Ch 7 - Boys with Abayas

They were on the road again, sirens blazed behind them. Lina squeezed Ahmed’s waist as another car careened out of the Yamaha’s way. He didn’t protest, it was too late for that. Alarmed voices screeched from the megaphones amplified to such an extent that the muttawa’s voices garbled into a long string of gibberish. Lina risked a cursory look back.
“What are they saying?” She shouted into the gushing wind.“They want us to stop, if we don’t then they will set up a road block ahead.”“No! We can’t stop!”“We won’t. Just hold on tight!”The Yamaha lurched forward increasing the distance between them and the Fortuner which came to an indignant crawl behind the dense mesh of confused road users. Up ahead Lina could see Mazen and Fawzi beckoning to them from under a traffic light, Fawzi stood on the foot rest signaling for them to pull up alongside their gleaming Suzuki. “Just like Hollywood? Huh?” Fawzi grinned from behind his checkered scarf. He had wrapped somebody’s headpiece around his own head bringing the ends over and across the lower part of his face so that it acted as a shield, protecting his face from the authorities.“Even better, Fawz. Who needs Hollywood when we got the same action here? Eh?” They boys laughed high fiving each other. “Shall we run the lights?” Ahmed nodded towards the furious barrage of cars that came from the left. “Don’t think we would get across, Ahmed. We could go right?"“Across is better!” Mazen made the decision and adjusted his wing mirror checking on the Fortuner’s progress.The digital clock above the traffic lights displayed another forty seconds to go, and Lina looked back again. She could see the distant flashing lights of the police but the Fortuner itself was only a few cars behind the bikes. Luckily no one gave the authorities easy pass on the roads, the cars inched painstakingly forward buying the bikers enough time to see the traffic lights through.Another twenty seconds clicked by and Mazen let out a shout, “ah shit!”Both Ahmed and Lina swiveled around and inhaled sharply. The Fortuner had been abandoned and three men dressed in flowing robes and long beards weaved through the parked cars towards them.“Go go go!” Ahmed nudged twisted his fist around the throttle.“Where?” Mazen revved his engine in response.“Yalla!” Ahmed launched into a string of Arabic and hit the gas.Lina let out a small scream as their bike headed straight into the river of traffic that crossed the road ahead.This is it, we’re gonna crash! Her mind screamed. She clenched her thighs hoping that she would stay upright on the bike for as long as possible. Horns blared and time slowed to a series of blips that crammed Lina’s mind with vivid images from her life.Her parents. The hospital. Her bedroom and the most painful of all, London. She knew in that instant she wanted to see it again, she couldn’t let life end in its infancy.There was the shrill squeal of rubber on tarmac, the bike tipped left and Lina felt herself fall. The black river of asphalt rushed up to welcome her but Lina didn’t want to see the final moments of her life, she squeezed her eyes shut and said a mental apology to her mum, who she knew would never recover from this choice her daughter made.“Lean right!” Lina’s mind acknowledged the order, but her body was still preparing for the brutal impact. “Lina! Right!”
Lina snapped to attention and automatically leaned right, she felt the seat level out underneath her and the bike straightened itself, balancing their body weight. Exhaling in relief at still being alive, Lina marveled at the hair raising U-turn Ahmed had just executed. With the authorities screaming profanities from the across the divider on the left, Ahmed whizzed past the Muttawa saluting in glee. “Hold tight!”Lina did and Ahmed pulled back on the bars, raising the bike on its back wheel in a movement that could only mean a two finger gesture in the faces of the astounded muttawa. Lina screamed again, but this time the terror had long been forgotten. She let herself feel the adrenaline course through her veins, what a thrill! What an amazing unbelievable self-awakening thrill! Lina rejoiced in the euphoria. A succession of male shouts chorused with her, the air frizzled with satisfaction. Mazen punching the air in celebration while Fawzi went a step further and stuck two fingers up on each hand high above his head, letting out a loud yelp in response to the religious police’s harsh words.The bikes tore through the road and away from the city center. The scenery became a blur and Lina stayed quiet enjoying the bustling city as a man would. Her hammering heart still sounded in her hears blocking out the white noise of Riyadh, but that was okay, Lina had thoroughly enjoyed the freedom Ahmed had given her. The escape from the authorities had been the icing on the cake, and she smiled beneath her helmet, who would have thought such an exciting life could exist in a city such as this?The bike pulled in through the open gates and Ahmed slowed to a stop beside the stationary Mercedes. “It’s open, jump in. I’m just going to park the bike.”Lina slipped off on shaky legs, her knees felt weak as she opened the door and ducked in. Just as pulled the door shut, the front door of the house opened and a tall woman appeared, wearing a knee length summer dress with a pair of house slippers on her slender feet. She appeared young, in her twenties, with long flowing hair and bright eyes that glinted with happiness. Lina watched her call out to Ahmed, who cast a furtive glance at the Mercedes. He rolled the bike up to the door where they exchanged a few words and she beamed pleasantly, Lina couldn’t help notice how happy she looked, how dark almond shaped eyes followed Ahmed around the side of the house and only when he disappeared, did she shut the door with a quiet click. “Who was that?” Lina asked as Ahmed folded his tall frame into the driver’s seat.“Uh, my sister. She wanted to know where I had been.” The car reversed into the quiet street.“It might be an idea for you to change now,” Ahmed said avoiding eye contact.Lina frowned, what was wrong with him? Was he tired or did I say something to annoy him? Disappointed Lina looked out of the window biting her tongue in case she said something else that was improper. A few moments later, she reclined her seat into a horizontal position and reached back for her clothes. Stripping her jacket off, she lay there waiting to catch a glimpse of his eyes on her, but he remained focused on the road. Lina bit her lip and continued to tug on her party dress, she had hoped for a little flirtation to end the night but when they arrived back at her house, he still hadn’t said a word. The street was empty and Lina leant over and dropped a brief kiss on his cheek. “Call me?” She asked, one hand on the door.He nodded and smiled. Lina waited a beat for him to kiss her properly but it never came and she stumbled out of the car confusion etched in her eyes. He waited until she was inside the gate then his car tore away from the curb, away from her and away from the sadness that sat at the bottom of her stomach, twisted itself into an ugly monster that reached up towards her heart. She’d text him. Just to make sure he was okay. She retrieved her phone out of her clutch purse and groaned. Nineteen missed calls. Fifteen from her mom and the rest from Dalya. Thinking fast Lina took an unhurried step through her front door and stiffened when she heard her mums fast approaching footsteps. “Lina? Where have you been? It’s almost one thirty in the morning!”“I was at that party Mum.” Lina braced herself for the Spanish inquisition.“I thought you went with Dalya? She called here asking for you an hour ago.”“Yes, but she went off to talk to some designers,” Lina gave a small shrug, “and I couldn’t find her after that, I even called her but she didn’t answer.”“Oh, well. How did you get home?”“I met a really nice lady, she works at one of the embassies. She dropped me home.”Zari’s features shifted. A look of relief washed over her as she began asking questions about the party. Lina fibbed through them all and wondered how her mother had let this go so easily. Saying good night Lina hurried up to her bedroom and sent a short text to Ahmed. He didn’t reply right away so Lina headed to the bathroom to wash up. When she returned, he still hadn’t replied. Even when the first glints of sun slithered through the cracks in her curtain, her phone remained silent.