Ball Is Cancelled

The first class of the day hadn’t started yet, but Ahmer already felt tired. He and Ruqsana had been grilled by Saad and Suhail for hours until, during and after dinner. He was barely able to swallow his breakfast with Suhail giving him the stink eye. That’s why when his friends came to check up on him he told them, “Go away, I don’t want to talk right now.”

“Does it by chance have anything to do with this?” Shoaib smiled, holding up a phone which had the webpage of Shah Sarai Glam with an article titled “Trouble in Paradise?” with a photograph of Ahmer and Ruqsana at yesterday’s event.

“You seriously read that trash site?” Salman asked.

“Hey, that’s my phone,” Saif replied as he took his phone back, “And it was my khala who shared the link with me, I just wanted to confirm if everything is fine between Ahmer and his fiancée.”

“Nothing’s fine,” Ahmer sighed, “I tried to reach out to Ruqsana and it blew in my face.”

“What happened?” Salman asked.

“I suggested we shift to a different city so that she could work and I could follow my dream. She took that as me asking her to cut off ties with her family and run away with me,” Ahmer summarized.

“Why? What you said doesn’t sound so bad,” Shoaib asked.

“Well, think of it from her perspective,” Saif said, “she’s being asked to trust someone whom she barely gets along with and risk making her parents angry at her.”

“Are you Ahmer’s friend or bhabhi’s friend?” Shoaib snarked at Saif.

Saif raised his hands up, “I’m just saying that while Ahmer has a point, so does Ruqsana.”

“Maybe she just needs some time to get to know you better,” Salman advised Ahmer, “Once you have her trust, she may be open to the idea.”

“I hope so,” Ahmer sighed, “I know I’m mostly to blame for it but we barely know each other.”

“Hey, how about ditching today’s function and spending the night with us?” Shoaib suggested.

“I can’t,” Ahmer sighed again, “Abbu was adamant that I must attend the inauguration tonight. Something about building my public presence.”

“Maybe you should tell your father about Pepper Spray Man,” Shoaib smirked, getting high fives from Saif and Salman.

“Don’t even joke about that,” Ahmer gave his friends a dry look. While his friends continued to try to cheer him in their irritating way, the college’s public announcement system buzzed to life with Farha’s voice.

“Assalamualaikum. All students and staff members are requested to gather at the sports ground immediately. Anyone not attending will be marked for detention. I repeat all students and staff members are requested to gather at the sports ground immediately. Anyone not attending will be marked for detention.”

Ahmer’s classroom started buzzing with whispers as everyone wondered why they were being assembled at the sports ground.

“It’s probably some announcement that could have been an email,” Shoaib said loud enough for the entire class to hear, “Honestly, why waste money on speakers if you’re going to assemble students anyway?”

Many students nodded in agreement and voiced their dissatisfaction.

“Let’s just go and find out,” Salman told them, leading the class to the football field.

‘I wonder if it has something to do with what Farha said yesterday,’ Ahmer thought about his cousin’s cryptic message as he followed his class.

The entire college gathered at the field, which, despite the huge crowd of 20,000 still had space to offer. They stood facing the stage at the left side of the field, where the Student Council and many of the senior faculty members were standing, waiting for the dean to arrive.

The ground was brimming with excited murmurs of students as they wondered why they had been gathered. The excitement died down when an old, tall and thin woman in a purple silk abaya walked up the stage, her violet eyes glaring at everyone, daring them to cause mischief and face her wrath.

Mahira Shaikh, the dean of Shah Sarai University, held the mic and greeted everyone in a firm voice, “Assalamualaikum.”

“Walaikumassalam,” the entire college body greeted her back.

Mahira addressed the gathering, “As many of you are aware, the administration has been taking steps to improve the academic performance of students. Today, we are announcing one such step to bring Shah Sarai University on the right track. From next week onwards, all club activities will be indefinitely suspended. The club time will be replaced by classes and club rooms will be used for academic purposes.”

The students broke into surprised and angry murmurs in reaction to the news.

“Is this for real?”

“She can’t do this!”

“But we have a match next week.”

“I won’t accept this!”

“Silence, the next person to speak will serve detention,” Mahira warned the students, quieting them instantly, “I’m looking at you Shoaib Khan, Alisha Zaidi, Fahad Mirza,” she called out the usual suspects, all of whom happened to be from the Anime Club. Their classmates prevented them from making any smart remarks to protect them.

“Keep in mind that from next week, all club activities will be considered unofficial,” Mahira continued, “Anyone who defies the ban and tries to conduct club activities will be strictly penalised. Club leaders, you have one week to clear the club rooms and hand over the keys to the student council. Any complaints or requests must be emailed to the Student Council President with me and club advisor in CC.”

“I understand that many of you might be upset with this decision. However, the administration is firm on this decision for the sake of your betterment. You are the brightest minds of Aslanistan, you do not have time to dilly dally. You must give your all to achieve new heights in academics.”

Shoaib had turned red with anger and was about to burst curses upon the dean but Salman held him and shook his head, helping him keep his calm. Saif and Ahmer were left speechless by the announcement.

The classes went by in a blink as students tried to make sense of the sudden change. The members of Anime Club gathered, silently processing the events of today. The girls were comforting Shazia who was inconsolable due to the announcement, her scarf wet with tears.

“We can’t let her do this,” Shoaib broke the silence, “Academics my foot, she just hates everything fun and would rather we study 24x7.”

“Calm down Shoaib, we can’t do anything rash,” Salman said.

“I’m not saying we should do anything rash, just something,” Shoaib retorted.

“And just what can we do?” Saif asked, “No one cares what we students want. The administration will just expel anyone who raises their voice.”

“Yaqoob bhai, the soccer club captain tried to raise a complaint against the ban today, he was suspended for causing trouble,” Faiz shared what he heard.

“See, they are already looking for scapegoats, one wrong move and we could be expelled,” Saif emphasized.

“What about Ahmer?” Alisha asked. Everyone looked at Alisha.

“Me?” Ahmer asked.

“What do you mean?” Saif asked.

“Ahmer is participating in the student council election tomorrow,” Alisha explained.

“Even if he wins, he can’t do much to change Mahira ma’am’s decision,” Saif pointed out.

“He doesn’t have to win,” Alisha said, “He and other contestants will have to give a speech before voting starts. He can use that to protest against the shutdowns.” Everyone turned to Ahmer.

“That sounds perfect,” Shoaib agreed with the plan.

“Bro, you are the president’s son, she can’t even dream of touching a hair on your head let alone expel you,” Fahad added.

“She doesn’t have to,” Ahmer sighed, “She can just punish you guys in my stead and my father won’t lift a finger to help you.”

“He’s right,” Saif agreed, “It’s too risky.”

“So we just let Mahira ma’am steamroll us and shut our club down?” Shoaib asked, “We started this club together, you’re just going to let them shut it down?”

“I don’t want our club to be shut down, but what can we do?” Saif asked back.

“I just said what we can do,” Alisha replied.

“That’s not a solution, that’s mass suicide,” Saif shut her down.

“Maybe there’s no perfect solution, maybe we just have to take risks if we want to fight for what we love,” Fahad retorted.

“It’s easy for you to say,” Faiz scoffed, “if you are expelled, your parents can just get you admitted elsewhere with some donation. Folks like us are finished if we make one wrong move.”

“You think it’s easy for me? Risking my career for the club’s sake?” Fahad raised his voice, stomping up to Faiz.

“Did I hit a nerve?” Faiz refused to back down.

“That’s going too far,” Rashid scolded Faiz.

“And what he did isn’t?” Faiz retorted.

“Why are you picking a fight? We need a plan now,” Alisha asked Faiz.

“I’m picking a fight?” Faiz asked rhetorically.

“Yes, you are,” Shoaib butted in.

“ENOUGH! QUIET ALL OF YOU! NOT A WORD!” Salman screamed, getting everyone’s attention, “Whatever we decide to do, we can’t fight amongst ourselves. We need to stick together and help each other out like we always do. That’s the only way to win.”

Everyone paused and turned away from each other, giving themselves a few moments to clear their minds. They tried thinking of new ideas but no one could think of anything.

“Let’s just call it a day,” Salman suggested, “Everyone is obviously exhausted. We can think of ideas at home and meet tomorrow morning before the first class. I think Alisha’s idea has merit but I want to know if there are safer ways to get what we want.”

Everyone nodded and packed up, leaving the club room and taking with them the anxiety of having to say goodbye to it soon.