Alone

Chapter Four

When they got into the school, Lee realized the girl didn't have a hood on, but instead wore a head covering. A hijab, she had heard it called. She heard people talking about how Muslim girls were oppressed into wearing hijabs, but Ana seemed anything but oppressed.

"You're Muslim?" Lee asked, then regretted. That was definitely not the most tactful thing she'd ever said, but Ana just smiled.

"Yeah, what clued you in?" Ana joked. Lee couldn't help but smile.

"I've never actually met someone who wears a.. a hijab, right?"

"Yeah, hijab is right. Where'd you say you were from?"

"California."

"Huh. That's weird, you would think you would see more Muslims in Cali than in Ohio," Ana said with a smile.

"Well.. my school wasn't the most racially diverse, and I never really actually went out anywhere, so.." Lee half-joked. Ana laughed. "Do you like to wear it?" Lee asked.

"I don't know. Do you like to wear clothes?" Ana returned.

"Huh.. I guess I never really thought of it like that," Lee said, and Ana smiled.

"Well here I am, to reshape your entire view of Muslim culture!" she said, making a grand sweeping gesture with her arms. "In all seriousness though, it's like choosing to wear shorts versus pants. I choose to wear the hijab because it's modest, and it's important be modest, I think."

"That's really cool," Lee said. "The way everyone else talks about it, you're like.. forced to wear it, I guess."

"That's a common stereotype. Most girls aren't forced to wear it. Instead once you reach "womanhood" - around thirteen years old - you can choose to wear it. It's like choosing to be baptised," Ana said. "You're going to the counselor's office, right? To get your schedule?"

"Yeah."

"You do know we just passed it, right?" Ana smiled. Lee blushed.

"Pshh.. Yeah... I knew that.."

"Come on, I'll show you where it is," Ana hooked her arm in Lee's and turned her around.

Lee was surprised that so few kids could fill a hallway this densely, but Ana knew how to handle it, apparently. She ducked under people and wove her way around the hallway, occasionally pushing people out of the way. Soon she stopped in front of a door.

"Your destination, Madam," Ana said, presenting the door with an over-dramatic arm wave. A teacher pushed the door open and stepped out, and Ana quickly dropped her arm to her side. "Oh.. hello, Mrs. Darner.." she said. The teacher gave her an odd look before walking away. When Mrs. Darner was gone, Ana and Lee burst out laughing.

"Uh.. you wouldn't mind coming in with me, would you?" Lee asked. "I'm awful at talking to teachers."

"Sure! Just leave it to me. As your personal guide to the school, I will make it my duty to make navigating and interacting in the school as easy as possible!" Ana said. She laughed a little, then headed into the office, waving Lee along with her.

Ana talked to everyone in the office for Lee, and she even caught some names. The secretary was Ms. Gearhardt, and the guidance counselor was Mr. Russell. She didn't see the principal, but that was just fine by Lee. They walked out with all of the papers Lee needed to start her day. Ana and Lee had most of their classes together, but Lee had Geometry, French, and Computer Sciences by herself. Ana was a huge help, making sure to point out those classes as they walked past them.

The first half of the day went by fast, and Lee's head was swimming with names and directions by the time she got to lunch with Ana. They went through the line, Ana asking Lee how her Geometry and French classes had gone. When they sat back down, what seemed to Lee like a crowd of faces was waiting for them at the table. There were at least two different conversations going on, but most everyone looked up when Ana and Lee sat their trays down.

"Everyone, this is Lee! I've been helping her around school today. Lee, this is.. everyone," Ana said with a grin. "Alek, Violet, Sam, James, Nat, and Andy." Ana pointed to each of them in turn, and they all gave a wave or smile when she said their name. "Oh- and Alek's non-binary. And- you prefer she/her, right?" Ana asked, to which Alek gave a nod and a little 'yeah'. "Okay, she prefers she/her pronouns."

Alek had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes and pale, freckled skin. She was small; short and thin. Violet was a stark contrast to Alek; she had very dark skin, and her hair was dyed a bright purple, causing Lee to wonder if Violet was a nickname. Her eyes were green, and she was bigger than anyone else in the group. Sam had dark hair and eyes that slanted upward. He wore his hair under a beanie, and Lee wondered how he hadn't been dress coded yet. He was tall and lean, in more of a wispy way than Alek. He looked like he could be blown over by a strong gust of wind, where Alek was small, but small fit her perfectly. James was built like a quarterback, and had sandy hair and hazel eyes. Nat had red, curly hair, and her eyes were emerald green. She had an abundance of freckles, and reminded Lee of Gemma, a friend from her old school. The thought of Gemma felt like a stab to her heart, reminding her of how much she missed her home and her friends. Andy had a serious looking face that made Lee nervous in a way. His hair was dark brown, and his eyes matched his hair; though they seemed eerily dark. He had an athletic build; thin but muscly, which only added to the intimidation.

"Uh.. Hi," Lee said, giving a small wave, and avoiding eye contact, staring down at the small pile of lettuce and shredded cheese on her plate.

Ana gave her a sympathetic look. "They won't bite you, I prooooomise," she said, then put a hand to her mouth as if to keep the others from hearing her. "Besides Andy. He's a little scary. That's why we keep him around, as a sort of bodyguard," Lee laughed, and Andy made a menacing face before laughing, himself, which put Lee at ease a little.

The rest of the lunch period went by quickly, with the group making jokes and having the ridiculous conversations you could only expect from a group of high schoolers, making Lee feel more comfortable with the group. When the bell rang, she was almost reluctant to get back to class, until she remembered that her next class was Computer Sciences.

Computers were Lee's favorite objects on the planet. They always had things for you to do, and could occupy your time without ever having to communicate with another human being. She especially liked writing code. There was something in making a finished webpage that rivaled Facebook in both functionality and attractiveness that make Lee immensely proud.

She walked in and set her things next to a computer in the back row. She logged onto the computer and waited for the teacher to enter the room. At the back of her mind, however, she was still thinking about Gemma, and her home. Suddenly, she felt extremely alone as she waited for the computer screen to boot up, and drew back into her memories of home.