Bittersweet 36

NOORA:

It was Sunday, the worst day of the week because it’s the first day back from the weekend.

79a was going to pick Maitha and I up from school and go straight to my house for lunch.

"Noora Noora!" I heard Maitha calling me from across the hallway of our school.

"Haa haa." I replied. "Balach?"

"Tra I can't come over lyom. I'm sorry wallah bss my mom tbani after school." She had the

saddest look on her face.

"Ooh.. Are you sure you can't get out of it?"

"Trust me, I tried." She said worriedly.

"Okay 5ala9 3adii next time enshallah." I smiled.

"Enshallah." Her frown faded into a smile, and she walked away.

I made my way outside after school looking for 79a's car. When I found it, I waved goodbye

to Maitha, who was still standing at the gate, and got into the car.

"Wain Maitha?" 79a asked.

"Oh she can't come today. She said her mom tbaha or something like that." I said fastening

my seat belt.

"Oh 7aram."

It was very za7ma that day at school. 79a tried driving through the crowd of cars in the parking

lot but it was impossible.

"Uff isn't there another way to get out of here?!" 79a complained. She's so impatient.

"Yeah, 9oob el buses, but I don’t think anybody can go there." I explained.

"Oh whatever lets just get out of here." She turned the direction of her car towards the buses,

which already raw7ow since we spent forever in the school parking.

"Its so empty! Why didn’t you mention this before?" 79a said amazed.

"Shdarani. Well, not almost empty. Fii 7ad mwagf sayarta hnaak." I pointed to a white Lamborghini

parked straight ahead.

"Ystwii they pick up people from this door?" 79a asked.

"Only the bus people, bess the buses left."

"3yal laish that girl is leaving from that door?" 79a pointed to a girl that walked out of the school and

got into the white Lamborghini.

"Who is that?" 79a asked, slowly driving closer to get a better look.

Until she and I gasped at the same time:

"MAITHA!"

"Waaih.. Wya mnu rakba?" I asked curiously.

"OMG!" 79a shrieked when the car turned around.

"SHU?!" I asked eagerly.

"OMG! Noo noo nooooo!" She continued

"WHAT?! TELL ME!" I demanded.

"Noora." 79a began…

"That’s Mayed's car."

Bittersweet 35

MAYED:

I sat in my car facing Memzar Park. I had just pulled up in a parking space when I noticed

my phone flashing.

1 Message Received:

Maitha:

I Seee Yoooou ;)

I smirked at the screen, and quickly replied:

Where :O

A few seconds later she called.

"Wainch enty?" I chuckled questionably.

"I can Seeee yoooou, bss you cant seeeee meeee!" She sang into the phone. I believed she

was there because of the hard wind blowing into the sama3a.

"Okay yallah dshee."

"Now?"

"Haih 3yal mta? You think I came all the way to Memzar just to sit in a parking lot alone?"

A couple seconds later, I saw a tall, thin figure approach my car. It was Maitha. She was

wearing black track pants and a hoodie with a white shirt underneath. Maitha opened the door

of my car and sat in the passenger seat. I just stared at her amazed, not because of how

terrific she looked in simple clothes but how she was so wath8a with this whole thing.

"Hey." She said seductively. I just stared at her speechless. She was so … 3aaaaadii ..

like she's done this a million times before. However I couldn’t resist.

"Hi." I greeted her back. "You look great."

"Yeah right." She giggled sarcastically. "I just threw on whatever and left." She then pulled

the hood off her head and fluffed her soft brown hair.

We drove around Memzar park (it’s a big park) for a couple of hours basically just talking

and laughing. The thought that she's friends with my sister completely escaped my mind.

"I probably should get going." She stared at her watch, worried.

"Anazlch elbait?" I offered.

"Mmm.. I don’t want to take up your time."

"Laa 3adi its nothing. Yallah tell me where to go." I smiled

She smiled back and accepted my offer. So I drove her over to her house, which wasn’t

very far from the park.

"I'll call you." She said, putting her hoodie back on. "Thanks for the ride, had fun."

"No problem. Take care." I replied.

And then she leaned forward…

And carefully and softly kissed me on my cheek.

Okay… Woaahh..

Bittersweet 34

MAYED:

Maitha and I have been constantly messaging each other since the day of the festival. We grew close,

and she gained my trust.

I sat in the 9alaah staring at my phone about 2 weeks after the festival. I was about to text Maitha when

I realized, is this it? Just exchanging messages back and fourth? I needed to see her. I HAD to see her.

Then I texted:

I want to see you.

I didn’t know what to expect from her. I barely know the girl. I decided I'll take my chances.

To my surprise she texted back:

Where?

Oh wow. Well that was easy, thank god. I replied:

Meet me at Memzar Park. 6:00

Easiest place. We used to go there back in the day. Ayam el thanaweya it would be the place to

pick up girls. Of course it6awarna from those days. It was just a simple phase that we all went

through. It felt weird going back.

BzzBzzz .. 1 Message Received

See you there.

Awaaih! I didn’t know she'd agree immediately! I quickly glanced at the clock that read 5:30.

SHI2! Smart move, Mayed! Batwahaag!

Bsr3a nashait min mkani ow tsaba7t 3al saree3 and was about to leave the house when.

"Mayed, Mayed!" I heard a high pitched voice yell from foog el daray.

"Haa 79oo!" I answered.

I saw 79a running downstairs in her 3aba, quickly slipping on her shoes before I even got the chance

to aba6el el bab.

"PLEASE drop me off at Noora's on your way!" She asked impatiently.

"Shu? Laa laa I'm in a hurry."

"PLEEEEASE! My car mafeeeeha PETROL ow el sheesha is always za7ma! Please just drop me

off!" She whined.

"79oo.. umm.."

She gave me a puppy dog face that I couldn't resist.

"Ta3ali." I smiled at her.

We got in the car and I raced to Noora's as fast as I could, glancing at the clock every few minutes.

"Laish msta3yel enzain? Where are you going?" 79a questioned.

"Just getting together with a few friends." I lied.

"Enzain 3anaboo ely ygool you have a meeting or something. Ela your friends. They can wait."

I sighed. I didn’t want to say anything else otherwise she'd talk and talk and won't stop talking.

Wallah 79oo asmeech nkta.

"Haa yallah we're here." I pulled in the driveway.

"Thank you ya a7la brother fl dnya!" She smiled widely at me before getting out.

"Adrii." I smirked. "Yallah bye!"

And now… back to Maitha…

Bittersweet 33

Mayed:

I didn’t snap out of it until I lost sight of Maitha.

WHAT DID I JUST DO?!

Ya allaaahh.

She's going to go tell 79a, and 79a is going to go ballistic and tell Noora.

NOORA!

Oh shit nsaaaaait eny 56aabt'ha!

X_X 

Noora:

"THERE YOU ARE!" 79a suddenly yelled.

I turned around to face the direction she was yelling at. I saw Maitha walking in out direction, smiling

widely.

"Where have you been yal 5aysa!" I playfully hit her on her shoulder.

"Hehe sorry I was having trouble with the stupid stain." She explained.

"Oh, okay yallah, lets go stalk the guys!" 79a announced, looking around to make sure Mayed was

no where to be seen.

"Haih 3shan Mayed ey9af3na?" I sarcastically said.

"Sktii enzain, I bet he got bored and left." 79a said.

"Laa he's still here." Maitha suddenly spoke.

"Ow enty shdarach?" 79a asked her.

"Ummm…" She started. "I just lema7ta gabel shway."

"Ufff fine. I'll admire them from a distance." 79a giggled. She's such a stalker wallah.

El mhm.. we had a great time at the Festival. We saw a lot of people and encountered many funny

mawa8f.. but when we went back to 79a's house, Maitha seemed a bit, dazed.

"Maitha? Balach sakta?" I waved my hand in front of her face trying to get her to wake up.

"Haa? Asma3ch!" She immediately answered.

We were sitting in 79a's room, doing one of my favorite things ever: Playing Playstation.

Playstation was '3araaami ow 3shgii ow klshay! If I had the time to do nothing but play

Playstation all day I would.

"Yallah doorch!" I tossed her the 2^nd player remote. We were just playing a random game of Grand

Theft Auto. Nothing to serious or exciting. Although I do favor FIFA and Midnight Club over Grand

Theft Auto.

"5ala9 I give up. 79a you play." She insisted.

However 79a isn’t the PS3 type. She's more of a Brickbreaker addict. She's always putting more

effort into that stupid game than on anything else in her life. Heck, she uses her phone mostly for

Brickbreaker, than calling or texting.

Obviously, 79a refused to play, so I was stuck playing by myself, while 79a attempted to beat her high

score in Brickbreaker and Maitha smiling at her phone screen while texting.

"You guys are USELESS." I sighed, and turned my back to them. May59nii ana bal3ab PS3 brooo7i!

Bittersweet 32

MAYED'S POINT OF VIEW:

I kept an eye on Noora and 79a from a distance. I didn’t want to seem like the over protective type
and embarrass them. I was leaning against a wall in an empty corner of the school's campus
when I suddenly heard footsteps.

I stayed mkani but I could barely see who it was walking in the dark. From the silhouette that
emerged before me, I could tell that the shadow belonged to a girl.

"Uff." I heard her say. She didn’t see me standing there nor did I see her face. She was too
busy looking down at her pants that seemed stained with what was probably icing.

When she finally looked up, I recognized her.

"Maitha." I whispered to myself.

Maitha stood there for a while, in shock, widening her eyes as big as they can go. Her eyes were
massive and a rich brown color. Each eyelash curled perfectly in its place, making it impossible
to look away. Her cheeks glowed a light shade of pink. This wasn’t our first awkward encounter.

"Umm…" She began. "Bathroom." This was all she managed to say. Her mouth opened, and I expected

more words to follow but she didn’t speak.

I finally snapped out of it, and turned my head looking for the restroom. There wasn’t one to be found,

however I spotted a little fountain on the other end of the wall, and gestured for her to come. She
followed me and sat on the chair next to the fountain. She didn’t look at me, but she kept staring
at the stain on her jeans. There was a napkin dispenser nailed on the wall, and I pulled one out,
soaking it in water.

Her leg twitched as I held it to keep it in place while I wiped the stain with the wet napkin.

"Ylsee shwaya lain ma ynshaf." I instructed. She wouldn't want to go around with a huge wet stain
on her jeans.

Surprisingly, she did as I had asked, and sat in her seat staring at the ground. She didn’t look up,
though I strongly wanted her to. I was drawn into her big browns eyes, they were difficult to resist.

I wanted to know her. Though it was probably extremely inappropriate, but I had to. I had to know
her.

"Sorry by the way." She suddenly spoke. Her voice was so soft, almost a whisper.

"For what?" My deep voice sounded terrifying after her angelic one.

"Having you take care of the stain and all." She still remained staring at the ground.

"It's just a stain." I smiled. "No big deal."

She finally looked up, and the dark corner suddenly felt lit as she smiled the most beautiful smile
had ever seen. She had a small mouth but full lips that outlined her pearly teeth.

"You think it's dry yet?" She playfully asked, leaning back on the chair.

"Let's see." I said, without thinking, felt the stain on her leg. It didn’t occur to me how inappropriate
it was to touch someone's leg twice. Better yet, a girl's leg. But that didn’t cross my mind at
all. I felt completely numb and couldn’t resist.

"A9lan enty kaif 5ayasti 3mrch? Mat3arfeen takleen shu?" I chuckled.

"Laaa!" She laughed, "I was eating a cupcake bss wallah the icing was HUGE! Seer choof! You can
barely fit it in your mouth!"

"Ana ba3ad stwatli nafs el salfa! But with spaghetti." I chuckled along with her.

"Wallah? You're a sloppy eater too?"

"Tell me about it! T5aylay I went into a restaurant with a white kandoora, and I left with an orange
one!"

"OMG how embaraaaasssing!!" She exclaimed, giggling uncontrollably.

Her laugh was so cute and innocent. I craved her more.

Somehow we got off topic and talked about so many things in our lives from food to travelling to
university to friends.

"Oh shit nsaaaait gom Noora!" She suddenly blurted out, getting up.

"Btseereen?" I asked, immediately regretting it after hearing how desperate I just sounded.

"Haaih 3yal shu?!" She smirked.

We just stood there for a minute, not knowing weather to say goodbye or see you later or
whatever.

"Soo.. I guess I'll be seeing you." She smiled kindly.

I liked Maitha… I really did. She made me forget I was on Earth, and I was floating around in my
own world. Nothing else mattered when I was around her. Even though I don’t know her much, but
she had some kind of power over me. She was so young and so innocent. I couldn’t control myself.

"Can I talk to you later?" I suddenly asked, taking my chances.

Maitha first looked at me with her big brown eyes. I couldn’t tell how she felt. Her eyes were so
difficult to read. I lost focus every time I looked at them.

"Sure." She finally smiled, and gave me her number.

My heart bounced in happiness as she walked away. I stared at my phone screen, staring at
her number.

Seriously? That was all I had to do?

I felt like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Bittersweet 31

NOORA'S POINT OF VIEW:

FINALLY something exciting to look forward to: Our school's annual festival!

Every year our school hosts a festival where we bring in a DJ and a buffet and guests. Its all 79a,

Maitha, and I could talk about the past week. The day of the festival, Maitha and I were getting ready
at 79a's house.

"OMG it's going to be so much fun!!" 79a shrieked, trying on one shirt at a time.

"Yeah!" I beamed. "I'm going to attack the entire buffet table!"

"And the hot guys!" 79a added.

"And the DJ." Maitha said.

"And the hot guys!" 79a repeated.

Maitha was wearing black skinny jeans and a simple purple chiffon top. I just threw on black leggings

and a long tight white shirt. 79a however spend the past 2 hours trying on top after top, and tossing

each one over her shoulder if she didn’t like it.

"Uff yallaaah 79ooo fkeena and choose something!" I whined. She was taking FOREVER and we
were anxious to go.

"Inzain inzain!! What about this top?" She selected a loose highlighter yellow shirt.

"WOAH! Waaaay too bright." Maitha said, covering her eyes with her hands.

"Zain zain, yallah lets go." I said, pulling on my 3abaya.

"Waaaaaaaait" 79a whined loudly. "I have nothing to wear!!!"

I got impatient so I stormed into her closet and pulled out a baby pink button down shirt with a white
collar.

"HERE! Lbsee!" I handed the shirt to her.

"Ohh! I didn’t know I had that!" She grabbed it, and quickly put it on.

"Finally!" Maitha and I said at the same time.

As soon as we were all ready, we raced down 79as stairs when we saw Mayed standing at the door.

"Wain sayreen?" He asked, folding his arms.

"Festival. At Noora's school. Remember?" 79a annoyingly replied, trying to get past him.

"Broo7km?"

"Yeah!"

"Mnu bywadeekm?"

"I'm driving, now move over!"

"La wallah?" Mayed sarcastically said. "All of Dubai is going to be at that festival. Mar'6a tseeroon
broo7km."
"7lf enta bess? I already told mama!"

"I don’t care. That festival is filled with guys and musta7eel tseeroon alone. I'll go with you."

Maitha and I exchanged shocked looks while 79a UFF'ed loudly.

Mayed pulled his car out, and we got in.

In the car 79a texted me:

Hessa: Sorry X_X Things didn’t go as planned.

Nawari: I knw xD Its okay.. we'll survive :P

Hessa: UFF he's SO annoying. Ow ana mt3adla ow mtksh5a 7ag el hot guys -.-

Nawari: LOL hablaa xD 3adi 3adi wtv

When we finally arrived at school, we walked in and 79a gasped

"UFF I REALLY don’t want Mayed to be here right now!" 79a moaned, eyeing the hot guys.

Maitha and I giggled at her ridiculous temptation.

Many people from every single school in Dubai came to our festival.

We first went over to the buffet and started with dessert, of course. We each grabbed a
cupcake which it's icing was twice the size of the actual cupcake.

"Shit!" Maitha muttered under her breath. She had gotten icing all over her jeans, and quickly tried
to wipe it with a napkin but it just made the stain bigger.

"I'll be right back!" Maitha said, rushing to the bathroom.

In the meantime …

"Take me to see Salama!" 79a ordered.

"Ew no why?!" I refused.

"Bss che.. I just want to see her."

"Laa laa I don’t want to see her."

"Nooroo come on bn3al8 3laiha." She nudged me.

I finally gave in and started looking for Salama and her friends around the campus.

We found Salama and her friends standing across from a huge group of guys, giggling.
How laaame.

"Seriously 79oo?" I asked again, just in case she changed her mind.

"Yupp.. Yallah lets go." She said with all confidence. She walked up to Salama.

"Hey!" She randomly said to her.

Salama just started at 79a from top to bottom like : Who the hell is this? Until she noticed
me standing next to her.

"Noora." She smiled a fake smile.

"Hi Salama, this is my friend 79a." I introduced her.

79a was staring at what Salama was wearing under her 3abaya which was bright red leggings and

tight black leather corset. She had on extremely high stilettos and wore bright red lipstick, a pound
of mascara and eyeliner that extended all the way to her ears. Her friends were pretty much
dressed the same except Salama kicked it up a notch by carrying a massive red LV bag and
growing a forest under her shaila.

Salama smiled her fake smile at 79a; "Okay." She said coldly and turned around.

79oo turned to me and gave me a "how rude" look in exchange for my "I told you so" look.

I dragged 79a away from gom Salama.

"Laish che she's so…" 79a began.

"Rude? Selfish? Stuck up? Bitchy?" I threw random adjectives out there.

"HAIH!"

"That's Salama. I warned you."

"I officially hate her! Look at all the guys staring at her!" 79a pointed to the huge group of guys

across from gom Salama.

There were about 20 guys standing not more than a couple of meters away from them, all
wearing white kandooras and each one giving his own unique flirtatious grin at Salama and
her friends, who on the other hand, were giggling like morons and fluttering their eyelashes.

"Ya allah where's Maitha?" I asked looking around. "She's been gone about fifteen minutes now!"