Instant Replay

"Beeja Abdullah?" the teacher called.

It was Beeja's first day of second grade, and she was sitting at the front of the room by herself. She'd found in first grade that children were cruel. They had been since they realized that no one else wore that red thing on their foreheads or that little head scarf.

They teased her sometimes, but mostly, she just felt lonely.

As the teacher continued to call role, a small boy with a buzzcut ran into the room. In a voice nearly as tiny as his body, he apologized to the teacher for being late. He said that he was new, and that his name was Rian Dawson.

The teacher smiled kindly and told him to take a seat. Rian happily skipped toward Beeja and took the seat next to her.

"Hi!" he said. "I'm Rian, what's your name? I really like that dot on your face. It looks pretty!"

Beeja's face exploded into her own grin.

"Hi, Rian," she said. "My name's Beeja. The dot is called a bindi, I think. My mommy says it represents smartness, but I think that's silly because the teacher doesn't yell at smart people, so I must not be very smart!"

"Yeah, I guess not. But that's okay, because you're nice. My daddy says that it doesn't matter how smart you are if you're not nice."

"I like your daddy, I think. That sounds like something my daddy would say. He helps put mean people in jail. I think all mean people should go to jail."

"Me too. I don't think it matters that you're not smart, though. Maybe you were smart in a past life. My mommy says that we all have past lives."

"That's what it says in the book my mommy reads to me sometimes. Maybe our mommies could be friends and then we can have a play date."

"Yeah! I've never had a play date," Rian said.

"Me neither," Beeja agreed.

After that, Rian and Beeja became attached at the hip. They did everything together, and when a new boy joined Beeja's class in sixth grade, Rian was the first one she told.

"There's a new boy in my class!" she said as she fell into the seat next to Rian on the bus. "He's Lebanese, like me. Isn't that cool? And his last name is a B, so he sits right next to me, and I don't have to sit next to Anna anymore. He even defended me when she called me ugly. He's so cute."

"Really? What's his name?"

"Jack," Beeja sighed. "He said my bindi was pretty and that Beeja was a nice name."

"What's he look like?" Rian asked, humoring his best friend.

"He's shorter than me, but that's okay 'cause boys get tall in high school. At least that's what my mom says. And he has black hair and really pretty brown eyes. Oh, and he has a really big nose."

"Well," Rian laughed. "I sure hope your mom is right, otherwise I'm doomed."

"You're gonna be short forever," Beeja laughed along. "Are you coming over for dinner tonight?"

"What's your dad making?"

"My mom convinced him to make rice and curry."

Rian scrunched his nose up.

"Nah, dude. Too spicy. Do you wanna come to mine? My mom's ordering pizza and I got the new Blink album."

"Oh, yeah! I have to wait for my next allowance to buy it. Have you listened to it yet?" Beeja asked enthusiastically.

"No, I just got it last night," Rian said. "I wanted to wait and listen to it with you."

"Sweet!" Beeja exclaimed.

At Rian's stop, the pair hopped off the bus and made their way to his house.

"Hey, mom!" Rian called. "Beeja's here! She's staying for dinner."

"Hi, sweetheart," Rian's mom said, coming down the steps and pulling Beeja into a hug. "How's your mother?"

"Hi, Mrs. Dawson," Beeja replied. "She's doing well. Speaking of, can I use your phone to call her and tell her I'm here?"

"Of course, come on upstairs and I'll get you two snacks."

Beeja and Rian followed Mrs. Dawson upstairs. Mrs. Dawson handed Beeja the phone and cut an apple into slices as Beeja dialed Navya's number.

"Hello?" Navya's voice rang through the phone's speaker.

"Hi, Momma," Beeja said. "Is it alright if I stay at Rian's for dinner?"

"Beeja, your dad's making curry," Navya sighed.

"Please?" Beeja pleaded. "He got the new Blink-182 album."

"I can't keep up with you kids and your music," Navya laughed. "Fine. I love you, sweetie. Be home by seven, please."

"Yes. I love you, Momma."

"Bye."

Beeja hung up the phone. Rian grabbed the plate of apple slices and dragged her down the hall to his bedroom.

"Ready?" Rian asked as he loaded the CD into his radio. "Our lives are about to change."

"I'm so ready," Beeja nodded, taking the case from her best friend's hand and lying back on his bed as he pressed play.

"It's understood, I said it many ways
Too scared to run, I'm too scared to stay," Tom Delonge sang through the speakers.

Beeja examined the album art before turning it over and looking over the track listing. She opened up the album case and pulled out the lyric booklet, skimming its contents.

There was the sound of something hitting the wall outside.

"Did you hear that?" Beeja asked, lifting her head from the pillow.

"Yeah, hold on," Rian said, sticking his head out of the open window.

"Hey, I love Blink!" someone called from the ground. "Is this their new album?"

Rian turned and looked at Beeja with a knowing look on his face.

"I think it's Jack," Rian whispered, beckoning Beeja closer.

Beeja stood from the bed and stood next to Rian, leaning out of the window to see that it was Jack.

"Hey, Beeja!" he yelled.

"Yo, Jack, what's up, dude?" she yelled back.

"Do you wanna come up and listen with us?" Rian asked.

And that's how Jack became the newest member of their friend group.