A Diamond In Islam: A Romance Novel

by S. Nahar

  Damon: It’s nothing. Just personal things honestly.

  Once again, I dropped the issue, not wanting to pry.

  Me: Thanks for the compliment and the apology today. I really appreciated it.

  Damon: It’s all part of the charm sweetheart.

  I rolled my eyes. He was such an arrogant jerk. Here I was, offering my gratitude, and he was praising himself instead.

  Me: Ur too cocky for ur own good.

  Damon: Am not.

  Me: Yeah u r.

  Damon: No, I’m an irresistible member of society who has the ability to make a girl weak at the knees.

  Me: Whatever playboy. I know the truth.

  Damon: XD

  Me: I need to go to bed. Bye.

  Damon: Sweet dreams sweetheart ;)

  I giggled a little, before I stopped myself. What was wrong with me? He was bad news, a walking disaster. Falling in love was something I refused, especially to a boy like Damon. He was not someone who would learn about Islam or go through all the processes just to get married. I mean, the guy wasn’t a big fan of Islam to begin with.

  Although, the thought that he would never like me did sting a little, but I felt relieved. I had nothing to worry about. I’m sure he’ll get bored and stop talking eventually. That however, did nothing to ease the guilt that began to blossom in my heart.

  Sighing, I rose from my seat. I’m sure praying would ease my anxious mind.

  ***

  I was about to sleep after I praying, but got thirsty. I walked down the stairs, and stopped as I passed Tanwir’s room. He was most likely downstairs fixing a midnight snack, and being the annoying sister I was, I went inside his room.

  I was looking at all the cool books he had and the heavy textbooks, completely astonished at their size. My fingers gently brushed against the side of his shelf before my eyes landed on a small stack of notes on his desk. I looked closer and saw that they were notes to himself.

  Remember to pray on time.

  Not sleep late.

  Work on controlling anger.

  Maybe he wasn’t as bad as my parents thought he was. He was at least trying. Didn’t that count for something in the eyes of Allah? Sometimes people had a bad attitude on the outside, but their relationship with Allah could be closer than it seemed. Not many people remembered that and just judged the person straight on.

  I put his notes back, walking back to my room with a small smile playing on my lips, as pride bloomed within me. My thirst was forgotten. Tanwir wasn’t a bad person. He was trying to change. He just needed a push and I was going to be the one to deliver it.

  ***

  I was in English class with Damon where we were typing up an essay about a book we read in class. My brain hurt from trying to formulate complex sentences and finding perfect examples. We only had one class period to write the whole thing and I was determined to get a high grade.

  Of course, Damon sitting next to me was nothing but pure distraction.

  “Hey, check this out,” Damon said, nudging me.

  I turned towards his computer screen. He finished his essay and was playing on the computer. It was a game called Happy Wheels. He purposely killed his players by flipping them over. I cringed in disgust.

  “Ew, Damon. That’s gross,” I winced, as I watched the guy lose his arms.

  “It’s just a game,” he chuckled.

  “It’s still disturbing, to say the least.”

  “You’re just too innocent,” he shook his head with a smile.

  “At least I have standards in games,” I playfully glared.

  “Whatever you say, sweetheart,” he winked.

  I gave him a blank stare before heading back to my essay. I was almost done. After writing the last paragraph, Damon nudged me again.

  “What now?” I snapped.

  “I’m bored. Entertain me,” he pouted.

  “Damon, get a life.”

  “I have one and it involves you,” he winked.

  “Flattering,” I said, sarcastically.

  He leaned back in his chair and stretched. His shirt outlined his muscles, and for a moment, my eyes gazed at the flex of his muscles before I turned away, feeling my cheeks heat up. Shaking my head, I looked back to my screen, and printed the essay out. I was about to get up and get it, but Damon stopped me.

  “I’ll go get it,” he said, as he got up.

  “Thanks,” I murmured.

  Damon came back after a few minutes. “Looks good. You’re very talented at writing, Amira,” he said while handing me my paper.

  “I guess.”

  “No, really. It’s really impressive.”

  “Thank you,” I smiled.

  I walked over to one of my friends, Alexis, who wiggled her brows at me. Damon was still distracted by the game, finding more creative ways to kill off the characters which disgusted me even more.

  “Want to explain how Damon and you got so close?” she asked playfully.

  My eyes went wide. “No, we’re not. He’s just an annoying jerk that won’t leave me alone,” I scoffed.

  “I’m not annoying. I’m charming,” Damon’s deep voice spoke behind me.

  I jumped. “What in the world do you think you’re doing?”

  “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m defending myself. And here I thought you were the smart one,” he teased.

  “Damon! Go away!” I exclaimed, frustrated, flopping down in my seat.

  “Nah I like it here,” he smirked, as he leaned against the wall.

  “Damon,” I growled through gritted teeth.

  “Amira,” he grinned.

  “I give up. Forget it,” I sighed, falling into my chair.

  “I think I’ll be going now,” Damon said.

  “Oh, so now you leave?” I said sarcastically.

  He just chuckled, walking towards his friends. I turned back to look at Alexis, whose grin reminded me of Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, surprisingly widening when my scowl deepened.

  Alexis patted me on the shoulder. “And you wonder why I tease you about Damon,” she laughed.

  “Whatever,” I muttered.

  I took a glance at Damon. I didn’t feel any romantic feelings for him, but could I guarantee that it would stay that way?

  Oh Allah, please protect me from Shaytan’s (Satan) evil doings, I silently prayed.

  Chapter 9

  A Blast from the Past

  Damon Winters

  I was walking toward my locker when a voice stopped me.

  “Damon Winters!” she yelled.

  I felt a smile creep its way onto my lips. I turned around to face her.

  “Yes?”

  “You’re such a jerk. You know that?” she glared.

  I had teased Amira too much during English. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We all have those moments,” I winked.

  Her glare became even more intense. If looks could kill, I would be dead by now.

  “Moments? You just teased me for the whole hour! And they were all about my handwriting. I told you it gets worse the longer I have to write!” she huffed.

  I laughed even harder.

  Amira looked confused as hell. “What?” she asked, placing her hand on her hip.

  “I can’t take you seriously. You look adorable when you’re mad.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Bye, Damon.”

  “No! Wait! Amira, come back!” I called out, but she already walked away.

  I shook my head. That girl was something else, whether it was good or not, I still hadn’t decided. We had gotten closer over the days, finding similar interests among each other. We still didn’t talk about religion as much because it was a sore topic for the both of us. I wasn’t sure if I could let myself trust another Muslim again, but Amira definitely made me doubt my previous inhibitions.

  She had given me no reason to fear her. My guard was still up in case she did, and I refused to allow her to crumble my walls through her kindness and generosity. She hadn’t judged
me when I told her about my father’s gambling addiction, nor had she spread rumors to me. Instead, Amira confronted the inner demon that lurked inside, desperate to find answers to her unanswered questions.

  I wasn’t sure if I was ready to share that part of my life yet. Not until I knew the past wouldn’t repeat itself.

  “Yo, Damon!”

  I closed my locker, and found Tye walking down the hall towards me. He was one of my new friends at this school. Coming from a Japanese family, his parents were quite strict, especially when my mysterious rumors had whispered into their ears about that ‘fight.’

  I wasn’t even sure if ‘fight’ was the correct term. It was a piercing betrayal, deliberate and concise. He meticulously planned for those guys to jump me. He wanted to see me suffer.

  My abdomen churned painfully at the thought.

  “Hey, man,” I greeted, tying to ease my tense mind.

  “Why are you so busy all of a sudden? I see you always on that phone of yours,” he asked, wiggling his brows in suggestion.

  I had been spending a lot of time talking to Amira on Google chat. I could never get bored of her. Every conversation was different, a window to her world, and a door to her heart. Slowly, I felt as if I was being pulled to her through an invisible string. She was alluring like a goddess from all of those mythology books, the ones who lured men with their beauty only to crush their hearts in the end.

  I still had doubts about her.

  “Nope, just this one girl.”

  “Who?”

  “This girl,” I simply replied, not wanting to dwell on the subject any longer. “What brings you to my locker, anyway?”

  “So, the guys and I are heading over to Jacob’s place to play Call of Duty. Wanna come?”

  “Sure.”

  “Now about this girl. What does she look like?” he asked, grinning too widely for my liking.

  Tendrils of qualm circled around me from his questions. Why was he so persistent about her? “She has pretty good looks,” I said, swinging my backpack over my shoulder. I stared into his small eyes. “Why do you ask?”

  He shrugged, blowing the black strands away from his eyes. Tye was a typical Asian, who put all his efforts into his schoolwork. His pale skin was whiter than mine which made him almost looked like a vampire from Twilight.

  I pushed down the anger that was bubbling deep in my chest. Tye’s questions about Amira irritated me; she wasn’t an object of sexual satisfaction. Amira was worth more than that; she was meant to be respected and adored.

  “I can’t believe you’re talking to a girl and not actually trying to get laid.”

  I frowned. “I told you I’m focusing on school now.”

  “You never did tell me what happened at your previous school.”

  “Trust me, it’s not worth knowing. What’s done is done.”

  Tye had gone silent, eyes squinting at me like I was a puzzle he had yet to solve. Everyone knew that there was something ‘badass’ about Damon Winters, but they didn’t know the full story of why I had gotten transferred, while the other kids involved in the incident were expelled. Not all Muslims were terrorists, but not all Muslims were saints either. Some were as malicious as history itself, people who reveled at another’s misery.

  ***

  An hour later, I had beaten the guys in the game.

  “Damon, you suck. I can’t believe you won again,” Thomas groaned, another close friend of mine. His tousled auburn hair knotted even more during the duration of the high stakes game.

  I grinned. “You snooze, you lose. Deal with it.”

  “Hey, I’m going to fix up some snacks. Anyone want to come?” asked Jacob, standing up from his beanbag chair.

  Thomas and Tye ran to the door. Those pigs, I thought.

  Jacob and Thomas quickly built a friendship with me, knowing it best not to bring up my previous school. Thomas was a blue-eyed devil in my eyes when it came to video games. I had never seen someone so dedicated and bloodthirsty for a win against me. I always did love a competitive match up.

  On the other hand, Jacob was a lot calmer and more composed. With his curly brown hair and pasty skin, he was a girl magnet, a gentleman from another time period despite his preppy style. Jacob came from a religious Jewish family, so he didn’t endeavor in female company when he could be studying religious texts instead.

  Jacob turned to me and said, “Set up the game. Rematch.”

  I set up the game and sat back down. I wonder what Amira is doing. Pulling out my phone, I saw that she sent me a message.

  Amira: What did u write for the English hw?

  I rolled my eyes. Of course, she was doing homework. That little nerd.

  Me: U already know that I don’t do homework this early.

  Amira: Ur useless to me then.

  Me: Ouch. That hurt my ego :(

  Amira: And I should care because......?

  Me: Because I’m ur friend.

  Amira: What else u got?

  This was what I loved about Amira. She was fresh with conversations. She knew how to talk to someone in a way that never got boring.

  Me: Harsh. I thought we had a thing.

  Amira: Ur dumb.

  Me: Says the one in the lower classes.

  Amira: Hey! We r in the same classes! Just different periods!

  Me: Oh right. Ur worse XD

  Amira: Damon!

  Me: Amira!

  Amira: Ugh why r u so difficult?!

  I couldn’t help, but smile. I loved getting her angry. I was going to reply, but the guys came in.

  “Alright, let’s kick some butt!” Tye yelled, settling himself in front of me with a sandwich in hand. “I feel good about this game.”

  “No way! Food first,” Thomas argued.

  “I second that,” I replied.

  “Tye wasn’t kidding when he said you use your phone a lot now,” Jacob muttered.

  We all turned to him.

  “What?” he shrugged, as he took a seat next to me.

  “His eyes are glued to his phone.” He’s probably right.

  “I was just texting someone,” I shrugged, trying to get Jacob’s suspicions off my back. “Why are you guys so up on my case about this?”

  Tye and Thomas exchanged glances with one another. Tye was biting his lips as if he was nervous to bring a subject up again. His eyes sought assistance from Jacob, who sighed knowingly.

  Glancing at all of their expressions, I wondered what ailed them so deeply that they were nervous to even bring it up. A pit of dread settled in my stomach. I knew they were going to confront me about something I wouldn’t want to talk about.

  Jacob cleared his throat. “Are you talking to that Muslim girl again?”

  “How would you know?” I shot back a bit too aggressively.

  “Well, it was an educated guess. You have been getting close with her lately.”

  I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. “I fail to see why this is a problem.”

  This time, Thomas spoke. “Given what happened at your previous school, are you sure you’re okay with talking to her?”

  I nodded.

  None of them seemed convinced. All three of my friends saw nothing wrong with Muslims. They had been around them since elementary school, but they didn’t know all Muslims. They didn’t know the bad apples of the bunch and the horrid intentions that lurked behind their eyes.

  Amira’s different, a voice in my head reminded me. She’s not like the rest. You enjoy her company.

  “Look, Damon,” began Jacob gently, “I know what happened at your old school was horrible-”

  “You don’t know the whole story,” I cut off.

  “Regardless of that, something bad happened to you. A Muslim hurt you, but if you’re going to get involved with Amira, you shouldn’t hurt her in revenge. Not all Muslims are like that guy form your school,” he continued, dark eyes searching for a way to get through to me.

  The shutters of my mind shrieked, covering my eyes
with memories of my old friend, Luqmaan. He betrayed me. He destroyed my trust. Maybe if he didn’t jump on me that day, things would have been different. I could have trusted people easily, could have told my parents everything from beginning to end. No one knew the whole story, no one but me.

  “How would you know?” I croaked into the silence that engulfed us. My voice was hoarse as if the memory hurt too much to think about.

  Jacob smiled tightly. “Just because one Muslim commits a crime doesn’t mean they’re all the same. People are flawed, Damon. Some are worse than others.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, but Tye had beaten me to it.

  “We’re just telling you to be careful. Amira’s a nice girl. If you’re going to make her feel bad about her religion, then maybe it’s time to abort that mission, and spend time with other Muslims. Isn’t that why your mom brought you here? To learn how to be more accepting?”

  I felt myself shrink into the beanbag at the mention of my mother. She had so much on her plate especially with my father’s gambling addiction, yet she was still determined to raise me to become a better person, a more honorable man. She would have said the same thing.

  “Yeah,” I mumbled. “I guess you’re right.”

  Perhaps my friends were right. I may not trust Muslims yet, but I shouldn’t shun all of them, especially someone as sweet as Amira. We made a pact to keep our differences aside so we could get along for all our assignments together, but I was slowly starting to regret that decision.

  Chapter 10

  Taqwa

  Amira Sarker

  A conscience of guilt pricked against my soul, gnawing and biting down on the tender parts of my heart like the guilt would slowly suffocate me. Damon was becoming too addicting to ignore and lovable to hate. There was more to Damon and his life than all those rumors.

  Rumors seemed like nothing but a loose string in a ball of yarn. They had no meaning, no significance when there was a far greater story beneath it all. The truth is, Damon and I had quirky conversations and at times borderline flirtatious. He would tell me about his day and I would tell him about mine from the most exhilarating to the most frustrating parts.