Lameen fixed her hijab more surely onto her head once again when the harsh wind threatened to pull it off her head. Stupid wind! Stupid party! Stupid everyone! She muttered under her breath as she climbed into the passenger seat of her baba’s car and settled with her phone.

It was the stupidest idea of her family. Have a barbecue in the windiest month of the Middle East on a beach! Come on!! The wind was obviously trying to expose all the girls and her khalto’s hair underneath their coverings yet all of them were unbothered and laughing at the talks and jokes that rounded the group.

Her younger sister the betrayer and extrovert that she was boisterously laughed at one of the jokes and cut in with a nice joke of her own.

Lameen grumbled for a few minutes more before instantly feeling the familiar feeling of guilt wash over her. This barbecue was held for her 18th birthday, which admittedly was a week from now but everyone had made the effort to come outside for her because they all couldn’t come together since her birthday was unluckily right smack dab in the middle of the summer holidays and most of their family were traveling, but they’d made the effort nonetheless so the least she could do was attend it.

Lameen sighed and after making sure her hijab was secure enough she stepped back into the sounds of life around her. Quietly she scooted towards her mother who was sitting on the edge of the picnic blanket on a stool. She was just about to speak to her when one of her cousins tapped her on the shoulder.

She pressed her lips tightly together and turned around. “Fatima? Yes?” She asked politely. Fatima wasn’t her favorite cousin but she didn’t also hate her. They’d been close a long while before but those days were obviously forgotten by Fatima since they barely spoke now. Fatima smiled that smile that Lameen felt was condescending but wasn’t at the same time and then she replied, “Could you get me some Fanta Strawberry from the boy's side?”

Of course. Ever since her female cousins had learned that Lameen had no qualms about asking things from cousins and uncles they had obviously taken advantage since they were afraid to go to the boy's side which frankly she found hilarious and downright insulting because what were the boys gonna do? Roast them and eat them? No, for god’s sake! They were family members.

Sometimes Lameen wanted to bang heads together to fuse the one brain cell they appeared to have just so she could make them have some common sense. But all she gritted out was, “Yeah sure.”

She picked up the plastic cup in her outstretched hand and walked over to the boy’s side relieved to see that her father was sitting with the Fanta bottle in front of him. She could feel some of the eyes turn to her and gave a smile at all the amows, who smiled back and nodded. See? Perfectly normal. Her father looked up as she kneeled beside him.

“Hello, baba.”

Her father narrowed his eyes. Why was he always suspicious of her? “Yes, Lameen?” He questioned. Yikes!! What a sourpuss?! Not even a Hi for his favorite daughter? “Do you guys need the Fanta?” she asked looking around the picnic blanket at her male cousins and her amows. When most of them shook their heads she smiled and declared, “Then I’ll be taking this alright.” She closed a hand around the mouth of the bottle and pulled it towards her when she lost her footing in the loose dirt she was kneeling on and fell backward right onto someone’s back.

She froze as did her amows and then flailed to get up. Right now. Okay, maybe she panicked a bit too much. But it was understandable! Her amows did not need to laugh like that?!?!

She took a look at who she'd fallen on and almost cried in relief. Thank god it was one of her third cousins plus he was someone she exchanged reels and book recommendations with so it wasn’t gonna be awkward in his presence.

“Thanks.” She mumbled and Hassan looked up at her and nodded. Lameen didn’t mean for it but she leapt and ran faster than normal. She almost gasped. She felt instant panic and quickly shouted a bye before running back to the girl’s side where it got colder because the boys were near to the gill and only men were allowed there. Boo-hoo!

Fatima gratefully took the bottle from her and poured herself a cup and asked if anyone wanted one. Lameen ignored her and took a seat beside her sister who migrated from the middle of the blanket to next to the sea.

“Hey. Are you done sucking up to our khalto’s?” she sneered. Aisha glared at her. “Shut up. Go back to the hole you crawled out from.” Lameen gasped, “I’m telling Mama what you called her!!” she muttered. Aisha paled, “Hey I didn’t mean it like that!” she whispered nudging an elbow into Lameen’s side. She ignored her. Aisha nudged her again, “Hey. Hey. Heyyyyy.”

Lameen just ignored her till she stopped her ministrations. She wasn’t really angry with her but she was irritated that her younger sister was far better at human interaction than her. She looked around then and caught the eye of Hassan who might have been staring at her.

She smiled and gave a little wave, feeling a blush rise on her cheeks. She watched Hassan take out his phone and type something.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket so she took it out.

He’d sent her a reel. She clicked on it. And instantly her expression contorted to stop her laugh from bursting out. She glanced back up to see Hassan and he winked at her. She immediately looked back down.

Maybe this party was worth it.   

Or maybe not because the very next second someone was tugging her off the picnic blanket and right onto the sand. She whipped around and yelled at the mischievous smile thrown at her.

"Hamid!!"