Rendezvous of a hijabi

Chapter 2• First Impressions

The bus skidded to a halt and me and my siblings trooped out.

Hamda would be a freshman this year and Hamza a sophomore.

Whilst I was a Junior, great.
I shuffled down the corridor, my siblings in tow, me averting eye contact with the countless piercing gazes that were on us.

My eyes left the linoleum flooring and searched for the headmaster's office.

"There it is!" Hamza pointed at a bronze placard on a door, "Let's go in,"

His air of confidence surprised me when he sauntered through the door without knocking.

I caught Hamda's eye roll and couldn't help but snicker.
Ruffling my sister's curls, we both went inside the office.

We sat on cushioned seats before Principal Ramirez.
"Ahhh, Safa, Hamda and Hamza!" He marvelled, clapping his hands, "What an honour to have you at County Hall High, I'm sure you will love it here,"

"Can we have our timetables now, you have been chatting for a while" Hamza yawned rudely, slouched on his chair.

I cringed with embarrassment and Hamda pinched his side to get him to sit up straight.

"Sir I excuse my brother's rudeness! He's just excited to start his first day," I back tracked smiling falsely.

"I'm watching you, young man," Ramirez scowled, the tips of his ears flaring red, "County Hall has no place for trouble makers!"

The old man straightened his tie ran a hand through his receding hairline.

Hamza grinned widely and I inwardly facepalmed.
The first day!
He had to get into trouble. Hooyo would kill him.

"Hamza! You are such an idiot, you know that," Hamda scowled at our brother in distaste.

"You gotta make an impression ladies," He shot back, still smirking.
How could I be related to such an imbecile?

We split ways, each of us staring at the foreign timetable before us.

Biology with Mrs Lanes. I love biology, maybe this day wouldn't be so bad after all.

After pacing the endless hallways, I finally stumbled across a science classroom.
I subconsciously rose a hand to adjust my headscarf as I did when I was nervous.

"Safa Mohamed?" Mrs Lanes peered through the rim of her glasses, "You are late on your first day- not a good impression is it? How did your old school tolerate your despicable tardiness?"

This woman was rude. It was my first day, could she not spare me the humiliation.

"Hurry up and sit down before I put you on my detention list," She scowled, securing her spectacles.

My face heated up as 30 eyes were trained on me.

Thank god the melanin in my skin prevented a scarlet blush to arise in my cheeks.

"She's new, man. Leave the girl alone!" A deep voice called from the back.

Mrs Lanes flushed in anger, "Faisal! Principal Ramirez's office NOW. I won't stand for your insolence,"

I took advantage of the shift of attention to scuttle towards an empty seat, my eyes searching for the guy who literally salvaged my dignity.

A dark-skinned boy with dark curly hair traipsed past me, his jeans slung low on his waist, held up by a real looking Gucci belt.

He didn't even acknowledge my presence and went straight out, the door slamming shut behind his receding frame.

What did I even expect? The whole day was such a cliche already, I just wanted to disappear in a dark hole.

I sat up straight and pulled out my notebook, listening carefully to Mrs Lanes, as if nothing ever happened.