"Damn you for making me fall in love with you Afaf," I whispered to myself as I sat alone at a quiet corner of the campus library. Last night, Afaf Hafiz boarded a flight for Europe from the Ottawa International Airport, the first leg of a long journey toward her homeland of Saudi Arabia. The love of my life has flown away from the City of Ottawa, Ontario, never to return.
My name is Stephanie Stevens, and I, um, have a story to share with you. Might as well unburden myself, lest all the crap that I keep bottled up inside cost me what's left of my damn sanity. Anyhow, where was I? Oh, yeah. I was telling you about Afaf, the one that got away. That short, brown little Saudi Arabian chick totally stole my heart, and I didn't even see it coming.
Alright, let's get a few things straight, an ironic turn of phrase considering that I am about as straight as that guy from Pee-Wee's Playhouse. I was born and raised in the north side of the City of Montreal, Quebec. My father Stuart Stevens is originally from the island of Jamaica, and my mother Christine Tremblay is French-Canadian. I have two older brothers, Kelvin and James. One is playing rugby while studying at Concordia University, and the other joined the Canadian Army. Our parents recently got divorced, and no, it's got nothing to do with this story. Absolutely nada.
A lot of queer chicks I meet say that they've at times been confused about their sexuality. Or gone through some identity crisis. Me? I'm five-foot-eleven, with long black hair that I keep braided, lime-green eyes and light brown skin. I don't recall the last time I actually wore a dress. Die-hard tomboy from the get go, that's yours truly. I eat, drink and shit rugby. I'm also Captain Obvious when it comes to my sexual orientation. Look up "butch" in the dictionary and you just might see a picture of me.
I don't take shit from anyone, and I don't care what color you are, what religion you follow or what you got between your legs. In Montreal-Nord, I grew up teased by black youths for not being black enough, and by white brats for being too black. Ah, the tragic life of a mixed chick, eh? I learned early on to tell people to go fuck themselves and stay the hell away from me. It works. You should try it.
So, um, I got bored of life in Montreal after finishing high school in 2012, and got the bright idea of moving to Ottawa to study at Carleton University. That's where I met the woman who changed my life forever. We met in the library, the place that was destined to be our special hangout. I'm a nerd through and true, and an online gaming addict. So, yeah, I'm never far from a computer.
"Excuse me please, could you take a quick look at this paper? I just want to avoid sentence structure errors," those were Afaf's first words to me. After a good workout and lengthy shower, I went to the library. I was in the middle of Formula Racer, one of my favorite games of all time, when I sensed someone looking at me. I looked at the short, bronze-skinned and dark-eyed, Hijab-wearing Arab chick who sat at the nearest computer and flashed her an annoyed smile.
"Um, sure, I'll take a look at it," I replied, and the Arab chick smiled as I gave her paper a quick read. It was an engineering paper, talking about the dearth of women in the field, and I gave her points for writing about such a topic, even though from reading the paper, I could tell that English wasn't this broad's first language.
"You've got a few grammatical errors but otherwise your paper was well-written," I said, and the young Arab woman beamed, her pretty face shining like a Christmas tree. I looked into those golden brown eyes of hers, and for a moment, I was stricken by how pretty they were. I swear, Afaf's eyes are almost luminescent.
"Masha' Allah, thank you kindly for this, sister, I'm Afaf," the young Arab chick said excitedly, and I hesitantly shook her small hand. Afaf has one of those infectious smiles that simply get to you, no matter how hardened you are. Typically, I don't like talking to strangers. I keep to myself. People basically suck, and I don't think I'm missing out by not greeting every potentially fake-smiling person I encounter. Afaf, well, that gal was an exception.
"Nice to meet you Afaf, I'm Stephanie," I replied curtly, and returned to my online game. Afaf continued to look at me for a few moments, and then returned to her paper. I sensed right then and there that Afaf was the talkative type, and I typically hate such people. So why do I find myself glancing at her as she typed up her paper? Don't ask.
"Stephanie, I'm going to Tim's for a coffee break, do you want anything?" Afaf's cheerful voice chimed in, startling the hell out of me. I looked at her, forced myself to smile and told her that I'd love a small coffee, with two creams and six sugars. The cheerful Arab gal nodded vigorously, patted me on the shoulder and said that she'd be right back.
"Thanks," I said politely, and watched Afaf as she headed for the elevators. We were on the third floor of the campus library, the dreadful designated silent floor, where there's someone with a Walky-Talky shushing you every five minutes. Being more or less friendless, I never get shushed, except for that one time when my music was too loud.
"Nice ass on Miss Arabia, " I whispered to myself as Afaf turned around a corner, and vanished from sight. What? Are you shocked that I actually checked her out? I'm a L-E-S-B-I-A-N, hello! Girls who like girls check out other females probably just as often as straight men do, if not more. We're just less likely to get caught checking out another female's face, tits or ass, because we're more discrete. Believe me, we do LOOK, alright?
"Hello Stephanie, here you go," Afaf said cheerfully, once again startling me. I looked at the smiley-faced Arab chick and smiled. It's not easy to sneak up on me. Yet this chick moves as silently as a cat. Maybe it's a short people thing. Afaf is like five-foot-three, at best. I thanked her and took the coffee from her, and quiet sipped.
"So, you're into video games?" Afaf said and I nodded while sipping my coffee. I looked at her, and saw that smile moon-faced smile on her lovely face, but there was something in Afaf's eyes. The Arab chick smiled coyly, and I nodded slowly, as understanding slowly dawned on me. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that this Hijabi was flirting with my butch lesbian ass!
"Indeed I am, what are you into, Afaf?" I asked in an even tone, locking eyes with Afaf, who pursed her lips, leaned back in her chair and looked me up and down before answering. I saw amusement in those golden brown eyes of hers, and something else as well. Yup, this Arab chick was definitely checking me out, and for some reason, my heart skipped a beat.