Maryam

Maryam looked around the crowded lunchroom for a friendly face. Moving to a new state and starting high school without her friends had made her very nervous. She needed a place to fit in. But she wasn't sure which kids would let a tall, slender girl of Middle Eastern descent who covered her hair sit with them. Maryam finally spotted a table where five girls were sitting. Taking a deep breath, she walked over and sat down. “Hi,” she said lightly. “I'm Maryam. Can I sit here?” The girls glanced at each other. “Sure,” said one. “I'm Courtney. This is Helen, Tamika, Shin, and Grace.” All the girls smiled in turn. Maryam turned to her lunch.

“So, where are you from?” asked Shin.

“Well, I'm Saudi Arabian. But I was born in Texas.” Maryam replied.

“Is your fiancée Saudi Arabian, too?” inquired Helen earnestly.

Maryam put down her milk carton. “My fiancée?” she questioned.

“Yeah, don't you have to marry a guy your parents picked out for you since you were, like, born?”

“No,” Maryam giggled. “My parents can't force me to marry anyone.

“Really?” Grace said, surprised. “I heard that Muslims are forced by their parents to do things like that. And I always hear about Muslim terrorists and stuff on the news.”

“Well,” Maryam said thoughtfully, “I guess you can't always trust the media.”

Just then, a brown-haired boy sat down across from Helen. “Yo, Helen, I need your notes,” he said urgently. “Here, Jake.”

Helen slid her notes to him. Jake looked up and caught sight of Maryam. He quickly looked down again. Maryam continued talking to Grace, but kept catching him glancing at her. Finally, she looked up and caught his eye.

“Are you bald?” he blurted out.

Maryam felt herself blush as Tamika looked at Jake disgustedly. “Don't be so immature!” she exclaimed.

“Well, why do you wear that thing?” he asked gruffly, embarrassed.

“This is called a hijab,” Maryam said patiently, “I wear it because in my religion – Islam – the woman is supposed to guard herself and her body. It's not imposing on my freedom, it's giving me more freedom.” Jake looked impressed.

“Wow,” said Courtney, “I didn't know that.”

Maryam smiled at all of them as the bell rang.

“We're going to study for the government test after school. You want to come with us?” asked Helen.

“Sure,” Maryam said happily. As the girls headed for their classrooms, Maryam closed her eyes and said “Alhamdulillah.” She would fit in fine.

Uzma Humera Ahmed, 15