Nadia?” Sarah said at lunch the following day. “Are you okay? Would some chocolate pudding cheer you up?”
Nadia shook her head. She hadn’t touched her hawawshi, either. And it was one of her favorites.
After Principal Taylor had blown his whistle at the pep rally yesterday, he made everyone take a seat in the bleachers. And the words he said next were a real blow: He was calling off the mascot contest.
Nadia’s heart had sunk. Sure, she defeated an evil magician and saved Titi’s life. Rescued her classmates, too. But she was also responsible for getting Newsflash canceled, and now, it seemed, the mascot contest, too.
Principal Taylor had said he never should have agreed to it in the first place. What was wrong with the petunia? What happened to school tradition? And clearly the students couldn’t be trusted with such a large decision as choosing a new mascot. He looked around the gym. “Look at this mess!” he shouted. “The school board is going to have my hide!”
Nadia had noted that poor Principal Taylor sounded more than a little confused. She wondered what he remembered from the last few weeks.
She stopped by his office after school. She imagined asking him, “So do you have any memory of your body being possessed by an ancient magician with anger issues?”
But instead she said, “What about Newsflash? Could 605 finish it? Please?”
Principal Taylor sighed. “I feel like I want to say yes—”
Nadia’s heart leapt with joy.
“—but the truth is …” He lowered his voice. “I can’t remember why I shut it down in the first place. Refresh my memory?”
“We had a … misunderstanding,” Nadia said. “About fake news. It wasn’t all my fault … but some of it was.”
Nadia had been thinking about that a lot. So a maniacal magician had manipulated her into making a choice about the hawk article. But it had been her choice to not verify that website.
Principal Taylor had thought for a long minute. Finally, he shook his head. “I’ve already changed my mind about the mascot,” he said. “I’ve got to stick with at least one decision. The students simply wouldn’t trust me.” He nodded firmly. “My decision will stay. Class 605 is done with the newspaper.”
He held up a copy of the laminated pledge. “And what is this?” he asked. “I found copies all over the school,” he said. “It’s so redundant!”
Nadia wanted to stay mad at Taylor, but she just couldn’t, after all he’d been through.
Vikram—and all the other students—of course didn’t know any of the background.
“It’s just so unfair,” he said. “Now we’re right back where we were at the start of the semester, with that pathetic petunia.”
“What are you going to do about it, Nadia?” asked Jason.
“Huh?” said Nadia. Haven’t I done enough? “I wasn’t planning on doing anything,” she told her friends.
“Really?” said Chloe. “That doesn’t sound like you, Nadia. You always speak up when something’s not right.”
Yeah, Nadia thought. And look where that got us.
But by dinner that night, Nadia’s stomach was in knots.
“What’s wrong, habibti?” asked her mother. “I thought you loved my meatloaf.”
“I do,” said Nadia. “I’m just not that hungry.”
“Something’s bothering you,” said Baba. “Get it off your vest.”
Nadia gave a wan smile. The newspaper and mascot stuff seemed so silly, so middle school drama-y, especially after saving Titi’s life. Her parents would probably think she was being melodramatic. She should just get over it and move on. So why couldn’t she?
“Nadia,” Mama said. “I know sometimes it feels like your father and I are old and out of it, but we were kids once, too, you know. You can talk to us.”
Nadia flinched. Khefren-slash-Taylor had said the same thing. She reached for the amulet out of habit, but her hands grasped on nothing—she and Titi had agreed to keep it locked in his desk for now. And with Khefren inside, Nadia hadn’t wanted to wear it anyway.
All of a sudden, everything that happened the last four weeks—or almost everything—came spilling out.
“And now Principal Taylor canceled the mascot contest and the paper,” she finished. “I don’t know what to do.”
Baba took a deep breath before answering.
“Oh, habibti,” he said. “You’ve been through a lot. But I can see where your principal’s coming from—”
Nadia gave Baba a look. Was he siding with Taylor?
“—but the truth is,” Baba continued, “a good leader isn’t afraid to change their mind when they learn new things or gain new perspective.”
Mama nodded. “That’s the only way the world moves forward. And how else are leaders going to learn new things or gain new perspective unless people speak up? When you see injustice, no matter what kind, you need to speak up and use your voice.”
Nadia frowned. “But that’s the thing. Every time I use my voice, it seems to backfire. The boring article, the whole mascot thing which turned into such a mess. And that horrible fake news article …”
“So the consequences of speaking up weren’t exactly what you were expecting,” offered Baba. “That doesn’t mean you give up. You roll with the punches. You learn something new. And then you speak up again.”
“Words are power, and in this country, everyone has the power to speak their mind,” added Mama. “So if the newspaper and the mascot mean that much to you, find a way to say that so Principal Taylor will listen.”
Words are power.
Nadia straightened up in her seat, an idea forming in her head.
As soon as they finished eating and she had loaded the dishwasher, she started a text to the Nerd Patrol and a handful of other people from the Sphinx Squad.
She was about to press send, but couldn’t bring herself to do it.
She put her phone down and climbed into bed.
Nadia was still in a funk the next day. She didn’t even react when Titi rolled into class driving a motorized Roman chariot.
Titi asked her to stay after the bell rang.
“Suffering scarabs, Nadia,” he said. “Enough with the pouting. What’s bothering you?”
(Fun Fact: Scarabs (beetles) were a symbol of renewal and rebirth in ancient Egypt.)
Nadia took in Titi’s face, so caring, so concerned. She suddenly felt terrible for ever doubting him, if only for a minute.
She confessed her moment of confusion, when she thought Titi had set her up with that fake news article. “And Khefren didn’t even use magic to make me mad at you. He just made me trust him, then used my doubts to try to turn me against you.”
“Manipulation casts its own kind of spell, doesn’t it?” Titi said, smiling gently at Nadia. “It’s good you recognize that. Here’s what I’ve learned over the millennia: Most people are good. But there are those like Khefren who take advantage of people and situations for their own gain. That’s why you have to be savvy. Check your sources. Trust your gut.”
Nadia’s gut was telling her that she needed to do something to stand up to Taylor. To demand that they continue the mascot contest and the newspaper.
But she was tired. And every time she tried to send the text to her friends, she pictured Taylor. He’d been through so much. It didn’t seem fair to put him through more. She told Titi all this.
“Oh, Nadia,” Titi said. “Your empathy is one of the things I appreciate most about you. Taylor was an innocent victim in Khefren’s scheme, but this is bigger than him, just like me going back to the palace after all those years away was about more than Khefren. And I wish I had done it sooner. Maybe Khefren wouldn’t have risen to power the way he did. Maybe I wouldn’t have been trapped in that amulet.” He paused. “Of course, then I never would have met you. So never mind—I take it all back.”
Nadia smiled.
“My point is,” Titi continued, “you have an opportunity here. And unlike old Titi, if you speak up now, you’ll show Taylor—and everyone—what’s right, before things get too wrong.”
Nadia took a deep breath. “Thanks, Titi, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She gave him a hug. “Gotta run!” she said. It was time to text her friends.
Meet me at Ice Scream tomorrow at 2PM? I need to talk to you about something important.