Zahid Nasir and the Wicked Whisperers

Chapter 8 - Passing the Torch

Zahid started counting the days to the summer break. No, he started counting the hours. Gina had barely even looked at him since their fight and he was so irritated with his friends that he just wanted to run home and be with his family all summer.

He sighed as he visualized it. He would work at the restaurant, visit the library for fun, and maybe even hang out with Peter more often.

As he was dreaming of all this, and heading for his bus, someone suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Come with me," Jeremy ordered, pulling Zahid toward the cafeteria.

Jeremy was still rough around the edges, but he had come a long way since their first encounter. Sure, he had started dating Alicia before she had broken up with Peter, but at least he didn't go around beating people up anymore.

"Jeremy, what is this?" Zahid complained. "I have to catch the bus."

"Don't worry, I'll drive you home," he offered.

"Fine," he agreed. "Let me just call my mom."

He pulled out his phone and pressed it to his ear.

"Hello. Mama?"

A robotic voice answered, "You can call me that, but I might not understand you."

"What in the world...?"

He looked at his phone. Instead of a call in progress, he saw that he had activated the A.I.

"How do I get off of this?" he muttered.

"Sorry," the robot voice answered, "I'm not sure about that."

"Dude, Zahid, you're killing me," Jeremy complained. He grabbed Zahid's phone, pressed a couple of buttons, and handed it back. "Here."

"Hello?" his mother's voice said on the other end.

"Mama! Hey, a friend wants to talk. Is it alright if he drives me home in a short while?"

"Insh'Allah, my lion," his mother responded. "Just don't be late for dinner."

"Thank you, Mama."

He ended the call and noticed that Jeremy was waiting expectantly.

"What?" he asked.

"I was just wondering if you'd need help hanging up," Jeremy teased.

Zahid's lips tightened. "I'm fine," he grumbled. "Anyway, what is this about?"

"Just come on," Jeremy said, pulling him to the cafeteria.

"This is literally the last thing I need right now, okay?" Alicia complained as they approached a table.

Zahid felt frozen to the spot. Alicia and Gina were in the middle of a very tense conversation.

"Maybe this is exactly what you need," Gina returned. "You've changed, Alicia."

Alicia smirked. "And you haven't changed one bit."

"What does that mean?" she asked, obviously offended.

"You're still as judgmental and self-righteous as ever," Alicia said.

"I am not judgmental," Gina huffed. "I'm just religious."

"Same dif," Alicia said, leaning back in her chair as if she had just won the argument.

"It is not." Gina jabbed a finger at the table as she explained, "My religion is all about love. And if I really love you and want what's best—"

"Love?" Alicia laughed. "Like you ever loved me."

Gina looked hurt. "Of course I did. I mean, I do. I'm a Christian. To be Christian is to be loving."