Bittersweet 42

Hessa: PING!!!

            PING!!!

            PING!!!

Nawari: WHAT?!

Hessa: Next week National Day at our school! Ur Coming!

Nawari: Um…..

Hessa: MASHAY UM! Bteen ya3ni bteen!

Nawari: X_X ookk Jeeez!

"Ba3arfch 3ala wayed banat! You need new friends." 79a said in between her bites of popcorn.

"No thanks." I replied. "Banat your school are like…weird."

"Like banat your school aren’t?"

"Good point."

We were sitting in my room, eating crap and watching crap on TV. The reason we're watching crap

was because 79a broke el PS3. Now I'm completely depressed. It was the night before National Day

at 79a's school, and she was still insisting on bringing me, and insisting I meet new people.

The next day 79a said she'd pick me up and we'd go to her school together. She said she'd come

early so she can t3adlni her own way.

She wasn’t kidding when she said she'd come early. I was still deep in my sleep when she arrived.

She turned on the lights and opened the curtains.

"79oo you can't be serious!" I muttered from under my covers, glancing at the digital clock on my

side table that read 7:00

"Yes I am." She replied, making the most annoying noise with her high heels as she walked over

to my bed. "Now GET UP!" She screamed, pulling the blankets off of me.

Min 9baa7 allah she's all dressed up in her bright yellow thoob and 6a8m almas.

By the time I got up, and washed up, 79a had already pulled out a long satin emerald green gown

from my closet. She ran a brush through my long brown hair and fastened a clip on the side. She

then drew a thick black line over my eyelids and lined my lower lash line with green eyeliner. She

enhanced my cheekbones with some blush and bronzer, and topped off with a pale pink lipstick.

Okay maybe it sounds like we only took 5 minutes but trust me, by the time I checked the clock, it

read 7:45.

We took our time getting to 79oo's school. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t really looking forward to

going there. I've been there several times before and I certainly felt uncomfortable.

As soon as 79a and I walked through the door, all these people rushed towards us to ysalmoon

3ala 79a.

"OMG 79aaaa I LOVE your dress!" W7da said.

"You look GORGEOUS!" Another said.

"AAAH 79ooo!" A random girl shrieked.

Okaaay..

"OMG 79a mnu your gorgeous friend?" The first girl referred to me.

"Oh 3alya meet Nawari, my bestiie!" 79a introduced us.

"How ADORABLE!" 3alya shrieked.

Banat 79a's school wayed y9ar5oon

"Yallah lets go. 7amdoo tetrayana bara3!" 3alya grabbed us and pulled us towards the school field.

"Mnu 7amdoo?" I whispered to 79a as we walked to the field.

"Rbee3atna. You're going to like her wallah tjaaanin! Ow you're not leaving this school until you have

at least 3 new people on your BBM list!"

I sighed.

When we finally got to the field, there were tents set up everywhere.

"YOU GUYS!" A loud mab7oo7 voice shouted from behind us.

We all turned around and saw a tall looking person wearing a brown kandoora mal ryayeel with a

white sfra and Ray Ban Aviators, and holding a long wooden 5aizaran.

Next thing I know, 79a is running towards the tall person, about to give a hug.

"7AAAMDOOOOOO!" She exclaimed.

OMG… 7amdoo BOYA ?!

Bittersweet 41

"Shu tbain '3da?" 79a asked

We were on our way to her house because I wanted to take my mind off things, but we decided to

get some form of edible thing to take with us 3an '3da el bait.

"Ayshay…I just want to get to your house." I said, adjusting the car seat shway ta7at.

We decided to enmr Burger King na5th take away ow nrd elbait. 79a parked her car in the driveway in

front of her house since Mayed's car was parked in the garage.

"Mayeds here? Wow I haven’t talked to him in ages!" 79a said.

We each carried a kees into the house, and up the staircase and down the hall to 79a's room. And

that’swhen he came out of his room. Mayed.

Mayed looked like he just woke up from a long sleepless night. His eyes were half open, and his hair

was a complete mess. His facial hair was growing excessively and he could barely stand up straight.

At the sight of him, 79a and I both widened our eyes. He squinted his eyes to make sure he was

seeing right.

"Halla Noora." He greeted me.

I wasn’t sure if I should say hello back or not, because 79a just completely ignored him and walked

into her room. She put down the kees while I stood in between the hallway and 79as room, unsure.

"Ahlain." I replied quietly.

79a heard and immediately popped her head out of the doorway, raising an eyebrow at us.

"Enty shfeech?" Mayed asked in confusion.

"Ana shu feeny?!" 79a stepped out of the room with her hands on her hips. "ANAA shu feeeny??"

"79a chill." I whispered to her.

"Laa laa mashay chill! How can you be so horrible! How can you ow you're ENGAGED. La ba3ad to

MY FRIEND!" she screamed, pointing at me.

Ohhh craaaap… I was afraid of this wallah.

"Not only are you engaged to her, but you go fooling around with our other FRIEND! HAVE YOU NO

SHAME?!"

"79aa.." Mayed began, but 79oo cut him off.

"No Mayed, YOU listen to me! STAY AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!" She yelled, grabbing me into her

room and slamming the door shut.

"5aiba 79oo!!" I said, once the door was locked. "You didn’t have to do all that."

"Yes I did! Wallah there was a time when I actually LIKED my brother, remember?" She said

sarcastically.

"Enzain bss mala da3i tfashleen el walad jdami." I pointed out.

"He deserved it." She said coldly.

I swear 79a's temper is like an erupting volcano!

MAYED:

Shit…..

Kaif 3rfaat??

Biitersweet 40

79a opened her Facebook and there it was.

All over the News Feed on the Home Page, pics of 79a and I. Bss hee shu sawat el 7a8eera… she

cropped herself out of the pictures!

"7a8eeeeeera!!!" 79a exclaimed.

"SHIT!" I screamed.

"My brother is going to MURDER ME!" 79oo yelled.

"3al a8al he didn’t see them yet! 7abeebty my brother chaaafhm!!"

"Ow la ba3ad she named the album : <3 " mas5afhaa!"

"6aaa3ii she has all these guys on her friends list!"

"She even has Man9oor!"

"I'm not surprised! That bitch has el 3alam kla!"

I was freaking out! The pictures showed our faces CLEARLY. They were pictures that we TRUSTED her

with! Yom nstahbal in 79a's car, ow at my house ow KLMKAN! Okay bngool loo 9war 7lwa ba3ad! They

were like ugly sa5afa pics of us yom nstahbal ya3nii akeed we wont look like models!

3ala 6ool 79oo called Maitha. The phone rang 5 times bss she didn’t answer.

"5awaafaaaa." 79a shrieked, tossing her phone in her bag. "May59nii Noora lazm tkalmeenha bacher!"

"Ok ok I will! 9ara7a waaaayed zawdat'ha."

"WAYED!"

The next day I sat in first period Economics class, but Maitha wasn't there. Is she trying to avoid me or

something? Shaklha t3rf 3mrha '3al6ana.

I stared at the clock, it was 25 minutes after class had started. Ya5i wainha hay? I turned around in my

seat and saw Salama sitting a couple of seats behind me, texting. She looked up from her phone and

smiled. But it wasn’t that normal kind smile. It was more like an evil smirk. Bsmlaaaah.

Just then the door opened, and Maitha walked in.

"Sorry I'm late." She told the teacher, placing a late note on her desk.

Maitha chose a seat in the front of the class, so she wouldn’t have to look at me.

Class finally ended, but Maitha left the room so fast I didn’t even see her leave. I started to walk down

the hallway, but she wasn’t anywhere in sight. Wain shrdat ya rabi?

"Have you seen Maitha?" I asked the first person I saw.

"Yeah, tawha sarat 9oob el gym wya gom Salama."

"Thanks."

Wallah btchoof! Tshrd 3anii el7aywana? Baraweeha!

I marched to the gym, and I went up straight to her face.

"Choofi, ana mb 8aleelat adab sharatch. Tet7asbain banat el nass l3ba?" I barked at her.

She just looked at me blankly. How stupid!!! So I continued:

"Ms7ii el 9war ib karamtch a7sanlch, ow in ma 5alaitch tindmeen 3alee sawaitee, ma akoon Noora!"

Ow I walked away.

5alaaaaaaaa9

Wallah el sh3oor wayed 3ajeeb! 7sait ena chee.. 6ala3t kil ely f5aa6rii. It was the best feeling ever. I

walked out of the gym completely satisfied with myself. Now I know why 79oo kla t7b tehzb elnass! I

don’t blame her! It feels amazing!

At the end of the day I was so excited to tell 79a what I said. I jumped into her car and told her the

whole story.

"3ashaaat Nawaaarii." She cheered. "I'm so proud!" She giggled.

"I know!"

"Wait, shu ha?" She pointed to my school bag, sitting on my lap.

"My bag?"

"Laa2.. Fii pink sticky note." She reached inside the bag and pulled out a pink sticky note that I've

never seen before.

"Achoof?" I leaned over to see what was written on it.

Nawarii! (Dotting the i's with hearts)

I'm sorry

I'm sorry

I'm sorry

I'm sorry

I'm sorry

I'm sorry

And one more time I'm sorry

Bss I don’t blame you if you don’t forgive me. I know ely sawaita unforgivable. I know eny waaayed

went past my 7dood, bss you have to know ena Salama made me do it. I'm not blaming it on her, ow

I'm not saying ena it was her fault, bss agoolch ena kan her idea, wla chan masawaita. I completely

agree ena it was my fault. Ow don't worry the pics are deleted. I just thought that you should know ena

I'm REALLY REALLY sorry, ow I miss have having you ow 79a as my friends.

PS. Ma7ad saw the pics because the only people who could view the album were selected people,

ely hum you, ow 79a ow Man9oor your bro.

"Owaaaih!" 79a said as soon as she was done reading. "5alatna nzg fi hafna a5r shay ga9a 3laina?"

"Enty aaih 7mdii rabch ma7ad saw the pics!"

"Haha adrii adrii." She said, and started driving. "Bss musta7eeeeeeel asam7ha. Who does she think

she is? Messing with us like its funny?!"

"Haih 9a7, 7ata loo tgool ena ma7ad chaf el pics! You never know! If she has the guts to put them on

Facebook, you never know what she can do!" I added.

"True. 5ala9 she lost my trust."

Bittersweet 39

Ok 79a was officially PISSED!

Mb chana I'm the one who should be pissed? Since its about me, pretty much?

I didn’t want to bring up the salfa again since I knew 79a would go on and on about it, so tamait sakta

for the next couple of days.

At school I didn’t talk to Maitha at all. She hung out with Salama and them. Ew..

She was meant to be one of them a9lan. She was always one of them. 6a7at min 3ainy wallah.

She's developed a bitchier attitude once she'd started hanging out with gom Salama. 3laiha 7arakat like

when she'd pass by she'd give dirty looks or "accidentally" bump into me in the hallway… you know..

7arakat yahal.

I, on the other hand, didn’t give a crap about what she does because seriously, ana masawait shay '3la6.

She's just doing this by herself, ma3ndha salfa because I seriously don’t care.

One random day, 79a was at my house, and we were doing the usual, sitting around playing PS3 and

eating popcorn with extra butter! YUM!

"Nooro yallah 3ad, bssch PS3 a7een el film el Hindi is about to start!" 79a whined. '3aramha el aflam el

Hindeya.

"Ok ok bss dgeega 5aleeny agaym hal part!" I said not taking my eyes off the screen. Knt mndamja.

When we finally sat down, and started the movie, my phone rang.

"Ya allaaaah mnu el mtfaayg ely's calling you now?!" 79a whined.

I checked my phone screen to see whose calling

Incoming Call

Man9o0r Bro

I looked at the screen weirdly before answering. Why is he calling me? Mb chana he's in California?

"Aloo?"

"Nawari!" He barked.

"Ha Man9oor. Bsmlaah shu feek?" I asked worried.

"Allah ysalmch, shu hal 8lat adab?!"

"Haa? What 8lat adab? Shu tgool enta?"

79a scooted closer to me so she can hear what he was saying. What is my brother talking about?!

"Wallah madreebch! Akii rbee3tch posted your pics all over Facebook!!" He yelled.

"WHAT?!" I gasped. "AY FRIEND?! WHAT PICS?!"

"9warch enty ow 79a! Kla 3ala profile hay Maitha Al-x! Shu matst7oon?! Ay 7ad ygdar eychoof el 9war!"

"OMG! Man9oor ana may59nii! I…" I started to stutter! What was I supposed to say?!

"Dgeelha a7een ow tfahmay wyaha! Get those pics off A7EEN before anyone else see's them!"

And we hung up.

SHIT!

She SERIOUSLY crossed the line!

I started at 79a blankly, who was just as shocked as I was. We were completely ZAGEEN el 3afya!

What the heck were we supposed to do?!

Bittersweet 38

79a took me to school the next day.

"Wallah baraweeha that bitch!" 79a angrily said, as she pulled into the school driveway.

"5alaaa9 79aaa forget it!" I tried to shut her up. She's been going on about el salfa since yesterday!

"Tzg fi hafha! I'm not going to let her get away with it that easy!"

"Ufffff…"

"Wallah btchoof. I'm picking you up after school. Yallah ngal3ay bye." 79a said.

I giggled at her sa5afa. Wallah maynoona enzain shu m3awrench? I got out of the car and continued

the school day as if I didn’t know anything. It was a normal, typical day at our school.

At the end of the day, Maitha and I casually walked bara3. And that’s when I spotted 79a's car parked

fi awal spot jdam el bab, and she's sitting da5l with the most mischievous look on her face. Oh great.

Btsawi shay '3abi a7een.

79a got out of the car with a fake smile plastered across her face.

"Hey Maitha." She said coldly as she stood right in front of Maitha.

"Hii 79oo!!" Maitha screamed excitedly.

"How pathetic." 79a muttered under her breath.

"What?" Maitha asked.

Oh boy… I was starting to feel uncomfortable…

"Lat5aleen 3mrch mat3rfeen." 79a raised her eyebrows at her.

"79a shu feech? What are you talking about?" Maitha asked confused.

"Don't act stupid, Maitha. You're only embarrassing yourself." 79o barked back at her.

"Yallah 79oo lets go." I started to walk away bss 79a just stood there.

"Trayay." She began. "I'm not leaving until hal bitch knows who she's dealing with!"

"What did you just call me?" Maitha started to raise her voice, and wayed banat started crowding

around us.

"You heard me."

"7tarmay 7doodch 79oo."

"La wallah? I think you went WAY past your 7dood when you started hooking up with my BROTHER!"

79a angrily put her hands on her hips.

Maitha just stood there with her eyes as wide as they can go.

"Haa? A7een staw3abty?" 79a snapped.

"Don't assume what you don’t know." Maitha said.

"Laa 7abeebty I know perfectly well enty shu tsaween. Chftch with my own eyes!"

"Ow enty shu y59ch?!"

"Shu y59ni? Shu y59ni ANA? 7abeebty I don’t think you heard me, he's my BROTHER!"

"Ow ba3dain? Ow shu ya3ni?"

"I'm disgusted by you, t3rfeen? You go off with a guy who is not only my brother, but the FIANCE of

your FRIEND!" 79a announced, pointing at me.

There was a looooooong pause.

People started gasping loudly.

But nothing can compare to the expression on Maitha's face. Her skin suddenly turned pale. Her

eyebrows were raised and her eyes were wide. A loud gasp escaped her dropped open mouth.

"Bet you didn’t know that about your so-called boyfriend, did you?" 79a muttered softly.

Bittersweet 37

"Ana lain a7een mb m9adga!" I blurted out in shock, as 79a drove away.

"She DITCHED us?" 79a shrieked.

"For MAYED?" I added.

We were in complete shock. Shakeen fil maw'6oo3. Maybe it wasn’t her. Ymkn 7ad thani. But no
matter how much we tried to deny it, it was true. It really was Maitha getting into Mayed's car.

"OMG I didn’t know ena Maitha was chee!" 79a gasped.

"Me neither! Maybayn 3laiha AT ALL!" I added.

"Bss I cant help thinking ena MUSTA7EEL. I'll text her!." 79a suggested, and pulled out her phone.

"WAIT!" I stopped her. "Shu btgooleelha?"

79a pulled over to the side of the road.

"Ummm….ma3rf!!"

"You're not just going to say 'Wallah chftch trkbeen wya my bro!' shu!"

"Okay okay! Yallah shu agoolha?"

We finally sent her a simple, unsuspicious text.

Not as fun without you L

"Haaih 3shan she feels guilty shwaya!" I said.

79a sent the message and continued driving.

"I still CANT believe!" 79a continued.

"Adri adri!"

"Who knows! Maybe Mayed isn't the first one!" She added.

"Yeah who knows."

"Ow laa ba3ad Mayed mayst7ii 3a wayha! Mwa3d one of MY friends?! Wallah makalmhm both!"

How could've we missed it? Maitha had an entirely different side of her that we never suspected.
We witnessed it with our own eyes. Wallah hee matst7ii. We thought she was different 6l3at exactly
nafs ashkal banat my school. At least she does a better job at hiding it.

"Oh 9a7! Mb chna 5a6eebch?" 79oo suddenly snapped out of it. "Awaaaaiihh!"

"Haih 9aa7! Nsaait!"

"May59nii! 5ala yzg Mayed! Matetzawjaina! Ya wailch!" 79a suddenly started yelling.

"Wallah! 7aywan! He goes off with our FRIEND ow he's engaged to YOU! Yzg maytzawajch!" She
continued

"3kaifch?" I giggled at her insanity.

"Wallah Nawari! He's ahbal! Matbaina." She insisted.

I continued to giggle. 3kaifha she calls off my wedding.

"Nawari trust me yom agoolch Matbaina!" She continued.

"T'6a7keen! This is your brother we're talking about!" I giggled.

"May'6a7k! Ow so what if he's my brother? He's just a guy like any other. Ow he should know his
limits! 7ta enty lazm matsm7een 7ag 3mrch ta5theen wa7d che! You deserve better."

I just sat there and listened. I knew she was right but I guess I was too scared to do anything
about it.

"5ala9 choofi. Ma3laich mna. Leave it all to me l2na I know whats best for you akthar mnch."
She said. So sakrat el salfa.

Ya allah a7een shu asawi. The only girl I actually talk to in my entire school is Maitha, and she's
off somewhere with MY fiancé. 79a was taking more seriously than I am. Well of course, he's her
brother and they're close. She has the freedom to say whatever she wants. However I wasn’t sure
what I wanted. I just kind of mashait wyaha basically.

Wa7een shu ??