No Sex in the City by Randa Abdel-Fattah Read Free Book Online

there was anything wrong with it,’ I say. ‘If that’s what you want, go for it! But I’m upfront about the fact that I’m interested in marriage – not cohabitation, not a boyfriend,
marriage
. I put it out there from the beginning and it just takes out the complication. You cut out the uncertainty, the relentless interpreting of every text message, every conversation.’
    Marco, at this point, looks like he’s about to puke. Really, I feel sorry for him. He would have had no idea what he was in for when Danny asked him along.
    ‘But—’ Danny tries to interrupt but I cut him off.
    ‘Wait! Let me finish first,’ I say.
    ‘Fine, on with the speech!’ he cries boisterously.
    ‘Just ignore the religious stuff, yeah?’ He shrugs and I continue. ‘You have to admit that the way I approach relationships has a good chance of getting certainty and clarification. That’s what people want. Aren’t the endless D&Ms with your circle of friends about whether he’s ready to commit all about trying to obtain clarity? About trying to align your understanding of the rules of the game of love with his? Well, if you come to the relationship with the same understanding of the rules of the game, then the only thing that’s left is applying those rules.’
    At this point Veronica’s nodding her head, Simon is trying to spoon a floating peanut out of his beer, Dora’s focusing intently on me, Marco’s struggling not to pass out and Danny’s giving me a cocky and totally unconvinced grin. I ignore them because I’m having my rant once and for all, whether they like it or not.
    ‘But if you’re playing the game with the rules of soccer and he’s playing with the rules of league, then that’s a lot of mess to clean up before you even start to work out if you’re both going to end up on the same team. I’m not saying that knowing the rules means both people are going to stick to them, but it sure cuts out a lot of bullshit.’
    Veronica lets out a whopping cheer. Dora nods slowly but looks like she’s trying to process what I’ve said. She’s not into sport, so I’m guessing my metaphor flew straight over her head.
    Marco stands up, rubs his hands together, gives us all a quick smile and says goodbye, rushing out of the bar as quickly as it takes for Danny to down the last of his beer.
    ‘And that’s how it’s done,’ I whisper to Veronica, who bursts out laughing.

Six
    Every month I volunteer at the Sydney Refugee Centre in Surry Hills in a programme called Teenzone. Some of the teenagers I work with are in community detention, waiting for a decision about their refugee status. Others have already been granted refugee status. When I first started volunteering (Lisa helped me get the position), I was helping out with ESL classes for teenagers and adults.
    I know it’s a stereotype but most of the refugees who attended ESL classes were motivated and focused on learning English. At the same time they were struggling with accessing housing, social services and health care. Some of the students were under eighteen. A couple of them had sought asylum alone, leaving their family behind. And while the adults in my class got on with the business of trying to find housing and work, the teenagers were just boys and girls trapped in a cage of adult problems.
    So I approached a digital arts and cultural organisation to run workshops and seminars with the teenagers. The change in the kids has been amazing. We’ve had volunteers come into the centre to offer training in hip-hop music. We’ve had student actors run acting classes. The Refugee Council received a donation of computers and we’ve had some IT training too.
    I try to mix up the classes. Sometimes it’s just help with homework; other times we’ve written plays, songs, speeches and blogs. I’m trying to get a digital storytelling workshop happening, but I basically need to find someone who will do it for nothing because our resources are so limited.
    I feel