Once Upon A Muslim

Chapter 8 | A Wave of Worry

BEFORE YOU READ YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT THIS CHAPTER IS RUSHED. Yeah, sorry about that....I'm not the greatest writer, and I also promised to upload in like less than a week so yeah...Kay, enjoy! Don't forget to vote and comment! Your comments make me smile! Okay, I should stop typing now.

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Winter break finally rolls around. I am relieved that we have two weeks off of school. For me, that means two weeks away from any potential danger: Nick and his crew. It also means that I have one more week to spend with Zahra before she finally moves to Florida, and a week and a half to spend with my dad and his fiancee.

Georgia makes a mouth-watering breakfast which includes blueberry waffles, syrup, bacon, and orange juice. I don't even touch the bacon. Mom gives me an incredulous look. "Sweetie, don't you want some bacon? I thought you like bacon. I've bought two boxes just for you." 

I shake my head. "I'm getting too used to bacon. I'm thinking of consuming it more moderately," I reply frankly. In my head, I'm thinking, I won't eat bacon ever again. I drink a sip of my juice. 

Kara looks at me dubiously, whereas Keith enjoys his breakfast. "This is great!" he remarks with his mouth full of food.

Georgia gives him a smile. "Why thank you, Keith. I'm happy you think so." 

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Georgia is nice. Too nice. I just can't stand it, considering that I'm now Muslim and I'm trying to be more kind and respectful. All my life, I've been around people who are rough and bitter, not soft and sweet like my future stepmother. Dad seems to be overlooking this. He grins at Georgia every time he makes eye contact with her. It's like he's a clown without the makeup, and no, I'm not trying to insult my own father. Duh.

Mom has been getting used to this by now. She looks less agitated and more comfortable, now that she accepted the fact that yes, Dad is going to marry a gorgeous woman. Not her. I almost feel bad for Mom, who forces a smile on her face when deep down she's in emotional pain.

One thing always comes to mind when I notice everybody is in a happy mood: should I finally tell my family that I am Muslim? There would be less of a chance for my parents to be highly disappointed in me. But I just have a feeling that there is going to be a more opportune time for me to announce my conversion. And when that time is, I absolutely have no idea.

"Daisy, I've been thinking of taking the kids skating," Georgia announces. Mom squeezes syrup on to her stack of pancakes. The syrup falls down gradually to the red ceramic plate. Mom just nods. She hasn't spoken all morning. "Great. We'll go in an hour. Are you coming along, Marcus?" she asks Dad.

He shakes his head. "Daisy and I both need to talk," he responds grimly. "You go spend some time with the kids."

I really want both my parents to tag along. I've never been skating with my dad in months, and Mom is not into that kind of thing, maybe because skating results into falling on your butt five thousand times. Well, if you're an amateur. 

"Dad, please," Keith pleads, as if he was reading my thoughts. "You and Mom can talk later. You're staying here for another ten days anyways. There's plenty of time to talk." 

Dad sighs. "I don't know, kiddo..."

"Dad?" Kara pipes up. "We really miss hanging out with you." She hugs our father. "Can you please come along?"

Dad looks deafeated and finally nods. "Okay."

My siblings scream in joy, thrusting there forks in the air, and knocking there juice on the table. Nobody doesn't bother to scold them; we all know that they miss Dad dearly. And so do I.