It didn't matter how hard I tried, sleeping in on a Saturday was impossible. After five days of waking up at seven a.m. my body clock was altered so that I would always wake up at that time on a Saturday.

Theo said he would be coming at around noon, meaning I had five hours to burn. I used this time to read some Quran, catch up on some English homework and do a few chores like vacuuming my room and cleaning the bathroom with Zeinab. Oh, the joy. Our lazy older brother didn't bother to help us, he just shut himself in his room working on assignments for his architecture course. Nasr had always been a good artist and had a sharp sense of detail, so I wasn't surprised when he decided to pursue this type of career. Baba and Mama wanted him to enter the medical field, but since he didn't, they were now hoping I fulfilled their dream of parenting a doctor. In Sha Allah.

I was halfway through making a peanut butter sandwich in the kitchen when I heard the doorbell. That must be Theo, ten minutes late as usual. The problem was, I wasn't wearing a hijab and Nasr was in his room, while my father was at his job and Immi was in the backyard hanging up the clothes. I was pretty sure Zeinab went to the bathroom, so it left me to answer the door. And Theo was getting impatient, ringing the doorbell repetitively that I felt like tearing my hair out in panic.

"Hang on a second, Theo!" I called, rushing down the hallway to my room, which was right on the other side of the house. I bumped into Nasr, who had just stepped out of his room, and was staring at me in bafflement.

"Why aren't you answering the door?" he asked as I attempted to get past him.

"Hijab, remember?" I tapped my head.

"Oh, yeah. Do you want me to get it?" Nasr pointed his thumb in the direction of the door, and I nodded. "Yes, please. Yallah, go! He's getting impatient."

"He?" Nasr looked confused for a second, until he realized "Oh, it must be Theodore!"

I laughed at hearing Theo's full name. He hated when people called him that. Apparently when he was little the boys at school would call him Theodora the Explorer, and since then Theo had a strong hatred for the show, as well as purple backpacks.

As I haphazardly threw on a light blue scarf that sort of matched my outfit of navy leggings with red stars and a blue t-shirt, which I had to cover with a red hoodie, I heard Theo's deep voice in the hall, mingled with Nasr's and the flushing of a toilet. I stepped out of the room the same time Zeinab exited the bathroom, her hair in two French braids. I gestured for her to hurry back into her room, whispering, "Theo's here, you have to hide!"

Zeinab moaned, "But I'm hungry!"

"Then go wear a hijab and come out, silly girl," I crept down the hallway as Zeinab huffed to go grab a hijab, almost having a mini-heart-attack when Theo jumped out from around the corner of the wall, scaring me.

"Oh my God Theo why do you always do that?" I clutched my heart, frowning as he laughed raucously. Nasr also laughed at me, along with Theo's older brother Alex. He waved at me, shooting me a smile and a swift hello before following Nasr into the lounge, carrying a folder of papers. Oh, so they were actually going to be studying?

"You make it so easy," Theo finally replied with a cheeky grin as I led him into the kitchen. My stomach grumbled at the sight of my half-spread slice of toast, and I picked up the knife, dipping it into the smooth caramel-coloured pot of heaven that was peanut butter.

"Ooh, you're making a sandwich? Can I have one?" Theo sat at the table, hungrily eyeing the peanut butter.

"Sure why not," I replied, grabbing two extra slices from the bag. Whenever Theo came over he would always raid my fridge and eat our snacks. Sometimes it felt like he was here just for the food instead of me, but that was Theo for you. Food before friends.

As I made our sandwiches, Theo took out his maths folder, placing it on the table. "Don't you just love the word exponential? It has a certain, I don't know, melody to it," Theo mused.

"You are such a math geek sometimes, Theo," I teased, slicing the sandwiches into triangles.

"You gotta admit, it's an awesome word. I also love polynomial. Polly-no-me-al. Music to my ears," Theo was going off again on one of his wistful dialogues about mathematical vocabulary.

"The words may sound great, but the meaning just makes my brain want to explode," I said as I set down the plate of peanut butter and jam triangles. You couldn't have PB without the J.

"That's what I'm here for, to ensure that your brain does not explode," Theo said, popping an entire triangle slice into his mouth. Me, I preferred to bite the corners and savour the taste.

"Okay, smarty pants, let's begin."

Zeinab came in just as I flipped through my exercise book, bustling about in the kitchen. "Sup, Z?" Theo smiled at her.

Zeinab shrugged. "Nm, you?"

My sister had this habit of talking in abbreviation sometimes. She was so lazy like that. "Z'all Gucci," Theo replied.

"Speaking like a gangster doesn't make you one," I chuckled under my breath.

"There goes my career choice," Theo clucked, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

"You should be a maths teacher," I suggested.

"And end up like Mr Bacon?" Theo smirked. Mr Bacon was our mathematical methods teacher. His name was actually Mr Beacon, but of course why would we call him that when we can call him Mr Bacon? He even had skin as red as bacon whenever he got mad, and there were rumours he would be retiring this year.

"I hate Mr Bacon," Zeinab wrinkled her nose, deciding to just butt in on our conversation. She did that a lot whenever my friends were around. "He's always picking on me."

"He picks on everyone," I shrugged.

"Except me, because I'm his favourite student," Theo crowed.

"I'm pretty sure it's because you always put your hand up, even when you don't know the answer," I mused.

"Taking initiative is a must," Theo stated, clicking his pen.

I heard the back door open, meaning Immi was back from doing the laundry. Good thing she was wearing a scarf on her head as she entered the kitchen, mopping her forehead with the back of her hand. Her eyes lit up when she spotted Theo.

"Hello, Theo, how are you?" my mother had a bit of an accent when she spoke English, and I used to get embarrassed whenever she spoke to my teachers at interviews, but I've grown accustomed to it now, enough not to completely hate it.

"I'm good, thanks, you?" Theo spoke differently when he was with my parents. It was funny to see him put on a different character. Even his words were more pronounced, when usually he'd speak lazily.

My mother's mouth opened to reply, and I could see her lips form the beginning of Alhamdulillah before she stopped herself. "Al – very good, very good. Are you two studying?" she peered at our array of papers on the table in approval.

"Yes, Immi, we're doing math," I told her.

From the corner of my eye I saw Zeinab slinking out of the room with a bag of chips, but Immi's commanding voice halted her in her tracks. "Zeinab, where do you think you're going? No food in the lounge."

Zeinab sighed in defeat, crunching on a handful of chips as she joined us at the table. Theo shoved his hand into the packet, grabbing some for himself. He didn't even need to ask, and Zeinab just shared it with him reluctantly.

"Mariam, I'm going to the shops now, okay? Be a good girl," Immi kissed me on the forehead, her black handbag slung over her shoulder. Her handbag was like a bottomless pit – it held all sorts of items for all sorts of emergencies/occasions. Everything she needed was in there. She would sometimes joke about using it to carry us when we were babies, because it was that big.

"Bye, Mrs Barakat!" Theo called after her, and she sent him a wave, heading to the front door and slamming it behind her. It was impossible not to slam the front door when leaving the house, it was that heavy.

"So, whatcha guys doing?" Zeinab asked, living up to her role as the irritating little sister who snooped in my business.

"We're doing homework, so if you could kindly leave us alone..." I waved her away, and she sighed, leaving the packet of chips with Theo and heading down the hallway, just as Alex and Nasr came in. Seriously, what was with everyone interrupting us today?

"We're just getting some snacks," Nasr declared, opening the fridge. Alex was juggling a couple of chip packets and a box of shapes in his arms while Nasr carried a couple of sodas.

"Are you stocking up for the winter or something?" I joked.

"Something like that," Alex laughed as they hobbled out of the kitchen with their stack of food.

"Finally!" I exclaimed, turning to Theo, who was shaking the bag of chips over his mouth, thus finishing the last of it. I was pretty sure it was half full when Zeinab brought it out. "You are such a pig, Theo, I swear."

"Hey, I'm hungry!" Theo said in his defense, picking up his pencil again. "Now let's get back to work. I think I have enough energy now to deal with derivatives."

By the end of our intense study session, the adhaan for Zuhr rang through the house, and Theo looked up, seeming a little startled. "Is that the prayer call?" he asked.

"Wow, you remember!" I remarked. Theo had been to my house loads of times, so he'd heard the adhaan before, but I didn't think he'd still remember since it had been six months since he had last come here.

"How could I forget? There's no sound like it," Theo replied. He tilted his head to the side and listened, transfixed by it. "It almost sounds like someone's singing."

"Yeah," I said vaguely, also listening. We had the adhaan of Sheikh Abdul Baasit Abdul Samad, and it was truly a beautiful adhaan, his pitch fluctuating and stretching at, "Hayya A'la Salah, hayya a'la falah" which meant "hurry to the prayer, hurry to success."

"Well, I gotta go pray, so I'll be back in ten minutes," I stood up, leaving the kitchen after Theo murmured, "Okay."

Having non-Muslim friends could be a challenge sometimes, but alhamdulillah I was blessed with understanding friends who didn't judge me and were in fact intrigued by our religion whenever I explained it to them. Seeing Theo looking almost hypnotized by the adhaan was interesting, because though he wasn't a Muslim, I could see the adhaan affected him somehow, perhaps even softening his heart as it did to mine. There were many forms of da'wa, and sometimes I felt like I was giving da'wa in little inklings to every person I met, because I was representing Islam whether I liked it or not, and anything I said or did would leave an impression.

I made wudhu and prayed Zuhr in my bedroom, not worrying about keeping Theo waiting too long. When it came to prayer, all my worries dissipated, as I was taking a break from the real world in order to talk to my Creator.

"Your religion has me curious," Theo said once I returned to the table, feeling cleansed. After praying my brain was ready for anything, including maths.

"How so?" I inquired.

"Well, it's just so different from the other religions, like there's some sort of beautiful mystery about it, something that draws you in," Theo explained. "I mean, Yaz started wearing the scarf last week because of it. I don't know how to explain it, but there's just something about Islam that's so..."

"Enchanting?" I supplied. "Well, if only everyone thought like you, Theo, because that's exactly what Islam is. Not just enchanting and beautiful, but serene."

Theo nodded, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, I think the media has really ruined the serenity, don't ya think? It's made Islam look like a violent religion, but you're not violent."

"I admit, there are violent people in my religion, but the same goes for every religion, you know? We're all individually responsible for our behaviour," I was getting a little passionate, because this was one of the most controversial topics that had so many misunderstandings about it, and I wished I could just clear it all.

"I totally agree with you, Mims," Theo said, leaning back in his chair, hands behind his head. "Hey, can we take a break? My brain is literally throbbing."

I nodded. "Okay, sure. Let's go see what our brothers are up to."

I wasn't surprised, really, when we walked in on them playing GTA 5 instead of doing their work. Alex and Nasr's eyes were glued to the television, shouting and hooting every time they shot someone.

"Shouldn't you guys be studying?" I mused, sitting on the armchair and bringing my knees up to my chest.

Without tearing his gaze from the screen, Nasr retorted with, "Shouldn't you?"

"You got me there," I held up my hands in defeat.

"We're bored. Entertain us," Theo said flatly, poking his brother.

"No, go away, I'm trying to – ugh, you made me get shot!" Alex cried angrily, shoving Theo, who was beside him on the couch. Theo shoved him back, and soon they were wrestling, rolling off the couch and onto the carpet. Nasr paused the game, setting his controls down, running his hands through his hair and sighing.

I went over to him and sat in his lap, much to his displeasure. "Oof, get off, Mariam, you weigh like a tonne!"

"Think of it as payback for teasing me about Zaid yesterday," I said, resisting his shoves and clinging onto his neck, stretching my legs out on the rest of the couch.

Nasr smirked, dark eyes sparkling with mischief. "It sounds like you're in luurve with him, since you keep thinking about him all the time," he teased.

"Who does she think about all the time?" Theo asked curiously, poking his head up over the coffee table. Alex adjusted his button down shirt, which had gotten creased from all their wrestling. They were such animals sometimes.

"Zaid," Nasr replied, clamping a hand over my mouth to muffle my protests. I squirmed in his lap, for now he was holding me down, not letting me escape as he described Zaid to Alex and Theo. He was enjoying this, wasn't he?

"They met when she was young, and now that he's back in her life, she just can't stop thinking about him, talking about him, and dreaming about him," Nasr continued, grinning maliciously as Theo and Alex burst out laughing.

"Ooh, someone's got a crush," Alex taunted.

I finally managed to rip Nasr's palm off my mouth, gasping for air and glaring at him. "Stop telling lies, Nasr, or I'll cut your tongue off," I snarled.

Nasr just laughed, his chest rocking up and down, and I pried myself off him, scowling at Alex and Theo. "And don't you two believe him. He's totally just trying to embarrass me," I said firmly, crossing my arms. It was then that I realized I was the only female in this room, alone with three boys, one of them being my brother. God protect me.

"So it isn't true?" Theo asked. "There's no Zaid?"

"There is a Zaid, but –" I was cut off before I could explain.

"I so ship Zariam," Nasr squealed in a high-pitched girly voice. Theo and Alex were doubled over in laughter at that, but it seemed only I wasn't finding this funny.

"And I am so shipping you off to another country!" I retorted, just as the front door opened and Immi returned, carrying multiple bags of shopping.

"Immi, did you buy me more kirks?" Nasr called.

"Yes, ya Nasr, and don't yell at me from the other room!" Immi called back from within the kitchen. It was amazing how far voices travelled in this house.

"Hypocrite," Nasr muttered, picking up his game controller again as Alex sat back onto the couch.

Theo and I decided it was time to get back to work, and on my way out I slapped the back of Nasr's head.

"Ow, what was that for?" he cried.

"For calling Immi a hypocrite," I replied over my shoulder.

"Is that all?" Theo smirked, so I hurried back and punched Nasr lightly on the shoulder, well, from my point of view it was light but Nasr was a drama queen so he clutched it as if he had been shot in battle.

"Stop hitting me, Mariam!" he exclaimed.

"You deserve it, Nasr," I said defiantly, spinning on my heel, only to find myself face to face with Immi, who didn't look too happy.

"Immi! Have I told you lately that I love you?" I said brightly, quoting the Rod Stewart song.

Immi arched an eyebrow. "Mariam, how many times do I have to tell you not to hit your brother, huh? He's your elder, you should treat him with respect!"

"Ooh, Mariam's in trouble," Theo muttered under his breath, chuckling.

"But Nasr's being mean to me," I whined, sounding like I was seventeen going on seven.

"Nasr, be nice to your sister," Immi said sternly to Nasr, who threw up his hands as if to say, "Oh, come on!" and then she fixed her gaze back to me. "As for you, you should be studying, not annoying your brother. And Theo," she turned to Theo, who had been laughing silently at me being told off. He now gulped, his grin disappearing quicker than the sun behind a cloud.

"You left an empty chip packet on the table," she pointed behind her to the kitchen, where the Smith's chips large pink packet sat atop of our homework.

"How did you know it was me?" Theo asked.

Immi smiled. "Mother knows all," she said mysteriously, tapping her temple and heading back into the kitchen to pack away the rest of the groceries.

Theo turned to me, eyebrows raised. "Your mother is scary."

I shrugged. "I've learned to live with it."