Holding onto Charcoal

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

I didn't have time to change for school before the bell rang. I got down and opened the door.

It was Mostafa Alayoubi.

"Hey," he said.

"Hello."

"Do you have the things?"

"Yeah. Just let me go get them."

He stood on the side and crossed his arms, waiting.

I got inside and met mom in the living room. "Is it him?"

"Yes."

She pressed her lips, then nodded.

When I reached the attic, I brought Ayah's bag from under the desk. Then I held her things and stared at them for a long time. I was saying goodbye to Ayah's things. I was letting the memories go. The image of the trunk. I was letting Ayah go. I wasn't going to forget-I don't think I'll ever forget, but I was letting it be. It wasn't going to hurt anymore. I wasn't going to bury it down in the pit of my thoughts. I was letting her go, making it okay that she's gone.

It's okay.

"Here," I said, when I reached the door.

Mostafa stared at my outstretched hand for a moment. His eyes were fixed on the bag. It never struck me how significant these things were to Mostafa. His sister's bag. How many times he'd seen her wear it. How he never thought anything of it. The books inside. The ones that perhaps he'd bought for her. He'd never see her write in them again.

Mostafa's eyes got blurry. He took in a breath and straightened his back. Without saying a word he took the bag from me with care, like it was a glass vase that would shatter at any moment. He looked at me once, nodded, then headed off to his car.

Mom's hand was on my shoulder, and for once I was glad to have it.

***

At school, the Connors issue was turning out more steaming than I thought it would be.

First of all, my parents got called to the principal's office. Then Connors got called to the principal's office. Then I got called to the principal's office. Connors seemed like he was about to axe me, but I couldn't have cared less.

It wasn't just that. After Connors denied all his actions (spare a thing or two, to make his opinion sound realistic-the dickhead), Mrs. Roberts gathered a bunch of students to ask them about what they had seen. She wouldn't tell on them, so they could be truthful. So long as it wasn't Zack and his gang, I was hoping the students would side up with me. They were supposed to keep it secret, so obviously in no time I was the biggest thing in school since Darya Blanca started going out with Zack.

Like I needed more attention.

Now chatters were erupting before I even moved near people. They weren't hiding it anymore, weren't looking away when I held my head up to see them. Not that I held it up that often. They didn't steer away from me when I walked too near. It was like they had suddenly forgotten I was the same guy they were running away from after Al-Qaeda attacks. Now I was just the trendiest thing in Sorano school. The kid who had spoken up about Connors.

For that, I got a lot of praise. For one, Corey and Mason were blown away by what I had done. They were blown away that the problem was this big, wanted to know all that happened. Said they'd heard rumors, but honestly I was in no mood to discuss it. Some students cheered me on in the corridors. I was given a high five more than once. And hence some students thought I was being a brat, just doing this for attention. These were the ones still scolding me. Naturally, Darya Blanca was one of them, seeing as she dates Zack, and was heating up a lot of students on me. Honestly, I couldn't have cared less. Usually, the girl issues stayed with the girls, and the guy issues stayed with the guys, but Darya was super crazy about this argument. I had a crush on this girl one time? What the hell?