The Magical Reality of Nadia

by Bassem Youssef

  “Sure,” Nadia said, laughing.

  “Making costumes sounds sort of fun,” Sarah said. “Adam? Are you on board?”

  Adam sighed. “The animatronic thing is fine. But I have an idea to make our presentation even shorter: I don’t have to have my own immigrant. I can just help you guys with yours.”

  Nadia frowned. “Are you sure?”

  Adam nodded. “I’m sure.”

  There was a knot forming in Nadia’s stomach. She hated that her BFF wasn’t into this when she was so excited. She knew the others weren’t 100 percent in on her idea, either. But her gut told her it would be awesome. Baba was always saying that when you’re unsure about something, get started and go from there. They just needed to get started.

  “So we’re set, then,” Nadia said. She glanced at the clock. “We have five and a half hours to make our costumes and props. On your mark, get set, go!”

  * * *

  “What do you think?” Vikram said five hours later. “Is it worthy of a singing robot astronaut?” He slipped the astronaut helmet he’d made out of tinfoil and cardboard over his head. Then he did a little jig as he sang his song about Kalpana Chawla.

  Adam laughed. “You could be one of Nadia’s bobbleheads in that thing!”

  The last several hours had been great messy fun all around. Titi had shown back up but had been remarkably well behaved, just watching from the notebook cover (this time in a more relaxed position); Jason’s group minded their own business; the pizza lunch was delicious; and Adam was in a much better mood—he’d even downloaded music for each of their parts and started working on a PowerPoint that would project images behind them as they presented.

  “Your astronaut helmet is impressive,” Nadia said to Vikram, “but check this out!” She turned her back to her friends and put on her own costume—a doctor’s lab coat made from an extra-large men’s dress shirt and a stethoscope made from a balloon, a plastic cap, some tubing, and some wire. Then she grabbed her poster. It had an infographic about Dr. El-Sadr’s research on it … and about four jars’ worth of glitter. “Presenting …” She flipped around to her friends and held the sign up. “Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr!”

  “Wow—you look GREAT!” Sarah said. “I don’t want to jinx it, but I think we could maybe win based on our costumes alone!”

  Satisfied with their progress, the Nerd Patrol left their things on the table—they were going to come back Monday afternoon to put on the final touches—and headed outside.

  “Nerd-Pa-trol. Ro-bots-for-the-win,” Vikram said in a robot voice as they made their way down the stairs. “We’re gonna rock this.”

  “Yeah we are!” Nadia said. See? All we had to do was get started.

  “But first,” Chloe added as they exited the building, “we’ve got some games of chance to conquer. Meet you all at the carnival entrance at eight o’clock?”

  “Aff-ir-ma-tive,” said Vikram. “Be-there. Or-be-square.”

  Corn dogs, funnel cakes, rides, games of chance,” said Sarah, stating her preferred order of events.

  Bridget Mason Middle School went all out for their yearly carnival. The field behind the school was filled with booths and real carnival rides and tons of food stands. Music filled the air as students, siblings, parents, and teachers wandered around with balloon strings and cotton candy cones clutched in their fists. Dusk was starting to fall and the lights of the rides, the food stands, and the midway were glowing, bright and cheerful. Nadia couldn’t help grinning at the festive party atmosphere.

  Chloe shook her head at Sarah. “Corn dogs and funnel cakes after the rides,” she said. “We don’t want a replay of last year when Vikram threw up after we went on the Tilt-A-Whirl, do we?”

  “We certainly do not,” said Vikram.

  “Should we start with some games?” suggested Adam.

  “To the games of chance!” shouted Sarah. The friends took off toward the midway, where the games and rides were. Nadia could see the Ferris wheel towering above the carnival in the distance.

  “Did you know the Ferris wheel is named after the engineer who built the ride for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair?” Nadia called to her friends as they ran. “He only made the one, but they’ve all been called Ferris wheels ever since.”

  “Did you know I’m going to kick your butt at Whac-A-Mole?” Sarah shot back. Nadia laughed.

  After trying to hit frogs onto lily pads with mallets, whack moles, toss rings, shoot baskets, and knock down stacks of milk bottles, all they had won among the five of them was a lame back scratcher.

  Sarah sighed. “It’s just not the carnival until one of us wins a stuffed animal.”

  Nadia pointed to a nearby game, which was deserted but had a ton of stuffed animal prizes. “Hey!” she said. “There’s always a winner in the water gun game. If it’s just the five of us competing, then one of us is guaranteed to win!”

  “Great idea!” said Vikram. The friends ran over, slapped down their dollars, and each grabbed a water gun. Nadia stared at the clown, waiting for the starting bell. RING-A-LING! She pressed the trigger and aimed right at the clown’s open mouth. The balloon got bigger, bigger …

  POP!

  Nadia’s balloon deflated. Who had won?

  The barker reached up and handed a stuffed snake to the winner. Nadia leaned over to see who it was.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered.

  It was Jason.

  Sarah turned to Nadia and shrugged. “He joined in at the last minute.”

  Jason slung the yellow-and-green snake around his neck. “Better luck next time,” he said with a smirk. “Hey, Nadia, maybe you can teach me how to be a snake charmer!” He mimicked playing a flute.

  “Snake charmers are from India,” corrected Vikram.

  “Actually, the practice of snake charming originated in Egypt,” Nadia said reluctantly. She hated to admit that Jason was right, even by mistake, but she couldn’t help sharing this fun fact.

  “Really?” said Vikram. “Our cultures meet again!” He bumped fists with Nadia.

  “That’s a really weird thing to fist-bump over, you know that?” said Jason. He laughed.

  “Goodbye, Jason,” Nadia said, turning her back on him. “Where to next?” she asked her friends. “Ferris wheel or …” She gave Vikram a glance. “Tilt-A-Whirl?”

  “Let’s start small,” said Vikram, putting a hand to his stomach.

  “The merry-go-round it is,” she joked.

  The friends headed toward the rides, Vikram in the lead. The music started getting louder as they walked. Nadia recognized the tune as one her parents listened to in the car—something about not worrying and being happy.

  Suddenly, Vikram stopped short. Nadia slammed right into him, and Chloe right into her.

  “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Vikram said.

  Nadia peered over his shoulder. She saw an empty dance floor and a DJ table set up behind it. A big sign read DJ ED U. CATOR.

  “Ed-U-Cator,” said Chloe slowly. “DJ Educator. I can’t believe we missed that during announcements. Is this a bad dream or is this really happening?”

  The five friends stared in disbelief as their principal, dressed in an oversized hoodie, ripped jeans, and high-tops, spun records at a turntable. He was wearing a giant pair of headphones. “Hey, guys!” he shouted. “Can I spin you some tunes?”

  Nadia tried to answer, but couldn’t find the words.

  Principal Taylor took off the headphones. “Sorry, was I being too loud?” he said in a normal voice. “Any requests?”

  “I’ve got one,” said a familiar voice.

  Jason strode up to the DJ table, leaned over, and whispered in the principal’s ear.

  “A classic!” said the principal. “I’ll play it next.”

  The non-worried/happy song wound down as the next song began to play. DJ Ed U. Cator was actually pretty smooth, Nadia had to give him that.

  But she groaned when she recognized the new tune. It was th
at old-school pop song “Walk Like an Egyptian” by the Bangles. Some people in her extended family were offended by it. Others thought it was silly but fun. Nadia fell somewhere in the middle—she and her cousins had choreographed a dance to it one rainy afternoon that summer, but it’s not like she would choose the song at karaoke.

  Jason thinks he’s so funny, Nadia thought. But she was surprised Principal Taylor would play a song like that. Would he play a song called “Walk Like an Italian”? Or “Walk Like a Native American”? Nadia didn’t think so.

  “This should be interesting,” Nadia muttered to herself, a knot of dread forming in her stomach.

  She bit her lip as Jason stepped onto the dance floor. He tossed the stuffed snake to one of his friends, then struck a pose—in profile, one arm raised in the front and the other in the back. It could have been the person on the WALK/DON’T WALK signs, but Nadia knew better. He was imitating the way ancient Egyptians drew human figures. Nadia had seen them herself on the walls of royal tombs in Egypt. (Fun fact: Ancient Egyptians drew the figures like that on purpose, not because they didn’t know how to draw.)

  Jason took a couple of staggering steps forward with his arms in the awkward position. He moved his head forward and back like a pigeon, too, a huge grin on his face. Students were starting to gather, laughing with Jason and clapping along.

  “Hey, Nadia, they’re playing your song!” Jason shouted. “Am I doing it right? Is this how Egyptians walk?”

  Several classmates howled with laughter as all eyes turned toward Nadia. Her face grew hot. She couldn’t believe she’d actually thought Jason had maybe changed this week, that he was done making fun of her. She’d been so stupid.

  “Well, Nadia?” Jason’s buddy Aiden called out. “Are we doing it right?” He started doing the goofy dance, too, and a few classmates applauded. Next to Nadia, Adam let out a little laugh.

  Nadia whipped her head around to glare at her friend, her blood boiling. But something else caught her eye.

  Behind Adam’s head, on a sign advertising corn dogs, Titi was dressed in an Egyptian headdress, standing in the same pose as Jason. Nadia glanced around, but between Jason and Aiden and the bright lights of the carnival, no one else seemed to notice Titi.

  POOF, Titi turned into Donkey Titi from the Khun-Anup parable, and winked. Nadia couldn’t help herself—she let out a giggle.

  She got Titi’s message loud and clear: Time to take away Jason’s power.

  Nadia thought fast. She took a deep breath, grabbed the back scratcher from Chloe, and then strutted to the middle of the dance floor.

  “Actually,” she said loudly, “take it from a real Egyptian. This is how it’s done.” She held the back scratcher over her head and began to do a playful dance, bouncing from foot to foot. Then she kicked one leg out to the side, then the other. She and her cousins hadn’t just choreographed their own dances this summer—they’d taken some Egyptian folk dancing classes, too. This one, her favorite, was performed using a cane as a baton.

  Sarah and Chloe clapped delightedly. “Woo-hoo!” they shouted.

  Next, Nadia began spinning the back scratcher like a majorette. She shimmied her shoulders, then jumped from one foot to the other.

  “Oooohhhhh,” Mike called out. “Girl got some moves!” The crowd roared.

  “Go, Nadia!” shouted Vikram.

  Jason stopped dancing, a confused look on his face.

  “You’re welcome to join me,” Nadia said to Jason.

  She danced around him, shaking her hips. Confused, he tried to move away from her and stumbled. Nadia turned her back on him and continued to work the crowd with her nimble moves. As the song wound to a close, she began to spin around, faster and faster. She was glad she had worn her new sequined skirt; it flared out perfectly and the sequins sparkled under the carnival lights. She felt like she was in a music video.

  The crowded responded with cheers and applause. Nadia’s cheeks hurt from smiling so big.

  She did one last spin and came to a stop just as the song ended, dramatically tossing her head back so her hair flew up. She struck a pose with her arms stretched high, the back scratcher held triumphantly above her head.

  The crowd exploded into cheers.

  “Our very own Nadia Youssef, showing us how to walk … make that dance like an Egyptian!” announced Principal Taylor. “Thank you, Nadia, for teaching us how it’s done!” The crowd cheered. He started another song, this one not from several decades ago, and kids started to make their way to the dance floor.

  Nadia took a little bow, grinning from ear to ear.

  As she straightened up, she caught a glimpse of Jason at the edge of the crowd, his face clouded over.

  “Bro,” Mike said as Jason grabbed back his stuffed snake, “she schooled you!”

  Jason shoved his friend but didn’t say anything else. Then he stormed off into the carnival crowd.

  Nadia watched him go, then turned back to her friends on the dance floor.

  “Teach us how to shake our hips like that!” Chloe said. Sarah wanted to learn, too.

  So Nadia broke it down for them, but not without first glancing over at the corn dog poster and giving Titi a big thumbs-up.

  Jason had officially been Khun-Anup’d.

  Hey, Dancing Queen!”

  Nadia was settling into her seat in homeroom on Monday when someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was her classmate Oona, though it took a moment for Nadia to recognize her. Oona was usually a quiet, fly-under-the-radar type of girl. But today, the ends of her curly hair were dyed fluorescent pink.

  “I just wanted to say it was awesome when you stood up to Jason on Saturday,” Oona said.

  Nadia grinned. “Thanks, Oona. And I love the new hair color!”

  “Me too!” Sarah said, slipping into her own seat. Oona walked away and Sarah turned to Nadia. “Where’s Adam?”

  “Not sure,” Nadia said. “He texted that he was running late and I should go without him.”

  Nadia took the few minutes before the bell to reorganize her backpack. She was usually methodical about packing it, but this morning, she’d basically thrown the contents of her desk into it without even looking. As she rearranged her notebooks and textbooks by size, she found the comic book among them. She glanced over her shoulder, relieved to see that Adam hadn’t arrived yet. She tucked the comic into the very back of her bag as the bell rang and Adam slid into his seat.

  “Everything okay?” Nadia mouthed to Adam.

  But Adam wasn’t even looking at her. He was turned to the back of the room … and waving at Jason. Seriously?! Nadia thought. After everything that happened at the carnival?!

  At least Jason didn’t wave back at Adam. He saw him, but ignored him. Good, Nadia thought.

  Just then, the loudspeaker clicked on.

  “Good Monday morning to you, students!” Principal Taylor said. “I’m just popping up with two announcements. First: Thank you ALL for making our carnival an amazing success. And second: Remember that the presentations for the museum contest will be held this Saturday at the Museum of American History! Come support your classmates, and GOOD LUCK to the competitors! This is DJ Ed—I mean, Principal Taylor signing off. Have a super-duper day!”

  * * *

  Ding!

  Ding!

  Ding!

  Nadia, Sarah, and Adam were in Mrs. Choi’s car on the way to the museum after school when all three of their phones chimed. It was a group text from Vikram. He and Chloe had gone to the museum ahead of them.

  Project emergency! Hurry up!

  They all looked at one another, eyes wide.

  “Mom,” Sarah said, “can you drive any faster?”

  Five minutes later, they hopped out of the minivan and dashed inside. That ball of dread was back in Nadia’s stomach, even bigger than it had been at the carnival. What could be so urgent?

  They raced down the hall, turned into the project room, and came to a halt. Vikram was standing at the table cradli
ng his astronaut helmet—or what used to be his astronaut helmet—in his arms, like a tinfoil baby. Chloe was dazedly sifting through a pile of fabric, paper, and glitter on the table.

  Wait. Nadia recognized that glitter.

  “My poster!” She ran over to the table. Her infographic was ripped into a dozen pieces. And there was the balloon for her stethoscope, but what about the wire, the cap?

  She glanced around. Everything they had left behind on Saturday was still on the table … just totally, utterly destroyed.

  Ms. Gilson came over, wringing her hands. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “There’s been a bit of … an accident. I left the room for a couple of minutes a bit earlier and when I returned …” She gestured to their table.

  Sarah sat down and began to cry. Chloe put her head in her hands. Adam … well, he looked angry more than sad.

  Nadia sat down, too; she was shaking. All their hard work—ruined. Who would do this? And why? She glanced around. Were any of the other projects destroyed?

  “I’m so sorry,” Ms. Gilson said again. “I have no idea how this could have happened. I’ll let the museum directors know, but there’s no security footage of this area.”

  “I’m pretty sure I know how it happened,” said Nadia darkly. She stared at Jason’s table, piled high with a cardboard goalpost, jerseys, and a football.

  Adam followed her gaze. “No way. Jason jokes around, but he wouldn’t destroy our project.”

  Nadia shook her head. Adam was seriously getting on her nerves these days. First his attitude about the project, now this.

  “Why are you so determined to be Jason’s friend?” Nadia said to Adam as Ms. Gilson walked away. “It’s not worth it.”

  Adam stared at her like he was going to say something, then changed his mind.

  Chloe let out a whine. “What are we going to do? There’s no way we can remake all this by Saturday.”

  Nadia was wondering the same thing. She grabbed the amulet. Was there a way for Titi to help?

  “Well, I don’t think there’s anything we can do about it today,” said Sarah. “All the materials here are picked over. We’d have to start from scratch at home. I’m going to text my mom to come back and get us.”