The Magical Reality of Nadia

by Bassem Youssef

  Nadia beamed. Maybe a little magic every once in a while was okay after all.

  Adam grew serious. “I had no idea that my great-great-grandparents had to flee their country so my great-great-grandpa could avoid being drafted into the German army during World War II. They just up and left and came to a country where they didn’t know anybody. That’s pretty crazy.”

  Nadia nodded, then filled him on what she’d learned about her own family history the night before.

  Adam turned to her. “Huh. We have more in common than we thought,” he said.

  Nadia sat up in the grass. That was like what her mother said. Find something in common. Show them you aren’t so different after all.

  “What if we could find something in common with Jason?” she suddenly said.

  Adam stared at her. “You’re not suggesting we take Jason into the comic, are you?”

  Nadia shook her head. “No way.” Her shoulders sagged. “Never mind. We have to get to work on the project anyway. There’s so much to do before Saturday!”

  Adam smiled. “Hold on. Maybe there is a way to get through to Jason. I have an idea.”

  Everything was set. The rest of the Nerd Patrol had been totally into the idea. They had stayed up most of Friday night working on it, but at last they were done. Adam had the comic. Everyone had their cue cards. The star of their presentation didn’t yet know he’d be the star, but assuming he cooperated, everything would fall into place.

  Nadia fidgeted in her seat. She sat in the first row of the museum auditorium, along with the other presenters. Somewhere behind her, her parents sat with the other Nerd Patrol parents and more than a hundred audience members. Principal Taylor was there, and Ms. Arena, and many of her classmates. Ms. Gilson—to Nadia’s surprise—was the MC; she had a surprising amount of stage presence. The board members sat to the side of the stage, whispering among themselves and taking notes.

  Nadia looked down at her cue cards and Titi smiled up at her. He gave her a wink and a thumbs-up. Titi was about to play a big role—not that the other Nerds knew anything about that. Nadia and Adam had decided to keep Titi a secret between them for now.

  That was the part of the idea that Adam had to sell Nadia on the most. Because if Titi helped them, and they actually got through to Jason, that would be the seventh solution. That meant Titi would get his freedom, and who knew what would happen after that? Nadia hated the thought of potentially losing her wise-but-wacky friend.

  In the end, though, Nadia decided Titi playing a role in their project was worth it if it helped them get through to Jason. And besides, Titi totally deserved his freedom after everything he’d done for Nadia.

  Everyone clapped politely after the Far-Reaching Effects of the Continental Congress presentation. Nadia had made note of one or two fun facts, but overall, it had been pretty boring. Titi gave her a grimace and a thumbs-down from her cue cards.

  “And now,” Ms. Gilson said, “we have Inspirational Moments in American Sports History, led by Jason Flanagan!”

  Behind them, someone whooped loudly. Adam gave Nadia a knowing smile—that had to be Charlie.

  Jason walked onstage, dressed in a football uniform and helmet. A football flew out of the wings in a beautiful arcing spiral and Jason caught it neatly.

  Behind Jason, an image of the American flag fluttered onto a big screen. Patriotic music started to play.

  “Professional sports have long been an important part of American life,” Jason began. “People love to root for their favorite teams. Americans gather in stadiums, in sports bars, and in living rooms, watching their favorite teams together. There are intense rivalries, even among family members.

  “But throughout our country’s history, there have been times when sports have built connections between people, rather than tearing them apart.”

  He held up the football. “The first Super Bowl held after the September eleventh attacks was held in January 2002. During the halftime show, millions of Americans watched as the names of the 2,977 victims were displayed.”

  Nadia blinked, surprised by Jason’s strong start.

  Aiden stepped onstage next, dressed in a baseball uniform. He held up his glove and someone tossed him a ball. “During World War II, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was formed. Even though they had to wear lipstick and attend charm school, the women were fierce and talented players and kept Americans entertained during the war. For the first time, American women, men, and children came together to root for professional women athletes. The players paved the way for the advancement of women’s sports.”

  “Cool,” said Nadia under her breath.

  After that, Mike spoke of African American track and field athlete Jesse Owens winning four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics. He broke several records, but it was a victory in a bigger way, too: Hitler had claimed Germans would win all the gold medals because “Aryans”—what he called German white people—were superior, and here was a person of color proving him wrong. It brought together not only Americans but people worldwide who were fighting against Hitler’s cruel politics.

  Jason stepped forward again. “These are only a few examples of how sports brought our country together. In wartime, against tyrants, in times of grief, and in times of joy. These were not simply games. These were moments in American history, never to be forgotten.”

  The audience burst into applause. On the cue cards in Nadia’s lap, Titi sniffed loudly.

  “So moving,” he whispered, dramatically wiping away a tear.

  But Nadia sighed, her brow furrowed. Not simply games …

  Her words from the ice cream parlor came rushing back: It’s just a stupid game. Jason had delivered the deepest insult to her that day, one that attacked the very core of who she was. But Nadia realized she had also insulted him. It wasn’t the same, but her words must have hurt.

  Around her, the crowd was clapping wildly for Jason and his team. Nadia joined in.

  “And next up,” said Ms. Gilson, “is Immigreat, led by Nadia Youssef!”

  “Here we go,” Nadia whispered to Titi as they made their way to the stage. “Behave, okay?”

  The Nerds climbed onstage. They wore street clothes and each held a different prop in their hands. Adam headed over to the projector they’d set up in front of the stage earlier. He opened up his laptop, then slyly placed the comic book on top. He plugged in his phone, too, and set it up to video the comic book, which would feed to the projector. He didn’t turn the projector on just yet, though. When everything was set, he gave Nadia the cue.

  “America is a nation of immigrants,” Nadia began. “Our little group here represents five different generations of immigrants from six different countries. My name is Nadia and I am an immigrant from Egypt,” she said.

  “My name is Vikram and my parents emigrated from India,” said Vikram.

  “My name is Chloe and my grandparents emigrated from Jamaica and Barbados.”

  “My name is Sarah and my great-grandparents emigrated from Korea,” said Sarah.

  “My name is Adam and my great-great-grandparents emigrated from Austria. Our original plan today was to wow you with the amazing stories of the accomplishments of immigrants from these countries. Authors, activists, scientists, astronauts.”

  There was some laughter from one end of the front row, where Jason’s group was sitting. Nadia couldn’t read lips, but was pretty sure Aiden said “Boring!” to Jason. Oddly, Jason was ignoring him.

  “But our country’s story is not just that of scientists and authors and inventors,” Vikram continued. “It is also the story of countless ordinary people who came here to make this nation their new home.”

  “Can we have a volunteer from the audience?” Sarah asked.

  “Maybe someone who just gave a good presentation?” suggested Chloe. She gestured to Jason. “Jason, would you mind helping us out?”

  Jason looked very surprised, but also … intrigued?

  Adam pointed to him
. “Let’s give a big round of applause to our volunteer, Jason Flanagan.” The audience clapped and Jason began to warm up, taking a little bow. He climbed up onstage.

  Vikram handed Jason a wig of long brown hair. The audience laughed. Jason held it up and made a face but then shrugged and put it on.

  Sarah stepped forward, holding a shawl. Jason allowed her to drape it over his shoulders. The crowd clapped to show their approval.

  “Just stand here for now,” Vikram said to Jason. “Your part comes in a minute.”

  Jason nodded, happy to be in the spotlight once again.

  Nadia held her cue cards up in front of her face for just a moment.

  “Ready to do your thing, Titi?” she asked.

  “You bet,” Titi said. Then he disappeared.

  Nadia nodded at Adam and he flipped on the projector. A comic book panel appeared on the back wall of the stage, showing a sweeping countryside. It looked just as it had when Titi had shown it to Adam and Nadia two nights ago, only now it was much, much bigger, thanks to the projector. Nadia and Adam knew the artwork was done with Titi’s magic, but the other Nerds didn’t. Adam and Nadia had made up some explanation about finding an app online that would generate comic book art and even animation when you typed in specific info. Adam was so good at tech stuff, the other Nerds believed their story.

  “It all started during the potato famine of 1845,” Sarah began. “Otherwise known as the Great Hunger. One million men, women, and children died during the seven-year famine that swept through Ireland.”

  A second comic panel appeared next to the first as Chloe went on. “With the difficult choice between starving to death or fleeing to an uncertain fate, two million Irish people set off for the United States of America. Many ended up in Boston and New York City.” The panel showed people on a ship, arriving in the NYC harbor.

  “One of these immigrants was a young woman named Rose McGurk,” said Vikram, gesturing to Jason in his wig. “She discovered that life was harsh in her new city of Boston. Many people tried to take advantage of the immigrants. They stole the little money that they had. Rotten landlords would charge high rents, then cram ten people into a room meant for one.”

  As Vikram spoke, Titi made a third panel appear in the comic book and it was projected onto the back wall, this time right behind Jason. It showed the inside of a crammed apartment.

  The audience gasped. It was working perfectly—Jason looked like he was in the scene!

  Titi was in the scene, too. Only he didn’t look like Titi. He looked like a grumpy old lady. Titi’s newest power was his ability to change his appearance. To everyone’s delight, he suddenly moved and pretended to bump into Jason. He wagged a finger at him. The audience roared.

  Nadia continued. “With many new immigrants in town, people had to compete for jobs. There was a great rivalry between the new immigrants and the working-class Bostonians. People began hanging signs that said, ‘No Irish Need Apply.’”

  Behind Jason, Titi made the artwork change to a storefront featuring a similar sign. Titi appeared again, this time playing the part of an angry shop owner. He pointed at Jason and silently yelled at him.

  The Nerds were his voice. “People told Rose, ‘Go back where you came from!’” Chloe said.

  “‘You don’t belong here,’” said Sarah.

  “‘This is OUR country. Not YOURS,’” said Vikram.

  Nadia had been nervous about this moment. Would Jason say something rude and ruin everything? But Jason was silent, his brow furrowed.

  “Rose prevailed, though,” said Nadia. “She found a job. She got married, and she and her husband saved up their money.”

  Images of all this flashed behind them. Chloe handed Jason a bouquet of flowers. Titi, appearing as a young Irishman in a suit and tie, stood proudly next to Jason. He gazed at Jason adoringly.

  Vikram continued. “When the couple had enough money, they started their own boardinghouse for recent immigrants—a place of safety and comfort. It was a lot of work, but they were up for the challenge.”

  Nadia grabbed the shawl off Jason’s shoulders and tied an apron around his waist.

  “Rose ended up being a successful hotel owner and always gave back to the community,” Chloe said. She shook “Rose’s” hand heartily in thanks.

  “Rose and her husband had a few children,” said Sarah as some ridiculously adorable children appeared on the screen. Titi, of course, was the cutest one, toddling around Jason. “Their children grew up and had children of their own. And they had children, and so on … until Rose McGurk’s great-great-great-grandson Thomas met a woman named Melissa.”

  Nadia stole a glance at Jason’s face. It looked like a realization was dawning.

  Vikram picked up where Sarah left off.

  “And Thomas and Melissa had a son named …”

  Jason Flanagan.”

  The audience gasped, then let out a big cheer. Jason had a shocked look on his face.

  Titi, his part of the presentation done, hopped back to Nadia’s notecards. He quickly pushed a few letters around to spell out, We did it! Nadia smiled, but they weren’t done yet.

  “So you see,” said Nadia as the audience quieted and Titi put the letters back, “unless you are Native American, we all have an immigrant story in our past. Each of us is here today because one of our ancestors came to America and started a life for their family.”

  Over at the projector, Adam switched to projecting his laptop screen, which flashed with images of flags from different countries, followed by the American flag.

  Sarah continued. “What if someone told your ancestor to ‘go back where you came from’ and that ancestor did? Some of us might not be here. Whether they came five hundred years ago or five months ago, by boat or airplane, by choice or—in the case of enslaved people—by force, we are here because of them. All of us were strangers in this land at some point.”

  “To some families—whether fifth- or first-generation American—their background is important to them, and that’s okay,” said Adam, coming to join the group. “And then there’s some of us, like me, whose families no longer relate to the countries we came from. And that’s okay, too. New things come to define us. Things like the hobbies you pursue or what type of business your family owns—”

  “Or,” Nadia said, going off script for a moment, “the sports teams you like.” She smiled at Jason. Adam nodded at Charlie in the crowd.

  “My Egyptian background is as important to me as … football is to some people’s families,” Nadia said. “We all have many things that define us—ethnicity, religion, our likes and dislikes. These things make us who we are. They are a part of us. And they matter. But we cannot forget that we were all immigrants once. That almost everything ‘American’ was originally the idea of someone whose family came from South America, or Europe, or Asia, or Australia, or Central America, or the Caribbean, or the Middle East, or Africa, or elsewhere.”

  “Our ancestors went through a lot to get us here,” Sarah said. “There are some things—hard things—we wish they hadn’t had to go through.” She looked to the others so they could finish together as they had practiced. “We can’t go back and change that history …”

  “But we can make sure we don’t repeat it,” they all said together.

  The crowd burst into cheers. Then, to Nadia’s delight, the audience rose to their feet. A standing ovation!

  The Nerd Patrol all looked at one another, huge grins on their faces. The friends put their arms around one another and took a deep bow.

  Then Nadia reached over and grabbed Jason’s hand so he could take the second bow with them.

  Monday morning, Nadia went downstairs to grab some breakfast.

  “There she is,” Baba said from the breakfast table. “My inspirational daughter.”

  Nadia rolled her eyes. “Cut it out, Baba.”

  “Nope,” Mama said. “We will not. We are impressed by you, habibti. You went up on that stage proud of who you
are.”

  Nadia looked at her mom, then her dad. She suddenly felt overwhelmed with gratitude for the sacrifices they had made for her. Still, she didn’t want to get too sappy right before school.

  “Thanks, you guys,” she said just as she slipped out the door. “Thanks for everything.”

  * * *

  Nadia was happy to see Adam waiting for her on the corner as if nothing had ever happened.

  “So guess what?” Adam said as they started walking. “I watched the big game on Sunday with Charlie!”

  “Oh, that’s great,” Nadia said. “Who won?”

  “Do you care?” asked Adam.

  “Well, I … Nope,” Nadia admitted.

  Adam laughed. “Good. Because I can’t even remember which teams were playing. But Charlie taught me loads of stuff. And then we watched a couple of episodes of Doctor Who. He seemed to like it!”

  “Awesome,” Nadia said. “Hey, did you know that thirteen different actors have portrayed Doctor Who since the show first went on the air in 1963?”

  “Actually, I did know that,” Adam said. “Because I’m the one who told you!”

  “Oh, right,” Nadia said, laughing.

  “So want to come over later and do a comic book dive?” Adam asked. “Where should Titi take us next?”

  Titi. Nadia wasn’t sure what was going to happen with him. Had they gotten through to Jason? Only time would tell. But another question loomed: If they got through to Jason and Titi was freed, would Titi stick around? Nadia hated to think about having to say goodbye to the tiny teacher she’d come to think of as a friend.

  At school, Nadia and Adam parted ways to put their books in their lockers. Nadia was just slamming hers shut when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

  “Oh, hey, Jason,” Nadia said. Jason nervously shifted his backpack from one shoulder to the other.

  “I … I just wanted to say sorry for what I said to you at the ice cream place. It wasn’t cool at all.”