Shadow of Resistance

Chapter Three

The school isn't far from our home, so we always walk back together. Usually, we chat about our day, sharing stories and laughs, but today I'm unusually quiet. My mind is completely occupied with thoughts of Sarah and what I could talk to her about the next day.

We reach home, and find my mother has prepared us some Arayes for lunch, it is a dish that consists of bread, meat and onions baked in a special way. I finished eating, revised today's lessons then packed my bag for tomorrow's outing. I then keep trying to sleep for a long time as I can't stop thinking about things that I will be doing with my friends tomorrow after school.

Mom woke us up to get dressed after she prepared breakfast. We all sit together to eat, and as I am savouring the hot falafel she made, she says, "Take Omar with you on your outing." I groan inwardly. I hate taking him along, he always ruins everything with his childish antics. "What? But why? He has his own friends, and I have mine," I protest, my voice edged with frustration.

"His friends cancelled their plans for today, so he'll go with you and your friends. Why not?" she replies calmly. "Fine, Mom," I mutter, feeling defeated. I glance over at Omar, who is grinning his goofy, childish grin, clearly thrilled.

As we're walking to school side by side, Omar suddenly jumps in front of me, facing me as he starts walking backward. With that same silly grin, he asks, "So, where are we going after school?" He is really getting on my nerves right now. "Just shut up and get out of my way," I say, with a poker face.

We arrive at school and we spend our day. It was just a normal day. The bell rings and the day ends, all my friends go to change their clothes to be ready for our first activity of the day which is basketball, but I want to do something before I change my clothes. I want to try getting Sarah's number to talk with her on whatsapp during this weekend.

I walk up to her, and we exchange quick greetings. I blurt out, "Can I get your number?" without saying anything before it. My heart starts racing, and I immediately regret this and wish I could go back in time and stop myself. What was I thinking? "Yes, sure." she smiles and says, I can't believe that she actually said yes! We exchange numbers, say our goodbyes, and I head off to get ready, still in shock that this actually happened.

I guess honesty is the best policy as they say. Maybe she didn't agree because of something I did, maybe she likes me back. I don't know, I will try not to think a lot about it and just let things flow.

We go to the basketball court. It is me, Omar and five of my friends. We are not able to be divided into two equal teams as we are not an even number because of Omar. I don't want him to play, but he and my friends insist so it ends up with Omar in my team and playing 4 vs 3.

We all have some experience with basketball, so the game was a blast, filled with energy and friendly competition. But that was just the warm-up. Next, we go to try something new, skateboarding. We rent some boards and start practising, but it quickly becomes clear that skateboarding isn't as easy as it looked. Youssef is the only one who manages to stay on his board, while the rest of us spend most of the time tumbling to the ground and laughing at our failed attempts. After half an hour of wipeouts and mounting frustration, we finally give up, return the skateboards, and decide to move on to the last activity of the day.

We head over to rent bicycles, the one I have been waiting for. I really love cycling, the rush of the breeze against my face, the beautiful streets and scenery we pass by as we ride, and especially the thrill of racing. For Omar, it's his first time, so we spend about half an hour teaching him the basics. Honestly, he's killing the vibe with all the stops and wobbles, but eventually, he gets the hang of it. Finally, I manage to break away and have some real races with Youssef, and it's just as fun as I imagined.

We arrive at the store to return the bicycles and pay. "Can you wait here for a moment?" Youssef asks me and Omar before he and the rest of the group take off running. I stand there, confused, with no idea what's going on. I glance at Omar, but his expression tells me he's just as clueless as I am.

A few minutes later, they come back with a cake and start singing "Happy Birthday." I'm completely surprised. My 16th birthday is tomorrow, but I didn't expected them to remember. I glance at Omar again, his shocked expression mirrors mine, so I'm pretty sure he didn't remember.

We all dig into the cake, laughing and celebrating. As Omar and I walk home afterward, I can't stop smiling. It was an unforgettable day, from the activities we enjoyed to the surprise cake. And, of course, I'll always remember the day I exchanged numbers with Sarah.