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Milly and Zahra were alone again. They had both independently discovered the pocket in the garden where the old cement fountain stood. This was Milly’s hideaway, and Zahra was an intruder, but Zahra’s recent behavior towards Milly had been anything but hostile. She had been kind to her at the elementary school dance. They had worked together. In the past, they played a game of cat and mouse, but now Milly was hopeful that things could be different.
“Tarzan?” Zahra said, sitting up to face Milly.
The sunlight streamed in between the branches and sprinkled light on Zahra’s face. She wasn’t wearing as much makeup as she usually did, so her face looked like a baby's. There were creases under her eyes, and she looked tired, explaining why she was napping in the pocket.
Milly was embarrassed and got up off her knees.
“What are you doing in my hideout?” Milly asked.
“I found this place… It seemed like a good place to catch up on a book,” Zahra said.
Milly looked at the book Zahra was reading. The cover was old and tattered, as if it had been read a million times. She didn’t know that Zahra read. Milly was the one who would hide in the fantasy lands of fiction.
“Old book,” Milly said.
“It’s my grandmother's copy of The Winter Kingdom… Jamie R Brooks is like the best fantasy writer of the ‘70s,” Zahra said.
“I should go…” Milly said.
“Wait…” Zahra said, “I am sure if we don’t kill each other, we can co-exist. You don’t have any toothpaste on you, right?” Zahra laughed.
“That wasn’t funny what Rosa did,” Milly said crossly.
“Yeah… Rosa is like that… I’m taking some alone time away from all of them. Sometimes they can be a bit too much,” Zahra said.
“I come here to be alone too. Here, I feel like I can hide from the world,” Milly said.
What was she doing talking to Zahra so frankly? They were mortal enemies. But here in the pocket, the spotlight was off, and they didn’t have to act anymore.
“That’s a relief… I thought you were following me… Kinda creepy,” Zahra said.
“Shut up…” Milly went red like a tomato, “I found this place first.”
Zahra laughed, “You are always the same, Milly… I’m just joking.”
There was an awkward silence. Milly sat in the grass and looked away. Zahra looked away too. But they stayed.
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Milly had detention in the afternoons for the next week. This meant that she couldn’t go to FilmSoc - not that it mattered, Viraj and Stevie probably hated her. They were cleaning test tubes and beakers in the science classroom. Milly was polishing when Rosa came up beside her.
Rosa whispered to her, “You are an ugly loser… Don’t think I won't remember this…”
Then she walked away to another table.
Milly tightened her grip on the test tube and it broke. Blood leaked out onto the table, and the teacher nearly fainted at the sight. She ended detention early and took Milly to the nurse's office. Luckily, the cut wasn’t deep, and she got away with a bandage wrap.
Milly was furious. Rosa’s words cut into her deeper and repeated over again in her mind. Part of her rebelled against the bullying, but another part believed she was an ugly loser.
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At lunch the next day, Stevie made eye contact with Milly in the corridor. She mouthed the word "you." Milly turned on her heels and hurried in the other direction. Stevie was close behind, but Milly had lost her in the gardens.
Zahra was there again. She had her head propped up against her backpack and was reading her book. She looked up and smiled. It was strange seeing Zahra smile. It wasn’t even a sarcastic smile. It was warm.
“Out of breath, Milly?” Zahra said.
“Shut up…” Milly said, sitting down on the fountain. She clutched her side as she panted.
Milly had been in such a rush that she hadn’t gone to her locker to get her lunch. She even planned to get her book so she’d be less awkward around Zahra. After fifteen minutes, her stomach grumbled, and Zahra noticed.
“Forgot your lunch, huh?” She said.
“I’m not hungry,” Milly said.
Zahra tossed a small tin-foil wrapped parcel at Milly. The foil was slightly buttery, and when she opened it, there was the most amazing smell. There were two light, fluffy flatbreads filled in the middle with spiced potatoes.
“My mom makes too many of these for me… She knows I’ll never finish them, but she still makes them,” Zahra said.
“Thanks…” Milly said.
They looked delicious. Milly took a bite and was taken to flavor heaven. It was soft, buttery, and flaky all at once.
“These are amazing…” Milly said.
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The next few days were nice. Milly felt like she was on an island with Zahra - and they were best friends. The question of ‘who would you want to be trapped on a deserted island’ popped into Milly’s head. You would never choose your mortal enemy, but now Milly was considering it. They asked each other about the books they were reading and talked about the classes they hated. Then Milly decided to bring up singing again.
“So… why did you say I was good at singing?” Milly asked.
There was hesitation in Zahra’s voice, as if she had been caught in a web. The last time Milly had asked this question, Zahra had called her a worthless weirdo cat lady.
“Because you sounded good. I had left my jacket in the theatre, and that’s when I saw you singing. It was good. It was like you were already in the play…” Zahra said.
She actually meant it. The person who had called her worthless all these years had recognized her. Milly shouldn’t have cared about what Zahra thought, but this felt like a small victory.
“I didn’t audition properly… I have no chance of being in the play…” Milly said.
“I mean… there is always next year,” Zahra said, “Besides, the school play is kinda dull… I don’t know if I want to be in it anymore.”
Milly had seen Zahra in the middle school plays. She was always in the main cast. She was Cinderella two years ago.
“You have to be in it,” Milly said, “You’re really good.”
Zahra smiled.
“Have you heard this song?” Zahra played it from her phone, “I’ve got it stuck in my head.”
It was an oldie - "Lightning Bug" by Pennies. Milly had sung this song over and over in the car on a road trip when she was five. That was back when she sang out loud.
Zahra began to hum along with her smooth velvety voice. Milly joined in. Then Milly and Zahra attempted the high note, and they both failed miserably. They laughed.
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It was the next day, Milly was on her way to the gardens when Stevie nabbed her.
“Got ya,” Stevie smiled, “Where the heck do you think you are going?”
“Hey…” Milly smiled nervously.
“Hey? That’s all you can say to me,” Stevie said, pulling her along.
Milly had to face them at some point. She hoped that if she ignored them long enough, they would leave her be. One day they would meet eyes in the corridors and then look away like they never knew each other.
Milly underestimated Stevie. She pulled her all the way to FilmSoc. When she was determined, nothing could stop her.
Viraj and Jojo were already there eating lunch.
“Milly, I was so worried,” Viraj said, “We’ve been looking everywhere for you… Where have you been?”
“I just needed to be alone,” Milly said.
“I can understand why you would ditch Chanda, but you ran away from me. That was pretty shitty,” Stevie said.
“You guys can stop pretending you like me… I get it… I’m a loser…” Milly said.
“We are not pretending,” Viraj said, “Why are you even thinking like that?”
“I’ve never had friends… Everyone hates me… Everyone has always been against me,” Milly said, breaking into tears.
Stevie put her hand on her back, “We are your friends, Milly… That means we will always have your back.”
“I don’t believe you,” Milly said.
“Believe us,” Viraj and Stevie said in unison.
“Next time Rosa picks on you - she picks a fight with all of us,” Jojo said.
“Exactly, this is why we need to come up with a way to get back at her,” Stevie said.
They had missed her, and she had missed them. She never had anyone have her back before. They were willing to fight for her. Milly had good friends, and to think that she was about to throw it all away. She smiled through her tears, and Stevie pulled her into a hug.
“Come on… let’s play cards,” Stevie said.
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Milly hadn’t seen Zahra today. They had spent the last four days together in the pocket. She imagined Zahra waiting for her in the pocket and being disappointed when she didn’t come. But they weren’t even friends.
Milly found herself wanting to be Zahra’s friend. It was like they were suddenly on the same planet.
Milly waited until fifth-period English to wave at Zahra. She was hanging with Rosa and the others. She didn’t expect her to wave back, but she did.
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