Based on the Bollywood (?) movie West is West. Post-Pakistan visit. Sajid stands up to his bullies. One-Shot.
"Dad, you don't have to walk me to school, you know," Saj said, trampling along after his father.
"No, you no walking to school by yourself. I take you," his father, Jahangir (known as George), replied in his broken English while waving a finger reprimandingly.
Saj rolled his eyes. "I thought after our visit to Pakistan you'd stop being so…"
"So what? What you gonna say, baster? Huh?" He gave Saj a hard slap on his shoulder.
Well, at least it's better than getting hit upside the head, Sajid thought.
Their visit to Pakistan had gone well, surprisingly. Sajid hadn't been too keen on meeting family he didn't even know much less even care about. It made sense because he'd lived in Salford all his life and didn't speak a word of Urdu except for "Aslamu Alaykum" which was just a greeting that meant "peace be upon you."
He had a sister there, Rehana, from his dad's first wife, Basheera. Rehanda was definitely not his favorite, nor him her's. She hated his dad (who was also her dad) and wasn't to keen on him or his brothers Tariq and Maneer. He had another sister, too named Raushana, who he'd barely spoken to.
Tanvir, his first-cousin, was married to Rehana. He was a real git if you asked Saj, but it was probably true that Tanvir thought Saj was a real pain in the ass, too. His father loved Tanvir, though, 'cause he took such good care of everything back in the village.
Basheera had been a little hostile to him, but never out-right rude like Rehana. But if it ever came down to which mother was best, he'd gladly choose his own mother, Ella, a native to Britain.
He had even made friends in Pakistan. Pir Naseem, who was supposed to have been teaching him stuff about his heritage, was like a father-figure to him. Zaid, who followed Pir Naseem around everywhere, was undoubtedly the best friend he ever had. They wrote to each other - he had even gotten letters from Pir Naseem.
His brother, Maneer, had finally gotten married after being rejected so many times. Sajid gladly took the credit for finding the perfect girl for him, since he did indeed find her solely for his brother. He was not married to a girl named Naleem who greatly resembled Nana Mouskouri, Maneer's favorite singer. Naleem seemed like the average desi girl if you looked at her, but she was actually British - which came as a big surprise to both Saj and Maneer. They lived in Bradford now.
Safe to say, if his father ever wanted to visit Pakistan again for whatever reason, he would definitely go.
They had reached Saj's school now. His father handed him over to Mr. Jordan with the daily warning to behave. It was all Saj could do to not to roll his eyes at his controlling, but well-intentioned father. "Good morning, Mr. Khan."
"Good morning, Mr. Jordan. I can make it to class by myself, if you don't mind," Saj told his headmaster who gladly let him go.
"Say, where's that book I gave you?" Mr. Jordan called after him.
"Gave it to a friend," Saj said with a smile. Zaid had given him a necklace when it had been time for Saj to go back home and Saj gave him the book "Kim," that he'd had the whole trip.
Saj trudged up the stairs of his school. His bag cut into his shoulder through his uniform. The hallways were of course filled to the brim with students. Saj unsuccessfully tried to make some of them move.
"Hey, stop right there you Paki bastard!" A callous voice thundered through the throngs of students, the jab directed at Saj.
Saj stilled almost instantly, even though he was used to insults like this. He risked a quick glance over his shoulder only to see Hughsy running at him with his followers. Not giving it a second thought, Saj shouldered his way through the onlookers, running as fast as he could to the safety of his class where Hughsy wouldn't dare hurt him in front of a teacher. His breath grew ragged as he ran up a flight of stairs, Hughsy following close behind behind with his band of neanderthals.
"Where do you think you're going, you Paki bastard!" Saj heard Hughsy yell after him.
Some people, like his tormenter, Hughsy, didn't approve of him being Pakistani. His mother, Ella, got taunts because she married a Pakistani man. It was complete fucking bullshit.
"Go back to where you came from, you fucking Paki!"
"Fuck off!" Saj yelled over his shoulder.
In seconds he was trampled, falling onto the ungodly clean floor. Hughsy pinned him to the ground and aimed a punch at his face. Saj moved his head just in time to heard Hughsy's fist connect with the hard concrete floor. A loud cry of pain transmitted through the hall. In Hughsy's agony-filled haze, Saj slipped from under him and he aimed a kick at his bully's stomach. An even louder cry of pain filled the hall as Saj's foot took root beneath Hughsy's ribs.
"Yeah, I'm a fucking Paki! Why the fuck do you care so much?" Saj yelled at the figure kneeling on the ground, clutching his stomach looking very pathetic. "I'm a fucking Paki and I'm proud! I'm glad I'm not full English, because if I was I might've turned out just like you." Saj was on a roll. "It's already hard enough to look at you; I wouldn't want to know how you thought as well."
Hughsy's followers were helping him up and Hughsy made to say something before Saj cut him off. "No. Don't even say anything now, 'cause I'm don't bloody give a fuck what you think of me."
With that last quip, Saj picked up his bag, fixed it over his shoulder and walked out through the onlookers. They all stared at him with wide eyes and his picked a flute out of his bag and began playing, however badly he didn't care. With another look back at his bullies, he roared, "Who holds the Zum-Zummah holds the Punjab!"
He walked out of his school, not caring what his father would say or Mr. Jordan. He was fairly sure they'd be proud of him for standing up for his culture. For himself.
But he would surely get a beating later by his father, either way.
Down the street, he played the flute, given to him by his father who had gotten it from Pir Naseem for him. The insults and jabs thrown at him about his Pakistani culture only made him happier to be a Paki. This was a drastic change from when he had told his father that he didn't want to be a Paki and thrown the F-word at him.
But that was before, wasn't it? He might not want to live in Pakistan full time, but he understood why his father had always pushed the culture at him.
Who holds the Zum-Zummah holds the Punjab
"Baster"- bastard
"Pir" - a learned person
WOOOO GO SAJID! I'm so proud, cause I'm Paki, too. :D Own your desi culture, Saj!
AHH! I loved this movie so much ! I loved Sajid so much and him paired up with Zaid was hilarious!
I wanted to know aht Sajid would do when he was encountered with the same problem he always had at school, being called a "fucking Paki" and being bullied for it.
Sajid curse A LOT, and that just made me love him more :D