Accepting You

Chapter Three

"Then what happened?" Olivia asked as she skipped in circles around Asiya, who was dragging her feet along the pavement.

Olivia's box-dyed blonde hair bounced on her shoulders as she kicked her feet into the air.

Although her hair colour resembled that of a yellow highlighter, Olivia still looked good, like sunshine.

The hair dye hadn't rendered Olivia's strands brittle and straw-like as it had done to Asiya's when they impulsively tried to dye their hair during a sleepover over the summer.

Olivia's hair still looked healthy, whereas the ends of Asiya's hair had looked worn and frazzled until Aminah had revived them with pulpy hair masks and deep conditioner.

But by then, Asiya's image of herself had started to mould, so Asiya had cut out all the colour from her hair.

Olivia's strands glowed with vibrance as they sashayed around her shoulders.

Olivia looked like a Barbie doll. The best kind. One that was designed, manufactured and hot-stamped by Mattel. She was shaped like one, too. Olivia's body looked slim and smooth under her white turtleneck and blue jeans like it had been rolled out of plasticine.

If Asiya wore something like that, she would look bloated.

Asiya refocused back onto their conversation and tried to parrot what Sarah had loudly said in front of the boy, who she had since learnt was called Yusuf. But Asiya's voice had more venom, and her words were hot and frayed.

"Yikes," Olivia grimaced as she stopped skipping and slowed her steps to match Asiya's pace.

"I was so angry," Asiya said.

"I can see why."

The girls walked beside each other in silence. But unlike the one that had surrounded Asiya and Sarah all day after Sarah had embarrassed her, this one was like a warm fire.

Their friendship felt comfortable and safe, even though it was unusual.

School was cliché. The students in Asiya's year spoke and shared jokes with each other occasionally. But when it mattered, they sought similarity and stuck with students who looked like them, like pieces of blue tack bulbed together.

Olivia and Asiya weren't meant to be friends, at least not to this extent. They wouldn't have been if Olivia hadn't complimented Asiya's hijab one day in year eight and asked her why she wore it.

Asiya's guard dropped when she was with Olivia. She didn't feel like she had to plan every word, rehearse every sentence, and prepare herself for a verbal attack before speaking to her.

There was no constant tug-of-war between the two. Olivia just let Asiya be and seemed happy enough with who Asiya was.

Olivia would also never deliberately embarrass her in front of someone either.

"She claims that it was an accident." Asiya rolled her eyes. "Sarah said she didn't know how loud she was and didn't think he'd hear her."

"You calling bull?" Olivia asked.

"Olivia! He was standing right in front of us! There was this much gap," Asiya posed her thumb and finger, mimicking the small distance between her and Yusuf, "between us! He isn't frickin' deaf! Of course, Yusuf was going to hear! He would've heard her even if she had whispered! She shouldn't have said anything!"

"Hmm." Olivia's hum sounded inquisitive like she was holding a magnifying glass to her eye and scrutinising the situation, trying to see every side. "Why would she say that, though?"