The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali

No parties, no shorts, no boys. These were my parents' three cardinal rules. But what they didn't know couldn't hurt them, right? I quickly changed out of my NASA pajamas and into my favorite black crop top and dark blue vintage jeans, liking the way they accentuated my curves. According to Mom no one needed to know that I had boobs, much less a belly button, except for me, Allah, and my future husband. Of course, the whole "no boys" rule was a moot point in my case, but fortunately my parents didn't know about Ariana.

"Rukhsana, Mom is never going to let you out of the house wearing that."

Startled, I spun around to see my brother, Aamir, leaning lazily against my door frame.

"Knock much?" I said, quickly pausing the music playing on my phone.

"I did. It's not my fault you couldn't hear me over that screeching you call music." Aamir smiled as he sauntered into the room and plopped down on my bed.

Of course, my brother was right. I would never be allowed to go out wearing this. Which was why I was planning to throw on my oversized school hoodie to once again become the shapeless blob my parents preferred to think of me as.

FromThe Love & Lies of Rukhsana Aliby Sabin Khan 2019. Published by Scholastic.