EXISTENCE

CHAPTER 2: Yesterday's Events

*Starting this chapter, there will be an accompanying "DZ Dictionary" which lists any Algerian phrases used throughout the chapter as well as their definitions. Enjoy!

She always thought of herself as nothing but clumsy, in all honesty. Today, on her first day of high school, she was supposed to have gotten on her bus, met up with her friends, and found her way to class. She didn't expect everything to go so wrong already.

She checked her Razr. The phone read 10:27, A.M. She was already 2 hours late for her first class. She hadn't even left the house yet. But it couldn't be helped. Someone needed to watch over her dad. She grabbed a glass of water.

He needs to stop this, she thought. I have school to worry about now...

Her thoughts were interrupted by some ruffles and a thud from one of the back rooms. Her dad walked out of the room and straight into the restroom.

It's about time he woke up.

She started thinking about her old friends. Would they still be the same? Would they have changed? She heard stories about how kids usually end up changing in high school in an effort to "be cool". Would her friends do that to her?

Then she thought about him. He wouldn't change, would he? As far back as she could remember, he always had a goofy look on his face. He never let anything bother him, and he was always there for her. Whenever she remembered him, she always felt at ease.

She walked into her room to grab her bag. She had already packed her things and made sure to leave her room as pretty as it was when she came to bed. She looked at her wall where a long, red sash was hanging, flowing along with the morning breeze. She only had to look at that to remember their promise, to remember that, as far as she was concerned, he would never change, no matter what happened. Smiling, she walked out of her room, bag slung over one shoulder.

The first thing she noticed was her dad, pouring a large cup of coffee. She scowled.

"Sbah el khir, baba."

Her dad grunted. "Sbah el khir, benti Rym."

Rym sat down next to her father, fiddling with her flip phone. "I thought I told you we absolutely couldn't be late today?"

Her dad took a sip from his coffee. "Habibti, I know. But my meetings lasted 'til 2 last night."

Rym sighed. "Baba, I'm sure they'll let you have some days off if you asked. It's not like you're bad at your job, after all."

"You'd think they'd at least stop to ask me how I felt. Me, a Mac genius, cleaning semen out of laptops." He shook his head. Then he looked to his daughter. "Guess we gotta take you to school then, hm?"

Rym stood up. "I might be able to make it to third period if we go now." She grabbed his keys and tossed them to him.

Without even missing a beat, he caught them. "Hope you're ready for your first day."

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Adam was bored. High school was hyped up to be four years of amazing experiences? Here he sat in English class being told he was going to have to read and analyze books for grades. What was he supposed to do with that kind of information?

Did the Boss have to put up with this too? He never once told me about this...

He looked around and surveyed the classroom. There were a number of faces he didn't recognize from middle school. A couple of them seemed interested in what the teacher was saying, but for the most part, they didn't seem too fascinated. A couple of kids were on their phones, aimlessly flicking and tapping away.