Nava 4

Next morning as Naomi and I walk to school, I tell her of room cleaning.
She looks uneasy, "ah, let's hope your Mum doesn't tell mine. You know how my room is."
As it turns out, Naomi need not have worried. Given that both women see themselves as so superior to the other, not a lot of communication happens.
Rick intercepts us as we arrive, shy tone, "so, how'd you like it, with me in goal?"
"That one shot," I reply, "I was positive it was a goal. Yet you stopped it, good for you."
He beams, then seeing buddies arrive, rushes off to join them.
After school I raise an eyebrow, "cherry cheesecake? Isn't that pushing it?"
Smirk, "we're Jews, allowed to get a bit fat."
Just a minute now, this is the same person who yesterday said, "don't get all Jewish on me."
What of the apparent contradiction? Ambivalence, sometimes she is, sometimes not, does everyone experience that?
"You feeling ok Nava?"
"Oh yeah sure."
"Look, no big deal, I'll give you half the size, half the calories too."
Mum has an unusual expression, proclaiming a mayhem topic incoming.
"So dear," she says, "tell me, have you give any thought to the year between high school and university?"
Now I ain't gonna touch that with the proverbial ten foot pole.
"More specifically, have you thought of spending it in Israel?"
I believe I'd prefer root canal, however can't tell her that, "so what are the pros and cons?"
"The cons, as you put it, are fairly limited. Main one is just slowing down whatever you choose to study by a year. Also the side effect of tending to lose some secular friends over it. You won't lose religious friends over it. The pros, mature some, make a wiser choice of what to study, plus whatever religious merit, and status."
I raise an eyebrow.
"But of course, I mean, wouldn't you want to marry a more serious type of person? Meet higher status of people after that."
I stare off into space in sheer disbelief, I believe I'd rather be stranded on the tundra of the Ungava Peninsula during the dead of winter or washed away by a tsunami or trek to the source of the Nile with Donald Duck in charge of the expedition.
Why me? What on earth did I ever do to deserve this? So I counterattack, "I have a burning desire to be a stock broker. Meaning a year will cost me $490,000."
She gasps, "come on, surely not the first year, that's more like the tenth."
"But then," I clarify, "it'd cost me say $250,000 and those nominds in Ottawa $240,000. Surely they'd just blow it on sheer frivolity anyhow."
By now she's laughing. I reflect this is not the first time in history an officer has been diverted from a serious action by a joke.
I open my lunch. Naomi rolls her eyes, "is she a bore or what? My Mum says kosher is no excuse for boring."
I shrug, "weren't you the one who told me I had remarkable luck of the draw? Right now I could be sitting in Bangladesh, eating nothing but rice."
She laughs, "I like you, exactly like two Jews to argue. Gather two together, you get three opinions."
I laugh.
"Still," she says, "I imagine it beats British Army chow."
"Yes and no. Her food, supper and lunches, beats a forward operating base. Resta the time, a real base, got her beat, and by a long shot."
She flashes a wicked smile, "would she be ticked to hear that!"
I shrug, "last I recall, you and I are friends. Friends don't engage in blackmail."
Laugh, "I didn't mean that, just if she overhead you."
I blush hotly, "hey look, I'm sorry."