“Yeah,” I say, stifling a sigh of relief. “Did I … not mention that?” I’ve become too good at avoiding seeing Ammu and Abbu. Since they’re so busy all the time, it’s too easy.
“Your principal said that Nik was the one who spoke to her and helped clear your name.”
I pause with a spoon of cereal halfway to my mouth. Ammu is looking straight at me, and there’s a question in her gaze.
“Yeah … Nik … I … called her.” I drop the spoonful of cereal back into the bowl, and it makes a splashing sound. Suddenly, I don’t feel so hungry anymore.
Ammu shakes her head. “Your Abbu wasn’t happy to hear about that. You should have talked to us. We’re trying to give Nik some space. We’re trying to—”
“Cut her out of our family,” I say. “I … talked to you two. You didn’t believe me. Nik … she believed me. She knew that I would never cheat. I didn’t even have to ask her for help. I didn’t ask her to do anything. But she did help. She knew how to fix everything. She was there for me.”
Ammu takes a deep breath. “Well, I’m glad that she helped you, I am. But you can’t go running to your sister when you have a problem. She needs to know that what she’s doing is wrong. We don’t support her in her decision.”
“But she’s happy,” I say.” And she’s … figuring things out.”
“Everything was already figured out.” Ammu’s voice is cold and heavy. Like her mind’s made up about Nik and there’s no changing it. For a moment, I’m not sure if I should ask the questions I want to ask. I’m afraid of the answers that Ammu might give me. I’m afraid that maybe our parents don’t love us the way that I’ve always thought they did.
But then, the words are suddenly out of my lips. “What if Nik never goes back to university? What if she never becomes a doctor? You won’t speak to her ever again?” The questions hang heavy between us, and Ammu’s face shifts. From cold and hard to an expression of despair.
“That won’t happen.” But the waver in Ammu’s voice makes me realize that she thinks it might. Maybe the last time my family was whole was that day Nik came home. The day we sat together at this very table, eating our biryani. The day everything changed.
And I hadn’t even taken the time to appreciate it.
Principal Gallagher calls me into her office almost as soon as I come into school. I’m half afraid that Aisling has made another accusation against me. I step into the office gingerly, wondering if this is another ambush. But Principal Gallagher just urges me to take a seat and shoots me a pleasant smile, which makes her look kind of constipated.
This must be what I look like when I try to pretend I like people that I actually detest—at least according to Hani.
“How are we doing this morning?” Ms. Gallagher asks, clapping her hands together. Like we’re old pals. Like the last time I was here my older sister wasn’t trying to clear my name, and Aisling wasn’t sitting in this exact chair crying her white woman tears to get out of trouble.
“I’m doing all right.”
“Wonderful. And are you all ready for your Head Girl presentation?” she asks.
“Yeah … Nik helped me prepare.” I hold up the thumb drive with my PowerPoint on it.
“Great … great.” Ms. Gallagher’s smile doesn’t make it seem great at all. “The thing is … I’ve spoken to Aisling Mahoney’s parents. She’s going to be punished, of course.”
“Of course,” I mumble, though I already know that whatever’s going to come out of Ms. Gallagher’s lips next isn’t going to make me happy.
“But … I think it’ll be in everyone’s best interest if we keep things discreet. Nobody has to know what happened with you and Aisling. There’s no point dredging it all up. I’m sure you understand.”
“It happened last week.” The words are out of my lips before I can stop them. But I also don’t regret them. “Everybody at school thinks I cheated. That I … get the results I do because I’m a cheater, which isn’t true. And you want me to keep pretending it is?”
“We’ll tell everyone it’s not true. Anyway, nobody thinks that—”
“Yes, they do!” My voice rises by an octave. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Losing my temper last time didn’t help. “Principal Gallagher.” I try to use the calm, collected voice I’ve heard Hani use when speaking to her white friends. “People already believed the worst of me. And Aisling did cheat. What’s the problem if everyone finds out the truth? Just because her parents asked you to keep it quiet?”