Don't Tell Aviv (1)

It's a beautiful afternoon. 12:45 and I had just left the campus. I approached the front campus and at the fountain in front of school, Ben and Chaim wait for me there. We made plans to go to the beach and cool off from the blarring sun so we take a train to my place in Florentin and from there we head out to the Marina. The sun is brighter than usual but all we're grateful for is the sand between our toes and the thought of frigid waves pushing us down. As we walk and people gaze I saw three guys hanging out on a cabana. Foreigners. Are eyes meet with theirs and they scan us up and down. One had his Keffiyeh around his neck. He was tall and had very dark wavy hair with bangs covering his eyes. He had a strong jaw line that shot straight down. His eyes were almond shaped and he had mahogany skin. The other looked average. Dark hair, small eyes, long nose, some body hair. The other one had lighter brown eyes and a lighter complexion. He was more muscular than the other two. One turns and whispers to the tall one in the ear. We ignore them. Ben though takes it in and says something vulgar under his breath. I could care less about what anyone says about us. Ben and Chaim obviously do. We put our stuff down and lay our towels out.

We splashed around for an two hours and basted our olive skin color two shades darker. I then hear my name being shouted out from the distance. "Eli! Eli!"I turn to see a 6'2" guy running towards me. It was Adham. Adham is a good friend of mine. He was different from all my other friends that I was obligated to stick with. Ben and Chaim nod gracefully.

"Elijah! Hey! I saw you coming out of the water and I just had to say hi. What's up? How long have you been here?"
"Adham! Bro! What's up? We were here for about
an hour or two. We're gonna get some drinks now.
Wanna join?"

I sensed that Chaim and Ben did not like the
sound of that. They sized up Adham. The cracked a fake smile that burned their skin through. Adham caught it instantly.

"Actually, I think I might stay a little longer...But uhh maybe next time."
I look at my Chaverims..."Oh okay. Yeah maybe next time"
"Thanks anyway. See you around. I'll call you."
"Alright bro. Have a good one."

Walking to the open showers, I look back and find Adham roaring with laughter with his friends. Ben and Chaim were my best friends but their antipathy towards Arabs stuck out like a thumb...As you can see. We shot some citron and went our seperate ways and I head back to Florentin. As I enter my apartment, my answering machine Blinks the number 2. Two unheard messages--the first was from my aidel mother nagging about calling her. The next one was from Adham. I was surprised that he really did call me.

"Hey Eli! You still want to hang out? I'll be at Little Prague at 6. Hope to see you. Ciao"

It I didn't want to turn him down for anything. It's now 4:30 I run to the shower and find something fresh to wear. I'm out the door and the evening never felt so ambient.