Behind Her Hijab | ✓

10| Student Council

I woke up around seven o'clock in the morning, while everyone else was still asleep, and got ready. The bus hadn't arrived yet, so I took a sidewalk path along the street to school. The sidewalk was usually empty in the mornings, as almost everyone rode the bus because the American students all claimed that they "didn't want to walk a whole mile at seven-thirty in the morning."

As I approached the school's front doors, I began to hear a sound. A voice, to be exact. I push the heavy doors open and walk through the unusually empty halls, and past many unusually empty classrooms. But I could still hear the voice.

I noticed a open door to my right. One classroom wasn't empty. Inside the classroom were two familiar faces, belonging to Morgan and Latonya. I hadn't seen this classroom before, and there was a large sign on the classroom door. D-E-T-E-N-T-I-O-N.

I wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but by the look on Morgan and Latonya's faces, I didn't think I wanted to be there.

Latonya gave me a sour glance, then turned to whisper something to Morgan. I was about to try and figure out what they said when the sound of loud footsteps began to fill my ears.

"Samariyah?" a voice asked.

I turned around to find the exact person I was looking for. "Ms. Miller."

"What are you doing here?" she wondered.

"I was finding you," I told her.

"Oh!" she said, surprised. "Well... is there anything you need?"

"No, I don't need anything," I said. "But I want to know about the Student Council."

Ms. Miller smiled grimly, "The Student Council... you can't run."

My eyebrows shot up instantly, "What?"

She sighed, then explained, "I said you should run for the Sophomore Council, you're not ready to run for the School Wide Council yet.

"If you sign up to run for the Sophomore Council, I strongly suggest you run for Treasurer. Morgan Myers would be the only person running against you. The school webpage should explain everything to you."

I nodded, still processing some information, then asked, "Who are running for the other positions?

Ms. Miller fiddled with her pearl earrings, then answered, "As far as I know, Latonya Lee and Eliana Maxford are both for President. Jaxon Cruz, Miles Mason, and Todd Andarson are Vice. And the only person running for Secretary is Jessi Donalds."

"Morgan and Latonya!" I moaned.

"Yeah, I know you don't like them, but I think you can handle them during the speeches."

"You know?" I asked.

"Teachers know everything, even your grades."

I couldn't help but laugh just a little at the last part of what she said.

Ms. Miller smiled, "Enough with the childish giggles Samariyah, you have a speech to prepare for."

She turned around to walk away, and then I laughed again, "For the record, my name is Samira."

Sure, Lansing is different, and they may not be able to say my name correctly, but I still had to try. And if Allah wills it, they will know me as Samira. Not Sami, nor Samariyah. Just Samira.

******

I walked up a large, concrete driveway, and approached a large set of glass double doors. Above them, in large white letters, was that word, "library".