom before things escalated.
—
Inside the classroom, chaos reigned. The students had abandoned their seats and surrounded the usual bench — Anabiya, Mishal, Zaki, and Urhaan were deep in conversation. The four of them had been inseparable since childhood.
The door opened and Miss Reshail entered. Everyone scrambled back to their seats.
She had just started attendance when Sir Ali walked in with a new student.
"New student for your class," he told her, then gestured to the boy.
The class stood up. "Assalamualaikum."
The boy stepped forward.
Anabiya looked up from folding a paper star — and her heart stopped.
It was him.
She immediately shot to her feet. "You?!"
Everyone turned to her.
Miss Reshail blinked. "Anabiya, sit down! Let him introduce himself."
The boy's voice was calm. "Hello. I'm Mahir Ali Shah. I just moved here from London. Please... be nice to me."
"Everyone, cooperate with him," Miss Reshail said. "Especially you, Anabiya."
She pointed to the seat behind Anabiya. "Mahir, you may sit there."
As he walked past, Anabiya turned slowly. Locking eyes with him, she smirked — dragged her finger across her throat dramatically — and mouthed:
"Wait and watch."
—
Break time arrived. Only the four of them remained in class.
Anabiya leaned forward. "Any ideas? What should we do to him next?"
Urhaan stretched. "Yaar, I don't know. He seemed kind of... innocent."
Anabiya glared. Urhaan quickly added, "Kidding! Kidding!"
Mishal grinned, leaning in. "I have a plan."
She whispered it. Everyone lit up.
Excited, they packed up and left school with laughter and high-fives.
—
Anabiya and Zaki walked part of the way together before splitting paths. She entered a narrow alley alone, leading to a tall building. Her apartment was on the upper floor.
Inside, the house was quiet. On the table a plate of food and a handwritten note.
"Baji, I'm taking the day off tomorrow. I've kept your food in the fridge too. – Shazia"
Anabiya sighed.
This house, once filled with life, now echoed only with silence.
Her phone rang. Mama.
She answered.
A soft, loving voice filled her ear.
They talked — or rather, her mother talked, and she listened.
Then, finally, Anabiya asked quietly, "Mama... when will you come back?"
Silence.
Then gently: "It'll be hard this month to, Beta... maybe next month , Insha'Allah."Anabiya rolled her eyes and said mom already 3 months passed u don't come tell me honestly "."If you don't have any plans to come, then let me know."
No, my dear, it's not like that. You know my work doesn't allow me to take leave, and besides, earning is not that easy. Insha'Allah, I'll come next week."
(Three years ago, Anabiya's father passed away in a car crash . A year later, her mother — a heart surgeon — she moved to Lahore for better income . She left Anabiya in Islamabad with her own apartment and a helper. She had no choice. But the distance... it had never gotten easier.)
Anabiya didn't say anything. She just ended the call quietly.
She walked to her bed, lay down, and stared at the ceiling.
And then — the tears came.
Soft. Silent. One after another.
From her trembling lips escaped a whisper, barely audible in the emptiness:
"I miss you, Baba."