THE SCHOOL BUZZED.
Farrin felt it as soon as she walked through the door. The air seemed alive with energy. Girls stood in their groups, gossiping as usual, but their posture was different. As Farrin walked past them, instead of closing ranks to exclude her, they turned to her.
She couldn’t read their faces.
At first she thought they were laughing at her. That was the reason she usually drew students’ attention, when they were looking for someone to ridicule.
Then she wondered if there had been another tragedy – something unexpected, since the war had been over for a while. She wondered who had died, and how.
But then one of the older girls left the group she was with and came over to shake Farrin’s hand.
‘Congratulations,’ the girl said.
‘For what?’
‘You don’t know?’ The girl turned to her friends. ‘She doesn’t know. Let’s show her.’
The group swept her up. They put their hands around her waist and arms, and headed down the hall toward the main entrance.
Farrin usually entered the building through the side entrance – the one closest to the spot where Ahmad dropped her off. The main entrance was in the center of the building, where Principal Kobra’s office and the main bulletin board were situated.
The bulletin board held announcements about after-school groups, detentions, monitor meetings, uniform sales, and other school business.
It was also the place where the half-term academic standings were posted.
As soon as the group started heading in that direction, Farrin knew – she knew – that she was about to have one of the most victorious moments of her life.
But was Sadira going to be up there with her?
She needn’t have worried.
‘You have done what nobody else has managed to do,’ one of the girls said. ‘You have beaten Pargol.’
There it was, right up on the bulletin board, for everyone to see. Farrin’s name was in second place, with a ninety-one percent average. Sadira’s name was first, with ninety-three. Pargol’s name appeared next, a distant third place, with eighty-eight percent.
‘Here comes our first-placer! Three cheers for Sadira!’
The cheers rang out as Sadira stepped into the building and walked over to the bulletin board. Admiring girls immediately surrounded her.
Farrin grinned at Sadira, then stared again at the standings sheet. She could not take her eyes off that ninety-one percent by her name.
She had never been awarded a grade that high before. And it was her average grade for the term! That meant she had even higher grades in some of her individual classes. She was used to mediocrity, to doing just enough work to avoid attracting the teachers’ attention. She had never made an effort.
Ever since she had begun to study with Sadira, Farrin’s brain had worked more than ever before. The biggest thing she’d learned that term was self-discipline. It hadn’t even been that hard, not once she learned how to clear her mind of distractions and focus in on the work. She and Sadira had studied during lunch hour away from the other girls, sitting on the floor of the gym with their books in front of them. Farrin had really paid attention in class, and in the evening, studying had given her the perfect excuse to use the phone to call Sadira with questions. She’d even studied in bed with her books propped up on her knees. Her videos of The Night Stalker had sat forgotten, gathering dust.
Farrin felt a slight twinge of worry. What would her mother say about her being in the second position? But she couldn’t see how her good grades in organic chemistry could thwart her mother’s efforts to bring back the Shah, so she decided not to tell.
‘Our work paid off,’ Sadira said.
‘I didn’t know I had it in me,’ said Farrin.
Sadira grinned. ‘Oh, I knew you did. Just don’t get any fancy ideas about pulling ahead of me!’
‘Is that right?’ Farrin laughed. ‘Next month my name will be on top!’
It was all part of their plan to feel alive as long as they could. Since work was part of life, if they had to work, they would really work. When they were in gym class, playing sports, they played hard. Whatever they did, they tried to do it full out.
The chattering suddenly died away as Pargol entered the hall and walked over to the bulletin board. But before the monitor could take a look, Sadira held out her hand.
‘Congratulations, Pargol,’ she said. ‘Top three.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Then Pargol saw the sheet. Her face turned to stone.
‘I didn’t know you were a scholar,’ she said to Sadira.
‘My father spends a lot of time with books,’ Sadira told her. ‘He taught me how to study.’
‘Oh,’ said Pargol. ‘That explains it. You come by it naturally.’
‘Plus I work hard,’ Sadira said.
Pargol waved her off.
‘You,’ she said to Farrin,‘must have cheated.’
The students all gasped at once. To accuse someone of cheating was serious. Cheating could mean getting kicked out of the academy. A cheater would disgrace herself and her family to such an extent that it was unlikely she would ever attend another school. Her family would marry her off as quickly and as quietly as possible.
Farrin found herself clenching her fists.
Sadira stepped between them. ‘I know you don’t really believe she cheated,’ she said, ‘because that would mean you were also accusing our teachers of being fools for letting it happen. You are disappointed at coming in third because you are usually at the top, but this is better. Now everyone will be excited to see who will be on top next! Farrin has moved so far up in a single term that other girls will believe they can advance too. It will be better for our class to be excited. Better for the school, too, because other classes will want to see if they can beat us. And it will be better for the revolution, because the people will be served by well educated women.’
Pargol squared her shoulders. ‘I can accept this talk about the revolution from you because you have paid for your words. You’ve lost family to the war and you live humbly. But this one,’ she jerked her thumb at Farrin, ‘is not about serving the people. She is about serving herself. Her whole family is selfish. They live in a mansion, thinking they can hide their guilt behind high walls. She even has a grandfather who was best buddies with the Shah!’
Another gasp from the students.
‘We can’t choose our relatives,’ Sadira said, keeping her voice quiet and steady. ‘Any family tree is bound to have a few rotten pomegranates.’
‘The whole point of the revolution was to bring an end to the rot,’ Pargol said, ‘not to make friends with it.’
The group went tomb-silent. There was such meanness in the insult. It had gone beyond ordinary nastiness into something more sinister.
Farrin’s heart began to thump in her chest.
Then she felt Sadira’s hand slide gently into the bend of her elbow. Sadira guided her away.
‘It’s a beautiful day,’ Sadira said, softly, ‘and we are on top of the world.’
Farrin put her hand on top of Sadira’s.
She felt the ridge of Sadira’s fingertips along her arm, and slowly she began to calm down.