Adam is a 16 year old teenager who attends his local secondary school. He fancies Zhara, a South Asian student.
Adam has fancied Zhara ever since he first saw her when she started at his secondary school towards the end of second term in Year 10. Adam, however, has never told anyone, not even his best and closest friend, Jordan, that he fancies Zhara.
Then, things begin to change for Adam when his Maths teacher, Mr Khan, offers him some manly advice.
So, sit snugly, relax and treat yourself by finding out whether Adam gets to tell Zhara that he fancies her, and whether he gets to go out with her!
You never know, there may be a Zhara in your life!
Most of all, the author sincerely hopes that readers enjoy reading this short story, and, equally important, that it will encourage them to read further stories on offer by the author.
Thank you.
Adam’s Love
by Adnan Ali
*****
Copyright 2015 Adnan Ali
*****
Thank you for your support and for respecting the hard work of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents, including those based on the real world, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, localities or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 1
The lesson finished, and Adam was still in his class with his Maths teacher, Mr Khan.
“Why the very long face?” asked Mr Khan, as Adam sat still quietly at the back of the class looking extremely worried and anxious. Mr Khan noted that Adam sat uneasily at his class desk as if his whole world was about to come quickly to an abrupt end! “It’s the end of school day you know; you can go home now, Adam,” added Mr Khan.
Adam didn’t response for a little while, and feeling a little concerned, Mr Khan approached Adam’s desk where Adam was sitting, his head down now resting on the desk.
“Adam?” prompted Mr Khan, sensing that something serious was the matter with Adam, and that whatever it was, it was visibly upsetting him. Usually, Adam was never this quiet at all. “Is everything all right, Adam?” asked Mr Khan, concern in his voice. “I’ve noticed that you didn’t say anything at all in today’s lesson; that’s not like you at all, Adam.”
Sighing heavily, Adam eventually lifted his head from the desk and faced Mr Khan; he looked pale with worry and anxiety.
“Is everything all right?” again asked Mr Khan, distinct worry in his voice.
“It’s OK, sir,” Adam replied slowly, distinct unhappiness in his voice.
Mr Khan could clearly sense that something was the matter.
“Adam, if there’s something you want to talk about, you know you can talk to me at any time,” Mr Khan reminded Adam, sincerity in his voice.
“It’s nothing, sir,” responded Adam, trying initially to avoid the issue.
“Are you sure, Adam?”
“I’m sure, sir,” responded Adam but with hesitation in his voice.
“Absolutely, Adam?” asked Mr Khan just to be sure. “There’s nothing you want to talk about?”
Again, Adam didn’t reply instantly, but hesitated as if he was thinking whether to say anything to his teacher.
“It’s …”
“Yes, Adam. What is it?” prompted Mr Khan.
Adam looked a little uneasy; yet words wondered wildly on his lips still unable to stumble out.
“It’s … a girl,” Adam eventually blurted and looked away from Mr Khan.
“OK,” responded Mr Khan uncertainly as he sat on a nearby chair. “Go on.”
Spreading his fingers, Adam completely covered his face with both his hands, taking a long deep breath before lowering his hands to face his teacher. Mr Khan stared at Adam prompting him to continue.
“There’s a girl…”
“Yes, Adam,” prompted Adam, his body posture showing interest in Adam’s worry.
“This girl … I, er, love her very much,” Adam admitted.
“That’s very romantic, Adam,” said Mr Khan, cheerfully, settling in to a more comfortable position.
Adam hesitated again.
“And?”
“Well, this girl … she’s absolutely beautiful; I can’t think of any other word to describe her, sir and even a word like ‘beautiful’ doesn’t really do her any justice she’s … so beautiful,” Adam breathed deeply inwards, confidence quickly building in his voice as Mr Khan showed interest in what Adam was saying. “I think about her all the time … day and night she’s on my mind, sir,” stated Adam. “I just can’t get her out of my mind. I close my eyes and I see her, and when I open my eyes, I still see her stunning face!”
“Right.”
“Ever since I’ve seen her, sir, I’ve been thinking about her all the time,” continued Adam as he felt more and more comfortable speaking to his Maths teacher. “Her smooth, silky, beautiful black hair like satin and her captivating eyes brown like topaz. She’s driving me crazy, sir!”
“Well, it’s very obvious you like this girl, Adam,” began Mr Khan. “How long have you known her?” he asked.
“She’s in my year, sir,” Adam began explaining. “But it seems as if I’ve known her all my life,” Adam added as he dreamily stared in space for several seconds before continuing. “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” There was a brief pause. “I have never known anyone as beautiful as her.”
“So you love her?” asked Mr Khan.
“More than my life itself,” answered Adam with conviction. “I would give anything, absolutely anything, sir, just to be with her!” Adam added as he breathed slowly inwards at the thought of being with his dream girl.
“So what seems to be the problem?” asked Mr Khan.
“Sir, we’ve only got about two months before we both leave this school,” explained Adam anxiously.
“And?”
“And I’ll never see her again and the thought of me never ever seeing her again is killing me, sir,” explained Adam, feeling very miserable.
“I see.” Mr Khan acknowledged Adam’s situation as he inhaled deeply inwards. “So why don’t you tell her that you love her?” suggested Mr Khan. “You know, tell her how you feel about her.”
“I wish it was that easy, sir,” said Adam.
“Why? What’s the matter?” asked Mr Khan, wanting to know what the problem was.
“I’m ... shy, sir,” Adam answered hesitantly.
“You! Shy?” exclaimed Mr Khan. “I didn’t think of you as the shy type,” stated Mr Khan.
“I know, sir, but this girl … this girl is no ordinary girl; she’s someone special … very special!” Adam added gleefully.
Mr Khan gently rubbed his chin with his thumb and finger as he listened attentively to what Adam was saying.
“Let me get this straight,” began Mr Khan. “You like this girl ever since you’ve met her and –”
There was a brief pause when Adam stared at his Maths teacher not sure what he meant by ‘and’.
“And?” asked Adam.
“And what seems to be the problem?” asked Mr Khan not sure what seemed to be the problem with liking a girl.
“Oh, the problem. It’s the girl, sir,” said Adam.
“The girl?” said Mr Khan. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“The girl, sir, she’s …”
Adam paused for several seconds.
“She’s?
” Mr Khan prompted Adam to continue, his eye brows rising in the process.
“The girl she’s … Asian.”
“Oh, right. But I still don’t see the problem, Adam?”
“The girl you see, sir,” began Adam. “She’s not that type of girl –”
“What do you mean ‘not that type of girl?” asked Mr Khan.
“I mean, she doesn’t go out with guys,” began Adam. “I mean, she doesn’t even sit next to any Asian guy - so I’ve got no chance,” explained Adam.
“I see,” said Mr Khan taking in the facts of the situation with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Have you spoken to her about how you feel?” asked Mr Khan.
“No,” answered Adam.
“Why not, Adam?”
“Sir, she’s a very decent girl,” answered Adam. “I don’t ever want to do anything that ruins her reputation in school or with her parents; definitely not her parents,” Adam adamantly added. “I never ever want her to get in to trouble because of me ... even if it means not telling her how I feel about her.”
“That’s very noble of you, Adam,” said Mr Khan before he sighed heavily. “I wish there were more guys like you,” Mr Khan muttered to himself. “Anyway, I take it you haven’t asked her out?” asked Mr Khan.
“No, sir. No way. Definitely no way!” answered Adam.
“Why not, Adam?”
“She’ll say ‘no’, sir,” quickly explained Adam, “and I don’t want to ask her either.”
“Why not?”
“She’s so sweet, pure and innocent. I fear that if I ever ask her out I’ll stain her in some way. And I could never do that to her, sir.”
Mr Khan thought for a brief moment, his eyes wondering earnestly, searching for a serious solution to Adam’s situation.
“Here look, Adam, I know you don’t want to ask her out and all that, but isn’t it worth asking, at least once?” suggested Mr Khan. Adam stared at his Maths teacher. “Otherwise there will definitely come a time when you’ll be cursing yourself each and every day of your remaining life asking yourself why you didn’t ask her out today,” Mr Khan added advisingly. “Trust me, Adam, when I say that that is something you don’t want to be doing for the rest of your life.”
“But, sir –”
“Adam,” Mr Khan simply said, interrupting Adam and then, for several seconds, stared silently straight at Adam. “I’m somewhat surprised that you’re letting this girl go,” pointed out Mr Khan.
“The last I heard, kidnapping is illegal, sir,” joked Adam.
Mr Khan chuckled before staring seriously at Adam.
“Adam, listen. If it’s going to happen, it’ll happen but more importantly, you yourself must take the first step – you need to do something yourself. But most of all, Adam, trust in something greater than yourself,” explained Mr Khan. “Have a leap of faith.”
“I didn’t mean for it to happen, sir,” said Adam. “It just kind of … happened.”
“I know, Adam,” began Mr Khan. “But Adam, God provides the opportunities, the chances but it’s up to us as ordinary human beings to take them before it’s too late,” explained Mr Khan philosophically. There was a brief pause as Adam took in what Mr Khan was saying. “And I honestly believe the opportunity is here today before you. All you have to do is to take it.”
When Mr Khan finished his sentence, Adam instantly stared at his Maths teacher, his eyes now wide about the possibility of pursuing his passion, and immediately started thinking about his teacher’s sensible suggestion about speaking to the girl he loved so much and wanted more than anything else in his life.
Mr Khan heard the footsteps of several staff in the quiet corridor, and that reminded him that he needed to leave school soon.
“Here listen, Adam. If you like, we can continue with this on Monday?”
“Yes, sir, that’ll be great,” Adam said with eager anticipation. “I’ll be off then.”
Adam carefully picked up his bag from the side of the desk and gently hoisted it over his shoulder and made his way to the door when he turned round.
“Sir?”
“Yes, Adam?”
“Thank you, sir. Thank you very much,” said a grateful Adam, as happy as he had been miserable a few minutes before.
“Anytime, Adam. Anytime,” said Mr Khan, pursing his lips.
As Adam took several steps himself, Mr Khan called Adam’s name.
“Adam?”
“Yes, sir?”
“I really do hope that you get this girl, Adam, and if I can help in any small way, just let me know,” stated Mr Khan.
“I will, sir,” said a very happy Adam. “Thank you, sir.”
“Adam,” began Mr Khan, “this girl is very lucky to have a great guy like you love her so much. And it would be a great shame if you didn’t get her,” added Mr Khan.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Have a great weekend, Adam.”
“You too, sir.”
“Thanks,” said Mr Khan, and Adam left the classroom feeling much better having spoken to his Maths teacher.
Mr Khan inhaled deeply and smiled.
…..
Adam was sixteen years and nine months old and attended a state secondary school. He was tall with an athletic build and, to his distinct advantage, his whole body was packed with strength. From his build, Adam definitely looked like he worked out a lot.
He was also heavily handsome, his fine facial features in perfect proportion but with a charmingly lonely look in both his eyes as if someone specific was missing from his life.
Adam’s clothing hugged his body in a way that showed off every muscle, and when he wasn’t wearing his school blue blazer, the girls could very easily see his white shirt clinging tightly to his muscles. Adam could have quite easily have been mistaken for a male model having walked straight off the cover of any teenage magazine.
Adam was for all intents and purposes an all muscles, good-looking gorgeous guy.
Despite the loneliness in his eyes though, Adam was still quite a popular student amongst his peers, particularly the girls.