Summer Hot as the Sun

"Hello passengers! You have now arrived in Beirut, Lebanon." The pilot said through the intercom of the plane in the language that I dreaded to hear---Arabic. This means that for the next 6 weeks I will no longer speak English. Isn't this great? Let me explain.

I'm Raymonda Monzour. Most call me Raymee. Both of my parents are from Lebanon and moved to New York when they were in their 20s. But, they still want to reserve our Lebanese heritage so I was taught Arabic and I'm sent to Lebanon every summer for a week. But, this summer they're making me go for 6 weeks, and worse of all, they aren't going to be there. So, I'm staying with my aunt Naya and uncle Fareed.

I put away my sketch book that I was drawing in and got out of my seat. In case you're wondering, I'm an artist. I draw anything and everything I can think of. Realistic drawings, Abstract drawings, Anime, designs, anything I feel like.

When I got to the baggage claim the first sound that I heard was my aunt Naya calling my name. She's so embarrassing. She ran up to me and kissed my left cheek my right cheek then my left cheek again. My cousins Rima and Rayya who came to pick me up too did the same gesture.

"Raymee! How are you, how are you?" My aunt said cheerfully.
"Well, how would you feel if you were away from home for 6 weeks with none of your friends, or either of you parents?" I muttered.
"You better not act that way when you see Carole. She'd start crying on you." Raaya said. Raaya and I were the same age but we're nothing alike. For one she dressed like a hoe. A great example would be the outfit she's wearing now-- jean shorts that could possibly be mistaken for underwear and a white tank top that makes her pierced belly button more obvious than it should be with a neckline so low that if it was even a centimeter lower then she'd be arrested for public nudity. Where as I was wearing a black batman t-shirt, some cari jeans and dark blue sequin converse. Second of all, she's always annoyingly positive and optimistic. And the Third and most important reason is that she's probably had 20 boyfriends (at a time) and has already lost her v!-rginty, where as I have shown very little interest in guys. So as a result of these differences, the only thing Rayya and I can talk about without killing each other is her sister and my little cousin Carole who we both love dearly.

"I won't act like this in front of Carole. She's actually an enjoyable person." I spat back at Rayya. Now, you would expect her to probably insult me back. But, now. Due to her annoyingly positive personality, she responded by saying:

"Yeah, Carole is really cute and fun to be around. I'd be lucky to appeal to you as much as she does." with a genuine smile that made me sick.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bags from the luggage Carousel. Aunt Naya led us to the car and I put my bag inside the trunk.

"Who wants to sit in the front?" Aunt Naya asked the 3 of us.

"Why don't you sit in the front, Rayya? I need to talk to Raymee." Rima said. Rima was like a 16 year old me, or I guess I'm like a 14 year old her. She prefers dressing comfortably, actually has a normal out look on life, and is has been dating the same guy for over a year and actually loves him. Plus, she's still a v!-rgin. Both her and her boyfriend are the "marriage before $*" type of people. So I'd rather sit next to her than Rayya.

"Thanks Rima! You're such a nice sister!" Rayya said as she climbed into the front seat of her mother's minivan. Rima and I got inside the back and I mouthed "thank you" to her. Rima gave me a nod that was supposed to say "your welcome".

"So, you're staying in the guest bedroom that's next to mine. If you ever want to talk or anything in English just come in. I know how annoying it must be to not speak in your first language." Rima whispered to me.

"Thanks. I'm glad that you and Carole are such great cousins. Rayya and Oliver on the other hand..." I said.

"Yeah...they aren't the greatest siblings either. Believe me." Rima said. In case you're wondering, Oliver is my 12 year old cousin who's probably the most obnoxious kid you will ever meet. And he's really $*ist. He believes that guys are superior and that girls are weak and all that crap.

"haha that probably wouldn't be fun. And I like what you did with your hair! It's actually going down!" I said. We always made a joke because Rima's hair was really black and curly. But, she liked it short so the curls kind of stuck out everywhere. But she curled it with a curling iron and it actually went down. My hair is a lot like hers except longer, and I usually had it in a pony tail.

"Thanks! I do this everyday now!" Her dark brown eyes twinkled in confidence like they usually do when someone complimented her.

The rest of the car ride was silent until we arrived at my aunt's condo building. It looked the same as it always did, except for the fact that a guy was sitting on the stairs in the front. And not an ugly guy either. he had big brown eyes with a flirtacious glint that I could even see from 20 feet away. His tan skin complimented his long, straight black hair that was blowing in the wind, making him look even more model like. I wouldn't have made anything of it, if it wasn't for the fact that he winked at me.