Chapter 8: Pakistan

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     Dawood awoke slowly and found Rana standing up and fixing her hair in a bun. He sat up and rubbed his eyes slowly before scratching the side of his head and glancing around the cabin. "Good morning, handsome," Rana smiled as she noticed that Dawood was awake. "What's happening?" Dawood mumbled and looked at Ahmed. "What time is it?" Ahmed shook his head and smiled, "You slept through the entire flight. We're almost there. Go brush your teeth and fix your hair." Dawood nodded sleepily and stood up. He noticed that Ruby was nowhere to be seen and the entire cabin was now fully awake. Some people were excitedly chatting amongst themselves as they looked out of their windows and others were busy filling out forms. Dawood headed towards the restroom and found Ruby busily conversing with the flight attendants that had served them throughout the flight. "Right, well then just write all of this down," Ruby said with a nod. "I'll see that something is done about this." "Thank you, Madam," one flight attendant sighed in relief.

     "What's up, Dawood Bhai?" Ruby asked with a smile as she turned to look at him. "All set for your first trip to Pakistan? I hear someone is getting married." "I-how did you-huh?" Dawood mumbled in confusion. "Rana Baji filled me in. I'll be honest, I feel like you'll be eaten alive by the eligible bachelorettes of Lahore, but Rana Baji reassures me that she'll watch out for you. She has awesome judgment so you should be good. Also, your family members are wearing outdated shalwar kameezes. I understand wearing traditional garb, but I get the impression you guys think everyone in Pakistan only wear traditional garb. That's a misconception only first-timers make," Ruby smiled and shrugged. "My only advice to you is to remember, everyone in Pakistan lies. From the beggars on the corners of busy streets to the esteemed politicians of the country, everyone lies. Be careful and don't trust anyone."

     "Even you?" Dawood asked with a smirk. "Oh, I'm being as honest with you as possible. I'm American, not Pakistani," Ruby smirked in return. "Yeah, but your parents must be Pakistani. Doesn't that make you one too?" Dawood asked curiously. "Oh, dear. You've convinced yourself you're Pakistani, haven't you? I used to be like you," Ruby sighed and let an elderly lady pass by her to go to the restroom before continuing. "You don't realize how American you are until you visit Pakistan. Sure, heritage wise, I'm of Pakistani descent but at every corner you turn, everyone in Pakistan will continuously remind you of your American roots. I used to be ashamed of that, like I was an outsider in a community that I should belong in. My struggle in Pakistan for my own identity was excruciatingly difficult. I don't want any other fellow American going through what I had to. Be proud of being American. It's the one thing they will always be envious of, regardless of what they say."

     Ruby smiled at a row of women who seemed to be eavesdropping on their conversation and sighed, "We will always be the outsiders looking in. Why not milk it for all it's worth? One day, I'll share my story with you, Dawood Bhai, but for now, I think my advice is enough. You should go ahead and freshen up. The restrooms will soon be clogged with middle-aged aunties and uncles who reek of fake cologne and hair spray." With that Ruby made her way back to her seat and sat down next to Rana. Dawood watched as some of the women that were eavesdropping, tried taking discreet selfies with Ruby. None of them dared to get too close, but they seemed to be excitedly chatting amongst each other as if they had just noticed that Ruby was on the flight. This was the first time someone of Pakistani descent had told him to just be who he was. In fact not only that, but to milk the fact that he was American. To be honest, he had no idea what that even meant. He had spent a good portion of his life identifying himself as a Pakistani. What did Ruby mean when she said that the people of Pakistan would continuously remind him of his American identity? He sighed and made his way to the restroom. Whatever she meant, he would just have to face it head on.

     After refreshing himself, Dawood headed back to his seat and before he knew it, the captain had landed the plane at the airport in Lahore. "Did we just land?" Ahmed asked in surprise as he watched his fellow passenger's scramble around the cabin for their belongings. "That was the smoothest airplane landing I have ever experienced," Rana said in surprise. "Pakistani pilots are some of the best commercial pilots in the world. They take off and land without a hitch," Ruby smiled and sighed. "The Pakistani people, however, have to be some of the world's most unorganized people. The captain clearly said not to stand up until the plane has come to a stop, but here we are fighting for our bags and standing up in the aisles. The flight attendants will soon come over and start telling everyone to sit back down." Dawood looked up in surprise as two female flight attendants yanked the curtains dividing the first and economy classes apart and looked at the passengers in anger. "Please SIT back down," one flight attendant said irately. "THIS is why you people are never given any respect abroad. You can't even follow basic directions," said the other in Urdu.

          

     It was fascinating watching the pleasant flight attendants turning into wardens as they forcefully removed stray luggage from the aisles and tossed them back into the overhead bins. "Dude," Ahmed whispered as he watched a flight attendant scold a young child who was running down the aisle, "are these the same ladies from before?" "I like these ladies better. Sometimes you need to rule with an iron fist," Rana nodded in approval. "Some people just don't understand rules." "You WOULD like them better," Dawood scoffed. "You're just like them out in the field." "You're damn right I am," Rana nodded and smiled as Ruby whispered, "See? This is why you're awesome." "Ladies and gentlemen," one of the flight attendants began, "we will remind all of you that you are NOT allowed to stand up until WE authorize it. Please, remain in your seats until we instruct otherwise. We would like to remind you that this is Pakistan. The rules of Pakistan are now in effect." Dawood looked at Ahmed in concern, "What are the rules of Pakistan?! Ahmed, what are the rules?!" "Ugh. stop being so dramatic," Rana sighed and rolled her eyes. Ruby smiled and whispered, "You three have a lot to learn about Pakistan. It's nothing like what they show you on TV."

     Dawood was about to ask Ruby what she meant by that but looked around as a hush fell over the plane. A middle-aged Pakistani man pushed the curtains aside again as the flight attendants stood at attention. He wore a slim fit business suit and adjusted his cufflinks before looking around the cabin. His eyes landed on their row and he quickly fixed his gray comb over before standing next to Ruby and whispering, "Assalamalaikum, Madam." Dawood watched as Ruby nodded and said, "Walaikum assalam, Ghulam Uncle." "Your belongs are where?" Ghulam asked as he glanced around. "I have them, sir," a flight attendant said as she held up Ruby's belongings. Ghulam nodded and passed the things over to two gunmen that Dawood hadn't noticed before. "Holy sh-," Dawood mouthed as he grabbed his armrest. "They have AK-47s, Rana Baji." "Oh, don't panic," Ruby grinned and stood up, "they're MY people. Assalam alaikum, Aslam Bhai. Assalam alaikum, Tony Bhai!" "Walaikum assalam, Rubina Baji," the men said in unison and nodded. "Okay, so I'm out of here. I will find you guys later. Welcome to Pakistan!" Ruby smiled and walked towards the exit with her "people."

     "She has people?" Rana asked as she stood up. "Her name is Rubina?" Ahmed asked as he stood up and looked around. "Who was she?" Dawood whispered to himself as he noticed a bunch of people taking pictures of Ruby as she left. "Hey! Why does she get to leave first? Doesn't first class disembark first?" Dawood heard his eldest brother protest from the first class cabin. "Did he just-? Tell me he didn't just do that," Rana whispered as she shook her head. "You heard him, right?" "There's being a douche and then there's being Sulaiman," Ahmed said as he held his hands up like a scale. "Is there somewhere we can hide? He's the pinnacle of douchebaggery," Dawood whispered and shook his head. Rana smirked, "Clever." "Hello, Americans," Ruby called out as she popped back into the plane. "Come on. You're coming with me."

     Dawood looked at Ruby in surprise and pointed at himself in question. "Yeah, you and your siblings," Ruby smiled. "Hurry up. I can't keep holding up disembarkation of this plane. Well, actually I can, but I don't want to." With that, Dawood, Ahmed, and Rana quickly gathered their belongings and headed towards the exit. Sulaiman glared at Dawood and said, "Where do you think you're going?" "Off the plane," Dawood smirked. "See you later, Bhai." "This is unfair," Sulaiman growled and looked at the flight attendants. "Why don't you stop her?" The flight attendants looked at each other and rolled their eyes before looking at Ruby, who walked up to them and said, "Disembark my auntie and uncle up there as well. Get a wheelchair in here immediately." "Why are you doing this?" Sulaiman asked as he looked at Ruby in irritation. "Oh, well, because I can," Ruby smirked and waved at Amina and Harun. "Don't worry, Auntie and Uncle. A team is coming to help you. Have a pleasant stay in Lahore." With that, Ruby looked at Sulaiman and said, "Mr. Entitled Douchebag, welcome to MY city. Hope you learn to behave yourself." With that, Ruby left the plane with Dawood, Ahmed, and Rana in tow.

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