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them were dressed alike, in army-green pants, combat boots, white undershirts, and closely trimmed hair.
    “Yeah, I guess so,” Gaby answered. “I’m Gaby.” She considered using the Hebrew Benny had painstakingly taught her, but she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of the natives.
    “Ah, Gaby. I’m Shira, and this is Devorah Leah.” She pointed to the other girl, and then motioned behind her to the two boys still a little bit behind. “Those two losers are Chen and Saar.” The girls snickered.
    “Losers?” Chen reached the top of the path and pretended he was kicking Shira. “I’m the one who dragged the hookah up.”
    “And I am forever grateful.” Shira did a little dance around Chen.
    “ Mah zeh ? Adayin at lo medaberet Ivrit ?” Saar asked Gaby with a wink.
    Gaby responded with a huge grin before she was able to stop herself. It was the soldier from the check point, this time without his gear and shades. “I’m still working on it,” she said.
    “If you need a tutor, I charge reasonable rates. Very cheap.” Saar walked over and purposefully sat down next to her.
    Gaby’s body tingled, responding to his attention like electricity in water. “Thanks, I’ll take it into consideration. How come you all speak English?”
    “I’m from South Africa,” Shira said. “We moved to Israel when I was six. My parents still don’t speak Hebrew.” She gave a short laugh.
    “I learned from TV,” Devorah Leah said.
    “Wow. How much TV do you have to watch to speak such good English? You don’t even have any accent.” She focused on Devorah Leah, trying to ignore Saar who had stretched out beside her and was openly staring up at her.
    “A lot!” Chen said. He crouched down on the ground and began setting up the hookah. He blew on a lit match held against a coal until the coal began to glow.
    “What about you?” Gaby turned to Saar. “Where did you learn your English?”
    “Who said I speak English?” Saar raised an eyebrow at Gaby.
    “Very funny,” Gaby said. She looked around, trying to break his steady gaze. “Hey, which yishuv is that one?” She pointed to a group of houses nearby.
    Saar leaned on one elbow and looked over. “That’s no yishuv . That’s an Arab village.”
    Gaby’s heart jumped a little in fear. “What? No way. They’re so close.”
    “Didn’t they tell you before you moved here? This is Palestinian territory,” Saar said in an exaggerated cowboy drawl. Everybody laughed.
    Gaby managed a small chuckle while moving away from the edge of the hill. “You guys aren’t scared to hang out right here? What if they see you and shoot or something?” She looked at both boys to double check. Nope, neither of them had their guns with them.
    “Nah, they’re not gonna shoot at us.” Saar lay back in the grass.
    Gaby looked around at the group. Shira was sitting in Chen’s lap and Devorah Leah was taking deep puffs from the hookah, blowing out the thick smoke in rings. They all looked completely unconcerned, but Gaby couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her through a sniper’s scope.
    “ T’ragi, ” Saar said, watching her with a small smile. “Nothing is happening right now. I promise.”
    “How can you be so sure?” Gaby asked.
    “You see that fence?” Saar pointed downward to what looked like a line near the Arab village. “It’s hard for them to get through. People don’t like the fence, but it’s a lot safer now with it.”
    Gaby nodded, slightly appeased.
    “I don’t get it. Why are you surprised that our closest neighbors are Arabs? Didn’t you come to check out the place before deciding to live in a yishuv across the Green Line?” Shira asked Gaby.
    “Well, we couldn’t afford the pilot trip that most people go on before finalizing their aliyah plans. I mean, if there’s no money for heat, there’s no money for a vacation in Israel.” Gaby shut her mouth quickly, acutely aware that she had just shared too much