Chapter 13
SaraTehran
January 2001
The night of the Safavis’ party
Sara leaned against a wall, watching the crowd gyrate on
the dance floor. Girls swayed their hips and waved glowing cigarettes in the
hot-bodied air. Boys swaggered and tried out moves from MTV. Sara sipped the
rum and coke that Arash, the boy whose house this was, had thrust at her
before taking Sima upstairs. They had been gone for a while now and she
hoped Sima was OK; Arash was older and had a reputation. It was late, almost
three in the morning, but still hours before they could sneak back home.
It was at the Safavis’ that Sima had whispered to her
about Arash’s party. She had a crush on him and was convinced he was
making a move by inviting her. “You have to come,” she pleaded,
wide-eyed. So Sara said sh
