Rawan is over the moon about this feedback. These few words of encouragement are enough to fire her up to take her art even more seriously. She thinks: Why not prepare a few pieces and display them in the handicraft exhibition that her mother helps organize every year for charity? If some of them are sold, then she will be playing her part in helping the needy who benefit from the profits of the exhibition. This way, people will get to know her work, and maybe, in the future, she’ll get some money out of it.
Rawan’s mom likes the idea and encourages her to pursue her project on the condition that it doesn’t affect her grades. “It looks like we’re going to have a famous artist in the family! My father, God rest his soul, used to love drawing and painting. There’s no doubt you got all your talent from him.”
The next day, during the first break, Rawan tells her friends about her idea. “Awesome!” Karen exclaims. “I’ve always loved your work, and I saw some of it in the art hall. Maybe I’ll ask you to whip up some small gifts for my relatives in France. They love everything handmade, especially art from the East. What do you think, Rawan? You’ll save me the trouble of having to find them gifts.”
“I would love to!” Rawan gushes. “This is a chance for the French people to get to know my work.”
“I’m your first customer. Remember that when you become rich and famous,” Karen says. “I’m the one who got your work to France in the first place.”
Rawan laughs as she turns to Noor and sees her smiling. She inches closer and hugs her, saying, “I’m sorry about what I said that day, Noor. You’re my friend and I don’t want to lose you. I never congratulated you for being elected class representative, even though that seems like a lifetime ago now. In any case, congrats! You’re doing a really great job.”
Noor puts her hand on Rawan’s shoulder. “Thanks, Rawan. I’m also sorry for sharing your secret, but honestly I just wanted to help, and I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“There’s nothing better than two friends making up. This whole thing really got to me,” Maya says. Then she adds, jokingly, “I think I’m going to cry.”
“Where’s Raed? I haven’t seen him since the start of break,” Rawan says, trying to change the subject.
“He must be busy . . . maybe he’s at the library returning an overdue book. He mentioned it this morning,” Maya says. As soon as she finishes, Raed comes over in a rush.
“Did you return your book, Raed?” Rawan asks. “I hope you didn’t have to pay a late fine. Miss Nada the librarian is so strict. For her, a late book is like some kind of unforgivable sin.”
Raed is confused. “Book? Which book? I don’t have any book.” Maya interrupts and gives him a hard look. “Raed, didn’t you tell me that you were going to the library to return a book? Think about it.”
“Ah . . . yes, the book. Of course . . . Yes, I was in the library. I forgot. How weird that I forgot so quickly.”
Rawan notices his face going red and wonders why he and Maya are tripping over their words and contradicting each other. She also sees how concerned Karen and Noor are while Raed is talking. She means to ask what is going on, but then the bell rings, so she makes a mental note to ask during their second break.
Rawan enters class, her head pulsing with thoughts. Are her friends hiding something?
During class, she watches her friends like a hawk: sometimes Karen exchanges looks with Noor, while at other times with Maya. Raed avoids her gaze a few times, and Maya exchanges some signals with Karen.
Rawan wonders what on earth is going on, but she decides to act as though everything is fine and to not bring it up with her friends. She doesn’t want to stir up anything else. She knows they love her. She’ll just wait until they tell her on their own what is happening—if there even is anything worth mentioning. Maybe there’s nothing, and she’s just being paranoid.
During the second break, everything goes back to normal, and Rawan starts telling her friends about how she baked a cake yesterday and forgot to add sugar. She describes the expressions on her mother’s, father’s, and brother’s faces when they tasted it.
“Maybe you can put some apricot jam on it. That will make it sweeter and give it some taste,” Raed suggests. He stops abruptly and looks over at Karen, Maya, and Noor. He looks like a deer in the headlights. Rawan again ignores what she sees and rushes to change the subject. She plans to figure out what is going on, but at the right time.
At home, when Rawan goes in her room, she looks at her face in the mirror for a long time. She notices that her skin has improved and that her pimples have receded a lot. Her face is calm and radiant.
She splays out on her bed for a bit, thinking of Husam. She hasn’t come across him for several days now. Maybe he’s absorbed in his work because exams are close. She remembers exams. She opens her bag and stuffs her hand inside to get her science textbook. When she’s pulling out her book, she hears a strange rustle. She looks inside her bag. There, she finds a colorful nylon bag. She opens it and looks inside. She freezes for a moment, then her face lights up with a big grin. She says to herself, Now I know who my secret admirer is.
She lies back down on her bed and thinks. She starts to laugh. Her laugh gets louder and louder until her mother opens her bedroom door. “Rawan, what on earth is happening? What’s making you laugh like this?”
Still doubling over, Rawan says, “Don’t worry Mama, I’ll tell you later. I promise. Don’t worry.”
Her mother insists that Rawan tell her, but Rawan keeps promising that she’ll tell her soon, really soon. That afternoon, Rawan goes to the store next to her house to buy some of the tools that she’ll need. Back in her room, she works late into the night and falls asleep, impatient for the next day . . . It better come soon.
HERO
ON AN AFTERNOON that Ghady spends mostly in front of the TV, he gets a call from Matthias. Ghady’s life is now like this: TV, Playstation, Internet, playing the oud, and a little bit of studying . . .
“Hey Matthias. What’s up?”
“Big things are happening. The whole middle and high school are talking about the drug deals. And today, the administration sent home something to the parents. It said they caught the guys responsible for pushing drugs to the boys who were selling at school.”
“Did they give names?”
“No, but everyone in class is sure that Michael and Frank and Gabi are the leaders.”
Frank was the one who had the knife, and Gabi was the beast who attacked and threatened him. Just hearing their names makes Ghady feel queasy. He is still afraid of them getting their revenge.
“It’s a lot for you,” Ghady says. “Michael pushed you around. I mean, doesn’t the administration know the difference between you and the guilty ones?”
“We’ll see. The principal said I should come to her office tomorrow so she can tell me my punishment. Anyway, I had to speak up, because I was scared for you. Oh, hey—me, Daniel, Charlotte, and Liza are going downtown Saturday afternoon, and we want you to come with us. We miss you, and it’s really sad not having you at school.”
“Nah, I don’t think I can go out. What if I run into Michael or Larry or one of those guys?”
“Okay. What if we meet at Daniel’s? For sure he’ll be happy. It’s not a good idea to meet at my house—you know I live next to Michael. I’ll talk to Daniel and the girls. Saturday at five. Okay?”
“That’s a great idea. I’ll go ask my mom.”
Ghady is excited at the thought of meeting his friends—he’s really yearned to see his friends, especially since he’s been feeling bored by the long, identical days. His dad is always at work, Zeina is at school, and his mom works part-time, and then comes home to do her drawing or cooking, or else she’s out shopping. He’s left at home, waiting for everyone. After his mom agrees to let him go to Daniel’s, Ghady heads back to the phone.
“Done deal. See you Saturday!”
But what Ghady doesn’t expect is that, when he gets to Daniel’s house, he’
s greeted with applause. As soon as he steps into the house, his friends clap as they laugh and chant his name: “Ghady! Ghady!” Then Charlotte pulls out a t-shirt that says: “A Real HERO Always Does the Right Thing.” Ghady goes up and hugs each of his friends.
“What’s all this?” he asks. “Is this some kind of ceremony?”
“You’re a hero, Ghady,” Liza says. “Don’t you know?”
“You told them the names of those bullies at school, and you saved a bunch of kids from them and the drugs they were pushing.”
“It wasn’t just me,” Ghady says. “I mean, Matthias was with me. So he’s a hero too, if you insist on calling it that.”
“No way. I couldn’t have stood up to Michael and those guys. Plus it was your idea to go to the principal, and you’re the one who’s paying the price. Nobody’s threatening me, since I bought from them once. And they think you forced me to go tell on them. Anyway, my punishment was really small compared to Michael’s. I have to do some work in the library during first semester next year—that’s it.”
“Honestly, after all the threats and everything? I wish I hadn’t ever gotten involved. Since I gave their names, I’ve been constantly worried, every day.”
“No way, Ghady, don’t regret it,” Daniel says. “You have no idea how many kids are talking about you like you’re a real hero.”
Ghady smiles. What great friends . . . he really loves them!
“Let’s go out to the garden. My mom put out juice and cake.”
Ghady is filled with joy at being surrounded by these loyal friends. He thinks about Jad and Rawan. The news he has to share with them is really piling up. He has grown up so much in the last few months. Do they feel the same way?
SECRET ADMIRER
RAWAN GETS UP earlier than usual, goes into the kitchen to have her breakfast, and puts together what she’ll take to school all on her own.
She gets dressed in a hurry and organizes the stuff in her bag before she heads for the door. That’s when her mother appears, surprised. “Rawan, what’s happening? Why are you leaving so early today? Where’s this sudden burst of energy coming from?”
“I’ve got something important to do. See you!” She kisses her mom’s cheek and rushes out.
Rawan stands alone below the oak tree, waiting for her friends. She really misses them. It’s like she’s gone back in time. It’s as if this is her first day of school—like she’s just back from summer vacation, and she can’t wait to see each of them after such a long time apart.
Her friends start to arrive. Karen first, then Maya. They’re amazed to find Rawan there before them, since she usually arrives after them, even though her house isn’t very far. Only a few minutes later, Raed arrives, with Noor behind him. Finally, they’re all here.
“I’ve brought something for you guys,” Rawan says. From her backpack, she pulls out a bag, opens it, and takes out pieces of cake covered with apricot jam. She gives them each a slice. “I took your advice, Raed.” He nods as he munches his piece, “Mmm . . . yummy.” While everyone is trying the cake, Rawan takes a box out of her bag with some hazelnut chocolate pieces, a small white bear, a glass, a beaded bracelet, a card, a colored pen, and finally one jar with a little apricot jam left in it.
Rawan surveys her friends’ faces as they take in all the stuff. She sees that their mouths are still full of cake. They exchange glances, then all burst out laughing, the pieces of jam-covered cake flying out of their mouths.
Rawan starts to laugh, too. They all laugh until they cry. After they calm down, each trying to catch their breath, Maya attacks Raed: “It’s all your fault! You ruined everything. You gave her apricot jam and then what do you do? You tell her to put apricot jam on her cake. What a strange coincidence, huh?”
“Didn’t you like the jam, Rawan? I helped my mom make it.”
“I can’t even begin to explain how much you all helped me with what you did. I really thank you. I love you guys.” Then she goes on, joking, “Even though I was really disappointed to find out there was no secret admirer. I’d started to like the idea, you know?”
“We did it to put you in a better mood,” Karen says. “But we never thought you might think you had a secret admirer. Actually, Maya warned us, but we didn’t listen to her.” Karen turns to Maya and says, “See, you were right, it did happen” Maya then booms, as if she’s a commentator at a soccer game, “So from now on, don’t ever doubt what Maya says.”
Rawan takes a bag out of her backpack. Inside are colored pieces of wood, each of them shaped like a frame, with the picture of a heart inside. Each has written on it “Best Friends,” along with each of their names. She gives each of her friends a frame and says, “I drew it, wrote the dedication, and colored it all in one night. You all mean so much to me. You all helped me out in my darkest hour and stood by me. I’ll never forget it.”
Rawan turns to the schoolyard entrance and sees Husam coming in. She jogs towards him to give him a slice of the jam-covered cake. He smiles. “Thanks, friend. You’re always brightening my day with your delicious gifts.”
Rawan watches her friends from afar. She’d used Husam as an excuse to get some distance from them, since she’s so overcome with emotion she thinks she might cry. She thinks of her friend Ghady. How she misses him and hopes to see him soon! That evening, she writes to him, a big smile on her face.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Ghady,
To my dear best friend who lives far away, across the seas, in a country where it rains every single day of the year. Today was epic, because I discovered a beautiful truth. I discovered that I’m surrounded by friends who care about me and love me, and who wanted to save me from the sadness I was drowning in. I found out that there’s no secret admirer. It was my friends who were sending me those small gifts to put me in a better mood, and they actually did succeed in making me hopeful and happy. Instead of a secret admirer, I discovered that I have dear friends who thought about making me happy and standing by me, without me even realizing it.
I’m waiting for you to come back in June, Ghady, and until then we’ll keep emailing. I’ll tell you everything that happens to me. I’ve nicknamed Jad “summer friend” because we barely meet, but we do sometimes talk on the phone. He’s well, and he told me two jokes when we talked last time. He also told me he’s gotten used to his tons of homework and exhausting exams.
I really can’t wait for spring break and have already started planning what I’m going to do. I’m going to make up for all the hard times that I’ve had. And what are your plans for the break?
Don’t take too long to write back.
Your friend who misses you a lot,
Rawan
A GIFT
ON SUNDAY morning, Ghady puts on the t-shirt his friends gave him. While having breakfast with his family, he tells them about his visit to Daniel, and about the news from school.
“We have something to tell you, and I think you’ll like it,” his dad says.
“What?” Ghady’s voice rises. “What is it?”
“You’re lucky, brother,” Zeina says.
“Get ready,” his mom says. “Your trip is coming soon.”
Ghady looks around. “My trip to Lebanon? You agreed to it? Am I going alone? When? At what—“
“Take it easy, bud,” his dad says. “One question at a time.”
“Yes,” his mom says. “You’ll spend three weeks in Lebanon. The Easter holiday is coming soon, so you can spend some time with your friends.”
“You’ll go alone,” his dad adds. “We’ve made all the travel arrangements, and you’ll stay at your grandparents’ in Beirut.”
“Did you tell anyone there?” Ghady asks.
“I told your grandma. Why?”
“Because I want to surprise Rawan and Jad.”
“Okay,” his mom says. “I’ll call her now and let her know not to tell them.”
“When am I going?”
“Three days from now.”
Ghady bolts his breakfast. As soon as he finishes, he runs to the computer.
He turns it on to see if there’s anything from Rawan.
There’s a new message.
Friday, April 10, 2009
My dear friend Ghady,
I hope you’re good, and that the problems you were having with that group of annoying boys are over. I want you to give me all the details, because Rawan is sooo curious and can’t wait to hear all the news.☺
I’m fine, and I miss you, my friend. I heard from Jad that my friends at school are throwing me a birthday party next Thursday. It was supposed to be a surprise, but you know Jad. He called after I hadn’t heard from him in such a long time, and as usual he couldn’t keep a secret. He asked a bunch of questions about my friends, and I knew right away they had called to invite him. They know we’re close. Anyway, I’ll pretend to be surprised so they won’t get mad at him . . .
I wish you could be with us, Ghady. I feel like I’m really going to miss you on my special day, because I’m going to be with all my closest friends, and only you, my dear friend, will be missing.
Waiting to hear all your news,
Rawan the Curious
Ghady’s next thought delights him: he’ll surprise Rawan at her birthday party! He’ll have to arrange it with Jad when he gets there.
When his traveling day comes, Ghady feels his heart jumping out of his chest. He can’t believe he’s going to Lebanon in the early spring instead of waiting for summer.
On the plane, he sits next to the window, one row in front of the flight attendants. This is totally different from how he felt going back to Brussels at the end of the summer. Now, his heart leaps in his ribcage, a smile won’t leave his face, and thoughts zing around in his mind about what he’ll do with his friends in Lebanon: how Rawan will react to his story . . . where he’ll go with Jad . . . the sun and the warmth he’s missed so much.
From time to time, he checks his pocket to make sure Rawan’s present is still there—a silver necklace with a half-heart pendant that has “friends” written on it. He checks his own neck to make sure the other half of the phrase is still hanging there: “forever.”
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