conversation, what is what we was struggling for at our table. Suddenly one a the lady visitors looked up and cried out, ‘Shivers!’
We looked where she was looking. Someone had dragged one of the longer tables over by the fence. There was a bed sheet draped over it like a tablecloth. The sheet hung down to the ground. The table had some food on but no people, and it was shaking like the coins on a bellydancer’s hips. A table with a cloth on was the Villawood equivalent of a shaggin’ wagon.
‘ La ilaha illallah ,’ Azad said under his breath—There is no God but Allah—and he quickly looked away from thesight. Him and Hamid and Bhajan excused themselves and went back inside soon after that. I felt sorry for the visitors, what felt bad, even though they hadn’t done nuffin wrong. So I sat talking with them for a while till they left, what they did soon after they learned that I was a five-oh-one and not an asylum.
The worst thing about Ramadan on the Inside was that everyone missed their families, what was worser still for people like Hamid what didn’t even know if he still had one and Azad, what saw his dad taken away and his mum and sisters killed when they was trying to get across the border to Iran.
Anyway, there we was the next day, walking back from Muster. Azad and me stopped to let Hamid catch up. That’s when we noticed her, this skinny chick sitting in a corner, all twisted up on herself, long black hair hanging over her face like a curtain. She was shaking all over. ‘Are you all right?’ Azad called out. She didn’t seem to hear the question. Azad angled his head to say we should go over.
‘Hello?’ Hamid kneeled down by her side. ‘Are you okay?’
She looked up then and her hair fell back and their eyes met, and I swear it was like one a them romantic movies what Marlena likes what goes into slo-mo at just the point where I wanna hit the fast-forward. Or maybe it just seemed like that later. Anyway, Angel raised her hand to brush the rest of her hair away from her face. That’s when I noticed the bruises on her arms. It was like someone had scraped some a that gold off her skin so you could see she was just made a flesh and blood like the rest of us. Shemusta caught me staring, cuz she tugged her sleeves down and wrapped her arms around her chest. I was pretty sure I seen something else on her arms too what she might be wanting to cover up.
She looked up at Hamid again and made her lips into something like a smile. Then she reached out to touch his face, like she wanted to comfort him instead. He jumped like she’d given him a shock. Suddenly she pulled her hand back, clamped it over her mouth, spun around and started dry heaving like she was trying to turn herself inside out. This was getting way too heavy for me. I tried to catch Azad’s eye, but he was staring at her and biting his lip.
Finally, she stopped heaving, but she looked pale and was shaking again. She looked over with half-closed eyes to see Hamid still kneeling there.
‘Come,’ Hamid said, real gentle. ‘We’re going to take you to Medical. You need a doctor.’ She nodded. Turns out she was on her way there when she got too sick to continue. He handed her a clean tissue from his pocket. She dabbed at her face with it. Hamid helped her up and put her arm around his shoulder. Her head flopped down against his neck. Azad put her other arm around his shoulder and they slowly took her to Medical.
I felt a tug on me sleeve. I looked down. Abeer, a little Palestinian girl, looked up at me. She motioned for me to squat down. She cupped her little hands around me ear. ‘What’s wrong with the new girl, Zeki?’ she whispered. ‘And is she Hamid’s girlfriend?’
‘You’re asking a lot a questions today, mate.’
‘Grown-ups always say that when they don’t want to tell you the answers.’ She stuck out her tongue at me. ‘Come on, Zeki, come see my new pet.’
I figured the others had the situation under
We looked where she was looking. Someone had dragged one of the longer tables over by the fence. There was a bed sheet draped over it like a tablecloth. The sheet hung down to the ground. The table had some food on but no people, and it was shaking like the coins on a bellydancer’s hips. A table with a cloth on was the Villawood equivalent of a shaggin’ wagon.
‘ La ilaha illallah ,’ Azad said under his breath—There is no God but Allah—and he quickly looked away from thesight. Him and Hamid and Bhajan excused themselves and went back inside soon after that. I felt sorry for the visitors, what felt bad, even though they hadn’t done nuffin wrong. So I sat talking with them for a while till they left, what they did soon after they learned that I was a five-oh-one and not an asylum.
The worst thing about Ramadan on the Inside was that everyone missed their families, what was worser still for people like Hamid what didn’t even know if he still had one and Azad, what saw his dad taken away and his mum and sisters killed when they was trying to get across the border to Iran.
Anyway, there we was the next day, walking back from Muster. Azad and me stopped to let Hamid catch up. That’s when we noticed her, this skinny chick sitting in a corner, all twisted up on herself, long black hair hanging over her face like a curtain. She was shaking all over. ‘Are you all right?’ Azad called out. She didn’t seem to hear the question. Azad angled his head to say we should go over.
‘Hello?’ Hamid kneeled down by her side. ‘Are you okay?’
She looked up then and her hair fell back and their eyes met, and I swear it was like one a them romantic movies what Marlena likes what goes into slo-mo at just the point where I wanna hit the fast-forward. Or maybe it just seemed like that later. Anyway, Angel raised her hand to brush the rest of her hair away from her face. That’s when I noticed the bruises on her arms. It was like someone had scraped some a that gold off her skin so you could see she was just made a flesh and blood like the rest of us. Shemusta caught me staring, cuz she tugged her sleeves down and wrapped her arms around her chest. I was pretty sure I seen something else on her arms too what she might be wanting to cover up.
She looked up at Hamid again and made her lips into something like a smile. Then she reached out to touch his face, like she wanted to comfort him instead. He jumped like she’d given him a shock. Suddenly she pulled her hand back, clamped it over her mouth, spun around and started dry heaving like she was trying to turn herself inside out. This was getting way too heavy for me. I tried to catch Azad’s eye, but he was staring at her and biting his lip.
Finally, she stopped heaving, but she looked pale and was shaking again. She looked over with half-closed eyes to see Hamid still kneeling there.
‘Come,’ Hamid said, real gentle. ‘We’re going to take you to Medical. You need a doctor.’ She nodded. Turns out she was on her way there when she got too sick to continue. He handed her a clean tissue from his pocket. She dabbed at her face with it. Hamid helped her up and put her arm around his shoulder. Her head flopped down against his neck. Azad put her other arm around his shoulder and they slowly took her to Medical.
I felt a tug on me sleeve. I looked down. Abeer, a little Palestinian girl, looked up at me. She motioned for me to squat down. She cupped her little hands around me ear. ‘What’s wrong with the new girl, Zeki?’ she whispered. ‘And is she Hamid’s girlfriend?’
‘You’re asking a lot a questions today, mate.’
‘Grown-ups always say that when they don’t want to tell you the answers.’ She stuck out her tongue at me. ‘Come on, Zeki, come see my new pet.’
I figured the others had the situation under
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