This Is It!

the wreck

I usually have a terrible headache after a long flight. When we arrived it was a few minutes to noon. Ariana avoided me and Jem. We were to check in at best hotel in the city but Ariana said it was too expensive. I couldn't even recognise it. It was a wreck. Most of the buildings were demolished. I knew it would take us only five hours to reach our destination but they kept stopping us at their checkpoints.

They didn't give my partners troubles but for some obvious reasons they kept asking me a lot of questions. I felt my heart burn with hatred against them. It was sad to see what the city was reduced to.

Ariana kept barking orders but my mind was elsewhere. We were driving into the place I was dying to be. Nothing looked familiar. Everything that could have helped me find my way was gone. All the street lights looked malfunctioned. Where the great supermarket used to be was just a flat land that was being cleared out. How could someone destroy another person's home like this? It was all just so sad.

"Haytham." She shouted despite of the small distance between us. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Am sorry. I...am... What were you saying?"

"We'll check in at Hotel Bin Ali." She said and I lost her again. If this is what her town was reduced to, then where is she? Did she make it?

The car stopped at what is to be our home for the next I don't know how long. It was big and new, meaning it was not here when I was here. It had a big glass door which had the abbreviation HBA written on it. It was obvious it was made for people like us. The interior deco was too westernized.

At that time I had the most horrible headache ever, all I wanted to do was take a shower and lie down. Sadly the boss lady had something else planned for us. She made us drop our stuffs at the reception and drove us off to God knows where. The headache got worse as we drove on. She told me to stop being a baby when I complained. Everything looked horrible. Nothing was familiar and it hurt. I stopped looking out of the window.

The car was brought to halt at some weird looking building. Our driver mumbled something to the boss lady and she smiled.

"We are here boys." She said with a smile.

"Does she ever get tired?" Jem yawned as he stood beside me.

"No, I think she runs  on vampire's fuel." I said as Jem pulls me forward.

"I can hear you Guy's!"

The four of us walked into one of the offices in the building. A fat Arab man was seated behind a computer. He smiled when we walked in.

"Introduce us!" The boss lady barked. I threw her a dirty look before speaking to the man. How does she expect me to communicate when I don't even know why we were there?

"...finally this is Alexis, our camera girl." I said and Alexis smiled at him. Turns out every media group that arrives in the town has to register with them.

After the long annoying interview we headed for the HBA. I was very mad at         Ariana.

"You made me look like an idiot. Couldn't you give me a heads up first?"

"Nope." She said with a smile.

"You just want to annoy me, don't you?"

"Yeah, and I am just getting started." She smiled as she walked into the hotel. "You should know your place. You're just an interpreter not a journalist."

Yeah right, she thinks I'll like her if she goes all evil and mean to me.