I will survive...

 

    It didn't work out. It had been nearly three months what Jenny moved to Lisa's house and Saranda from time to time came to visit her and now she stayed there overnight. Her first sleep-over, she thought  sleepily watching midday air still burning outside. Jenny and her flattery girlfriends screaming in front of some horror movie gulping down chips and coke.

   "How was it, party girl?" Lisa asked driving her back home: "And you wear your scarf, that will make your mum happy, oh, Ilja stop playing with that radio, it's already broken," she looked crossly at the red head boy, who kept turning on the music.

   "She urged me to do it but I would have done so anyway on this occasion, not because of my religion as you would think, but to show your niece and girls something different...at least I didn't need to worry about the hair style."

   "Good on you, lass, I bet you shattered them from their self indulgence." Lisa chuckled as she turned on the last roundabout towards their street: "I hope they haven't been nasty to you?"

    "Is that Dardon's house?" Ilja kept jumping of his seat.

    "The one on the end," Saranda pointed on the right, then catching Lisa's cheeky wink she smiled: "Not really, there is no such a difference between us, you know, and some horror movies are pretty cool, good Dad was not there, but..."

Lisa chuckled again. And Ilja turned around and pulled jokingly one end of her scarf.

    "Stop, Ilja," she slapped his hand and he turned back laughingly, looking back at Lisa she said: "Anyway I am not going to wear a scarf once I finish the College, Mum didn't wear it until we came here."

Lisa didn't answer.

The road stretched before them and the deserted front yard hazed in the shimmering sun.

   "Which one did you say it was?" Ilja looked at Saranda impatiently.

   "Pick one, they look the same anyway," she grimaced at him happy to return his naughtiness. She found as annoying as her brother. They found each other she thought annoyed.

Suddenly Sarand caught her favourite song on the radio and pointed on Ilja to turn it on. "I will survive..." she hummed for herself and LIsa soon joined with her deep baritone. Ilja joined in with his fancy dancing pretending to be a drug queen.

    "I bet your Dad would not like that," Lisa winked at her when the song finished.

    "Do you think I will survive that censorship?" Saranda lifted her chin and tried to grin back.

    "You're already your own person, you will survive everything." Lisa smiled at her encouragingly when she stopped the car in front of her house.

   "Hey, Ilja, look, a war in Afganistan," Dardon turned to them from TV, when they entered the living room.

    "Brrrm, these machine guns our Serbs used to..." Ilja pretended to shoot.

    "Yes, you bastard, on our people they shoot," Dardon jumped on him and they both fell on the floor hitting each other with their fists.

    "Stop you two, you should be ashamed of yourself, you are both Australians," Lisa caught their arms trying to avoid their fists btu Dardon's swinging hand landed jsut below her eye: "Auch."

     "Ooops, I am so sorry Lisa, " Dardon stopped as a frozen and Ilja followed his example.

     "What's going on?" Dad appeared in the doorway coming back from Mosque.

     "I have been caught in a war, I believe," Lisa sighed and winked at Dardon who rushed to her with a wet towel: "Off you go boys, go and play outside, as I am not ready for another blow." And they disappeared through the back door before she finished the sentence.

     "Look at that," Lisa pointed on the TV showing women covered from head to toe in their burgas. Dad sat and watched the images without saying anything. Lisa secretly smiled at Saranda as she joined him on the sofa and continued in her conversation: "You have to admit, that these women are oppessed and that mem can be at fault."

Saranda sat there too in the corner curious on Dad's response.

     "Without doubt, Lisa, but this had nothing to do with Islam's teaching," her Dad sighed watching Taliban's guerrillas, "such people are influenced by their culture and their way of thinking, not because they are true Muslims."

     "Do you sympathise with them?" Lisa asked pointing at the fighters: "On the end, they are just protecting their homeland against another power."

    "They are involved in terrorism, how can I sympathise with them?" He looked up at Lisa waiting for answer, when she burst out laughing: "Saranda, your Dad is too clever for me, where is your Mum?"

     "I think, she is with Victor, it's time for his nap," Saranda stood up and looked at Dad: "Can I go and use Internet, I want to check up if there is a message from Tri."

Dad nodded without taking his eyes from the images of fighting. Lisa left the sofa too and tiptoed through the corridor: "I am going to check on your Mum, it is time for our English lessons." She winked on passing Saranda as she quietly opened the door on Victor's room.

JENNY (January 2002)

 

    Opening the front door she could recognize Lisa's chatter and Mum's relaxed laughter. They have been sitting on the couch sipping Mum's black tea. And there was someone else, a squat girl about her age in a girlish bright outfit strolling around their lounge room with a boredoom look at her face.
She stopped casually near Victor playing with blocks. He watched her cautiously for a while and then opened his mouth.

    "Victor, it is rude to stuck your tongue out at people," Mum suddenly hammered at him and he quickly ran to find refuge in the Saranda's arm. Mum smiled at her warmly but then she noticed her hair tight in a bun and her expression changed:

    "Saranda, where is your hijab?"

Saranda quickly took her veil from her pocket not knowing what to say. Victor grabbed it from her hand and tried to put it on. Saranda felt uncomfortable as everyone was watching in silence. Fortunately Lisa came to her rescue:

    "Hullo my darling," she waved her plump arm at her and then turned to the girl: "Look Jenny, here she is, Saranda I have been talking you about, you make wonderful friends."

    "Hi," The girl looked Saranda up and down.

    "Hi," Saranda replied quietly and then kneeled to Victor to take her veil back: "It's not for you, you silly Billy." She put her veil safely back in her pocket and then pinched Victor's sulky face: "Go play Victor."

Victor ran to Mum, who watched her with silent disapproval.

    "It's stuffy in here," Jenny sneered.

    "Oh, Jenny you are too wrapped up in yourself," Lisa smiled wholeheartedly at her then she faced Saranda: "This is my niece Jenny, she's won the state dancing competition this year and also she is best in her year level, ones would not believe how she can do it..." Lisa admiringly looked at Jenny, who ignored them now, watching closely her reflection in the window.

"Saranda please take Jenny to a kitchen to have a cool drink and then show her your room perhaps," Mum looked at Saranda sternly expecting no refusal.

Saranda sighed and moved slowly towards her room. The girl followed her suddenly talking fast:

    "How can you stand this, so dark here and what is that strange smell," she wriggled her nose as they passed kitchen: "Lisa has told me you hae strange customs, that old cow thinks its fabulous."

Once in Saranda's room she moved around touching staff with open curiosity.

    "Look what you have here - you're such a banger," she touched her old scruffy teddy bear.

    "Cut it out," Saranda grabbed it out of her hands.

    "Sorry," she raised her arms in pretended defence: "And that mother of yours, she is so old fashioned, you know, I bet your father..."

    "What?" Saranda hissed at her.

    "Oh, nothing," Jenny turned around to touch Star Wars posters: "That's cool, we can go to movies, if you want, another episode is coming out."

    "I don't think so."

    "Why not?" Jenny grimaced watching her nails closely: "Do you have any green nail polish by any chance, any will do, I am not fussy...but Lisa she has only that boring purple..."

Saranda shook her head and asked to change the subject quickly: "And what about your parents?"

    "What about them?" She looked at Saranda with disbelief on unusual question: "Dad bought me a new DVD player, come over for a movie night...it's so quiet there now when they split up..."

    "You mean they divorced?"

    "They never married," Jenny pulled her lips to kiss her reflection in the window leaving the wet pink mark where her lips were: "Look this lipstick is really nice, it only cost me four bucks..."

Saranda looked at her with silent question in her eyes so she sighed and continued: "Dad is a bit of a drongo, you know, putting up with Mum's earbashing for so long, finally it's over." She grimaced painfully.

Saranda said nothing.

    "Anyway, who cares, I 'm going to move out with some friends..." she stretched on Saranda's bed expecting her to be shocked: "I hope it'll work out and I don't end up at my aunties' dreadful place."

But Saranda just kept watching her.

     "Jenny, sweetheart, move on," Lisa cheerful voice echoed in teh corridor.

     "Hey? I didn't hear what you said." Jenny shouted back grinning wildly and turned back to Saranda: "So, what about watcing Jeepers Creepers at my new place, righto?"

     "Jenny," Lisa opened to door and pointed at her playfully: "I knew you would be best of friends," she turned to Saranda: "She is a bit or a stirrer, you know, but good hearted like her auntie."