Blue-Haired Muslim

Chapter 18: Mothers

     Sam was in a somber mood. He realized that as he grew, his memories of his mother had faded. He never had the intention of forgetting his mother, but it bothered him that he was. He continued his somber bike ride to Cafe Libre, unsure if he'd even be able to study with his current mood. I'm a horrible son. First I get rid of my mom's religion and now I can barely remember her. What kind of son am I? I can't even keep her memory alive.

    "Hi!" A small voice called out from behind Sam, distracting him from his self-loathing. 

     Sam turned around in time for a small creature to give him an impromptu high-five. Sam involuntarily smiled and reciprocated the high-five right on time. The little girl smiled at Sam and glanced at his backpack. She then in turn looked at his bike and the helmet in his hand.

     "Did you come to study too?" Khadijah asked and tapped on her own backpack to show that she was there to study as well. 

     "Yeah. Why'd you give me a high-five?" Sam asked curiously. 

     "Because high-fives are awesome," Khadijah nodded sagely. 

     "Hey, Sam," Rana called out and ruffled Khadijah's hair gently. "Seems like your little friend found you before I did. Your hair looks very nice. Did you do something different?"

     "Uh-um, just got a trim and dye applied," Sam murmured and realized that his cheeks were turning red again. 

     "It looks nice. The blue really highlights your face," Rana smiled before having her hand tugged on by Khadijah. "You'll have to excuse me. It seems like the science lab experiments are beginning soon."

     Sam fiddled with the straps to his backpack and followed the soldier and her niece. Cafe Libre was a new attempt at an age old idea, study centers. It was a warehouse turned into a modern cafe. Up front was where numerous college students argued amongst themselves over assignments while enjoying their hot beverages at tables, there were cozy cushions and bean bag chairs littered through the middle area which were lined by walls of books that cafe goers could use to entertain themselves, and finally at the back of the building was the area called "The Lab." This was where special events, live science experiments, and other activities occurred for children to keep themselves entertained. Each area of the cafe had "tutor points" where staff could help the patrons with questions and occasionally, homework. It was every student's dream to study at the cafe, especially since the owner had made it mandatory for every studying child to be given a free medium drink of their choice. 

     He made his way towards the middle of the cafe and placed his backpack on one of the small tables that accompanied the bean bag chairs. Sam took a minute to lay out his school supplies and then headed over the the barista's counter to order his complimentary drink and buy some food. He stood in line behind two women who were bickering over whether or not they could finish the food they had decided to order. 

     "Hey man," one of the baristas motioned for Sam to walk over. "What can I get you? Those girls have been here for a good fifteen minutes, so they can keep arguing and I'll take care of you." 

     "Awesome. I'd like a vanilla latte and a grilled pesto and chicken sandwich," Sam began.

     "Cool. Here to study?" The barista asked. 

     "Yeah. I'm in the corner near the science fiction literature," Sam nodded and showed his student ID to the barista.

     "Sweet. So drink on the house and a student discount on the sandwich. Anything else?" The barista asked. "Hey, Ms. Hashemi. I'll get you in a second."