by Rawah Arja
He wasn’t.
I tried to call Huss, but he didn’t answer. I left messages on our Wolf Pack chat but there was no response.
Huss has left this chat.
Ibby: Bro. He’s never left. Even when him and I fought about my mum.
PJ: This is serious. Add him back on.
Tariq: I’ve been trying to call, but he’s not answering.
I scrolled through my settings and added him back to the group.
Huss has left this chat.
I had no idea what to do, how to fix this. There was only one person I thought might be able to help, but I’d managed to burn my bridges with her, too. This was turning out to be a hell of a year.
Feda was barricaded behind the bedroom door, either sleeping or studying. I’d heard her coming home just after Fajr, so my guess was she was sleeping off her latest run of night shifts. I tapped gently on the door. ‘Feda?’
No answer. I tapped a little louder. Amira bounded out of the bathroom.
‘She’s never going to hear you,’ she exclaimed, then barged into the room without ceremony. I knew if I’d tried the same, I would have been dead before my feet hit the ground, but if anyone could wake up Feda without getting their head bitten off, it was Amira.
‘Oh my God, what?!’ I heard my elder sister groan.
‘Tariq wants you,’ Amira said cheerily, then rocketed off, probably to cause chaos somewhere else in the house.
I hovered in the doorway. ‘Um. Can we talk?’
She breathed out loudly. ‘Well, I’m awake now. What’s the matter?’
Hardly the most welcoming start, but the situation with Huss was pretty desperate, so I crept into the darkened room and sat on my couch-cushion mattress. ‘It’s Huss.’ I outlined what had been going on with the comp, and Aaron and Huss, as quickly as I could. Feda stayed quiet through all of it, then suddenly sat up.
‘Did anyone tell you that Big Haji is in hospital?’ she asked.
‘What? No! Big Haji? He never told any of us. I even asked him how she was, but he said she’s just getting some check-ups.’
She sighed and shook her head. ‘You guys, honestly. You spend so much time together but you never actually talk to one another.’ I crossed my arms defensively, but for once, I didn’t snap at her. ‘Big Haji’s really sick. She’s been admitted to the cardiac ward, and she’s just had a bypass. They’re talking about all the medication and pills she needs to take.’
‘What’s wrong with her?’
‘Well her diet hasn’t been the best, and she’s not as active as she probably should be. But most of all, she’s just old, Tariq. She’s worn down, and her heart is in pretty bad shape.’ She showed me some messages on her phone.
Huss: Don’t tell Tariq about my tayta.
Feda: Why? He should know.
Huss: He’s got a lot of stuff on at school.
There’s no point in making it worse for him.
Insh Allah she’ll get better. It’s nothing big anyway.
Feda: Have you told him about your dad at least?
Huss: Nah. I don’t want him to see me weak.
If I’d felt like crap before, I wished now the ground would swallow me whole. These past few weeks I thought Huss didn’t trust me enough to tell me about his dad, and if I was really honest with myself, I knew I hadn’t tried as hard as I could to spend time with him. As it turned out, it wasn’t that he didn’t trust me; he didn’t want me to judge him. And now the whole goal-kicking situation with Aaron had just made a bad situation worse.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ I asked Feda now, upset. ‘I know you’re mad at me, but keeping this secret from me –’
‘It’s not my place to tell,’ she interrupted. ‘It’s your job to know about your friends.’
I had to admit she was right. I could see from the texts that she’d urged Huss to communicate with me, even after I’d mouthed off at her. ‘Sorry. You did what was right. It’s just…how can I make this better? What should I do?’
She stared at me for a while, not saying anything.
‘What?’ I demanded.
‘It occurs to me, Tariq, that you’ve had a pretty easy life so far.’
‘Huh?’ Was she insane? ‘Oh yeah, it’s pretty easy going to a school that’s about to get closed down, and being called a terrorist every second day. It’s so easy to have everyone constantly putting their expectations on me to be better, to be a good captain and BBL and be responsible for everyone.’
She gave a weird sort of half-laugh. ‘All the things you just mentioned have happened recently, in the last year. What’s your life been like before then?’ She began counting on her fingers. ‘You’ve got a family who support and love you. You’ve grown up your whole life in the one place, and had the chance to really put down roots. You’ve got friends who worship the ground you walk on. You’ve had a string of girls obsess over you even after you got bored with them and treated them like shit. You’ve never wanted anything that you couldn’t have. Even the pressures you’ve mentioned are a product of the amount of faith other people have in you. I get that it feels like a burden, but there are people who would kill to have teachers and mentors believe in them so much that they keep giving you chance after chance.’
I had never thought of it that way. I stared at her, gobsmacked.
‘Here’s a wild idea, little brother. Instead of complaining about how hard you have things, try a little bit of empathy for people who have it a lot worse.’ With that, Feda burrowed back under her doona. ‘Close the door behind you.’
I couldn’t think of anything to say, my mind racing over the bombshells she’d just dropped on me. I went to the living room and tried calling Huss again.
No answer.
Ibby: Huss just messaged and he said he’s not going to the game.
I didn’t feel like going any more either, but I couldn’t stay at home. Our house was buzzing with guests coming over to see Aunty Salma in her last week in Australia. They really came to see if she could fit packages in her luggage for their relatives overseas.
That night, PJ pretty much dragged me to the station where the rest of the boys from school were meeting to see the Bulldogs take on our rivals, the Cronulla Sharks. A sea of blue and white supporters poured out of the station and into the stadium. The place was electric, and despite my confusion and gloom about Huss, I felt caught up in the wave of excitement. People danced and cheered to the beat of the trumbakis while Arabic music blasted through the speakers. Cars beeped and honked and flags flew proudly above the crowds. We all saluted the massive ‘Dogs of War’ banner that hung from the rooftop stadium. Old, young, Arab, non-Arab, it didn’t matter when you were a Doggies supporter. It was one gigantic party.
The last twenty-four hours had been rough and I just wanted to be at peace. Forget the footy comp. Forget my school possibly closing. Forget about Huss and Aaron. Forget Mr Archie’s expectations.
Aaron and Riley waited by the barbecued-corn stall outside the stadium with Mr Archie. Ibby was going to come separately because he didn’t want to skip his family’s usual Saturday lunch of kroosh, boiled sheep intestines with rice, which he made with his mum.
‘You boys missed out,’ Aaron said with a bounce in his voice. ‘The Cronulla players hopped off the bus and we gave it to them.’
Riley nodded. ‘People really get into it around here.’
Matt arrived, sweating and out of breath, together with Lee, who was wearing a Sharks jersey.
‘Really, Lee?’ Aaron protested.
‘Dude, I told him a million times,’ Matt said. ‘I’m just happy we made it through the crowd alive.’
Lee tucked his jersey into his high-waisted shorts. ‘I don’t really care what anyone thinks. I’m from Cronulla and so I should support them.’
Mr Archie looked at his watch. ‘Where’s Ibrahim? We should’ve been inside by now.’
I looked around and spotted Ibby across the crowded forecourt. He wore Bulldogs gear from h
ead to toe, with his face painted with blue and white stripes. He left his taqiyah on his head as he waved a gigantic Bulldogs flag in the air. He was standing next to a total stranger.
Mr Archie waved his arms for attention and Ibby finally caught sight of us. We watched him do a double-take at Lee and the guy he was standing next to. He made his way over and stared at Lee. ‘You Chinese all look the same, man.’
Lee rolled his eyes. ‘For the millionth time, I’m Vietnamese, you shithead.’
‘How long were you standing there with that guy?’ Mr Ahmed asked, trying not to laugh.
‘Like, twenty minutes,’ Ibby replied. ‘I wondered why he gave me a dirty when I called him Nintendo.’
We followed Mr Archie and Mr Ahmed to our seats, where Hazem was waiting. He gave us our VIP lanyards to meet the players after the game.
Mr Archie’s phone rang and he passed it to me. ‘Your dad wants to speak to you.’
‘I already tell Mr Archie that everyone come over later cos we make a barby. Okay?’ Dad said.
‘Baba, we’ll just eat out –’ He hung up. I shook my head as I handed the phone back to Mr Archie. ‘So it’s my place after this,’ I said to the others. ‘Dinner’s on me.’
Our names were taped to the seats, and of course I was seated next to Aaron. Huss’s chair stood empty.
‘Should I hire security?’ Aaron said as we sat down. ‘Is he off somewhere plotting to murder me?’
‘He just needs some time. Maybe avoid him in training to be on the safe side,’ I said taking his name off the seat. Riley jumped a row down and sat in his spot.
‘You see Aaron’s face?’ he said. ‘He had a run-in with Hunter in the parking lot at Miranda.’
I turned to Aaron, who hid a faded bruise mark under his eye. ‘What? A punch-up?’
‘Nah, just a little scuffle. It was nothing.’
‘I swear I can’t wait until our school stuff is sorted so I can deal with him face to face,’ I said. ‘Is he doing anything else to you?’ I asked Riley.
He shook his head. ‘He’s backed off since Aaron and I started hanging out a little more.’
The game was about to begin when Aaron took out a Bulldogs beanie from his backpack and gave it to Riley. ‘I almost forgot this. You’ve gotta get into the game, bro.’
Riley’s usually pale face blushed as he replaced his red beanie with Aaron’s gift.
‘Get a room,’ Ibby and PJ called out from behind us.
‘Shut up,’ Aaron said.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for the Cronulla Sharks.’
We all stood up and booed as they ran onto the field. A huge bikie-looking guy behind us swore so many times that I thought he was going to have a heart attack. Mr Archie had already warned us that if any of us got like that, we would be sent home immediately.
‘Keep it PG, lads.’
‘And now it’s time for the boys of Belmore. Everyone up on your feet for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs!’
The ground shook and the crowd roared as the Bulldogs ran out of the kennel and onto the field.
Bulldogs! Bulldogs! Bulldogs!
We all chanted and cheered as the drums banged loudly and the flags flew across the stadium. Chills rushed up and down my body and now the nerves kicked in. There was something about having another team in the hood that fired up my blood. The referee blew the whistle and the Bulldogs kicked off.
Bulldogs made the first tackle and drove the Sharks back ten metres. A roar lifted the stadium. Aaron and I jumped up, not realising we were clutching each other’s arms.
‘I don’t think I can last eighty minutes. I think I’m going to have a stroke,’ he said.
It felt like that for the whole game. We held our hearts in our mouths until finally we came home with a victory.
Lee sat on the aisle steps beside us and rinsed the spilt alcohol from his shirt. ‘I think I’m going to pass out.’
‘Where’s Ibby?’ Mr Archie asked, giving Lee some water.
A loud cheer erupted on the opposite side of the stadium, on the hill. PJ pointed to the massive LED screen, and there was Ibby, belly-dancing to the drums and surrounded by supporters from both teams.
‘I’ll go get him,’ Mr Ahmed said, shaking his head.
We not only met the players, but we also got to sing the Bulldogs victory song with them and we each got signed jerseys. It was a little awkward with Lee in his Sharks jersey, but everyone took it in their stride. We shook hands with the Sharks players, too, and they were cool enough to give us a few tips.
‘You guys should be like a unit,’ one player said. ‘Stick together, and trust me, you’ll bulldoze any team in your way.’ Now that the game was done, there were no hard feelings and they even signed a few balls for us before mixing with the Bulldogs players in the dressing rooms after the game. I was stunned to realise that these guys from rival teams were all friends.
Aaron didn’t stop talking the whole way back to my place. ‘I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun,’ he babbled.
‘It was my first game,’ Riley said. ‘And I can now say that I’m one hundred per cent a Bulldogs supporter.’ PJ and Ibby almost suffocated him with excitement.
‘Ghostbusters! Ghostbusters!’ they both chanted.
Lee tied his Doggies jersey around his waist. ‘I think I’m bipartisan now, boys.’
‘Bi-what?’ Ibby asked.
Matt put up heaps of videos on our group WhatsApp.
Huss has left this chat.
‘Oh shit,’ Matt said to me. ‘I completely forgot, dude, I’m sorry. I can delete the videos.’
I grimaced. ‘He’s already seen them. No point deleting anything now.’ At least half of Matt’s videos showed me and Aaron with our arms around each other, chanting and cheering. That was going to go down like a ton of bricks with Huss.
I messaged him to come by for dinner anyway, and hoped he’d make it.
You could smell the chicken cooking on the barbecue from the end of the street. My family had already set up the table for us, with tabouli and fattoush, garlic sauce and hummus, meat skewers and fresh bread.
Ibby and PJ wasted no time settling in, but the Shire boys dithered, unsure of what to do.
‘Welcome, welcome,’ Dad said with open arms. He was in full Arab-hospitality-mode, hugging everyone including Mr Archie and Mr Ahmed, who made themselves comfy at the table. He nodded at Aaron. ‘How are you, son? How is your mum?’
‘Yeah, she’s good,’ Aaron replied. ‘Thanks for this, sir. You didn’t have to.’
Dad pulled out a few chairs for the Shire boys to sit. ‘No problem, son. You my guests. This your home now.’
Mum flipped the chicken on the grill and Dad ran around the table making sure everyone’s plate was full. If there was anything missing, he’d restock faster than you could blink. Mr and Mrs Wallace from next door came in through the back gate and filled their plates.
‘This is some of the best chicken I’ve ever had,’ Mr Archie said. ‘You are too kind, Mr and Mrs Nader. Thank you very much.’
‘You look after my son,’ Dad said, adding more tabouli no matter how many times Mr Archie tried to explain he was full. ‘Tell me, is Tariq being good? Or is he still do stupid things?’
‘Here we go,’ PJ called out. ‘Moment of truth.’
Everyone stomped with their feet and drummed on the table until Mr Archie answered. ‘He’s improving. I believe he’s still got a lot more to give.’
‘Do me next, sir, do me,’ Ibby yelled. ‘Seriously, sir, aren’t I your favourite?’
We ate and ate and laughed and laughed. Mum brought out some of the sweet sugar pastries, her signature dish. Ibby and PJ rubbed their hands on their bellies, trying to make room for dessert.
Uncle Charlie brought out some of his honey jars and sat next to Aaron. He knew he was from the Shire, which meant dollar signs for my uncle. ‘Best honey in world,’ he said. ‘I give you cheap price because you friends w
ith Tariq.’ I probably should have warned Aaron about Uncle Charlie.
I walked over to the kitchen and collected some extra plastic plates for dessert.
‘You talked to Huss?’ Feda asked from where she stood, shredding one of the pastries on her plate.
‘I tried, but he’s not answering any of my calls or messages. I don’t know what else to do.’
She gave me The Look. ‘And you’re going to leave it at that? Go to his place. You could see Big Haji, too. She should be released on Monday.’ She walked off to sit next to Aunty Salma.
Amira showed Riley and Matt her tools and her DIY work, while Lee played video games with Abdul and Saff in the living room. I watched as Mr Archie toured the garden with Mum. She spent most mornings talking to her plants and referred to them as her children.
‘I’d love for you to come to the school and help with some of our gardens that have completely died. You could run it with the P&C,’ I heard him say.
Mum’s mouth was wide with excitement. ‘This my dream!’ she exclaimed, before rushing to tell Dad the good news.
‘I wish I had all this,’ Aaron said leaning back in his chair and watching the madness.
‘This?’ I asked, confused. ‘You have everything at your place. Why would you want this?’
‘What’s the point of having the biggest house in the world if you’re on your own? You have family. You have noise. It’s dead quiet at my house.’
‘If it’s quiet here, then it means either Feda is studying or someone is dead.’ I thought for a minute. ‘No, scratch that second one. If someone was dead, everyone else would be wailing and screaming.’
He laughed. ‘Your dad is cool, man. He was nice to me even though my mum was rude to him.’
I sat up, shocked. ‘You heard that? I thought you were in the backyard?’
‘Nah, I heard it. She was being a bitch, as usual.’
I chewed my lip. Feda’s words about my easy life whispered back into my head. ‘She’s your mum, man. You shouldn’t talk about her like that.’
‘Why not? She does whatever she wants. Like selling Dad’s cars.’ ‘Wait, what?’
‘There’s this guy, Paten. Oily dude – what did you guys call me at camp? Mayonnaise. He’s supposed to be coming up with some buyers for Dad’s collection.’ Aaron’s jaw clenched.