My Handsome Cousin

Daimon vert

One day, a girl at the cultural club I go to told me that a guy wanted me to go out with him, but I obviously ignored him. Because although I'm not a fan of the culture of my country of origin, I have my own principles. And as far as I'm concerned, ther is no way for me to date any man whatsoever. Whoever manages to go date with me is not yet born.

I'm used to dressing properly. And even though I sometimes like to wear a miniskirt, I always wear tights to cover my legs. I don't want to be told that I'm trying to provoke anyone with my style of dress.

To avoid criticism and unnecessary and unfounded suspicion, I've adopted a routine that's as simple as it is boring :

I get up at four o'clock to catch the bus to school. Even though I'm always late.

Which is silly, because unlike other people who take the time to say their prayers, get dressed up and are on time every day, I don't do any of that and I'm late every day, even though I wake up at the same time as everyone else in the house. Which never ceases to amaze me.

Then I finish school at four o'clock most days. And as I know I've never been out at that time, I walk Nachma halfway home, before making a long diversions to catch the 5pm bus home. The only time I finish early, i.e. at midday, is on Wednesdays and after school I like to go to the club.

That way I have as little time as possible to avoid getting bored and running into some i***t who wants to play the charmer with me.

Besides, my routine has become more tiring since I met a boy called Dariane who introduces himself as Daimon. That day, he was dancing on the bus and I was sitting next to him. I had no choice, as it was the only free seat on the bus when I got on.

I looked at him as I felt I had a madman next to me, he introduced himself, and as he insisted I told him my name was Mars. I wasn't going to tell him my first name either...

- It's either Mars like the month in Frensh or Mars like the planet. He asked

I can't help laughing and answering him.

- Probably both!!!

Then I turned away from him to resume my reading. And yes, I live with my nose in books. I read a lot of fiction to forget my boring life.

When he noticed the book I had in my hands (it was Pénélope Green la théière de Néfertiti by Béatrice Bottet), he started making comments and jokes about the character's name.

Dariane: Why is she called Green? It's as if my name was Daimon vert...

I looked at him with a look that clearly said he was stupid, but he carried on until I burst out laughing.

We finished the drive laughing. And ever since, he's been insisting that I go out with him. But there is no way for me to accept.

I must admit that I'm not lacking in the desire to do so. I really like Daimon. I mean, I like his personality and everything. He doesn't make me believe in absurd promises like "I'll give you this... Making this for you... etc". He's not the flattering type either, quite the contrary. He's frank and that's something I like a lot. What's more, I think he's quite handsome.

But if I refuse, it's a question of principle. I refuse to be like the girls in this country. People here are quite promiscuous. Nobody is judged for what they do, even if they're not married, but obviously my family attaches great importance to the traditions of our country, even though we don't live here any more. As for me, I've made a promise to myself that no guy will ever get me to date befor wedding. Not that I'm interested in that etheir, but it's a way for me to stay away from men.

So I spend all my time avoiding Dariane at the bus stop, which often means I'm late for school in the morning. And it's getting a bit tiresome. I'd give anything to change this routine.