Love from A to Z(15)

“She’s Ms. Raymond’s niece. Visiting for spring break. Zayneb. From Indiana. Sorta met her on the plane over here,” I said.

“That lady with the dog is Ms. Raymond’s niece on spring break? That’s one old niece.” Connor laughed.

There was an elderly woman behind Hanna, standing by herself, rubbing her nose on the head of a Chihuahua in her hands.

Oops. I’d been looking at Zayneb. Why couldn’t I stop looking at her?

“Remind me why you guys think this who-invited thing is fun again?” I stretched out my legs on the grass and leaned back on my elbows. The kid out to get himself with the badminton racket was at it again, so I decided to entertain myself watching the next episode.

“ADAM!” It was coming from behind me. “CONNOR, ALL OF YOU GUYS, COME DOWN!”

I sat up and turned to look down the steps. More students from our graduating class, on the boardwalk. I’d noticed them taking pictures of the water when I first came outside.

“WHY?” Connor shouted, standing up. His long, plaid shorts paired with a differently plaided, scruffy shirt paired with a white boater hat over his bushy brown hair told me he hadn’t changed his crazy style after leaving for university in California. “WE’RE BUSY PLAYING ADAM’S FAVORITE GAME.”

“Madison has the video of you guys doing If Harry Potter Went to DIS from our grad party last year.” It was Emma Phillips. I could recognize her voice anywhere.

“YOU GUYS FOUND THAT?” Tsetso stood up. “I’m outta here.”

The rest of the guys got up too and began bounding down the steps behind Tsetso, simultaneously trying to pull one another back to be the one to get there the fastest.

Before he went down, Connor turned to me. “Your Zayneb? Playing with your sister? She’s coming over.”

I watched the badminton kid go running to his nanny for the hundredth time. This time she tried to take the racket away from him. In response, he threw himself on the ground.

“I think I met your sister. Hanna, right?” Zayneb sat on the chair Connor had just exited from. The only part of her I could see directly was her hands—left hand holding the bubble-solution container, right hand on the cap, a thin silver bracelet with a pendant dangling on her wrist.

“Yeah. She’s super friendly.”

“Also, a big fan of yours. I think I know everything about you.” She laughed and began opening the bubble container. “But don’t worry—I pretended to act surprised when she told me about the blue stone you got her for her rock collection.”

Maybe it was looking up at her and seeing the remnants of her secret smile before she blew more bubbles that made me blurt out, “Do you want to come see the water?”

Or it could have been how her scarf blended into the darkness of the sky behind her so only her profile was lit up, surrounded by bubbles and stars.

Or maybe I just needed to stop.

Stop projecting more meaning into her than she deserves.

“Sure. Your friends are down there, right?” She stood up, screwing the bubble cap back on. “I’m pretty sure on the way home Auntie Nandy’s going to ask who I met here. I can’t tell her that I met a ten-year-old girl named Hanna. So I better meet some other people.”

I nodded and let her go ahead of me on the steps.

“Adam.” As soon as we stepped off, Emma—Emma Domingo, as there were three Emmas in our class—waved me over. “Come see yourself pretending to be Lupin.”

Zayneb hung back to let me go ahead. I hesitated, not sure if I should lead her to everyone periodically breaking into howls of laughter in unison, clustered around Madison’s phone.

Or if I should lead her to the best place to see the moon above the water.

Then I remembered she wanted to meet people, so I led her to them.

I was pretty certain they’d love her.





ODDITY: HOGWARTS HOUSES OR HOW EVERYONE SEEMS TO WANT TO BE GRYFFINDOR


They did love Zayneb, enough to give her their social media stuff. And tell her their Hogwarts houses.

She said she was mostly Gryffindor but also a bit Slytherin.

“You’re Harry Potter!” Emma—Emma Zhang—said. “He was part Gryffindor and part Slytherin.”

And that just made everyone talk about who among us was really Gryffindor. Brave. Inspiring. Remarkable.

That got me quiet.

I may be the most un-Gryffindor person there is in existence.

Like, I’m lying here in bed after the party, proud that I passed a full day at home without once thinking about how I have to tell my father about my multiple sclerosis.

There should be an un-Hogwarts Hogwarts house, one that doesn’t have any traits attached. Like bravery or wit or loyalty or cunning.

A house for people who just want to appreciate the good things in life—the marvels, simple and extraordinary.

Which reminds me: I didn’t tell Zayneb that we have the same journals. I never got the chance to.

Maybe I’ll wait for her to bring it up somehow. When we next meet.

I’m going to see her again. Zayneb.

Tomorrow.

I made sure of it.

Because, yeah, I’m counting, and today was impression number two.

I have to get to a fourth.





ZAYNEB