It’s Arab American Heritage Month, and as always, we’re celebrating with books starring protagonists of Arab descent!
Young Adult
A Guide to the Dark by Miriam Metoui
Something is building, simmering just out of reach.
The room is watching. But Mira and Layla don’t know this yet. When the two best friends are stranded on their spring break college tour road trip, they find themselves at the…
If there is one thing Violet Rose hates, it’s parties. Ever since she was a kid, something about being immersed in a large crowd of people has made her uneasy. It’s something that only worsened as she got older, watching everyone else from the sidelines having a good time with their friends and partners as she was alone and friendless. Her sensory overloads and penchant for migraines don’t exactly help these feelings, either. No, it was much better to stay at home reading a good book or recording another song cover than subject herself to the awful experience of being at a party.
Her therapist, on the other hand, disagreed. She argued that Violet needed to be more sociable and make new friends instead of hiding herself away from everyone and claimed that going to a party would be a good start. That’s why when Frances, her friend from dance class, asked if she would like to go to the party at some football player’s house with her that Friday night, Violet had said yes. She was simply following her therapist’s advice and had absolutely nothing to do with her having a -- completely nonexistent -- crush on Frances, no matter how much Mitchell, one of her best friends and roommates, claimed. Besides, maybe now that she has friends, parties will be a more enjoyable experience.
By the time Violet arrives with Mitchell, the party is in full swing. The house is much larger than she expected, boarding on being a full-on mansion, but the air inside is hot and humid from the crowd of bodies all crammed together. The strobe lights continuously pulse, flashing the colors of the rainbow in every direction as people dance and sway. Despite the loud chatter, she can practically feel the vibrations of the music as it bounces off the walls. Violet grimaces, already dreading the imminent migraine that is to come, and the two of them share a look before pushing their way through the crowd towards the drinks.
“How many fucking people were invited to this thing?” Mitchell asks, beginning to mix them both a drink. “You alright with a vodka lemonade?”
“I don’t even know who’s throwing this thing,” Violet admits, causing Mitchell to snort. “But, yeah, that’s fine. Heavy–”
“On the lemonade and only a little bit of vodka. I know, I know.”
Mitchell hands her a cup, which Violet takes with a small “thank you”. She takes a sip, grateful for the fact that there’s barely any taste of vodka and begins to look around. Frances had texted her earlier and said she’d already arrived, but she’s nowhere in sight.
“Well, I found Charlie,” Mitchell says, and points over to where Charlie, their roommate, and his boyfriend, Vincent, are practically clinging onto each other on the dance floor. “Something tells me we wouldn’t be seeing him back at home tonight.”
Violet gives a noncommittal hum, her eyes lingering on them for a moment. Charlie and Vincent have been together since high school, almost five whole years now, and though it’s terrible, she can’t help but wonder when it’s finally going to end. If there’s anything she learned from watching couples around her growing up, mainly her parents, it’s that love doesn’t last forever – especially when it starts as early as that.
It’s a shame, really. They truly seem to love each other.
“–and that’s why I’m going to be joining the circus and, like, swallow knives and shit. Maybe learn how to ride an elephant while I’m at it.”
Violet blinks, “Huh?”
“Good, you’re back. You zoned out for a minute there.”
“Oh, uh, sorry.”
“You’re good,” Mitchell shoots her a worried look. “But are you — oh for fuck sakes , not this bitch.”
“What--”
“I’ll explain later!” Mitchell says, before he begins muttering under his breath and runs into the crowd.
Violet sputters for a moment and then downs her drink, practically running into the crowd to find him. However, Mitchell’s already disappeared and a, frankly ridiculous, sense of fear arises through her. She can’t stomach the idea of being alone here surrounded by strangers, their eyes all seeming to stare at her as they laugh and jeer amongst themselves. God, she must look ridiculous, all alone and--
“Vi!” A hand grabs her arm, and Violet twirls around to see Frances beaming up at her. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”
“What have we said about calling me Vi?” Violet says, but there’s no heat to it.
“Oh, sorry! I keep forgetting.” Frances laughs and Violet feels her heart skip a beat. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine!” She forces a smile. “I’m trying to find where Mitchell ran off to and I’m starting to get a headache from the lights and everything.”
“Aw, babe, I’m sorry! If it makes you feel any better, I passed by Mitchell over there talking to Cameron,” Frances gives a quick nod and, sure enough, Mitchell is there in a seemingly heated discussion with the coworker he’s deemed his “sworn enemy”. “C’mon, let’s go someplace quieter.”
Violet opens her mouth to tell Frances that she needs to intervene before Mitchell does anything stupid, but Frances grabs her hand and begins pulling her through the crowd. Suddenly, all thoughts about what Mitchell might do are gone and, instead, Violet is focused on her and Frances’s entwined hands. It feels electric and, despite her earlier anxieties, she wants to be stuck in this moment forever.
God, this crush was getting out of hand.
Frances leads her outside to a large garden and sits down on a bench. She looks beautiful, her hair is done up in braids and she’s wearing a sparkly, blue dress. It makes Violet feel underdressed, truthfully, in her plaid, pink skirtall. She shakes her head and sits down next to Frances.
“This place is huge.”
“Yeah, Richard’s parents are fucking loaded,” Frances snorts. “They’re up doing some business somewhere, so he decided to throw a party. It must be nice having money and not having to worry about if shit gets broken or not. Meanwhile, I’m struggling to afford anything other than pasta for dinner.”
Violet huffs out a laugh, twirling her fingers together. Frances leans her head on her shoulder and sighs, making Violet’s heart rate pick up. She clears her throat, trying to come up with something to say, before Frances beats her to the punch.
“Y’know, I was surprised when you told me you were coming to this thing tonight."
“Really?”
“Yeah. You barely come out when the dance group does things, so I just figured this kind of stuff wasn’t your speed.”
“It’s not,” Violet admits.
There’s a pause and Frances removes her head from Violet’s shoulder. Their eyes meet and, for a moment, Violet swears time stops. Frances opens her mouth only to close it again, her eyes darting down to Violet’s lips for a quick second. Without thinking, she surges forward and kisses her, Violet’s hands coming up to cup her face. Frances freezes and Violet panics, about to pull away before Frances begins to kiss her back.
December 10th, 2021
No matter how much Mitchell insists, Violet is only going to this party because it’s the end of the semester and she’s bored. It has absolutely nothing to do with Frances Miller and their strange relationship , as Mitchell calls it. She had chucked a cookie at him when he had said that while Mitchell laughed hysterically, ducking out of the way. Charlie, on the other hand, was not amused when the cookie ended up hitting him in the face while he was simply trying to do his homework. It had somehow ended with a pillow fight between the three of them but, unfortunately, Mitchell hadn’t stopped bringing it up in the coming days.
The three of them arrive at the party together, holiday music playing at full blast, but it isn’t long until they all go off to their own devices. Mitchell, in an odd turn of events, is now with his “sworn enemy” Cameron, and the two of them are in a corner together, seemingly judging the other partygoers as they talk. Charlie, meanwhile, practically ran off the minute he saw Vincent smiling and waving at them. The two of them had a fight earlier that week, but you wouldn’t know it from the way they sway together to the music. Hell, you wouldn’t have known it by the day after , with Violet coming home from work to see them cuddling up on the couch, Charlie wearing the promise ring Vincent had gotten him for their fifth anniversary
She was beginning to think, despite everything Violet had seen telling her otherwise, that maybe they would be together forever – happily, no less, unlike certain family members. It’s... strange to think about.
Violet shakes her head and looks away from them. Despite her denial to Mitchell, she was here to see Frances, and getting caught up in her own thoughts won’t help Violet find her. She begins to walk through the crowd, looking for anywhere Frances might be. Eventually her eyes fall onto the drinks table and her heart sinks. In front of the table is Frances, laughing and cozying up with a boy Violet recognizes from her math class.
It’s stupid for her to be feeling like this, especially since they aren’t together. Despite their kiss, and what occurred after, the two were the same as they were before then. The only difference was the occasional drunken hookup, but even that hadn’t happened since last semester. Neither of them were looking for a relationship, as Frances wanted to focus on her studies and Violet... well, she tried her best to avoid getting into relationships out of fear that it would turn out like so many of the ones she grew up watching. It was easier, and safer , this way, despite her therapist's insistence that it was not and how she looked like she was minutes away from banging her head against a wall whenever Violet told her this.
However, it still hurt to see. It wasn’t like Violet didn’t have feelings for her or anything.
Violet takes a shaky breath, turning around and braving the crowd of people once more. She can’t stay here, not when there’s a chance she'll keep capturing glimpses of the two of them. It isn’t that far from the nearest bus stop and she’ll just text Mitchell and Charlie to tell them she headed home because of a stomachache or something. They’ll probably see right through it, but hopefully they’ll be nice enough to not bring it up again the next day.
“Hey, Vi! Wait up!”
She’s almost at the door when Frances’s voice calls out and Violet freezes, only turning around when Frances grabs her arm.
“I’m starting to think you only call me Vi to annoy me.”
“Only a little bit,” Frances laughs, but then her face turns serious. “Are you okay? You look a bit upset.”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Violet lies. “Just not feeling well.”
“Is your stomach problem acting up?” Frances’s face is sympathetic, and it makes Violet’s heart practically ache. “Do you need a ride home? Because I can–”
“No, no, it’s fine!” Her hands are starting to shake and a voice in her head is telling her to get out now. “I can just take a bus. Besides, I don’t want to be the reason you miss out on that guy you were talking to.”
“Really, it’s no problem. You’re more important to me than a casual hookup.”
Violet pauses, letting the weight of Frances’s words sink in. Surely, she doesn’t mean–
“Because you’re, like, my best friend,” Frances adds, letting out a small laugh. “Obviously.”
Right , Violet thinks. You’re so fucking stupid.
“Yeah...” She trails off, pulling her arm out of Frances’s grip. “I... I should go. Thanks anyways.”
“Wait–”
Without another word, Violet turns and exits the house. Tears well up in her eyes, threatening to spill over, as she walks to the bus stop in silence.
Stupid, stupid, stupid...
October 1st, 2022
The only reason Violet is at this stupid party is because Mitchell practically dragged her out of bed and forced her to come with him.
“You need to stop moping around,” Mitchell had said, sharing worried glances to Charlie who was standing in the doorway. “And you’ve barely left your room for, like, a good week at this point.”
She knew Mitchell meant well, but Violet couldn’t help but be annoyed with him. The last thing she needed was to go to a party after making the worst mistake of her life. Frances had told her she loved her, that she wanted them to be in an actual relationship , and how had Violet responded? By thanking her and running away even though she desperately wanted to say yes. It hasn’t helped that Frances hasn’t messaged her once since then, probably thinking she’s a freak because who in their right mind does that?
Of course, this had to happen when her therapist was on holiday for two weeks.
The two of them arrive together and Violet sticks by Mitchell, who is talking up a storm in a clear attempt to distract her. Eventually her eyes wander and land on the couch where Charlie and Vincent are cuddled up together, swapping kisses and giggling as the pink and blue strobe lights pass over them. It feels weird now to remember there was a time where she didn’t think they would last. Soulmates aren’t real, Violet knows this, but she can’t help but think that the two of them are. She can clearly see the two of them in the future, adopting a shelter of puppies and a kid or two (or five, if the claim that Charlie made about Vincent was true), all while their happiness and love for each other grow to lengths she can’t even imagine.
Violet’s beginning to realize that she envies them.
Charlie and Vincent come over, talking with Mitchell as the three of them try to get Violet into the conversation about what movie they should watch at their weekly movie night tomorrow. She hums and makes short comments when needed, mostly sticking to being quiet. Occasionally she zones out, only to snap back into the present when one of them addresses her. Violet doesn’t know what they’re talking about at this point – they've seemed to have passed the topics of movies a while ago – but they appear to be satisfied with her short responses. They know she’s not exactly feeling her best and don’t try to push, which is something she’s grateful for.
Eventually Violet focuses her attention on the crowd again and that’s when she spots her.
Frances looks gorgeous as ever with her cornrows dyed pink and her white, ruffled dress. She appears to be looking for someone and Violet notices her occasionally flicking the fidget ring she had gotten Frances for her birthday. It’s like everything else in the world fades away into nothingness as she stares at her, the only sound she’s able to hear is her pounding heartbeat. She doesn't know how long it takes, but Frances finally looks over and notices her, seemingly stopped in her tracks. They stare at each other for a moment, the world feeling like it's stopped spinning, before Violet steps forward.
Violet can barely hear her friends asking where she’s going, too focused on Frances. Her therapist often told her she was living in the past, too afraid of what would happen if she took a chance. She’d brush it off and tried play it down, but Violet always knew she was right. This was her chance to stop being afraid, to make things right.
She’s bumping into people, some giving her annoyed glances and mutterings, but Violet could care less. All that matters is Frances, who has begun walking towards her as well.
They meet in the middle, not saying anything for a moment. It feels like a scene from those romance movies Charlie would insist on putting on for movie night, ones she would call stupid and unrealistic as he was curled up in Vincent’s arms. She’s beginning to realize that maybe, like many other things, she was wrong about that.
“Vi,” Frances starts. “I’m so s--”
Violet kisses her and it feels like coming home. She doesn't know how long it lasts until they part, Frances staring up at her with hopeful eyes and smudged lipstick.
“I love you,” Violet says. “I love you.”
Frances grins, looking radiant, and pulls her in for another kiss. Violet knows there are things they need to talk about, but it can wait until later. All that matters is this.
Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire by Don Martin
Verity Vox is a witch-in-training who has never met a problem her spells can’t solve. But when a cryptic plea for help sends her to the forgotten coal mining town of Foxfire, she soon learns even magic has its limits.
Verity discovers a curse was laid years ago by a traveling magician who vanished into the ancient Appalachian hills to seek greater…
आफ्नो नेतृत्वमा सरकार गठनका लागि कांग्रेसको प्रस्ताव
प्रमुख प्रतिपक्षी कांग्रेसका सभापति शेरबहादुर देउवाले आफ्नो नेतृत्वमा सरकार निर्माणका लागि नेकपा (माओवादी केन्द्र) र जनता समाजवादी पार्टीसमक्ष प्रस्ताव राखेका छन् ।
काठमाडौँ । प्रमुख प्रतिपक्षी कांग्रेसका सभापति शेरबहादुर देउवाले आफ्नो नेतृत्वमा सरकार निर्माणका लागि नेकपा (माओवादी केन्द्र) र जनता समाजवादी पार्टीसमक्ष प्रस्ताव राखेका छन् ।
पार्टी कार्यालय सानेपामा तीन दलको बैठक बोलएर देउवाले उक्त प्रस्ताव राखेका हुन् । शुक्रबार सानेपामा भएको बैठकमा देउवाले अबको सरकार चुनावी सरकार हुने र केपी शर्मा ओलीको नेतृत्वमा चुनाव भए लोकतान्त्रिक हुन नसक्ने भन्दै…
