The Hijabi's Best Mistake

👑Chapter 87👑 Strong Woman

"Alright, let me get straight to the point." I said, annoyed by their fake enthusiasm.  

"We are about to march to every classroom in this school and demand some respect," I huffed.

"Wait, what?" Coach asked, as everyone finally turned their attention towards me in shock.

"You heard what I said. I'm being serious. No one is taking us seriously. And if you girls haven't noticed already, we have not sold many tickets. Doesn't this bother you, ladies?" I asked.

"We are used to it, Madina," one girl moaned.

"Yeah." Others mumbled, nodding their heads.

"Wrong. How do we expect a change if we don't get up and not make it happen? Let's make this happen! Let's go sell tickets and raise money for the women's association basketball clinic downtown. Do you know how many young girls don't play sports because there aren't enough funds to support a girls’ team? But somehow, there are always teams for boys." I said, circling the cluster of girls sprawled on the floor.  

"Don't you girls want to see a change?"

Some nodded and mumbled, "Yes."

"I don't know about you, but if I wasn't pushed at a young age, I would have never loved basketball, especially not the way I do now. If I wasn't on a team, running back and forth on the court, I would have never experienced this game. These little girls won't experience or love basketball if we can't motivate them at a young age!" I said.

"Let's do this. I'm in," Avery said, standing up in excitement.

"Yeah, even if I have to embarrass myself in front of the whole school, I'll do it, because I can't imagine a little girl not learning to love the game of basketball," Jenn chimed.

Coach smiled and nodded at me.

"Okay, so this is the plan," I began.

We made signs all across the school, pointing towards the cafeteria doors, which was where the tickets would be sold.

I made some girls write announcements that would be aired after each class was to end.

Then, myself and other girls walked in groups to each classroom, asking to speak to the students.

Yes, some teachers were annoyed by a couple girls showing up in jerseys disturbing their classrooms, but hey, it was worth the death glares.

"Damn Madina, you're really scary. We actually sold a lot of tickets." Jasmine exclaimed, counting the tickets in her hands.

I huffed. "I did not scare them!"

"You said, and I quote, 'Buy the tickets, or else you'll be the reason little girls turn into memes instead of basketball players.' I think everyone is a little scared of what will happen to the next generation of kids," she added.

This time I couldn't help but laugh. "Well, it's true, isn't it?"  

"Partly true," Jenn laughed.

We stood at my third period class, where Mr. Ruth was probably going on about the square root of an angle.

I knocked on the door as Mr. Ruth opened the door and smiled.

"Madina," he nodded.

"Mr. Ruth" I anxiously smiled back.

"Why aren't you in class?" He asked with a glint in his eyes.

"Well, that's a wonderful question." I started, a bit nervous, even though I had a valid reason not to be.