Hackschool Project

by

Iqra Khan

*****

Copyright © 2020 by Iqra Khan

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN: 978-969-696-462-9

Daastan Publications

www.daastan.com

*****

Editor(s)

Reshail Naeem

_

Book Cover Copyrights

Anum Ameer

*****

Chapter One

Bad News Day

Bad News Day, commonly known as Result Day, was a dark day in the Moin household. It was a day when the family members, all five of them, gathered in the living room to discuss the children's fate.

"I am very disappointed, Inaya," Mama said. "Very disappointed indeed. I was looking forward to telling everyone that you got straight A’s—it's so easy to say 'straight As'—oh, yes, it's 'straight A*s' now. Still, very easy to say. But what's this you've got? Four Bs, three Cs and a D--it's so hard to remember. How am I going to share your result with anyone when I can't even remember it?"

"I tried, Mama," was all Inaya had to say.

"Never say 'try'," Papa said. "It's either do or don't—there is no 'try'. You could have gotten at least a few As. I never expected straight A*s from you, with you I knew it was better to keep my expectations low. You weren't going to make me proud in front of a family of gold medalist doctors and engineers, anyway. But this D grade? How you can get a D grade at school level is beyond my understanding."

"It's beyond my understanding, too," Inaya said. "It was the one I attempted best."

"There you go again," Papa said. "Attempt. Try. No, you do your best—no tries, and certainly no attempts. How you are going to get admission anywhere with this result, I don't know."

"I'm not going to get admission," Inaya said. Then, before her parents' jaws could drop all the way to the floor, she added, "I'm going to give these papers again. All of them."

"And waste a year?" Mama's voice rose high. "I am not going to have my young unmarried girl waste her precious youth like that."

"Mama, I'm just sixteen," Inaya said. "And before you even think of marrying me off, you have to consider Leena first." Inaya gestured in the direction of her elder sister, who smiled her small, secret smile.

"Don't worry about me," Leena said. "I got admitted into my third-choice college. I'm all set."

Mama sighed. "Leena," she said, "You could have kept the family reputation in mind. Nobody in our family has ever gone to the Women's Community College. How am I going to tell people what my daughter is doing? Best marks in Matric and F.A, and then, goes to a second-class college? How does that even happen? I can't believe your rejection letters. There must be some mistake."

"Oh," Leena said. "I can explain. My first-choice college was full of applicants who got half a mark more than me. My second-choice college was full of people who had 'friends in high places' to give a favourable word to the admissions committee in order to secure their seats. That left the third-option college for me."

"I'm never going to be able to live this down," Mama said.

"Don't worry, Mama," Jasir, the youngest child, spoke up. "I'll make you proud when I become a superstar!"

"Oh, please," Inaya said. "Focus on getting enough marks to pass into ninth grade. There's a good boy." She looked in her parents' direction. "Did you sign him up for Matric, like Leena, or O Levels, like me?"

"Nobody wants to do O Levels like you did," Jasir said. "And I can't score as well as Leena did in Matric, so that obviously means that I should leave school and become a professional gamer." Jasir punched the air enthusiastically.

The family collectively shushed Jasir before he could get too hyper. Mama and Papa exchanged glances, then Papa said, "This is how it is going to be. Inaya, your two-year O Level scheme didn't work out, so I'm going to get you admitted into the last year of three-year O Levels, along with tuition centre in the evenings." Inaya groaned. "Jasir, you are going to try your best to get good marks and we'll help you figure out which track of study you are going to take." Jasir grimaced. "Leena..." Inaya and Jasir turned around to look expectantly at their elder sister. "Leena, you have always been the joy of my heart, and this third-option college isn't going to change that." Inaya and Jasir sighed. Anything could happen on Bad News Day, but apparently, Leena the favourite child getting scolded was not one of them.

***

Bad News Day had its aftereffects. One of them was the change in Papa's running commentary during the morning school and college drop-off routine. Papa had the habit of talking aloud while driving. His morning speeches covered everything from the bagged tomatoes hanging off the side of the motorcycle in front of them to the mysterious squeaking noise that persisted in coming from their car no matter which mechanic they went to in order to get it checked. After Bad News Day, however, the topic in the spotlight was one of the children. Every morning, as they piled into the car, making last-minute checks as to whether Jasir had remembered to pack his homework diary and Inaya her hairbrush (as she spent more time at school and tuition centre compared to home, she had life's basic necessities in her schoolbag, the topmost being her hairbrush), the children would look at each other and wonder who would be the topic of commentary that morning.

One day, it would be Inaya. Papa would drum his fingers on the steering wheel and commence, "So, how are the A*s cooking? Working hard, I hope? After all, you're spending an extra year of your life chasing down those meanies. Hey, don't give me that look now, Inaya dear. This time together in the car is the most I get to see you on weekdays. Otherwise, you're always enclosed within the halls of academia, bless you."

Another day, it would be Jasir. "How's my little space cadet? You all ready with your latest plan to reach the moon? Aim for the moon and fall among the stars, I always say. Hmm, what's that spot on your nose? Leena, clean his nose. Yes, yes, I'm looking at the road. I caught sight of the dirt on his face in the rear-view mirror. Eh, that's a mole? Naturally on his face, you say? I should look more carefully at my own children, dear Lord, if I forget the details of your faces this easily, though Jasir hardly stays still long enough to get a proper look at the boy. Study hard, little man! Even astronauts need to know their multiplication tables!"

Leena was the last to be dropped off at college, after the other two had been safely deposited within their schools, so she got a daily dose of Papa's comments, though on the bright side, the other two were not there to hear them. It went something like this, "Leena, my dear. So nice to have you to myself for this little part of the day. I remember when I was in college, I used to be in the hostel, and I would get up early to run laps in the sports ground! How the other students used to admire me as I jogged! Uhh—well, let's not get into the details of that. Suffice to say that your mother was not one of the admirers. She attended the other campus of the college. It's something I always have to point out to people when they find out that both of us as a couple have the same alma mater, because they assume that we were classmates. Moral of the story is, then, that don't let separate college campuses hold you back from achieving your dreams! I saw your mother at an inter-collegiate debate competition, if I remember correctly. Oh, I've driven past the college gate? Oh dear, oh dear, I do get lost in remembrances. Let me make a U-turn at the next...what is that? The whole world needs to do a U-turn at this juncture? Don't worry, Leena, I'll get you to your first class on time! It's a good thing we made Jasir skip his cereal and grab a protein bar this morning, didn't we? We saved some minutes for the road!"

Mama was not to be left behind in voicing her thoughts to her children. Inaya missed her mother's summarization of the day's events at evening tea time, because that was the time when the tuition centre van carted her off for her after-school studies. Leena had tea-making duty, and Jasir's job was to make sure that everyone got a fair share of the biscuits, with him getting an extra one for his trouble. Mama would sit with her cup of tea by her side, Jasir's homework diary open in her lap, feet up on the footstool, observing her family's movements as they listened to her. One day's teatime tales went thus, "Leena needs to have her wardrobe updated, as she is a college student, after all, and she has caught and torn her newest shirt in the door again. There's a sale going on that will have just the right thing for her, and perhaps something durable enough for our boy, you got into a playground fight again, didn't you? I can tell by the state of your uniform. When will you outgrow your boyishness and become a gentleman? I suppose that's what the world wonders...you can tell which direction he takes upon coming home from school by looking at the trail of boots, belt and socks from the front door to his bedroom door. Thank goodness he waits until he enters his room before removing anything further. Jasir, did you just take Inaya's share of the biscuits? You know it's not fair to her as she doesn't get home until after nightfall. You don't get your extra biscuit today, then."

As it turned out, Inaya did not miss her tea and biscuits after all, as she announced herself "not hungry" upon arriving home from the tuition centre.

"That's the strangest thing I've seen in a long time," Leena said, as Inaya went to her room. "Inaya is always peckish, if not outright hungry. What's gotten into her?"

"Oh, it's the mark of a hardworking student, forgetting to eat," Mama said happily. Leena, however, went into Inaya's room and demanded an explanation.

"Studiousness killed the—what?!" Leena gasped. For Inaya was pouring sweets and junk food from her schoolbag onto her bed. "Where did you get all that?"

"I'd tell you, but you'll tell Mama and Papa," Inaya said dismissively, shifting her hoard into a drawer.

"Oh, come on, try me," Leena said.

Inaya smiled and tossed Leena a toffee, which she caught.

"Oh, you'll never guess," Inaya said. "Let me tell you..."

****

Chapter Two

The Undercover Dropout and the Reality TV Star

"Let me tell you," Inaya said to Leena, gesturing towards the hoard of candy between them. "I earned these."

"What on earth do you mean?" Leena asked.

"I, uh, help out the other students with their tuition assignments during self-study hour," Inaya said, picking her favourite candy from the assortment on her bed. "I'm not going to do it for free, you know."

"Inaya!" Leena threw her hands in the air. "How can you do this?"

"Oh, come on," Inaya said. "They get their assignments completed. I indulge my sweet tooth. It's a win-win situation, really."

"Your parents aren't sending you to tuition to do underhand candy deals, and the other students' parents are sending them there to learn, which they won't be doing if you are doing their work for them," Leena said. "There can be only one solution for this."

"And that is...?" Inaya looked up at Leena inquiringly.

"You have to give me a quarter of what you get, or I'm telling Mama and Papa," Leena said.

Inaya grinned in response. "I'm already giving all the sour and sticky ones to Jasir, he found my stash last week," she said.

"Oh, well," Leena said. "Those other students do need to learn, after all. I'd best go catch Papa and tell him before the news at nine."

"Oh, please, no," Inaya said.

"Why?" Leena asked. "Is he being paid in candy to stay quiet on this issue, too?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Inaya said. "Just don't tell him, please. I'll give you half of the chewy ones."

"And all the mints," Leena said.

"Done," Inaya said. "Though I never understand why you like them."

"I developed a taste for mints back in school when the teacher gave them out to the ones who completed their work on their own and on time," Leena said.

"Typical," Inaya said. "You always were the perfect student."

At this, Leena threw her head back and laughed. "I didn't get them. The ones who got them gave them to me because they didn't care for mints. I worked too slow to win them."

Inaya shook her head and shrugged, then she bent forward to sweep her candy collection together into a pile.

"I'd better sort and hide these before dinner time," she said.

"Yeah, you do that," Leena said, picking up a mint and unwrapping it. She was in the middle of exiting the room when Jasir entered at speed.

"Watch where you're going," Leena said.

"You're going to be watching where I'm going, instead," Jasir said excitedly.

"What do you mean?" Inaya asked.

"Do you know the people over at Reality TV network?" Jasir asked.

"Uh, you mean the ones who put people into silly situations and film them? Yeah, I know them," Inaya said.

"I applied to join one of their shows as a participant," Jasir said, his voice higher pitched than usual.

"You're fooling us," Leena said. "You know you can't apply by yourself, you're underage."

"Which is why I got my sports teacher to sponsor me, he's adult enough," Jasir said.

"You didn't!" Inaya stared at Jasir in wide-eyed surprise.

"Hey, it beats hanging around the family after school at any rate." Jasir grinned.

"What is this show about, specifically?" Leena asked.

"It's an academic simulator," Jasir said.

"What exactly is that?" Inaya asked.

"Pretend school!" Jasir laughed.

Leena and Inaya stared at him.

"Let me get this straight," Leena said, crossing her arms and staring at Jasir. "You, who never put in a minute more towards schoolwork than is absolutely necessary, are going to join a show where they run a school?"

"Yes!" Jasir bounced around on the spot. "It's going to be super!"

"I don't understand you at all," Leena said. "You were never interested in school."

"But this is a show about a school, see," Jasir tried to explain. "I'm telling you, I'm going to be a superstar."

"Cheap dreams." Inaya shook her head.

"Says the girl who spends extra time at the academy doing other people's work," Jasir said.

"Oh, don't mock me or I'll cut down your share from my candy stash," Inaya said, waving a hand airily in Jasir's direction.

"Whatever," Jasir said. "I'm off to prepare for my show." He exited the room at speed.

"Do you get him?" Leena asked Inaya. "Because I don't."

"Don't you have some college work to do instead of figuring out Jasir's latest plan to get into trouble?" Inaya said.

"Yes, I should get to that," Leena said. "Enjoy your sweet solitude." She left the room.

"Sweet and chewy," Inaya said to herself, popping a toffee into her mouth.

Inaya was so busy writing that she didn't notice Leena coming into her room until she placed her hands on Inaya's shoulders. Inaya jumped.

"What did you have to scare me for?" Inaya said. "Look, I've blotted my diary, all because of you."

"I was just surprising you, that's all," Leena said, settling into a seat.

"Come here to tell me how you're a big college student now and I'm still stuck in school?" Inaya said.

"No," Leena said. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Yes, I can see that, you're talking right now," Inaya said.

"Don't be silly," Leena said. "Listen."

"Oh, all right," Inaya said, crossing her arms.

"I...uh...I, um," said Leena.

"I understand you perfectly," Inaya said. "Eating Mama's bean curry does that to me, too. Please continue."

"Oh, don't be like that," Leena said. "I have news."

"Do tell me," Inaya said. "I can't imagine what can be more news than you getting admission in college."

"There is one thing," Leena said. "Me getting kicked out of it."

"What?" Inaya jumped up from her seat. "How can that happen? And to you, of all people!"

"What's all this noise about?" Jasir bounced into the room. "Tell me, too!"

"Oh, nothing," Inaya said. "It's just that—Leena got kicked out of college!"

"That's not a funny joke," Jasir said, standing unusually still.

"She isn't joking," Leena finally said. "It's true."

"Uh," Jasir said. He put a finger to his lips and thought hard. Then he snapped his fingers. "I've got it! You can tell Mama and Papa you're going to college, but you can come to the reality show filming with me instead!"

"And at the end of the semester, you're going to give her a certificate for passing the nonexistent final exams, right?" Inaya said, shaking her head at Jasir.

"Oh." Jasir's excitement drained out of him. "Well, then. There's only one thing left to do..." He put a hand on Leena's shoulder. "It's OK. I know you're not used to bringing home bad news, but Inaya and I are experts. We'll go with you to tell Mama and Papa."

"Tell me what?" Their mother, who had been passing by their room, stopped and leaned over the threshold expectantly.

"Um," Leena said.

"Let's get this over with in the living room," Inaya said.

When the family was gathered properly in the living room, silence fell. Papa looked at Leena and smiled.

"Let me guess," he said. "You've been accepted into the honour’s program!"

"No," Leena said.

"Oh, alright," he said. "Let me guess again. You're working on your thesis in the first semester already?"

"No," Leena said.

"Oh, let me scale back a bit," he said. "You've declared your major?"

"No," Leena said.

"Then what can it possibly be?" Mama said.

"I'll just say it," Leena said. "I've joined the mentorship program as a student mentor and I'll be teaching the intermediate students for extra credit."

Inaya and Jasir stared at Leena in amazement.

"Oh, that's my girl!" Papa slapped her on the back. "I knew there was going to be some sort of good news from you!"

Leena smiled falteringly at her beaming parents. Inaya and Jasir exchanged glances.

Later, Inaya cornered Leena in her room. "Why did you lie to our parents?" she demanded.

"I just couldn't bear to see them disappointed in me," Leena said shakily. "I'll let them know eventually. In the meantime, it doesn't cost anything to go to the college and sit around on campus and use the library and computer lab, so I'll do that while I figure out what to do."

"Good luck," Inaya said. "You'll need it more now that you're an undercover dropout."

"Kicked-out, more like," Leena said.

"I was so shocked that I forgot to get you to tell me how it happened," Inaya said. "How could they kick you out?"

"There was a glitch in the system that swapped my admission application with someone else's," Leena said. "The other girl used the error to take my place, and the student roster was maxed out, so they let me go."

"But that means we can go and get it fixed, can't we?" Inaya looked at Leena hopefully, but Leena only shook her head resignedly.

"That girl got in with parental references," Leena said. "You know what that means. They aren't going to change anything for me."

"You'll figure something out," Inaya said. "You always do." She smiled at Leena.

Leena didn't smile back.

***

"Jasir sure seems to take longer and longer in his after-school games," Papa said at tea time the next day.

Leena thought it best not to correct her father's assumption regarding Jasir's whereabouts; apparently their parents were not in the know regarding his participation in the TV show.

"Let's put the TV on while the kettle is boiling," Papa said, immediately picking up the TV remote control and flicking between channels.

"Wait a second," he said, stopping his channel surfing and flicking back a few channels. "I thought I saw someone who looked like our boy."

"Wait," Mama said, coming in from the kitchen where she had been supervising the tea making and pointing at the screen where the unmistakable form of Jasir loomed large. "That is our boy!"

***

Chapter Three

A Family Negotiation

"What on earth is he doing on the TV?!" Papa said after a long silence in which the show's intro showed all the contestants.

"Uh, I don't know," Inaya said quickly. Leena glanced at her with wide eyes.

"I can't believe it," Mama said. "What is this? Why is he in the TV show? Did they record it at school? Is this an educational show?"

At that precise moment, the camera zoomed in to a catfight between two of the contestants, with Jasir standing at the sidelines and cheering them on. The host was bringing the viewers of the show up to speed, telling them about the long-established rivalry between the two participants and how it escalated into name calling and then hair pulling and punching. The plate of biscuits in Mama's hands clattered to the floor, spilling biscuits everywhere.

"I demand to know the reality of this!" Mama sank into the nearest seat with her hand over her heart. On the TV screen, one of the contestants was quite literally cooling down the fight with a water hose. The drenched participants squealed and shrieked. Jasir leapt into the fray, seized the water hose and aimed it high, letting water cascade down onto everyone within spraying distance.

"It's...well, it's a reality show," Inaya said.

"Are you making fun of me?" Mama said indignantly.

"No, no," Inaya said hastily. "It's a show where they put a lot of people together under certain conditions, just to see what happens."

"Did you know about this?" Mama asked.

"We didn't see him on the show until just now," Leena said, which happened to be true.

Papa had been staring at the screen quietly all this time. Finally, he turned to the family at large and said, "It appears that our boy has been up to some mischief yet again. He always gets into one thing after another, it's nothing new. At the end of the day he must return to his humble home, and we will deal with him when he does."

Leena and Inaya looked at each other and grimaced.

Jasir showed up at home eventually. He came back at the time he usually did when coming home from after school sports camp, in order to avoid suspicion. However, his clothes could not avoid suspicion; he was soaked.

The scene was set as if for a TV show of its own: the living room lights were dimmed, but the family was there. Jasir stumbled across the dark room in the general direction of his bedroom.

"Hello, anyone home?" Jasir called out. This was the moment when Papa chose to flick the lights on to maximum brightness. Jasir stood like a deer in headlights, blinking in confusion and bewilderment.

"Welcome home, son," Papa said. "Would you care to take a seat—or, considering the state of your clothes, would you care to go change and then grace us with your presence?"

Jasir stared at him uncomprehendingly for a few moments before understanding and nodding. He went towards his room. The door shut and then came the unmistakable sound of the lock being turned.

"Now you've done it," Mama said. "I knew we shouldn't have kept it this dramatic. Now he's gone and locked himself in his room and won't come out to listen to what we have to say."

"Nonsense, he went to go change like I told him to," Papa said.

"If I know Jasir and, let's face it, I'm his mother," Mama said, "he never bothers to lock his room under any circumstances except when he wants to avoid us at all costs."

"This is easily checked," Papa said, and he went and knocked smartly on Jasir's bedroom door. Nothing but silence greeted him.

"Jasir, I know you're in there," Papa said. No response. "I know you didn't get those clothes wet playing ball, either," Papa added. There was no verbal response, but the sound of someone slipping and skidding across a wet floor before finally crashing into a corner confirmed that Jasir had heard him.

The family waited. Inaya had just started saying a silent prayer for Jasir when the boy himself unlocked the door and came into the living room.

"I didn't do anything," Jasir said. "I'm innocent!"

"I didn't even say anything yet," Papa said.

"I didn't take Mama's chocolates from above the fridge and I didn't put the used chocolate wrappers in the sink," Jasir said.

"Who said anything about chocolates?" Papa said.

"I didn't go to sports camp after school today, either," Jasir said. "I'm a part-time superstar now, so you all had better start showing me some respect."

"Jasir!" Mama said. "Is that any way to talk to your father?"

"Mama!" Jasir threw his hands into the air. "Is that any way to talk to the next Student Super Star?"

"Student super what?!" Papa said.

"You're competing to be the best student?" Inaya said.

"If you're doing something educational, then what was that?" Mama pointed at the TV screen.

Jasir said, with a toss of the head, "The winner of the competition gets a scholarship to college. What you saw, well, they have to spice it up for the viewers, but it's all fake, really..."

"Fake? What do you mean?" said Leena.

"Remember the two contestants fighting? They're actually best friends. The director thought it would be funny to make them fight. So, they told them to fight. They tell us what to do, but when they give us tests, they don't interfere. Our test scores are real."

"Tests? They didn't show any tests," Mama said.

"Well, they don't give so much airtime to them, but we do get tests to do," Jasir said. "It's all part of the well-rounded Student Super Star. Leadership qualities, competitive spirit and a keen mind."

"That sounds nice," Papa said, "but how are you going to live this down? Participating in a TV show! It's completely unheard of."

"Where do you think the people on TV come from," Jasir said. "Mars?"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Papa said. "You know what I mean."
"Not really," Jasir said. "I'm chasing my dreams, Papa. Don't hold me back!"

Mama and Papa looked at each other, and some sort of understanding seemed to pass between them.

"As long as it doesn't distract you from proper school..." Mama began.

Jasir leapt up excitedly. "Yes!"

"And you don't get into it too much," Papa said. "Don't get attached, it's just a competition, the only difference is that it's on TV..."

"Yes!" Jasir did a little dance all by himself in the middle of the floor.

"And you do your best to get that scholarship," Mama finished.

Jasir struck a pose and said, "Consider it mine." He began to strut towards his room.

"Show me the legal documents on this TV show later," Papa called after him. "I have to see what you signed up for."

"Sure, Papa," Jasir said, in full retreat. Inaya and Leena chased after him into his room.

"Hey!" Jasir turned around. "Strictly no-girls area! You're bringing in all the girl germs!"

Inaya grinned and gave Jasir a push. "Don't get your hopes up, but I really hope you win."

Jasir punched the air enthusiastically. "I'm actually aiming for second place. Second place gets a motorcycle and a laptop. Not to mention a year's supply of stationery. Motorcycle, I'm not old enough to ride, stationery is boring, but the laptop, I can finally have my own, and getting it this way, Mama and Papa can't say no."

Leena laughed. "You and your dreams," she said. "Well, have fun."

Back in Inaya's room, Leena and Inaya stared at each other in shock. "I can't believe he got away with that," Inaya said. "I'm jealous."

"Why, what do you want to get away with?" Leena said.

"Oh, I didn't mean it that way," Inaya said.

Leena shook her head at her sister. Inaya's phone buzzed. Leena sneaked a look at the screen.

"Who's this person messaging you, 'Aimen TC'?" Leena asked.

"Someone from tuition centre," Inaya said. The way she picked up the phone and checked the message without replying made Leena look more closely at her sister's face.

"Inaya," Leena said slowly. "You look funny."

Inaya sighed. "Aimen just bothers me at all times for no reason, that's all." She shrugged. "Always messaging. So needy. I just text back because I feel guilty and I feel that I need to respond, it's almost a crime to leave a message unresponded to..."

Leena let silence fall between them for a few minutes before finally asking, "Inaya...is this Aimen a girl or a boy?"

***

Chapter Four

The Academy A-man

"Aimen is a boy from my tuition centre," Inaya said. "He got my number from a girl from my tuition section. He heard I was helping students with their work and he wanted help too."

"Then why didn't he just come up to you in the classroom, then?" Leena asked.

"He's in a different section," Inaya said. "Plus, he's really struggling. He's always texting me textbook questions to answer for him."

"At what time does he send you these questions?" Leena asked.

"All times of the day," Inaya said. "Sometimes even during school, when he's in his school."

Leena smacked her own forehead. "Inaya, you do know that when he's texting you during school hours, he's probably asking you questions from a class test?"

"Oh," Inaya said. "I didn't think of that. I thought it was just schoolwork..."

"So, this is the reason you keep running out of your text message bundle and keep having to resubscribe," Leena said. "It's because you're texting back and forth day and night."

"Well, he does need a lot of help," Inaya said.

"What are you, the student helper fairy?" Leena asked. "I can't believe you waste your time like that. Show me your phone."

"What?" Inaya gasped.

"You heard me, little sister," Leena said, holding out her hand for Inaya's phone. Inaya stared back at Leena for a few moments before finally surrendering her most prized possession.

"Unlock the phone, smartypants," Leena said. "What do you think I am, stupid?"

"No, clueless," Inaya said.

"What do you mean?" Leena asked loudly.

"The password," Inaya said. "The password is 'clueless'."

Leena glared at Inaya for a few moments before turning to the phone and entering the lock screen password. A minute passed before she turned back to Inaya and said, "Scrolling through this chat log is going to take forever. It seems like this Aimen guy uses you as a free pass for help with homework, cheating in tests and emotional support as well."

"He's delicate," Inaya said. "If I don't text him back, he sends me a dozen texts demanding that I reply, with just as many missed calls."

"Have you spoken with him on the phone?" Leena asked.