Shadow of Resistance

Chapter One

27 March, 2013. I am sitting on my uncomfortable blue wooden desk in a boring room with its basic blue walls. Is there a reason that everything in the school is blue, blue walls, blue desks, even the pen I am writing with is also blue, it is just so boring. I don't know why I am thinking about this right now, probably because of this boring lecture.

It is an Arabic lecture. I don't really know why we need to take it while we already speak Arabic everyday in our interactions, so why do we need to study Arabic literature, poetries, and especially these complicated grammar rules.

My Arabic teacher really believes it is important "Arabic is part of culture that we have to save and know, if the next generation doesn't know the rules and the Arabic grammar it will disappear and we would lose a huge part of our culture" He always says. I can understand his point of view but I think our traditions, monuments, and history is what shapes our culture and identity.

I am not a lazy student that hates school, I just don't like some courses. To be honest the only courses that I really love and enjoy are history and biology. I feel that they are very entertaining and that they teach us a lot of actual useful stuff.

I think there is a connection between them. History narrates the journey of human civilizations while biology explores the complications of the living organisms. Each of them reveals mysteries whether it is the rise and fall of empires or the complex processes that sustain life. History helps us understand our past, and biology helps us live our future.

"Hey Kareem, I think she looked back to you just a moment ago" Youssef whispers to me, getting me out of a trance. Youssef, my best friend since kindergarten. He is sitting beside me, as he has been for years. We have shared the same desk from the start, all the way to grade 10.

He's the kind of friend everyone wishes they had, always there to listen, and trustworthy with every secret. That's why I confide in him about almost everything.

He is talking about Sarah. I have had a crush on her since the beginning of this year when she came to our school. From the moment I saw her, I felt something different. I don't really know how to describe it, but what I am sure about is that I am attracted to her.

We make eye contact from time to time during the lectures, or during the break. Every time my eyes meet hers, my heart misses a beat. Also we sometimes smile at each other, unfortunately that is all. I have never had the courage to go and talk to her before.

She always sits in the front row, while I usually sit at the back, so I can only catch glimpses of her beautiful face when she turns to look at me. During boring lectures like this one, I often find myself mesmerised by her long, silky smooth brown hair, which gleams with a golden shine when the sunlight hits it.

I hear a soft sound coming from the window, and when I look over, I see a beautiful Palestine sunbird perched there. This small bird has a long, downward-curving beak, and most of its feathers are dark. What's so magnificent about it is how its black feathers turn glossy blue in the light. I've always loved the Palestine sunbird and enjoy every moment spent watching it.

I even convinced my family to buy plants for our balcony to attract sunbirds, and it worked. Every morning, I find a Palestine sunbird visiting our plants for nectar. I named it Pepper. Sometimes, I like to imagine that this is the same bird that comes to our balcony and that it recognizes and follows me everywhere. I kept watching it until the Arabic lecture ended.