Once Upon A Muslim

Chapter 6 | It's All Revealed Now

Ten seconds. That's all that it had to take. Yet he didn't do it.

I roll my eyes at Nick as I measure the water in the beaker with the thermometer provided by our science teacher. "It's that easy," I tell him as I write down a few notes on the temperature of the water.

Nick shrugs. "I know. I just wanted you to do it."

I sigh at his bluntness. I look at the clock on the wall above the wooden door of the science lab. "Four more minutes and we're outta here," I announce. I gather my things together and set my bag on the table. "Will it be like this throughout the year?" I inquire.

Nick nods, the smirk playing on his lips evident. "Yup," he replies popping the 'p'.

I roll my eyes and walk over to the teacher's desk and hand him the sheet of paper in which I wrote down the notes. I head back to the desk where Nick is waiting patiently. He's staring out the window beside him, smiling at the puffy white clouds floating across the baby blue sky. Wind picks up snow from the ground and swirls it in the air, carrying it to places beyond the eye can see. The sun peeks out from one of the clouds, it's light almost blinding, yet beautiful.

"Nice view, huh?" I remark, enjoying the marvelous scene as much as he is.

"It reminds me of my mom. She was beautiful," he whispers, his eyes trained on the sky.

"Is it easy?" I blurt out.

He turns to me. "What, exactly?"

"Was. Isn't that a word that settles a great amount of anguish in your heart? Because it's always a hard thing for me to say. I wonder about you; your situation is worse than mine."

He cocks his eyebrow, confused. "What situation?"

I bite my lip and ponder over whether or not this is the right time to tell him. Yes, it is. I always tell people that my parents are divorced and I live under a roof with a strict mom and two unhappy siblings. So why am I hesitating with Nick? I take a deep breath before I let out, "My parents are divorced."

Now, the bright scene outside seems to be more dull and blunt, because my emotions are in a pool of murky fog. I wait for his reaction. He might say something like 'Your problem is nothing compared to mine'. I bite my lip harder, waiting in anticipation as Nick relaxes in his chair.

"I'm sorry," is all he says. I remember the day in the park when I said sorry too, but Nick said I should not be, cancer should.

I shake my head. "Don't be. Things are just the way they are. And we can't change that."

As Nick nods, the bell rings, and everyone files out of the classroom except for the teacher and Nick and I, stuck to our chairs. I sling my book bag over one shoulder and stand up, walking away from the beautiful scene displayed out the window. Nick follows me on my heel, but soon, I don't see him behind me anymore, due to the enormous amount of people in the hallway. (One of the things that suck about school.)

I feel my phone vibrate next to my thigh. I slip into my Algebra class and sit at the back corner. Honestly, the back seats that are in the corners of the classroom--or any classroom--are ultimately the best. You get privacy, yet you have quite a view of everyone else in the class. It's like wearing a pair of dark shades, like Isabela's, concealing your eyes, but not concealing anyone else's.

I get my phone from my pocket and open the text I was sent.

Sorry about that. Should I call you later?

It's from Nick. I reply:

No, let's just text each other later. Mom will go nuts if she finds out I'm talking to a boy.