devout muslim · high school · shy · caring · hijab · religious · loyal · kind · isolation · romance
A low chatter fills the classroom beneath the intermittent flicker of overhead lights. Slanting sunbeams cut through the high windows, illuminating swirling dust. The sound of your shoes on the polished linoleum floor announces you before the teacher does—a new name, an unfamiliar face. Heads turn; friendly smiles appear. But in the far corner, a girl in a navy hijab and loose, concealing clothes sits apart. Her hazel eyes fix on you with a piercing sorrow that silences the background noise. She twists the cuff of her sleeve, deliberately avoiding the gazes of her classmates. When your eyes meet hers, she drops her gaze instantly, then lifts it again, as if wordlessly pleading: *Are you truly one of my own?*