AWESOMENESS.

I HAVE SOOOO MUCH TO SAY.

OMG. Seriously, how do I remember everything?

Ok, ok, let's go back to... Wednesday... oh yeah. Right. So afterschool, I went to the library to re-borrow Reckless (which was akldjflajfhakdsh AMAZING) 'cause it was overdue, and S was there, and he asked me to recommend him a book because I have good taste :D I'm so proud. I mean, yeah, my friends generally agree on my taste, but this is someone completely different, you know? Even more - a guy. I can barely talk to them.

So, I made him borrow Gone - Michael Grant's one, you know? Hope he likes it. All of a sudden, I don't want to disappoint anyone :/

Then... ok, so today. No, wait, let me go back. Wayy back.

So my sister has this Afghan friend, N, who has the typical sort of huge family, you know? A while back, her older sister, who was, you know, young and naive as such, and was manipulated by a family friend's uncle to run away with him. (WOW, she wasn't THAT young, but young as in early 20s, maybe 19, and the uncle was also youngish)

Anyway, he was already married, and it was such a huge scandal, her brothers were baying for blood, and it tore their family apart. N comes to class, see, my sister introduced her to it to help her get through. Anyway, apparently her mother would cry every night, her younger sister was silent for days, and it was just horrible.

Her sister wanted to come back, she couldn't take it, but due to stupid pride and honour issues, her brothers and father wouldn't allow her home. They threatened to kill.

You might actually hear these stories of horrible honour killings. Just so you know, it goes completely against Islam - it's completely forbidden. That's actually a pre-Islamic tribal practise. But the thing about this sister is that she was young, and the males in her family shouldn't be mad at her, they should be mad at the guy. She's young, vulnerable, she needs guidance, she has to be forgiven and taught well. But they won't have her back. 

Can you believe it? She can't go home, she can't see her family, she can't leave this guy 'cause he's controlling and beating her, she's so alone.

But the guy, now he's gone to Taiwan, so N's sister can leave the house and stuff. And guess what? N got her to come to class!

Well, she was supposed to come to class with this lovely non-Muslim Serb friend. Seriously, this Serb chick - she lives far far away, but once a week at least, she comes over to this side, to that girl's 'house', and helps her cook and clean and all that. What a... selfless being.

But the friend couldn't make it, and N and her sister came late at the end of class.

Another thing, we had a new South African Muslim come to class too, and she's so nice, and South African. Awesome, no?

Yeah, and we were going to have an iftar with N and her sister, but then we invited Z as well, and the South African lady, and Sister N, and it was so lovely! We were rushing to get everything on the table, we all squashed together. My daddy went out, so it was just us girls. It was sort of awkward, at first, but then everything went on fine.

And N's sister is such a sweetheart! I can totally see why she was so easy manipulated! She just has this trusting, kind aura, and such a soft voice, and she was so helpful and stuff. I just can't see how her father can let her go.

And then, after iftar, Z, N, her sister, my sister and I, we hung around talking. It got to whether we want brother, 'cause other than N and stuff, none of us have brothers. And N's sister was saying how all their brothers are way too protective, it's horrible, but her younger brother, I, isn't. I is in my year level at school, and heck, he was in my French class for one year. My memory of him was him sitting next to me in French, backstabbing this girl in my class who was extremely overweight, with another guy (yeah, boys do it too). I didn't particularly like this girl, nothing to do with how she looks, but I don't participate in backstabbing like that either. But he turns around to me and says, 'don't tell her, ok?'

And T, who was his company, goes, 'Yeah, she's going to tell her.'

And I shrug at both of them and go, 'I'm not going to tell. I have better things to do.'

Other than that, he hangs around with a cocky set of boys in my school, the soccerplaying wogs, who just swagger around. I didn't hate him, I just didn't... think much of him.

But I heard some pretty amazing - and so sweet - stuff. Apparently, he sneaks to this sister's house all the time, without the other brothers or father knowing, does her washing for her, talks to her 'til 1am on the phone. When her TV  is broken or something, he tries to buy one for her. He burns DVDs and is always checking up on her, you know, texting her like'are you ok? Did you get home fine? Lock the door, ok? Take care'. And yesterday, apparently, he was helping her around the house, and he's like he's going to tell the mother to buy her more stuff 'cause she doesn't have much. (Yeah, the mother knows about it, she can't let go of her daughter... just like it should be) But he just shows so much love, that... wow, I feel so judgemental.

Never, ever judge people.

And N told me that he says I'm really really really smart. I didn't even know he knew me, 'cause I'm sort of invisible. And I told her that, and she said he said I'm even smarter than my older sister, and we're like, 'how does he know her?!'

LoL.

And then after that, N and co went home, and I helped Z with her homework (argumentative essays rock!!)  and we just chilled. We talked more about our embarrassing parents, and Z can do the funniest imitations :P

And now we're just sitting here.

And it was such a nice night. I wish Linch was here! I think we would have had so much fun!

My tummy hurts.

I finished my entry for the school competition. It's rather weird, I don't know if I will enter, but I think I might. I'd hate to think of the whatcouldhavebeen's in the future if I didn't, you know?

I also think I'm going nuts. Some time this week, my sister and I were going to start praying taraweeh, and I turned around and shoved her, then started laughing manically. She tried to kick me, failed obviously, and we started running around like crazy, and my little sisters just stared.

Then, at school on Friday, in bio, we had a sub. It was that awful art teacher I had semester 1, Mr B, you know? Anyway, he's such a drag, we had nothing to do, so Jess and I were being weird. I complained to Dory that I was bored. She told me to hit Jess. I hit her. She hit me back. I hit her again. She hit me again, and we started running around the room hitting each other, 'til we decided on a truce, and we hit Dory instead.


Then, we got bored again, so Jess and I decided to play tiggy. I got her. She tagged M, who was sitting behind us reading. She looked a little lost, but then she got E, and all us girls ran to the corner of the room, waiting for him to come get us. He was watering the plants though, and then Mr B decides to notice and tells us to go sit down.

The game couldn't die, though. After class, I reminded E he was still it. He got Jess, who got M, and I ran off to my lockers. M came to ours and got me, and I got S. He was confused, but he ran all the way to the other locker bay and got Jess, and they started a tiggy frenzy which she ditched with the Asian group.

At lunch, we were sitting around, and Jess joined Star and I, and I started again, tagging her. But there was no one else around to get, so when Dory's group came around, we tagged her. She got A, who was so lost, and we just spent the lunchtime running around this one area laughing like crazy.

At the end of lunch, Jess tagged another person in the Asian group, and once again we left it with them ^^

It felt like year 7 again :)

Anyway, last time I posted a song with no music, as in musical instruments. Here's another one, but it's wonderful, I tell you! Because you seriously cannot be sure that there isn't any instruments- it's so rich. Also, if you're worried that I'm attempting to convert you or something, I'm not, I'm just trying to get especially spiritual for this month, you know? And this song, it's more about love - hence the title of it - so if you don't wanna be brainwashed, this should be ok ^^ Plus, they actually sang this for that last FIFA World Cup, so you know, you can't expect it to be full on preaching. They didn't perform this on the main concert though, because, you know, religious dude next to Shakira, whose hips don't lie... well, it's not right, you  know? :P

Enjoy it, then ~

Peace in,

Laila

Sing, Children of the World

Ok I just have to make something clear about the last song I posted.

I mean, you may not have noticed, but I just feel a little uncertain and I'd rather correct it than forever doubt, you know? So there's one line in the song that says that our Prophet (SAW) is 'the best of mankind'. It sounds all nice, and I'm taking it in the sense that we are to strive to be like him.

But, that's it... right? D'accord? 'Cause you see, in our religion, we're not supposed to distuingish any prophet as being better than another. That's for God to do, you know? So even though Prophet Muhammad (SAW) may be the one's teachings we follow explicitly, we're not allowed to say he's better than Jesus or Moses or Noah or the rest of them.

Just making that clear ^^

Anyway, I had the most exhausting day yesterday. It was just like wake up go to school come home do maths homework help mother cook break fast finish maths homework go to taekwondo go to the mosque come back have a bath help Star with maths homework go to bed. In between, obviously, there was praying and reciting Qu'ran. I'm alive and in one piece, though, so all's good.

So TODAY, Star went home early, sick. I'm a leetle worreed. See, it was this sort of break down thing she's had before, but I don't think she went to the doctor. But it scares me. She just goes really pale, (and she's already pale) has trouble breathing, her stomach and head hurt, she sits really still without moving, and she says she can't see. I can only push her to go the doctor so far, you know? I hope she's ok :/

And I saw the most weirdest thing today! So it was raining, I was soaking as I trudged to the corner where my sister and I, and J and E meet after school, d'accord? And I saw this little doggie running around with apparently no owner.

Just so you know, I'm scared of dogs. 

And this dog is just running around like nuts, and all of a sudden, it just dashes across the road... and it almost makes it but then a car just hits its back and I just totally freeze up and stare.

It yelps, jumps up, and runs back to our side of the road. Just like that. And it finds this kid from our school, and just follows him. I thought maybe he's the owner (though he looked a little uncomfortable), and it keeps following him down the street, and then it just... runs somewhere... and the boy takes off. Ditching it wherever it vanished to.

... Yeah that's it. But it was freaky o.O

I'm reading Reckless, by Cornelia Funke, and I'm loving it so far :D

And I love this song, the words are so nice. And it has no music besides the drums, but it still sounds good. There's no official video, so I've got one with lyrics though some are a bit off. Just a bit.

... (that's sort of an awkwardly bad place where it's stopped, but the song isn't wholly sad :/ )...

Peace in,

Laila