September 2022.
Abdullah's first day back in class was an interesting one. Their new teacher had come from another country the United Arab Emirates. His name was Mr Erik.
As Abdullah walked into the classroom, his eyes scanned the room for familiar faces.
"Tomek. John," he called, waving them over.
"Where should we sit?" Abdullah asked.
"Everyone just sit here before we get put with randoms," Tomek said.
Abdullah, John, and Tomek sat together. Alois took the seat beside Abdullah. As he settled in, Abdullah noticed a new kid in the class Chinese, from the look of him. He also spotted Ciaran sitting a few rows away. He hadn't expected that.
Then the teacher walked in.
Mr Erik was tall, with glasses, a scruffy beard, brunette hair, and pale skin. He stood at the front of the class and smiled.
"Alright, class. I'm Mr Erik. I just came back from Abu Dhabi after four years. I also know how to play the guitar," he said casually. "That's just a little about me. I hope I'll get to know you all better as the year goes on."
Abdullah already had questions. This guy seemed way cooler than any teacher he'd had before.
At the end of the day, Mr Erik gave them ten minutes just for questions.
"Ask me anything. Literally anything."
Hands shot up. The class asked about Abu Dhabi, what it was like living there, and how different it was.
"You wouldn't believe how rich some people are there," Mr Erik said. "Another level entirely. They once gave me complimentary gold in my coffee."
The class lost it.
Mr Erik also loved walking and running. He'd competed in a marathon before, and he often took the class out on walks.
Abdullah hated walks.
"This is hell," Abdullah muttered to John as they lagged behind. "I can't keep going."
"Bro, it's not even that long," John laughed. "You should do this more often. Might help you lose some weight."
"Alright then, come here," Abdullah said, throwing most of his weight onto John.
"Bro, you're so heavy," John groaned.
For most of the walk, John practically carried him. They stayed right at the back of the line.
"Stop breathing into my neck," John said.
"Sorry, bro."
"It's alright."
School days were fun for the most part. But one day, at home, Abdullah's mum made him go to a house they'd been invited to.
"Mama, when are we leaving?" Abdullah complained. "It's so boring. There's nothing to do here."
"Shush," she replied. "Go talk to someone or eat."
Abdullah was heading into another room when he froze.
No way.
It was her.
"What's she doing here?" he thought. "Why is Lina here?"
The girl with the pretty hair from his childhood stood on the stairs. Abdullah's heart started racing. He froze completely, memories rushing back as he broke into a sweat.
"She looks so beautiful," he thought.
He considered saying something. But when her sharp black eyes looked at him, his mouth refused to move. He felt like she could see straight into his soul. Not a word came out. Abdullah stayed hidden in the room until it was time to leave.
Later, his dad started joking.
"If I ever want you to behave, I should just call her over," his father laughed.
"And what was it you used to say?" he added. "Something about how pretty her hair was?"
Abdullah didn't remember saying that. But he probably had.
"Maybe when you're eighteen, we can arrange a marriage," his dad joked.
Abdullah ignored him but the last comment stayed in his mind.
"I wouldn't even mind that, to be honest," he thought.
The next day at school, Abdullah saw Alois talking to the new kid. He walked over.
"Yo, I didn't know you two were friends," Abdullah said. "What's your name?"
"Kai," the boy replied.
"Nice to meet you, man," Abdullah said.
The day after that, Abdullah saw Tomek and Kai talking too.
"Yoo, you guys are buddies now as well?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Kai laughed.
"He's chill," Tomek said.
"Alright, that's cool," Abdullah replied.
Over the next few days, the group slowly formed Abdullah, John, Tomek, Alois, and Kai.
One day, John leaned over to Abdullah.
"Yo, tell that guy Alois called him Jamal."
Abdullah did exactly that. Moments later, the guy stormed over and grabbed Alois. Abdullah and John burst out laughing.
"What'd he say to you?" Abdullah asked between laughs.
"He said not to call him Jamal," Alois said, annoyed. "by the way you two are assholes."
Abdullah laughed even harder.
November 11th came around, and the group went to Kai's birthday. His family owned a fast-food restaurant, and Abdullah stuffed himself with chicken.
"You know the food isnt running away from you, right?" Kai joked.
"I can't help it," Abdullah said. "You guys have the best food."
After eating, they went for a walk. Abdullah leaned on John as usual. Back inside, Alois showed Abdullah a video.
Abdullah laughed uncontrollably.
"Bro, it's been ten minutes," Alois said. "You can stop laughing."
"I can't," Abdullah wheezed.
Not long after, the British teacher from special classes told Abdullah he didn't need to be there anymore.
"I think you're perfectly fine now," he said.
Abdullah didn't really want to leave.
"You'll still have a helper though," the teacher added. "His name is Donal. He'll check in on you and take you out to relax sometimes."
That helped.
Donal turned out to be alright. Abdullah learned he was also a journalist. But something else was weighing on Abdullah's mind.
"It's almost been a year since she passed away."
"What's wrong?" Donal asked one day. "You've got a gloomy face. Want to sit on the bean bag?"
"Yeah," Abdullah said. "Can I talk to you about something?"
"My grandma passed away," Abdullah said quietly. "It's been a year now. I really miss her."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Donal replied. "How old was she?"
"Fifty-three."
"Oh… that's not old at all."
They talked for a while.
"I know it hurts," Donal said gently. "But as you grow older, you lose people. That's life. What matters is appreciating the people who are still here. So when the time comes, you'll have no regrets."
Abdullah nodded.
"Thanks, Donal."
One day, Mr Erik announced the Christmas play and the roles.
"Clifford is a bubbly, funny character," he said. "He's meant to make the crowd laugh."
"SIR, THAT HAS TO BE ME," Abdullah shouted.
"I was going to give it to you anyway," Mr Erik smiled.
Practice went on for weeks. Then the day came.
Abdullah made the whole school laugh. Then he performed in front of the parents and made them laugh too.
"I did it," Abdullah thought. "I made them happy."
After the play, his sisters ran up to him.
"You were amazing!" Aaliyah said.
"You were excellent," his mum added. "You made everyone laugh."
"Where's Dad?" Abdullah asked.
"He was busy," his mum said. "But I recorded everything for him."
That was fine.
As the holidays arrived and the year came to a close, Abdullah realised something.
For the first time in a long while, he was genuinely happy.
Sixth class had come to an amazing
start…