Saturday, January 1, 2011

Bittersweet 47

Man9oor came back down knocking over everything that got in his way. Wow he was seriously pissed.

"Man9oor 7abeeby shfeek?" My mother rushed into the living room after him.
"Mashay." He said coldly and sat down.

My mom looked at me for an answer.

"Mt'6ayg shway." I mouthed.
"I need to get out." He said. "A7taj aseer mkan b3eeed."
"In that case shu raykm nseer el beach house in Ras Al 5aima?" My mom suggested.

Actually that wasn’t a bad idea. In Ras Al 5aima we have 2 beach houses 3ala ar'6 w7da. One for
the girls and one for the guys since it's usually the younger generation who mostly like to go there.
We all agreed to go but Man9oor insisted he bring the guys with him and I suggested I bring 79a.

I got so excited I ran up the stairs to start packing right away.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring. (the house phone ringing)

"Alo?" I answered.
"Halla Nawari." The voice said.
"Amoon!" I screamed into the phone.

PAUSE!

Amna is my beloved 24 year old cousin who has been married for a year so far. She acts like the
sophisticated adult in front of the adults but is a crazy maniac with the rest of us. I love her to death
and I miss her even more. Since she got married we haven’t seen her as much as we used to.

PLAY!

"Haha sh7aalch? Sh7al 5alty ow Man9oor?" She giggled.
"7mdlah klna b5air enty sh7alch? How's S3eed?" I asked
"7mdlah b5air bss S3eed msaafr on a business trip to London, and I'm BORED!" She complained.
"Yeah we've always been here but you just notice when S3eed's gone ha?" I teased her.
"Hahaha la wallah! Bss seriously I really am BORED!"
"Fine, make it up to us. Come with us to Ras Al 5aima tomorrow." I suggested.
"Ras Al 5aima? Who's going?"
"Ana ow mama, 79oo, Man9oor ow his friends."
"Well in that case I'm coming! Yallah tomorrow morning akoon 3ndkm!"
"Cant wait!"
"Me neither! Yallah 7abeebty take care, bye!"
"Bye."

I ran back downstairs to tell mama Amoon was coming with us. Of course she was thrilled because
she adores Amoon (the sophisticated adult). 79a's parents of course let her come with us. She and I
stayed up all night on the phone planning out our week from tanning to swimming to dancing. We
stayed up till athan el fayer and then finally dozed off.

"NAWARIIIIIII!" A high pitched scream awakened me.

 A bright light was blinding me. But eyes were blurred. I couldn’t see anything but random figures.
When my vision cleared out, I saw a bright face smiling widely at me. It was Amoon el habla. She
was sitting on top of me, still in her 3abaya with her shoulder length brown hair tied up in a messy
ponytail on the top of her head.

"AMOOON! Mb wagtch!" I pulled the covers over my head.
"Nawari yallah goomi! Bnseer!" She bounced on my bed.
"I didn’t sleep!"
"That’s your problem! Yallah 79o's going to be here any minute!" She said pulling the comforter
away from me.

When I refused to get up, she decided to take it to the next level. She grabbed my arm tightly, and
pulled me out of my bed causing a loud THUMP once my head hit the floor.

"Yal 7MARA!" I yelled, but it was no use. She dragged me across the floor all the way to the bathroom.
I reached for the blanket to try to stop her but all I did was drag it all the way with me.

"You better get used to it. You're going to be waking up to this every day for the next week!" She
laughed.

I finally surrendered and got up. I gave her an evil glare before walking into the bathroom. And her
being the lovely cousin she is, if I took more than 5 minutes in there she would turn off the lights and
leave the room. When I finally washed up and got dressed, 79a had already arrived.

"9a7 el noooom!" 79a greeted me.
"You're finally awake! Min el 9b7 we're waiting for you!" My mom complained. "Mashallah 3laiha
Amna came over min 9ba7 allah 5air because she knows ena 3ndna r7la lyom!"

I just nodded and drank my tea while everybody was putting our bags in the car. As soon as I was
done with breakfast, we all grabbed our sunglasses and iPod's and headed to our car. We got in
with the driver, and Man9oor drove the guys.

The car ride wasn’t that bad. We had good music and snacks to entertain us on the way to Ras
Al 5aima. As soon as we got there, we piled off and sat by the beach while the nannies unpacked.
Today we're just going to "chill". Tomorrow we start having fun. 79a, Amoon and I sat on the cold sand
facing the ocean as the waves crashed against the shore. We took off our sunglasses to enjoy the
warmth of the sun in contrast to the cool breeze. The guys however were kicking a soccer ball back
and fourth a short distance away from us.

I could already tell this week is going to unforgettable!

Friday, December 31, 2010

Bittersweet 46

Sitting a couple of tables away were Rashid and 7amdan. And he was staring straight at us.

"Anyway Shammani… nice seeing you again! See you soon! Call me!" 79a said, going back to
our table.

I couldn’t see them since their table was facing my back, but 79a got a perfect view.

"Tra 3a fkra he's still looking our way." 79a whispered.
"Achoof?"
"La2! Don't turn around!" She muttered under her breath.
"Why not?"
"Because they're getting up!"
"Chathaba!"
"Wallah. Shut up they're coming this way!"

I kept my head down, and in a few seconds, I saw a pair of dark jeans appear before us.

"Halla bl zaain." He said. From the sound of his voice I could tell he was smiling, but I refused to
look up. 79a however answered him;
"Ahlain." She said coldly pretending to look at the drink's menu.
"Sh7alkm?" He asked.
"B5air." 79a answered him.
"Enshallah doom."

Silence

"So Noora," Rashid began. "Where's Man9oor?"
"Tstahbal?" 7amdan suddenly spoke. "Man9oor told us 10 minutes ago that he has a date."

I was still looking down so I could see Rashid kicking 7amdan's leg to tell him to shut up. I tried to
hold my laugh.

"Laish t'67keen?" He asked.

I finally looked up at his face. His gorgeous, perfectly geometric constructed face. He was smiling.
That killer smile that brought back memories. Oh how much I missed the warmth of that smile.

Out of no where, he grabbed a chair from a random table and sat down.

Just like that!
OH MY GOSH!

"Enta aaih! Shu tsawi?" 7amdan stood next to him.
"What does it look like I'm doing? Sitting down with a couple of friends." He answered him casually.

OMG kaif jareeeeeeee2. No way! Not in a place as public as Dubai Mall! 79a on the other hand
was going to burst out laughing any second. She enjoyed the freak show he was putting on. Mb
3kaifa!

"Um, if you didn’t get the memo, we're not friends." I eyed him.
"Nawari 3aib." She whispered. She wanted this to keep going. To her it was entertainment.

I got up to leave before we get seen by anyone and it turns into a huge issue.

"You coming 79a?" I gave her a straight look.

79a finally got the hint and got up.

"Afaa." I heard 7amdan say as we walked out of Vintage. "Ya5i awal mara achoof bnt mb mayta feek!"

Little did he know…


After an awkward lunch, 79a dropped me off at home. I threw myself on the big brown sofa and
flipped through the TV. A couple of minutes later, the door swung open and slammed shut. It made
such a loud noise to the point where it seemed like the walls were going to fall. I stood up to see
what was going on when I saw that it was Man9oor who had just come home from his date.

"Ufff!" He yelled, sitting next to me on the sofa.
"Didn’t go so well?" I asked.
"Not only was she talking to other guys, every time a guy walked into the restaurant she'd give him
a look." He blurted. "8aleelat adab wallah ma tam 7ad fi Dubai ma kalmata!"

At first I wanted to laugh because seriously, it was pretty funny seeing my big brother like this. But I
pretended to be the "supportive" younger sister.

"It's okay Man9oor. There's plenty of fish in the sea." I 5araft.

Bzz Bzzz – Man9oor's phone vibrated.

"Uff." He said looking at the screen. Obviously it was "her" who was calling. He tossed the phone
on the couch and went upstairs to change.

Being the nosy sister that I am, I picked up the phone and read the name flashing on the screen:

Incoming Call
Salama

Could it be? Naah There are a million Salamas in the world. But then, how many of them are
8aleelat adab and know every guy in Dubai? Hmmm… I couldn’t help but assume.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Bittersweet 45

"Shooo agooola?" I panicked.
"Mmm.. I suggest you say hi back." 79a said sarcastically. Sa5eefa!
"Maba!" I decided to ignore him, and continued to browse through my notifications.

Rashid: Don't ignore me Noora.

AAAH!

Rashid: I know you're there.

-ignoring-

Rashid: Don’t act stupid Noora. Y6la3 3ndi ena you’re updating your status -.-
Noora: OH!

Gaf6aa

Rashid: Tawa elnass
Noora: =)
Rashid: T'6a7keen. Missed you.
Noora: =)
Rashid: So you didn’t miss me?
Noora: …..
Rashid: I want to see you
Noora: No
Rashid: Why?!
Noora: Because I'm a respectable bnt el nass ow ma3ndi hal swalf.
Rashid: Then why did you add me? ;)
Noora: It's just Facebook.
Rashid: La2. You’re into me.
Noora: NO!
Rashid: Chathaba.
Noora: T8har.
Rashid: Cuz I'm right.
Noora: Whatever.
Rashid: St7aity?
Noora: La2
Rashid: Chathaba
Noora: UFF
Rashid: Hahahaha xD You're different.
Noora: Gee thanks
Rashid: In a good way wallah!
Noora: =|
Rashid: Latz3leen, I'm really into you too.
Noora: What?
Rashid: Yupp.
Noora: Huh??
Rashid: Gotta Go. Talk to you later. Bye now

Rashid – Offline

OH MY GOSH! Y8haaaaaaaaaaaaaaar.

"WOW!" 79a shrieked. "He is HOT!"
"79oo!" I snapped.
"Don’t '79oo' me! He's hot and you know it!"
"Okay ow ya3ni?"
"Chub be thankful! At least you got a GUY to like you!" She sighed, remembering salfat 7amdo.

HAHAHA!

That night Man9oor was a bit jetlagged so I decided to stay up with him to watch a movie. We sat in
the upstairs' 9alaa on the HUGE brown sofa surrounded by popcorn and candy. I had on my comfiest
pajamas and wore one pink sock and one blue one. Man9oor had on his oversized navy blue hoodie
mal jam3a and pajama pants. I missed these nights with my brother. We would talk and laugh more
than actually watch the movie.

"Btw." Man9oor began. "Tra I came back to Dubai for a reason."
"La wallah? Ya3ni mb 3shan tchoof your beloved family?"
"Just listen," He chuckled. "There's this girl."

GASP!

"Balach?" He said.
"Mashay mashay. Continue."
"First date bacher. Any tips?" He said while munching on a handful of popcorn.
"How cute! Man9oor 3nda daaaate!" I giggled.
"Chub mb awal mara! Bss hay a7s '3air."
"Ok choof! Aham shay tkoon honest! Ow ba3ad trust aham shay! Ow ba3ad lazm you make her feel
like the luckiest girl in the world."
"5aiba film Hindi! What have you been doing while I'm gone yal 7mara." He playfully hit me on my
shoulder.
"Shut up and watch the movie." I laughed.

Halfway through the movie I started to think. I started to think about Mayed, and where he and I stand.
What if I go through with this marriage and end up hating my life. I looked over at Man9oor who even
though was stuffing his face with popcorn, noticed the tension in my eyes.
"What's wrong?" He asked, pausing the movie.
"I was just thinking."
"About?"
"About Mayed and the engagement." I said in the saddest tone ever.
"Oh." He said, sitting up straight to face me. "How do you feel about the whole situation?"
"I don’t know. Scared I guess."
"Hal shay 6abee3y."
"Adri bss, I'm not ready, you know?"
"Noora, your happiness is important to me, ow you have to be sure about what makes you happy."

I sat their quietly and he continued.
"Just tell me what you want, after all, it's your life."

I looked deep into my brother's eyes. My eyes were filled with tears because of how much I loved
him. I love my brother gad el dnya.

"I don’t want to get married to Mayed." I sniffed.
"5ala9 if that's what you want, don’t worry. Bnf9a5 el 56ooba."

I sniffed some more.

"5ala9 don’t cry." He put his arm around me. "Everything's going to be fine, I’ll take care of everything.
You just take care of yourself okay?"

I nodded.
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  



The next day 79a and I decided to go to the Dubai Mall for lunch.

In the car:

"So where are we going to eat?" I asked.
"VINTAGE!" 79a screamed.
"7abeebty we're having lunch! Tbain t'3adeena chocolate?"
"La wallah yjaaanin! Vintage ya3ni Vintage!"

When we arrived at the mall and took a table at Vintage Chocolate Lounge, I told 79a about the very
interesting conversation I had with Man9oor the previous night.

"Oh my gosh how cuuuute!" She said.
"Adrii! I never thought my brother would actually feel love!" I giggled.

After we told the waiter what we wanted, 79a spotted a baby sitting on the table opposite from ours.

"Yjaaaaaanin!" She shrieked. She has an issue with babies. Wayed tmoot feehm!

She stood up from her chair.

"What are you doing yal habla?" I whispered.
"3aaadi I know hal baby! He's i5oo my friend! Aki yalsa wyaa! Yallah goomi bnsalm." She pulled me off
my seat to go say hi.
"Baby 3azooooooooz! Halla 7abeeby sh7aaaaalk." She kept playing with his curls before finally saying
hi to his sister who was giggling at her.
"Halla 79oo." The girl spoke.
"Ahlain Shammani! 79a greeted her. "Mashallah 3azooz m7laaw!" They talked for a few minutes while
I stood there quietly.




OH SHIT!
OHH SHIIT!

79a noticed the shock in my face and gave me a look but I ignored.

OH SHIT!

6ala3t my phone and started pinging 79a trying to get her attention. I want her to notice what I
just noticed!

"Dgeega my phone is vibrating." She put the baby down and checked the convo.

Nawari: PING!!!
             PING!!!
             PING!!!
             PING!!!
Hessa: WHAT?!
Nawari: Look 3ala your left.

79a turned her head towards the left and her jaw dropped open in shock.