Civil Blood

Chapter 1

“Have you ever thought Awra, that maybe we’re not Juliet, but Rosaline?”

“Huh? Are you talking about those English stories again? You know that I haven’t read those.”

The already harsh morning sun beat down relentlessly on the two girls’ covered heads. Their faded book bags bounced in unison on their hips, as the sound of children playing floated over the roof tops with the muffled sounds of markets awakening. Awra’s old black hijab contrasted sharply with Lena’s red and gold fitted one. Somehow she always managed to get the best materials at cheap prices, and Awra suspected it had something to do with her effortless charm.

Lena shook her head in apparent disbelief – it always baffled her that her best friend didn’t know Shakespeare. “I’ll explain again. There’s basically two feuding families, and this guy and girl from the two families meet at a party and fall in love. But because they are supposed to be enemies, they cannot be together. It’s a tragedy.”

Awra thought over it for a minute.  “Okay, okay, I get it.” The stony road hurt Lena's feet as the girls stood at a crossroads and watched a tiny car with only two doors and in five shades of paint bounce along. Most things in Gaza where like that - old and mismatched. 

“Finally!.” Lena mock applauded her, then glanced at her watch, only to find that they were going to be late to classes. With a yelp, she grabbed Awra’s hand and sprinted away, pulling her along helplessly. She ran for close to 5 minutes, through narrow echoing streets and the wide roads of Gaza already heaving with the weight of people, never slowing down just pulling Awra with more force.

They finally reached the university just in time, and Lena released her friend’s hand. The imposing building loomed in front of the girls, looking more like an enormous apartment block than a place of learning. The unique 3 and 4 storey arched windows sparkled with the morning light, and Lena breathed it all in. She made to jog up the steps and realised that Awra was still behind her.

“Hey, what’s the matter with you?” She was bent over double, wheezing and choking.

“Khara… Khara. I think I’m dying, idiot!”

“You have to get in shape! Now hurry up, I’m going to be late for English and you’ll be late for Arabic! Professor Essa won’t be happy …”

Shooting dark looks at Lena, Awra clamoured up the stairs and into her class, having to detour around the building to avoid the blocked corridor where the shells had hit. Every time she went to her university, she was reminded – if things flared up and they were hit again, it might be her class room that would be destroyed.  It was a scary thought, but whenever Lena was there, there didn’t seem to be any threat whatsoever. She had that way of making people around her forget all their troubles.

Awra stumbled into class and was rewarded by an icy glare from the professor. He had alreadly started the lecture, and she had to hurry to a spare seat at the very back of the room.

The day trickled by painstakingly slowly, the heat sticky and oppressive. Awra yearned to be at the front of the hall, near the jittery fan to get some fresher air. The professor monotonously droned on and on, his scrawling script covering miles and miles of chalkboard. He was going into exteme depth about an work by a famous poet, she forgot who. The other students looked alert and several were asking questions over and over again. Awra had no idea how, she was busy wondering whether it was medically possible to die of boredom. 

The poet took up the best part of the morning, lunch was a rushed affair, and afterwards, to Awra's despair, there was more poetry. This time it was a long, winding poem about death and life, and she had no idea how to analyse it. 

It was a struggle to stay focussed, and after a couple of hours Awra gave up the ghost. How long was she supposed to analyse one short poem, for crying out loud! Instead she simply gazed out the cracked window and daydreamed about going for a cool dip in the sea, perhaps with a handsome man by her side …

“Hey! Are you paying attention in my class, girl?” Awra was snapped out of her reverie with a jolt. The crazed Arabic teacher had his eyes locked onto hers, and she felt a trickle of dread in the pit of her stomach. A little dribble of spittle clung on the end of the professor’s chin, and Awra felt sick just looking at it. She had been in this class for almost a year, and it frustrated her that the professor didn’t even bother to use her name.

“I’m sorry sir, I was distracted.” Professor Essa strode through the desks to stop in front of Awra, a steely glint in his eyes. The man must have been 50 at least, and had the patience of a squirrel on estasy. She and Lena mocked the professor relentlessly due to his obvious comb over that he loving stroked with gel each morning.

“Clearly.” The word was spat out and felt like a slap across her face. “May I remind you that this is not your house and I am not your mother, so I will not wipe your arse for you? I will not repeat my lesson so you had better pay attention, Majdoube.” Humiliation overcame Awra, and she bowed her head in shame as the other students sniggered and mocked her. The end of the day couldn’t come quick enough, and when the professor finally let them go, she was the first to leave.

She practically ran down the steps to where Lena waited impatiently. “Hey what’s wrong?” She had noticed the budding tears in her friend’s eyes. Awra swiftly wiped them away.

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s just get out of here, I want to go home and relax.” Lena linked arms and they started to stroll back to their flats. Awra had managed to leave home and now rented a poky little flat with a toilet that didn’t always work. Lena yearned to move away from home and her overwhelming family, but her father wouldn’t let her stay with Awra. He said no good would come from two young girls living alone with no men to protect them, and they would end up in a very bad place.

“Speaking about that,” Lena’s voice turned wheedling, and Awra eyed her suspiciously. “We could stay home, or… we could go out and meet people.”

“Oh Lena! We went out last night, and the night before. Besides, you know it isn’t safe on the streets.”

At that Lena rolled her eyes. “We live in Gaza, Awra. When is it ever safe? And I want to meet people! I need to get away from my family. Please, come with me? We could meet some guys …”

Awra couldn’t say no to her friend, and she found herself nodding. “Fine, but not for too long! I really need to catch up on my course work. Essa’s even worse than usual.” Lena smiled, a genuine grin that light up her whole face.

“Thank you Awra. Now, tell me what happened today?” The girls laughed carelessly as they walked home while Awra exaggerated the spittle on Professor Essa’s chin.

“You should have seen it Lena! It was rolling right down his chin! I was afraid it was drop onto my desk and leave a stain…”

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A/N Hi guys! This is the first chapter of my new story, I'm debating whether to continue it so some comments would be nice!  

Khara = Shit

Majdoube = Idiot

Thanks for reading :)