The bar was loud and overcrowded and Shalina kept getting jostled and elbowed where she sat at the bar, looking at the glass of yellow liquid in front of her.
“Come on!” her workmate shouted. “If you wanna fit in you’ve got to drink beer!”
Shalina sniffed at the glass, wrinkling her nose.
“Really, I just don’t see the point…”
“Come on, just taste it.”
“Yeah, you’re not in arabia anymore, the shah isn’t gonna come after you…”
Shalina cringed.
“Morocco isn’t in arabia and neither is the shah…”
She got an eyeroll and a groan in return.
“Nobody likes a wet blanket. Come on, drink up!”
Shalina lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip, immediately coughing and retching.
“Ugh, that’s vile!”
The others snickered.
“If you’re going to live here you need to learn to appreciate american beer.”
Shalina pushed her chair back and stood up.
“Yeah, I thought this was the land of the free.”
Pushing the crowd apart she made her way to the exit and left.