I'm hooommmeee (or I'm back). Sorry I didn't update last week but I was on holiday and didn't take my laptop with me.

Okay - so just to remind you, nothing in this fic represents my personal opinions, it's all what the character thinks... keep that in mind when you *spoiler* read Scott's letter...

Thank you to all my lovely reviewers - you honestly make me smile so keep 'em coming!

1st February 1987

ZIVA AND ABA ARE HOME AND AUNT NETTIE IS HERE TO VISIT!

I am so, so happy. Aba brought me back a present from Paris (it turns out that's where he was). It's a few French books and a little metal Eiffel Tower. It looks nice on my shelf next to the little red, metal phone-box that he brought me back from London a few years ago. I hope when he goes away next time (because we all know there will be a next time) he will go to New York, because I would really like a Statue of Liberty next to the other things.

Ziva is all tanned from the beach at Haifa. Apparently it was sunny there a few times – I'm so jealous! – So Aunt Nettie let her play on the beach with the other children there. Her hair is darker too, she looks very cute. It's annoying sometimes because she can be a little devil. She brought me some chocolate back and sheepishly told me that a little bit of it was gone because she was really hungry on the train journey here but she promised me that she would buy me another one if I wanted. I promised her that it was fine.

Aba promised that we could do Shabbat this week, to celebrate that we're a whole family again. I'm very happy.

Ari

2nd February 1987

Don't you just feel that the days are going so quickly now? Well maybe not you since you're only paper but I do. It only seems like last week I started this diary and it will be three months this month. Okay, so when I put it like that it doesn't seem so long but it feels like it.

Time is passing really quickly too. I think that might be because I'm so busy studying and learning; time always goes quickly when you're busy. Or at least that's what Rivka says when I moan about helping clean the house.

My Ima is coming later this month! I'm so excited! I wish she could come and live with us but Aba says that wouldn't be safe for us or her so it can't be. Aba never lies to us. Well, hopefully he doesn't/ I know he keeps things from us but that's not the same as lying. You can't lie if you're not telling things in the first place. I think.

Naya is coming over on Thursday! That's only two days away! Ziva really wants to meet her, she says I have a khaverah (which means 'girlfriend') and is running all over the house shouting it. I'm just glad it's here and not in the street – that would be so embarrassing! Naya is not my girlfriend; she's just a friend – who happens to be a girl. It's really not that big of a deal.

Ari

3rd February 1987

I got a letter from Scott today. I'll stick it in again!

Dear Ari,

I am so sorry for the long wait. I was on my Christmas holidays and everything slows around here during Christmas so your letter didn't get delivered for quite a while. Then, once I received it and read it, I forgot about it until I went back to school and spent my entire maths period drafting this up. Then I wrote it and if you're receiving this very late then I've probably forgotten to post it. It's not easy getting to the post-office from here.

I had a really horrible experience with somebody in Edinburgh the other day. My Geography class was on a trip to look at the culture in Edinburgh and we all had badges on saying which school we're from – and our school uniforms of course. So we were sitting in Princes Street Gardens eating our lunch and we were next to this other school group.

So this girl looks me up and down and goes (nastily), "So you're from Dollar Academy?"

And I do go to Dollar Academy so I said, "Yeah, I do."

Then she goes, "I hear that's a really posh school with loads of snotty, snobbish people. I bet you're looking at me thinking 'Oh can't be seen speaking to a commoner'."

I was actually quite offended by that, I wasn't thinking that at all. I was thinking about how nasty her tone was and how wet the grass was beneath my jacket. So, I said, "I wasn't. I was thinking about the wet grass."

Then, before she can reply, her teacher called her school group away but she looked me up and down again and said, "Of course you were," really sarcastically.

Seriously?! What was up with that?! I mean yeah, Dollar Academy is a Private school and you do have to pay to go there and it is a boarding school (although you don't have to board if you don't want to). But let's clear some things up. First of all, I only go to Dollar Academy because I live in Dollar and it's the closest school for me to go to. Secondly, Kiera and I go to Dollar Academy on a scholarship! That's right! My parents can't afford the ginormous amount of fees the school wants per year. And most people at school are lovely and not snobby at all! Sure, some of them are and are like "Daddy bought me this" or "Mummy bought me that" but only a few.

Sorry for all that moaning but seriously, who the heck did she think she was? She didn't even know me and yet she had judged me just on the name of the school I went to. I told Kiera and this is actually what she said (I'm sorry for not editing out the 'bad' words:

"Do you want me to go find that bitch and go all 'Kiera' on her ass? Because I will! Nobody – and I mean NOBODY – gets to talk to my brother like that! Who the hell does she think she is? Judging you for what school you happen to go to! If I bump into her one time then she better cross the road if she knows what's good for her because she won't know what the hell hit her!"

She calmed down a bit after she got that out but she was pacing up and down in her room all night. You really have just gotta love my sister!

Sorry for all the ranting in this letter, I just had to tell you, you know?

Hopefully you'll still want to write to me after this and I'll hear from you soon.

Scott!

Wow. That was…. Intense (momentarily forgot the word there) Poor Scott! Some people can just be so cruel. I know that too well.

Ari.

4th February 1987

I'm writing this really late so it's going to be brief but I just had to put in how Naya and I's movie night went okay. It was really fun and I think Naya loves Ziva and Tali – she kept going on about how adorable they were and how sweet and all that. I told her that she should try living with them and she said I should be lucky to have siblings because the bond between them is unique and you never know when you might need them. I suppose she does have a point, I just can't imagine myself ever needing them, you know? I've always imagined it will be them needing me. Maybe that's egotistical and arrogant of me but it's the way I think.

Anyhow, back to the movie. We watched a movie called Aqabat-Jaber, passing through which is about the daily life of Palestinian refugees in the Aqabat-Jaber in the West bank. It was quite good. Then Rivka made some sahlab which we ate and then Naya went home.

It was a very good day.

Ari

5th February 1987

Rivka and Aba had another argument today, and on the day of the Shabbat as well!

So I came home from playing football in the street with Isaac and went upstairs to my room where I found Ziva drawing at my desk. She usually does this because she doesn't have a desk and Rivka won't let her draw on the floor. Anyway, I came in and she said, "Ima and Aba arguing," (in Hebrew, I'm translating). I hadn't heard it in coming up the stairs but then I did. I asked her where Aunt Nettie and Tali were and she just said, "Walk," and went back to her drawing.

Here are the parts of the argument I heard:

"We have already had this conversation, Rivka, months ago. It is what is best for him," Aba said.

"Do you not see what teaching a twelve – almost thirteen- year old boy to shoot will do to him?"

"People teach their sons how to shoot all the time and in other countries. I am not being unreasonable."

"People teach their sons to shoot for game, Eli and for self-defense. You are teaching him so he will be proficient enough when he joins Mossad."

"What if I am? Ari is a responsible child; he will not abuse the power a gun gives him."

"I am not saying that he will. I am just saying that a gun is an evil thing, an evil, evil thing and I will not allow any child of mine to be around one unnecessarily."

"He is not your child, Rivka."

"So you said before."

And that's how it ended. So now it's been agreed that I've to go to the shooting range with Aba on a Thursdays after he comes back from the office. Rivka isn't happy about it but Aba obviously had the last word.

I better go now. It's almost sundown and we all know what that means.

Happy Shabbat!

Ari

So by now you will have read Scott's letter and the 'Dollar Academy' incident. First of all, I'm perfectly informed to make those comments considering I live near Dollar Academy (but don't go) and have met some of the people there and know some of them. This is not an insult to them and it is not my personal opinion. Yes, some of them are really snobby but lots and most of them are really nice and kind so those other people are in a majority. It was just a little thing that was mentioned the other day at school that prompted me to write about it and make poor Scott on the receiving end of it. So Vivien, if you're reading this, please don't take offence :P *Ends Spiel*