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Arabic was our all time favourite class because goum Khalaf were in our class. They always used to come to class late and when they did they'd bring life to the class. Nayef would grab the last seat in the class and prepare for his sleep. He used to crumple his jacket and make it a pillow, and kept moving till he sat perfectly comfortable. Khalaf would sit next to Hamdan in the row infront of Nayef and opposite us. Khalaf would walk into the class like he was royalty, like he ruled the class. He would sit down then put one leg on top of the other, cross his arms, and smile. Hamdan would walk into class leaving a smell of oud that conquered the class. His smell left traces everywhere around school. He would come to class everyday with something new, either new glasses, slippers, sandals, weird jackets, and more. So class started and we generally listened to our teacher explain random arabic stories. 10 minutes passed, Nayef was asleep, Khalaf was listening to music, and Hamdan was moving his seat closer and closer to me. He finally sat right next to me and just kept smiling. I would always look away and ignore him. What was his problem? i always thought. Hamdan took out a small pack of cherry mentos and gave it to me. "Layla" he whispered softly. As he came closer to me, a shiver ran through my spine. "This is my favourite sweet, and i want you to try it" he mentioned. I gave it back to him. He looked at me with confusion and insisted i take it. In order for me not to get in trouble with the teacher i agreed and thanked him. He kept smiling throughout class and doodling on a paper. Khalaf called Hamdan to sit next to him cause he wanted to tell him something. Shamsa was sitting next to me and she kept pinching me. "What's up with you?" i yelled. "Shhh! don't make it obvious!" she said. "Make what obvious?" i asked. "Layla, Khalaf is so hot i can't stop staring" she whispered. I giggled and caught Khalaf staring at her. I felt a strong connection between the two. The way he managed to stare at her from the conner of his eyes and the way he smiled when he saw her smiling. The bell rang and that was the end of our class, it was the only class we never wanted to end. Khalaf punched Nayef to wake him up from his beauty sleep. Hamdan passed by me, smiled with his perfect teeth showing and left. I don't know what it was about him that made me feel a tingle inside. Khalaf stared at Shamsa then kicked a chair out of his way and left class. Nayef finally woke up and managed to walk out of class with his eyes half open. Such a mess he was.

After school, we waited for Shamsa's driver to take us back to her house. Shamsa lived in a typical local neighbourhood filled with lavish villas. We took of our shoes before we entered her house as a sign of respect, then we ran to the kitchen to eat the family's best meal, Machboos. Their Machboos was to die for. After we ate, washed, and talked we decided to try on different Jalabiyas to wear on national day. Jalabiyas are traditional dresses that come in many designs and colors and mainly worn at home or when guests are visiting. We spent the evening playing Rashid Al Majid songs, trying on Jalabiyas and snacking on the side. National day was only two days away.