Last episode of Hackschool Project: Inaya Moin, repeating the last year of O Level in the mornings and attending tuition in the evenings, comes back from the tuition centre one day with her schoolbag full of candy and junk food. Leena, her elder sister, investigates....
The undercover dropout and the reality TV star
Last episode of Hackschool Project: Inaya Moin, repeating the last year of O Level in the mornings and attending tuition in the evenings, comes back from the tuition centre one day with her schoolbag full of candy and junk food. Leena, her elder sister, investigates....
Illustrations by Abdul Rahim Ashraf
“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 make 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 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 honours programme!”
“No,” Leena said.
“Oh, all right,” 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 programme 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 gave her a pat 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 Mama and Papa?” she demanded.
“I just couldn’t bear to see them disappointed,” Leena said shakily. “I’ll tell them eventually. In the meantime, I will see if I can use their library and computer lab, and search for other options.”
“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 ask you 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 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 be spending more time at his games after school,” 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 watch TV 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!”
* * * * * * * *
Stay tuned for next month’s update on the Moin children’s misadventures. It seems they can’t keep their parents in the dark for long, at least as far as Jasir is concerned.