That was never It!!

chapter 28

"Any news on Isabelle?" Hanif asked over the phone. It's been three weeks since she found her real family. She spent that night crying and finally stormed out of the house. No one knew where she went. Everyone was helping to look for, even Berenice and Hanif.

"Not yet." Aliyah sighed. She was worried about her. "I will let you know if I get anything."

"She will be okay, Trust me." Drex who was quite helpful said. Aliyah nodded and smiled.
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"Good morning Mr. Adam." The class chorused and the man smiled. It had been long since he actually smiled. Seeing Najma that day gave him hope even though she disappeared after that.

"I will be your new teacher." He said and smiled again.

"What about the babies?" One of the boys at the back shouted.

"Got tired of babysitting huh?" Another one said and the class laughed. The boy had his leg on his desk. That class was known to have notorious students. Most of the teachers avoided it. That morning when the principal asked him to give up his kindergarten class and take up those crazy teenagers he didn't refuse surprising everyone.

"Leg off the desk now!" He said in a serious tone. The boy whispered something to his desk mate and put his leg down. Adam Khalid stated the class on a serious note.

As he was busy writing something on the board, one of the boys at the back was passing out notes. Everyone who got the note laughed. After the note had gone around it landed on a hijabi's desk whose eyes filled with tears immediately. She sniffed and was just about to excuse herself and leave the class when Adam saw the note she was clenching in her hand. The whole class roared with laugher. Adam Khalid was confused at exactly what they were laughing at.

"May I get out," the little hijabi whispered. Adam saw the tears in her eyes and realised what was going on; she was being bullied. He held her arm and made her seat on his chair.

Poor and confused Layla sat on the chair trying hard not to burst into tears again. Adam Khalid took the note from her and read it. He couldn't believe those kids could be that nasty.

Layla was always being bullied. She was a Muslim and a Somali. The kids found her different and weird. They would always do things to get on her nerves. Normally she wouldn't let them get to her but something on that note hit her hard.

Go blow yourself up like your damn brother....you Muslim freak!

The note had a lot of things. Most making fun of her hijab but she didn't mind. Those words hurt her in ways she couldn't explain. Her brother had died months ago when the bus he was in  was blown up. They never got to bury him because the authorities branded him a terrorist. Now the whole school calls her a terrorists. Thanks to Islamphobia and stereotypical people she was left helpless.

"Wow! You guys are mean!" Mr. Adam said surprised at the height of those kids evilness.

"It's the truth." A girl said from the back.

"Her brother is a terrorist." Another one said.  Then the whole class started talking at the same time. Layla put her head on the teacher's desk and cried softly.

"Okay class, silent!" Mr. Adam said angrily. "Do you know how bad it is to call others names? Actually I should not be the one telling you this but she should."

Adam walked to her side and whispered exactly what she needed to hear at that moment. The class watched as Layla nodded and smiled. Adam said something to her and she laughed. The class looked confused as she got up and wiped the tears away.

"Listen well for I will never repeat this. I am Layla Abdullahi. I am a Muslim and I am proud of it. I cover my hair because I want to please my lord. FYI my hair is prettier than most of yours. I am proud of my identity. And my heritage, we are all from Adam and Eve. So don't think you're better than me just because your skin is lighter than mine. I love my religion and Allah. Nothing you say and do will change that. You think it's easy to live like I do? Everyone sees me and they freak out. I come to school everyday because I have to. If it was up to me I would hide behind my mother's hijab forever. For this world is terrible. It took my brother away and branded him a terrorist. Over night I lost everything. My own best friend turned her back on me. She suddenly decided I am not good enough for her." The whole class was silent and a girl  ran to the front of the class and hugged Layla.

"I  am so sorry Layla. I should have been a better Friend." Mr. Adam smiled at the background as the girls hugged each other.

"And we should have been better classmates." The boy who had started the whole note thing shouted from the back.

"Islam means peace. And I believe that peace is not the absence of war but the feeling you get from remembering your lord and being there for your friends , family and neighbours." Mr. Adam said. "Layla believes in Allah. She is a Muslim. You are maybe a Christian or a Jew. That doesn't mean we can't live together in peace. The world is big. Every soul deserves his or her own peace of mind. Taking that away from someone is unfair. Treating Layla badly won't make your life better. Did you feel good when you wrote those nasty things? Don't tell me and don't lie to yourselves. You know deep down you felt bad. So why don't we just stop being mean and nasty to others and live together peacefully."

Adam finished and the class started apologising to Layla. She mouthed him a 'thank you' and he  smiled.

Right outside his class Rukhayah wiped tears from her eyes. She was glad she was there to hear him say those words. She was glad she had coincidentally came to bring Iman's sister to school and got to witness such a beautiful thing she couldn't help but admit she loved him. Iman's sister who had to report to the teacher's office for coming late ran past Rukhayah and entered the class. She placed the note on Mr. Adam's desk. The class was surprisingly silent and Layla and her old friend were at the front of the class.

"What did I miss?" Iman's sister asked and the class bursted into laughters.

Awkwaaaaaaaard! She thought.