The Magical Reality of Nadia

by Bassem Youssef

  Nadia tried to hide her surprise. They were hoping to affect Jason with their presentation, but she wasn’t expecting an apology. Her parents had warned her that people like Jason didn’t change overnight.

  “I’m sorry for ruining your project, too,” Jason continued. “You guys did awesome anyway, though. We really thought you were going to win.” He raised an eyebrow.

  Nadia laughed. “We did, too. Congratulations, by the way.”

  “Thanks,” Jason said.

  It was a hard pill to swallow—Jason’s team beating hers. But the judges had said it was a really tough decision. Nadia figured the subject matter had something to do with it. An exhibit on sports was sure to draw visitors to the museum. She had to admit that she herself was even looking forward to going and learning more about all the stuff Jason’s team mentioned.

  “I’m sorry I said football was stupid,” Nadia said. “I know it’s important to you.”

  Jason nodded just as the bell rang for homeroom. They headed to Ms. Arena’s classroom. Inside, Nadia walked to her usual desk near Adam and Sarah and was surprised to find Jason following her. He stood there awkwardly while Nadia put her bag on the back of her chair.

  “Um, can I help you with something?” Nadia joked.

  Jason looked down at his feet. “Do you think maybe I could sit with you guys at lunch again? I always learn something new when I sit with you nerds.”

  Adam and Sarah turned to Nadia, letting her make the decision.

  Jason seemed genuine, but if he was going to sit with them, she wanted to set some boundaries. Nadia held up her lunch bag. “Do you promise not to make fun of my food? I brought mahshi today, so it might be a challenge.”

  Jason paused. “I promise. Well, I promise to try. Sometimes it’s hard to know what’s okay and what’s not okay to say, you know?”

  “We can help you with that,” Nadia said.

  “Totally,” Sarah added. “Ooh! What if there’s a way we could signal to each other when something’s not cool. A code word or a hand sign or something. If you—or anyone—says something disrespectful, we just do the thing.”

  “I like it,” Jason said. “Does that work for you, Nadia?”

  Nadia nodded. “So long as the thing isn’t burping in my face,” she said with a laugh, remembering Vikram’s suggestion. “How about hamar?” Nadia said. She pronounced the word like Homer in Homer Simpson. “It means donkey in Arabic.”

  She thought Jason might be insulted, but he just laughed. “It’s perfect,” he said. “You can say ‘Jason, don’t be such a hamar,’ and you won’t get in trouble.”

  “Hey, did you know that pound for pound, a donkey is stronger than a horse?” Nadia asked.

  “See?” Jason said. “That’s what I’m talking about! Always learning something new with you guys!”

  “Careful what you ask for, Jason,” Adam joked. “Nadia’s got hundreds—no, thousands—more fun facts she can share.”

  “Sure do,” Nadia said with a smile. “And that’s a fact.”

  * * *

  Nadia found her seat in Mr. Decker’s social studies class and flipped open her notebook … and there stood Titi Presley.

  “Titi! What are you doing?” she whispered. “No showing up in front of my classmates, remember?”

  “We have to talk,” Titi whispered back.

  “After class,” Nadia said.

  “Nope, now,” Titi replied.

  And to her unbelieving eyes, Titi reached up—and off the page. His sparkly arm was poking out of the notebook!

  Nadia slammed the notebook shut and hurried to the front of the room. She begged Mr. Decker for a hall pass, then rushed outside to a deserted corner behind the school.

  “Something’s going on,” Titi said. “Something big. I think I’m going to be free! Quick! Put your notebook on the ground. And stand back!”

  Nadia dropped the notebook in the grass and took a few steps back. Her heart was beating hard.

  At first it was just his tiny hand again, reaching up. But then … POOF! A cloud of smoke rose up out of the notebook. When the smoke cleared, a human Titi was standing right in front of her!

  Nadia coughed and blinked. “You’re, uh, taller than I thought,” she said.

  Titi laughed, patting his sparkly white jumpsuit from head to toe. “I can’t believe I’m me again! Wahooooo!” He went to do a back handspring … and landed on his head.

  “Ooof,” Nadia said, running to help him up. “I guess human Titi can’t do gymnastics?”

  “I guess not,” he replied. “Oh well. Small price to pay for being free. Holy hawks and dung beetles! I still can’t believe it!”

  Nadia laughed. Would Titi ever run out of those silly phrases? And would she get to hear any more of them?

  “So, um … what’s next?” Nadia asked.

  Titi spun in a slow circle, taking everything in. His jumpsuit sparkled in the sunlight. “I guess this is goodbye,” he said.

  Nadia hung her head.

  Titi’s face softened. “Oh, Nadia. Of course I don’t want to leave you. But my work here is done. It’s time for me to go off and experience the world. Actually go see all the places I spent centuries just hearing about. I must contemplate the changes to the world since my last time walking on this earth!”

  “I’ll miss you, Titi,” Nadia said, a catch in her voice. “You’ve taught me so much.”

  “I know,” said Titi.

  Nadia laughed. Classic Titi.

  “So where will you go first?” she asked.

  “Glad you asked,” Titi said, excitement flashing across his face, “I plan to visit a majestic place. A sacred site of pilgrimage, to honor a mighty king. It’s called … Graceland!”

  Nadia rolled her eyes. Of course Titi would want to visit Elvis Presley’s historic home.

  “Well,” said Nadia. “You’re certainly dressed for it.”

  POOF!

  The royal magician looked around. After two thousand years of being confined to that amulet—the hippo’s head, to be precise, not its behind, he was happy to report—he was finally seeing the outside world.

  He could still hardly believe that the elder had turned out to be a magician even more powerful than he was. The elder’s words had haunted him these last two thousand years:

  “Royal magician, I am sorry to do this, but you leave me no choice. The teacher’s jest did not warrant your cruelty. I amend your magic so there is a way to break the spell. If a young Egyptian makes contact and says the word help, the teacher shall face trials but eventually be released—”

  “Don’t you dare—” the royal magician started to say, but the elder cut him off.

  “—which you should care about, because I condemn you to the same fate! Your freedom shall be linked to the teacher’s—”

  And before the royal magician knew it, he was screaming as everything went black.

  The teacher—the magician couldn’t even say his name, that’s how much he hated him—had certainly taken his time facing the trials, hadn’t he? Helping those dumb kids—what a waste of energy.

  The magician had been paying attention to the teacher’s interactions, though. He had started forming a plan.

  He looked up at the blue sky for the first time in over two thousand years. But this sight did not bring him joy or wonder. He had one thing and one thing only on his mind: revenge.

  Bassem Youssef, aka the Jon Stewart of the Arab World, was a heart surgeon in his home country of Egypt before becoming the host of AlBernameg, the first political satire show in the Middle East. He has appeared on The Daily Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and other late-night shows, and was also featured in TIME 100, Time magazine’s list of the one hundred most influential people in the world. He lives in Los Angeles with his family.

  Catherine R. Daly has written many books for young readers, including the Petal Pushers middle-grade series and the Disney Fairies chapter book Prilla and the Butterfly Lie. She lives in New York C
ity with her family and their very energetic Boston terrier, Jack.

  Douglas Holgate is the illustrator of the New York Times bestselling series The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier, as well as the Planet Tad series, the Cheesie Mack series, and many other books for young readers. He has illustrated countless comics, as well as the graphic novels Wires and Nerve, Volume One by Marissa Meyer and Clem Hetherington and the Ironwood Race, cocreated with writer Jen Breach. Douglas lives in Melbourne, Australia, with his family and a large dog who is possibly part polar bear.

  Copyright © 2021 by Little Tut, Inc.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

  First edition, February 2021

  Special thanks to Ava Forte Vitali and Summer Elbardissy

  Cover art by Douglas Holgate

  Cover design by Katie Fitch

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-67481-1

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