Chapter 4- My Birthday

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عيد ميلادي

   I made the top 24! Twelve girls and twelve guys made it in. Mike, Rick, and Shelly made it in also.

   It's now half way through the sean and I've never been in the bottom 3.

   The world knows about me now. I've been on Youtube, the news, magazines, you name it. The Middle East has my back too. Some of the biggest news channels come to interview me too. They've shown me that there's so many Arab fans of me. Of course, I get emotional and cry happy tears. My picture's everywhere on the streets there and there's a Facebook group that's called (in Arabic), "I'm an Arab and I support Alina Kanaan." It's a big, big group with about 1,000,000 likes.

   I already have gotten an oppurtunity to get signed from the record companies "Rotana", "Melody", and "In2Musica". They're huge companies, especially Rotana.

   Meanwhile, I've been teaching Mike about Islam and he's very interested with it. But one day, we had a heart to heart conversation about religion. He told me that his parents are Christian.

   "I might want to convert to Islam sometime. It's so interesting. It's so true." he said. He's been reading the Quran translated to English. He also wants to learn Arabic.

   "Well, if you do, just tell me when and I'll help you."

   "Thank you, Alina." he held my hands for a second and looked in my eyes. Hequickly let go. That was when the feeling of true love entered me again. I then realized that my mother was right. He is a great marriage partner.

   Now, he's deciding on a date to convert.

   "Maybe on my eighteenth birthday." he says as we eat dinner.

   "Good idea. When is your birthday anyways? You've never told me."

   "May 4, 1992."

   "April 28, 1993." I reply. He smiles.

   "So close." he says.

   "It is so close. So, do you want to convert that day? The local mosque here is great."

   "Sure. I want to convert in the morning."

   "Your parents know that you want to convert, right?"

   "Yes, they're fine with it. They haven't studied Islam, but they know that Muslims believe in one god."

   "I love that your parents approve."

   "I was worried." we laugh together.

 

   Tonight's my birthday and elimination night. I hope that my journey doesn't end here even though I'm promised to be signed in the Arab world.

   Ryan has just got the bottom 3 in their spots. Thank goodness I'm not in the bottom 3. Shelly, Mike, and Tania are. Tania grew up in Seattle, Washington. She has beautiful black hair with brown eyes and dark skin (darker than mine). It's time to find out who's leaving.

   "Will the bottom 3 please join me at the center of the stage?" Ryan asks. The bottom 2 walk over. Now, they join hands.

    "The person who's safe is......." everyone shouts out their favorite. "Shelly." The crowd goes crazy. Shelly joins Rick and me in the chairs, hugging her.

   I'm still nervous for Mike. I would hate it if he went home.

   "The person that will be leaving us is......." he pauses for a minute, "Tania". Sge hugs Mike and we walk up to her to hug. She then sings her songs and cries and I cry for her.

   There's now four of us left. It's gonna start to get tough.

   Now, Rotana Khalijah wants to interview me. I go to the break room and the man is sitting there. I sit across from him.

   "Hello Alina. How are you?" he asks me in Arabic.

   "I'm fine, thanks. What about you?" I reply in Arabic.

   "Fine, thank you. Let's start with the first question. How did you feel tonight? Like, did you feel that you could've possibly get eliminated?"

   "I felt extremely nervous for myself and for the remaining contestants because we're all really good friends. I did feel that I could've gotten eliminated. I feel that way every time."

   "Do you like the judges?"

   "Yes, I do. They're funy and give a lot of good and helpful feedback. If I'm weak with someting, they'll tell me how to fix it." The interview goes on and he asks me something no one has ever asked before.

   "In Islam, it's haram for a woman to sing alone. You wear no hijab on camera. How do you feel about that?"

   "I consider myself religious and I try to follow the rules. Unfortunately, I've broken two of them. I love to sing and dance. On my clothes, I restrict myself. I don't wear low tops or mini skirts. My rules for myself are to wear sleeves, no bottoms higher than my knees, and no low tops. I do wear my hijab in public, but not when I'm singing. I still wear my Allah necklace to give me faith."

   "Thank you, Alina, for your time." he smiles and shakes my hand.

   "You're very welcome." I smile back.

   "Eid melad to you also." I guess he knows it's my birthday.

   "Thank you." and we walk off.

   It's time for my birthday dinner. Kara has invited us to go to her favorite resturaunt. We get a huge table in the back.

   The place is red with chandeliers once again.

   My family, Mike and his family, Shelly and her family, Rick and his family, my family, Simon, Randy, Kara, Ellen, Ryan, and I are here.

   First, we order the food. Everything looks so good on the menu. I decide on chesse pizza and salad. Simple meal, but super delicious.

   We then make small talk. I talk with everybody sitting my me. Again, Mike is sitting diaganol from me and he won't quit his staring. I really must surprise him on his birthday. I think ge likes me a lot. Should I make the first move, or should he? Time will tell I guess.

   When I say that I'll be right back, my mother comes with me also. Once we're in the bathroom, she checks to see if anyone's in there. No one is there so she starts to talk.

   "Alina, habibty, Mike really likes you. He won't quit staring. You two should date and eventually get married." she says i Arabic so if anyone comes in, no one will understand.

   "I'm glad that I have your permission. I've noticed the same thing as you have. I just think that if Allah wants us together, Mike will make the first move."

   "I think the same. The guy is suppost to anyways." That answers my question.

   Now we come out and act cool. We notice that the food has come. My mouth starts to water because of the aroma. I take a seat and dig in. The cheese is so warm. The sauce is the best I've ever had. The crust is warm and crispy, just the way I like it. The salad is a Medittereanian blend, which reminds me of home.

   Next, the birthday cake comes out. Everyone starts to sing as my cake gets set in front of me. The cake is chocolate with vanilla cake and "cookies and cream" ice cream in the middle. The cake says "عيد ميلد الينا" which means "Happy Birthday Alina". There is exactly seventeen candles.

   The whole resturaunt claps after the singing ends. We all dig in to the yummy cake. Now, it's present time.

   The first present is from Hussein, Rabia, and Mustafa, their new son. It is a Nancy Ajram poster and a necklace with the letter "A". Nancy Ajram is my favorite singwe in the whole world.

   Next is from Khadijah and Ziad. It's a blue, silky hijab with a pink under piece. They also got me an Amr Diab poster, my second favorite singer.

   Now it's from Amal, Ahmed, Rahim, and Mila. It's a green hijab with a black under piece.

   Shelly's family gives me a flower necklace and Rick's gave me a flower bracelete. For Mike, I see purple roses with a purple sequened hijab and a lighter purple under piece. As I look at the roses, I see a sparkly thing in there. When I take it out, I see a necklace with "لله" which means Allah. No wonder he asked me what my favorite color is the other day.

   I hug everyone including Mike, I could tell that he's enjoying it.

   I'm glad that my parents say that my present will come soon. My birthday will last.

  

Reviews

[Huggy Bear]

Great Chapter. It was written well:)

[Coyote Poetry]

The complete chapter was amazing. I like the interview.. It would take great courage to be different in the USA or anywhere. I like her answers. I like how she thinks. You have create strong characters and a excellent story. When we understand the world of other cultures. We can understand and respect their belief. A outstanding chapter.
Coyote