47

Kurdish for BFFs

We slept late the next morning. Mum told us to have a lie-in and she brought us up some breakfast – OJ and chocolate spread on toast. She told Nadima not to get up if she didn’t feel like it. But Nadima said she was OK, and then she texted her parents to tell them where she was. So Mum offered to go round to Nadima’s to tell them what had happened.

‘NO!’ cried Nadima. She didn’t want her parents to worry.

But Mum put on her ‘responsible adult’ face and said she was sorry, but she had to tell them. Otherwise how would Nadima explain why she was at our house rather than Kara’s?

When Mum had left the room, Nadima said, ‘You are good friend, Jaz.’

I wished it was true. I wished I was a better friend. The sort of friend that hadn’t embarrassed her, and shamed her family, in front of the entire school.’

‘About the Charity Challenge …’ I started to say. But she cut me off.

‘Is OK, Jaz. You were just try to be nice. To help us. I know.’ Then she added sheepishly, ‘Please can have …?’ and she circled her wrist with the fingers of her other hand.

‘Your bracelet?’ I smiled.

‘Yes, bracelet,’ she repeated.

I pulled it out from the bottom of my school bag where I’d shoved it when Lily had given it to me. Nad held out her wrist and I tied it on her. I put mine back on too.

She pointed to the letters on the heart. ‘What mean?’ she asked.

‘Best friends forever,’ I reminded her.

‘Best friends forever,’ she repeated.

Then she decided to teach me how to say it in Kurdish! So she typed ‘best friends forever’ into her phone and showed me the screen:

‘Seriously, Nadima?!’ I snorted. ‘There’s no way I can say that!’

‘Yes!’ She grinned, and she read it out for me to repeat – knowing full well there was no way I could even get beyond the first word!

Just then there was a knock at the front door. I heard Mum answer it and then say, ‘Yes, go on up.’ Then she shouted, ‘Kara’s here.’

I shot a surprised look at Nadima. Kara’s never even been to my house before.

I heard her feet on the stairs and then she stopped on the landing, not knowing which room was mine. So I opened my door.

‘Hi,’ she said awkwardly, standing in the doorway.

‘Hi,’ I said.

She carried on. ‘I just wanted to come round and say sorry to Nadima, for upsetting her.’ And then she surprised me even more by adding, ‘Um, and to thank you for … you know, for looking after her.’

We stood there looking at each other for a moment. Then she held out a carrier bag. ‘You missed the midnight feast, so I brought you some popcorn.’

‘Thank you,’ I said, taking the bag. I stood back to let her into my room. Then I went and sat back down on my bed, next to Nadima. Kara sort of hovered in the middle of the room.

‘Come and sit down,’ I said. So she sat cross-legged on the air mattress.

There was a bit of a silence, while I ripped open the popcorn and offered it to her.

‘Thanks,’ she said, taking a small handful.

We all sat munching popcorn for a while, until Kara said, ‘I was sooo worried about you, Nadima,’ as melodramatically as ever, I noted. ‘I’m really sorry about the fireworks. You must have been terrified!’

I wondered if she’d come round for a bit more drama. But maybe I was being unfair, because then she looked at me and said, ‘My mum was dead impressed by you, Jaz. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there.’

I shrugged. ‘I was only looking out for Nad.’

‘Well, thank you anyway,’ she said. There was a pause and then she started to get up as if she was leaving.

‘You can stay for a bit, if you like,’ I offered.

‘Actually, my mum’s outside in the car,’ she said.

‘Can’t she come back later?’ I asked.

I watched her face as she decided what to do. It went from surprise, to confusion, and then settled in a smile and she said, ‘OK. Thanks. ’ She texted her mum and settled back down. So I offered her some more popcorn.

We listened to music, chatted a bit and worked our way down the bag of popcorn. She didn’t stay long because she had to go and help clear up after last night. When she left she hugged Nadima, and then she hugged me. So I hugged her back. It was a bit awkward, but it would have been rude not to, wouldn’t it? Nad and I hung over the banisters as she went down the stairs.

‘Thanks for coming to my party,’ she called up.

‘Thanks for inviting me,’ I replied.

‘Thanks for popcorn!’ shouted Nadima with a grin.

‘You’re welcome!’ called Kara, as she shut the front door.

After she’d gone, Nadima started helping me sort out the beds. She rolled her pillow up inside her quilt, neatly, ‘Kara is nice, Jaz. You can be friends,’ she said.

‘No we can’t. She doesn’t like me really,’ I said, letting the air mattress down.

‘Is not true.’ Nadima shook her head.

‘It is. And she doesn’t like me and Lily being friends.’

‘Maybe she think Lily like you more than Lily like her.’

I stared at her. That literally hadn’t occurred to me. I thought about it for a moment and then I said, ‘Well, she’s wrong. Lily likes Kara more than she likes me.’

Nadima burst out laughing.

‘What’s so funny?’

‘You think Lily like Kara more than you. Kara think Lily like you more than Kara. But Lily like both of you!’

Then she spoke more slowly, like she was choosing her words and building her sentence carefully.

‘Jaz, I think … I think you should try like Kara. If you like Kara, then maybe Kara like you. And everyone be friends.’

I thought about it. Maybe she had a point.