Guarding My Faith

nine

There was a time when Sara forced me to stay home from school for awhile after my parents were imprisoned. During that time, I reflected on myself and my actions. I was and still, am so fortunate that I found such a wonderful friend who helped me with everything I did.

I owe so much to her.

And then there's Adam. He helps me with my homework occasionally and teases me, but I know he's a good person at heart. I do hear him reciting the Quran in his room, and sometimes, stop doing work and listen to his beautiful recitation. It's as if the Arabic words of the Qur'an were always on his tongue, but he could never let it out. He was always surrounded by the "wrong crowd" and they affected his choices, actions, and decisions.

I wait patiently in front of the school for Adam. It takes a while so I sit down on the huge steps and quickly type up my homework on my phone. I suddenly hear a loud horn of a car beeping, which at first, I ignore it and continue typing up my homework. When I hear the loud beep again, I look up.

Adam?

I stand up quickly and run towards the car. I open the car door and jump inside. As I'm buckling myself in the seat, I notice Adam rolling his eyes. "Did you not hear my beeps?"

I sniff from the cold and nod towards my phone. "I was busy, why didn't you just call me?"

When the car stops on a red light, he shows me his phone. I gasp and run my fingers over the cracked screen. "How did you crack it?"

"I forgot I left my phone in the pocket of my shirt, so while I was taking out my clothes it fell and hit the floor... and broke."

"When will you get a new one, then?"

"Right after I pick up Yasmin," he replies.

"What about Sara?"

"I'm right here," a muffled voice says from the back of the car.

Adam laughs at the shocked expression on my face. "Why are you sitting in the back? And since when were you in the car?"

"Oh, you know, just doing my duties as a sister to clean his car," she replies sarcastically. Her head pops up from the back seat, causing me to jump in surprise. She smiles and waves towards me before digging her way back inside the trunk. "I spilled juice, so I'm cleaning it up."

I resettle myself into the seat and look towards the fading school. Kim and Hannah are walking together towards the nearby Starbucks. It was a tradition that we go there to hang out and gossip about relationships and criticize my ex.

Just because I converted to Islam and changed my way of dressing doesn't mean that I'm not the same Alexis anymore. I'm stronger and more mentally prepared for everything now that I have Allah with me. What was I before? I was a human with no recognition that we would all die someday.

When we lose something, Allah brings us something better. In my case, I lost my friends but I gained an even better friend. Sara is just a person, but she's a person who changed my entire lifestyle and she's the reason I am who I am today. It's crazy how just one person can change someone's life. How just one action changes how one perceives things to be.

As soon as Adam pulls up in front of Yasmin's elementary school, the little ray of sunshine jumps up and down, waving to me from the driver's seat. My smile widens as I wave back at her.

"Lexi!" she screams, running towards the car.

"Be careful!" I scream back. Adam groans, plugging a finger into his ear. I roll my eyes and continue smiling and waving towards Yasmin as she makes her way over. "How was school?"