Chapter 35
JONAH: Hey Aaliyah. Haven’t seen you online. You okay?
Jonah had emailed me on my school email account on Sunday.
After I topped up Furball’s litter and food and put the extras in the drawer under my bed, I emailed Jonah back, telling him about my phone ban.
JONAH: Oh, that sucks. Sorry. Feifei and Leon were wondering how you’re doing too. It was weird without you guys in citizenship on Friday. Mr. Wilkinson lost it with Jayden! Think he’s probably going to be suspended again too for starting a fight with Leon in the lesson. He threw a chair and was caught swearing at Leon.
ME: NO WAY! Poor Leon. And good riddance.
I switched off the track I was listening to so I could concentrate on our chat.
JONAH: What you did outside Mrs. Owen’s office was brilliant. You should’ve seen her face. What are you going to do next?
ME: I have no idea what to do tbh. I don’t want to get anyone else in trouble.
JONAH: Well, we’ve got your back. We’ll support you whatever you do. I think you’re doing the right thing.
He added a fist bump emoji.
ME: Actually my mum said I should write to the governors. But I can’t really see that making a difference.
But I’d love to know if they’d rather support a nasty petition and Mrs. Owen’s dumb excuse for the ban instead of our right to express ourselves the way we want.
I added the shrugging emoji.
ME: Also who else has got my back? 😃
JONAH: All of us — me, Leon, Feifei, even the new boy Sami said “nice one” as he walked past your protest! Leon said you should’ve told us about it and he’d have worn his cross too. I would’ve worn my kippah.
ME: Oh, wow. That would’ve been awesome.
But then I realized they’d have got suspended too, so maybe not.
JONAH: Why don’t you speak to the governors directly at the summer fete next weekend? They’ll definitely be there. The student council’s been asked to look after them and you’re helping us with the fundraising anyway, so they’ll just think you’re a part of the council.
ME: Oooh! That’s a good idea! I’ll start thinking about what we should all say!
JONAH: We? Who?
ME: All of us. If you guys want to.
JONAH: Cool.
There was a long pause. I didn’t know what else to say. So I rounded up our chat.
ME: Thanks, Jonah. I’m off school for three days but back on Thursday, so let’s meet up at break or lunch with the others and see how we can convince the governors.
JONAH: Yeah, or if you want, we can set up a group chat. Do you have Connectstra?
ME: I can download it! That would be much better actually. Gives me something to do this week!😃
Furball settled in my lap as I pressed Send, and I smiled. We were going to be making our own kind of student council group. If we managed to reverse the ban, life would be so much easier at school. It would prove to people like Sasha and Jayden that they were wrong and we had as much right as anyone else to dress how we wanted.
I forwarded our email chat to Sukhi and Lisa. Sukhi replied straight away. Lisa didn’t. In fact, I realized now that she hadn’t replied to anything all weekend. Maybe she wasn’t checking her emails — she hardly ever did.
I’d try and call her again as soon as I figured out what we could say to the governors. Should we tell them Mrs. Owen didn’t follow the rules? But what if she’d already told them about it and they’d agreed? Then we’d look like troublemakers and they’d never listen to us. I wished I had my phone so I could call her from my bed. I didn’t even have her number to call her from our landline, plus no way did I want Mum and Dad overhearing and going off at me again.
“Dad,” I said, stepping into the front room.
“Hmmm …” He was fixated on the CNN channel blaring out at top volume and did not move a muscle when I flopped down on the cushion next to him.
I folded my arms.
Finally he muted the volume and turned to me. “What is it, Aaliyah?”
I sat silently and focused on the thinning denim on my knees, the thread coming away. If I poked my finger in, I could make a satisfying hole.
“Aaliyah?” he said, his voice firmer.
“You said I should get your advice. So that’s why I’m here.”
“Go on, then.” He put the TV on standby mode and shifted his knees to face me. “And thank you for actually listening to what I said and coming to me first.”
“Mum said I should write to the governors — but I’m thinking of speaking to them at the summer fete instead. What do you think? You’re a teacher — would it work? Would they listen to me?”
“That’s not a bad idea,” he said, sitting back into his cushion and folding his arms. “As long as you do it with respect and maturity.”
“Obviously,” I said, and rolled my eyes, but not enough so he would notice.
“Do you know what you want to say?”
“No, not yet …” I hesitated. “I’m still not sure I’ll be able to go through with it.”
“Why not?”
“Because … I don’t feel safe. What if someone tries to attack me? It’s not just kids at the fete, you know. Everyone from the area will be there. People from other schools too.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Err, no, thanks!” I looked up at him and laughed. “I can’t be seen hanging out with my dad!”
Dad’s face dropped. As if he’d been thumped with the reminder I wasn’t little anymore.
“What if Yusuf comes with me?” I said, trying to hide the uneasiness in my voice. “It’d be good to have some backup, but he’s not a teacher so no one will run away from me either.” I grinned cheekily.
The fete was the same day and time as the rally. If Yusuf took me, he wouldn’t be able to go and fight there. Now I just needed to get Dad to make him come with me without telling Dad what was going on and risk Yusuf hating me for life. It was the only way to keep Yusuf safe. And away from Darren.
“Actually, missy, like it or not, I’m already going to be there. To help the PTA with the collection for the … victims of the bombing.” He twiddled his thumbs.
I looked down, thinking about Jo.
“I’m helping your mum with the raffle draw.”
“Oh, right.” I hadn’t realized he was doing stuff at school with the other parents. With all the focus on the protest, I’d forgotten to ask Jonah which of our fundraising ideas the student council had agreed to with the PTA. I’d better do that as soon as I got back upstairs, I reminded myself. There was so much to think about, my brain hurt.
“But, you know, I wouldn’t want to cramp your stayal,” he said, flicking his hand out like a fashionista. “You can pretend your old dad isn’t even there.”