Chapter 6- Truth

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الحقيقة

   It's Tuesday night, which is singing night. We're watching the tapes of us going to our hometown. Mike went to Ireland and Shelly to France also.

   Now we're watching my clip. The part of Matthew and I talking comes on. I glance over at Mike and his face saddens. I don't know what to do. It's gonna be hard picking one. Tomorrow will be exactly a week until Matthew comes, if I make it to the top 2.

   I still have to make the pros and cons list for each of them. I will tonight.

 

   "Alina, can I talk to you for a second?" Mike asks me backstage.

   "Let's take a walk." After we get out there, it's time for seriousness.

   "I must confess something." No more confessions!

   "Yes?"

   "I couldn't stop thinking about you after the auditions. I like you a lot, Alina. I will learn your language and culture for you. Can we make it work?"

   "Is that why you converted?"

   "Part of it. Do you like me like I like you?"

   "Yes, but I have this tough situation going on. You know what guy I hugged on the clip?"

   "Yes."

   "We went to school together in Beirut. I had a crush on him and I still do. I have a crush on you too. The guy asked me to date him. I have to think about it."

   "So, you don't know who to choose?"

   "Exactly. Can you give me like a week to think about it?"

   "Sure."

   "We'll always be friends." I speed walk to my room. I find Khadijah.

   "Khadijah, Khadijah!" I yell.

   "What?"

   "I need serious help!" we're in her room. 

   "Close the door please." I close it.

   "I just told Mike my situation. We went to talk and he said that he likes me." I say in a panick attack.

   "Okay. Calm down. Did you make that pros and cons list yet?"

   "No, but I was planning to tonight."

   "Let's do it now." she gets out a piece of paper and a pen.

   "For safety reasons, we'll do it in Arabic." she adds. 

   "Who do you wanna do first?" she asks.

   "Mathhew." she writes down his name, "مثيو". We figure out the pros and cons of him. Now, she writes Mike's name, "مايك". 

   "I can't believe it! This makes it worse!" I panick.

   "Just because the pros are tied, doesn't mean it's worse." 

   "Then what do you suggest?"

   "First of all, you should calm down. Second of all, let me think for a moment." we sit there and think of a possible solution.

   "You got anything?" I ask after awhile.

   "Nope, but whoever you dream about first is the right one."

   "Okay, thanks. I'm tired now. I should go to bed."

   "You're welcome, sis. Bye." I walk to my room determined to find out who's right for me.

 

   No dream yet. I have a whole week to have one, but I'm still panicky.

   "Mom?" I ask her before the show starts.

   "Yes?"

   "Who would be a better husband for me, Mike or Matthew?"

   "Both of them are great. Why do you ask?" I tell her the whole situation, every single detail.

   "How about this? Your father and I will take them to dinner, but each a seperate night. We'll decide which one we think is the best for you."

   "What nights are you thinking of?"

   "Mike on Tuesday and Matthew on Wednesday."

   "Okay, sounds good."

   "Don't invite them, we will."

   "Thank so much mommy!" I hug her. The show is starting now. We sit through music performances and finally we get to the results segment. All three of us are in the middle of the stage holding hands.

   "One person who's safe is..............." Ryan says. It feels so long. "Mike." the crowd cheers.

   "The next one who's safe is.........." The dramatic music keeps playing. "Alina Kanaan." I hug Shelly.

   "You made it this far. You'll get a record deal." I whisper to her.

   "Thank you Alina." she whispers back to me.

 

   It's great to know that I'm in the top 2. I love that Mike's still here.

   It's Tuesday night and my parents are now at dinner with him. I'm so nervous. Who knows how it'll go.

   I'm sitting with my brothers, my sisters, my sister-in-law, and my less than a year old nephew at a different resturaunt.

   "A toast to my baby sister's success so far. You're doing great." Hussein says and we all raise our glasses. You'd think that we'd be toasting with wine, but no. In Islam, no one can drink. That's why we have sodas.

   "Thank you everyone for helping me get this far. I couldn't have done it without you guys. This is a dream come true." I say and smile.

   During dinner, Hussein asks to speak with me in private. We go outside the place.

   "This probably isn't the best time to tell you, but it's been bugging me. I would've told you sooner, but there were no better times."

   "What is it?" I ask. I'm worried by his tone of voice.

   "After you visited with Matthew, we saw eachother and talked. He told me something that I'm not suppost to tell you."

   "Please tell me!"

   "He told me that he's not really Muslim. He wants to be with you because he believes that you'll become very rich and famous. He's only interested in the money." I'm shocked. I literally stand there with my mouth open. I don't think that my brother's lying. I've seen sit-coms where the person's lover is doing something bad and her best friend tells the person what the lover has been doing bad. The person thinks she's lying because she doesn't want the person to be with him. My brother doesn't lie. He wouldn't.

   "Did he really have a crush on me back then?" I ask.

   "He didn't, but he said that most of the guys in your classes did." I start to cry. All of those nights fantasizing about what could've been. I tried so hard to get him to like me. The one time he says he likes me, it's all a lie.

   "It's okay." he hugs me until I feel better.

   "Be careful of who you want to be with." he says after we're done hugging. "They might just want to be with you for your money. Also, since you don't wear the hijab in this music business, you should be extra careful. You're very beautiful."

   "Thank you Hussein, for telling me."

   "I don't want my baby sister to get hurt."

   "I have a question."

   "Yes?"

   "Do you think Mike likes me for who I am?"

   "Are you kidding? Of course! He proves it just at the dinner table. He's actually talked to me about you."

   "In a good way?"

   "Yes. He's an awesome guy for you." I smile and I instantly know that Mike's the right guy for me.

   "We should go in." he says.

   "I think I'm gonna go to the hotel. I'll see you later." I hand him money for the drink since I haven't eaten yet.

   "Keep it." he says and quickly walks away.

 

  

Reviews

[Huggy Bear]

I love it. Very beautiful written.

[Coyote Poetry]

A very strong chapter. To be young and so many options. From music to love. Poor girl have to make some hard decisions. No weakness in this chapter. You made the story stronger with the added conflicts and decisions. A excellent chapter.
Coyote