Hooked By The Hijabi

Eighteen

5th April, 2004

Twenty-one pairs of eyes swiveled towards the door of the classroom as it slid open, bringing into view a peculiar sight. A girl with long, unrestrained pastel-blue hair framing a pale face stood smiling and undaunted. Not only was her white shirt wrinkled, her whole attire- including her black pleated skirt and black leggings- were besmirched in dirt patches.

"My god..." The teachers muttered in alarm.

"I believe I'm late," The girl said.

"What in the- " The teacher began again, but stopped short as a thought crossed her mind. "Ah, you must me the new transfer student I've been warned- I mean- informed about."

"May I come in?"

"Young lady, I have to tell you this is a prestigious school and," The teacher closed her eyes briefly as if she could feel a headache arising, "On top of being tardy on your first day, your uniform is a mess. What kind of impression are you trying to make? Could you please explain yourself?"

The girl kept smiling, unabashed.

"Well, I wasn't planning on telling anyone about this but, if you must know, I chased down a pervert on the way. My tie is missing 'cause I used it to bind his arms after I caught him."

Some of the students snickered.

"At least you came up with a creative excuse. I'll be lenient since it's your first day. But mind you, the school has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to breaking protocol."

"That's what they all say." The girl mutters under her breathe.

"Sorry?"

"Oh, nothing."

"All right. Come here and introduce yourself."

Yamira stalked inside and stood before all the curious, gawking faces.

"Hi. I'm Yamira Zaber-"

A buzz of murmur breaks out instantly.

"Did you get kicked out from your old school?" a girl sitting at the back asked boldly.

Yamira stared at the girl for a moment, before her eyes strayed to the boy sitting on the third row, fifth bench. Her smile widened a fraction.

"If you want to know the simple truth, I left 'cause it got boring. No school would want to lose a student like me."

The brash statement rendered the whole class speechless.

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Y U S H A

"...Jessica seizes control of our offense. After prompting a double team, Jessica flings the ball to Tan, who in turn drops it to me at the side, swerving the attention of the Dartmouths defense. I dribble hard to the middle before projecting a pass to Nat. With just 0.7 seconds of overtime remaining, Nat leaps up and sinks a three-pointer! And we're TIED!"

Maha punctuates her animated recount of the inter-university basketball finale with a punch in the air, and I couldn't help but smile. It takes me back to our middle school days when she would seek me out during lunch break or after school or sometimes even early in the morning before classes would start, brimming with energy and hardly able to contain her enthusiasm before unleashing it on me. It would usually be about a basketball match she watched or a new basketball trick she mastered. Yeah, more often than not, it would be about basketball. Now, seeing her like this makes me realize I've missed it.