Disrupted Alliance

We moved into a new house one week ago. It's cool because Abou said Zain and I have our own backyard. It's our own park. So we can play whenever we want and don't even have to ask to go outside. Our house has orange bricks and white fences around it. The garage door is white and has a button switch. So we can push the code and go into the garage for our bikes.

I'm not tall enough yet, but Zain takes my bike out for me when I need it.

We had to start a new school too. I'm in grade five now and I wear my hijab every day and everywhere we go. Ammy says that Muslim women wear it for modesty and that girls should hide their beauty and only show it to their husbands.

You have to be really old to get married though. I want to get married when I'm 21 because that's my favourite number. Then I'll be old enough too.

At my new school Forest Woods Elementary School there are three girls in the school with the same name as me. Fatima is my name and they are all the same, but in different grades. Everyone calls me Fatima N. and they call Fatima R. with her initial and Fatima K. and Fatima A. with theirs too. I don't really like Fatima K. because she asks me too many questions. Also, Fatima K is in the same class as me.

"Why do you wear that on your head?" Fatima K. asks.

"Because I'm Muslim. It's part of my religion." I say.

"I know, my mom and grandma wear it, but you don't have to!" I stare at Fatima K., why wouldn't you want to?

"Hey Fatima K. are you bugging my sister again?" Zain says walking over to the swings we are sitting on. Swings I stopped swinging on because Fatima K. kept asking me so many questions.

"No I'm not Zain. We're going to play. but Fatima N. doesn't want to. Do you want to play with me?" Fatima K. likes Zain, she always talks to him whenever he comes to talk to me. It's so annoying. My friend Samantha told me that Fatima K. has a crush on Zain. But Zain isn't allowed playing with girls, only me. And I'm not allowed playing with boys except for Zain.

"I'm playing soccer and I don't play with girls. I play with boys. My mom said so." Zain says.

Fatima K. looks angry right now. She looks like when I told her my name was Fatima too. She wanted to be the only Fatima in our grade.

After lunch recess I went to my hooks and put on my indoor shoes. I went inside the classroom and sat beside Samantha and Lauren.

Lauren's really nice and she always sends me secret notes on colourful paper. She has lots of colours, like orange and purple and blue and she shares them with everyone at our table. Samantha, Ricky and I all get to use her paper to write notes. I only write notes to Samantha and Lauren because when you write notes to boys that means you like them and I don't want to write gross notes.

We have French period and a new teacher is coming in. She has a hijab like me! I remember her from the circus. Her hijab is just purple and mine is blue and has white swirls like mehndi on it.

"Bonjour." She says.

"Bonjour Madame." My class says together.

I didn't know that Muslims could learn French! When I grow up I want to be a teacher, or maybe I want to make pretty dresses like Ammy, or I could work at the circus selling tickets!

The next day at school I talk to Mrs. Khan the French teacher and ask her if I can change my name. I told her everyone has my name so she let me change it. Also, I told her that sometimes people say Fatima and then sometimes they say Fatty.

I don't like being called Fatty, it's mean.