There was a roar of applause as Inaya stepped away from the podium. As she walked backstage again, she ignored Mrs. Ford, whose expression of scorn was so pronounced that Inaya could almost taste the woman’s disgust.
Inaya halted her steps to pick up her backpack, and she slung it over her shoulder before she continued walking to the exit door backstage. As the door closed behind her, she descended the steps of the empty hall that led to the main auditorium.
Inaya pulled open the auditorium door, and the noise level rose, and she suddenly found herself swarmed by reporters, administrators and friends.
“It appears there was a misunderstanding,” a news anchor said, speaking into a video camera. “Earlier reports suggested that the school reserved its most distinguished award and scholarship for only Christian students. But as we saw tonight, both of these awards were given to Inaya Donald, a Muslim girl who we’re told enrolled in the school earlier this year after living in Saudi Arabia…”
***
Inaya squealed when she saw her mother and Sister Anisa approaching her from the crowd. Laughing, Inaya wedged her way through the swarms of people until she was in front of her mother. Inaya threw her arms around Veronica, and they held each other in a warm embrace.
“How did you find out?” Inaya said after they released each other, Inaya still holding her mother’s hands. Inaya was smiling so widely that her cheeks hurt. She was grateful that her mother and Sister Anisa were not wearing their face veils.
Veronica smiled. “Sister Amal called to congratulate me.”
Inaya laughed and nodded. “I should’ve thought of that.”
“Hey, superstar!”
Inaya turned to find Nasra approaching her with her arms outstretched. Inaya accepted the hug, and when Nasra released her, Inaya saw Sister Amal smiling at her from behind Nasra.
“We’re so proud of you, Inaya,” Amal said. “Really, it was such a blessing to be here tonight.”
***
After chatting with her mother, some friends, and administrators, Inaya rode with Kayla back to Chris’s house.
“Did you hear what happened?” Kayla said as she drove down the highway in the darkness. She glanced at Inaya.
Inaya creased her forehead and looked at her cousin. “No.” She shook her head. “What?”
Kayla smirked. “Lyrica’s pissed off at you.”
Inaya contorted her face in confusion. “Lyrica?”
“Yeah, because you ruined her lawsuit.”
“What?”
Kayla smirked and shook her head. “You showed up in hijab.”
Inaya shook her head, confused. “But she knew all along that I was Muslim.”
“Yeah, but Mrs. Ford didn’t.” Kayla raised an eyebrow. “And neither did Lyrica’s parents.”
Inaya was quiet momentarily. “She told her parents I was Christian?”
“Let’s just call it the sin of omission.” Kayla grinned. “I think she just decided not to tell them you weren’t.”
“And how is that my fault?”
“Well, to win the lawsuit, they have to prove the school favors Christians,” Kayla said. “How can they do that now that the world just saw an obvious Muslim take both awards? And from a church-funded scholarship too.” Kayla shook her head, smiling. “If anything, this shows how open-minded the school and church are.”
Inaya grunted. “I wouldn’t call them open-minded. At least not if Mrs. Ford has anything to do with it.”
“I second that,” Kayla said, humor in her tone. “But come next week, I think even Mrs. Ford is going to be thanking you.”
“Yeah right. I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t crucify me,” Inaya said, grunting laughter. “No pun intended.”
Kayla laughed. “Well, between me and you, I overhead some of the administration talking about suspending her.”
Inaya’s eyes widened as she looked at Kayla. “Are you serious?”
“Well, I think the term was ‘mandatory leave of absence.’”
“Wow. So they know what she’s been doing?”
“Who knows?” Kayla shrugged. “They may have known all along and just turned a blind eye.” She huffed. “Like schools usually do. But now with all the media attention and threats of litigation, it forces them to at least look like they care.”
“This is all one big mess,” Inaya said with a sigh.
“Not really,” Kayla said. “I think it’s all for the best.” She chuckled. “Who would’ve known that your last-minute decision to throw on a hijab would solve everything for everyone?”
Inaya was silent momentarily. “Except for Lyrica.”
Kayla waved her hand dismissively. “She needs to get over herself if you ask me.”
Inaya stared at Kayla. “I would’ve never expected you to say that.”
Kayla shrugged. “She’s my best friend, but that doesn’t mean I agree with everything she does.”
Kayla was silent momentarily. “Okay,” Kayla said with a sigh, “I do think Mrs. Ford deserved the lawsuit though. But not the whole school. Lyrica could’ve solved her complaints internally if she really felt she was being wronged.”
Inaya looked out the window beside her. “Maybe.”
“Life is life,” Kayla said with a shrug. “My parents say there are some things you just have to live with. You can’t fight the world every time things don’t go your way.”
“You sound like my mom,” Inaya said, rolling her eyes, a reflective smile on her face. “She always says you have to learn to live with people’s imperfections. ‘There’s only one fight worth fighting every time,’” Inaya mocked with a smirk. “‘And that’s the one against your own imperfections.’”
Kayla nodded thoughtfully. “Well, she’s right.”