I can feel Amal tensing. “Jihad—”
“I know we never saw Mama talk to the jellyfish. Maybe sometimes the blessing is something private that happens to just you. Something others can’t see. I couldn’t see the colors, and now they’re back. I—”
“Jihad, stop,” Amal says forcefully. I hear her breathing quietly and then a rustle. “I knew I should have signed you up for therapy. I knew you weren’t okay even though you said you were. I was thinking of the money and—” She lets out a loud sigh.
“Stop.”
“Clearly, something’s happening. I hear it in your voice, and now you’re talking about Mama’s stories being real? Jihad, please, make an appointment. Wait, I’ll look for someone and make—”
“Stop it,” I say, my voice trembling. “You—I’mnotcrazy.”
“Hey, Ididn’tsay that,” she replies sharply. “But so much has happened to you, and you need to discuss this with a professional. You need to discuss what happened to Mama—”
“Stop talking!” I snap. “You know what, this was a mistake. Bye.”
“Jihad—” she begins, but I end the call.
She calls back four more times before giving up.
I take in a deep breath and let it out. My future has fallen apart, and I’m stuck unable to move forward. Opus is vapor in my hands, and no matter what Jamie says about being on my side, it doesn’t matter. There is nothing he or I can do.
For Jamie this is a passing moment in his life. For me, this is forever.
I run into Audrey on my way to sixth period. She stops abruptly, looking me up and down. Her expression is blank, only the flicker in her eyes betraying her.
“You okay?” she asks.
I stare at her. “What do you think?”
Her face drains of color. “You know the picture of you yesterday has been shared on all the school group chats. It’s…” She takes a deep breath. “What are you going to do?”
I knew that. If I see it—my face blotchy and red, that makeshift hijab around my head, I might die from the humiliation.
“Why are you asking me?” I say. “Why should I be the person who comes up with solutions?”
She scratches her nose, avoids looking at me. “I’m sorry. I…I think…What can I do?”
I shrug. “Audrey, I’m tired. I know you feel bad. But I can’t be the one to tell you what to do to lessenyourguilt. I’m trying to survive this school.”
I walk past her and am a couple of minutes late to sixth period. Everyone is already inside. Conversations die down when I walk in. They’ve been talking about me.
Alexis sits huddled with Nicole and Hayley and Jenny on one side of the room. She firmly ignores me while the other three stare daggers at me. I notice they’re all wearing the same butterfly clip in their hair. Hayley holds Alexis’s hand, murmuring something to her. Alexis shakes her head in response.
Someone is already in my usual place in the corner, so I’m forced to take a seat in the middle rows. The girl sitting beside me inches her chair a fraction away from me.
Some stares become a shade more hostile. I am debating whether to leave the classroom when the professor arrives. He sets his bag on the table and starts fiddling with the remote for the projector.
“Okay, class.” Dr. Lowe squints at the remote. “I know you’ve heard the same speech from the other professors about the mural. You know the drill. Focus on the lesson, and don’t worry; the school is launching an investigation in cooperation with the police.”
Nicole turns in my direction to flash me a victorious smile.
My blood runs cold.
I can’t focus on the lesson.
They’ll definitely blame it on me. I get bullied yesterday, and thismorning the Statue of Liberty is a hijabi? It’s only a matter of time before I get called to the principal’s office.
I don’t care about being expelled anymore, because the only reason I was here was for Opus, and now I don’t know what to do. I have no idea what to submit for my art piece. The art pieces go through several judges, and their decision on admissions has to be unanimous. I didn’t even have a guarantee my sketchbook was going to get me in. They post their students’ art online as examples. One from the previous year made an interactive installation of a tree with metallic branches and a glowing core. When a person comes closer, the tree senses it, and the leaves flutter. When the branch is touched, light trickles all over the tree.
