I entered the school grounds with a fluttery heartbeat. I was nervous; not for myself, but for Yaz. She made a big decision yesterday, and I wondered if Yaz would stick to it. I knew if she walked in wearing a hijab it would look suspicious, especially after Saturday night's events, so I waited for her at the tram stop. Yaz caught the tram to school, and sure enough, as the bell echoed across the school, she stepped out, wearing...

"You did it!" I exclaimed happily, throwing my arms around her at the school gates. Yaz smiled at me, looking more radiant than ever. I was impressed at her hijab wrapping skills, since it was only yesterday when we taught her a few tricks on how to tie it, and she chose to do the classic wrap around, secure with a safety pin on the side style, which was usually what I did.

"I feel so weird," Yaz whispered as we walked across the asphalt, bags slung on our shoulders and squinting in the morning sunlight. Around us there were students pointing and whispering, but I ignored them as usual. I overheard a few even say Yaz was a new student, and I stifled a laugh at that.

"Don't worry, Yaz, In Sha Allah everything will go smoothly today," I told her, my arm around her shoulder as we headed towards the senior lockers.

Yaz subconsciously adjusted the sides of her scarf that framed her face, a nervous habit I had developed, and it was funny to see that it was the same for Yaz too, who was just a beginner, but looked like a professional.

"I hope so," Yaz murmured as we reached our locker. It was strange seeing Yaz wearing a white scarf which contrasted against her lightly tanned skin. She wore her usual mascara and eyeliner, making her eyes pop, and she had a shimmer of pink lip gloss on her lips.

"Damn, you look better than me in a hijab," I cursed.

Yaz grinned. "Thanks, but I think you wear it better than me."

"Hey, it's only just the beginning," I nudged her as I grabbed my English folder and physics textbook. The first two periods of a Monday morning was always both a dread and an excitement. I loved English, but since I had to work with Damian in physics, I was starting to dread what used to be one of my favourite subjects.

"I still can't believe I'm doing this," Yaz admitted as she closed her locker. I noticed even her dress looked looser, and it was because she hadn't tightened the ties at the back, fastening it with the two white buttons only, like me. We were like sisters – Muslim sisters.

"Who's the new girl?" I turned around to find none other than Damian, staring at Yaz in confusion.

Yaz placed a hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes at Damian. "I'm not new, Damian Brewer, in fact, I've been going to this school just as long as you," she snapped.

Damian's eyes widened with recognition. "Shit, Yaz, I didn't recognize you." He looked between me and my friend, blinking slowly. "Whoa, it feels like I'm seeing double."

"That's racist," I pointed out.

Damian shrugged, bending down to get to his locker, shoving his bag in roughly. Then he stood up, turning back to us, smirking. "Aidan is gonna freak when he sees you, Yaz. This is a prank, right?"

I couldn't hold back a laugh. Damian thought this was a prank? Wait till we told him – "Actually, Damian, this is real. I'm going to wear the hijab from now on, whether you, Aidan, or anyone likes it or not," Yaz replied, staring at Damian as if daring him to contradict her or say anything to challenge her.

"You mean this is serious? Shit, Yaz, and to think you were voted hottest babe by all the guys," Damian tutted, shaking his head. "But you ruined it all by putting that thing on."

"I didn't ruin anything," Yaz snapped. "This is me from now on, and go tell your guys that I'm not some 'babe' you can just push around and do whatever you want with. And if you have a problem with that, I dare you to mess with me."

I think for once Damian and I shared the same expression – amazement. Yaz was proving to be a very determined and powerful girl, maybe even more determined than me.

"Is this because of Aidan?" Damian asked with a smirk.

"Who cares about Aidan? He can go screw himself," Yaz muttered bitterly.

Damian pointed to Yaz as he glanced at me with a scrutinizing look. "What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything, Damian. Is it really that hard to believe that Yaz wants to be a better person? I mean, I can understand that with you, there are a lot of things you can't believe, but believe it or not, Yaz is Muslim, and this is her choice," I answered.

"Okay, whatever," Damian walked away, slinging his books under his arm. For a moment we watched his back recede, and then I turned to Yaz. She was gnawing on her bottom lip, looking anxious.

"Just ignore him, he's a dickhead anyway," I said, touching her arm.

Yaz nodded, closing her eyes briefly as if mustering some courage, and then we both walked to our classes, parting at the stairwell as she had maths and I had English on the other side of the corridor.

"Good luck. May Allah be with you," I told her.

Yaz smiled. "See you at recess."

I watched her walk purposefully down the hall where all the year seven lockers were, and I noticed the way they parted way for her, staring up at her in curiosity. People would always be curious, they still are now, even with the people I've known since year seven. The first year was the hardest, but it gradually got better, and I prayed that Yaz would stay strong through it all. Deep down, I had a feeling she'd be okay. After seeing her with Damian, I knew she was ready for anything.

***

"I saw Yaz," Denise whispered to me at the beginning of class as I took my seat beside her. "Is she really going to be wearing the hijab from now on?"

"Yeah, of course," I replied.

Denise raised her eyebrows. "Wow, what made her change her mind?"

"Honestly, I think it was because of Aidan, in a way," I responded quietly, making sure no one over heard, especially Aidan, who had just walked in, dumping his books on the neighbouring table beside Damian. I averted my eyes as soon as Aidan glanced over at me, glaring.

"Whoa, Aidan looks pretty mad," Denise commented.

"I think he blames me for Yaz's decision," I told her. "He probably thinks I forced her to wear it or some crap like that."

"But you didn't."

I shook my head. "No. See, after we dropped you and Theo off, she slept over at my house, since her parents didn't know she was at a party. The next morning she told me she had a dream." I quickly explained the dream, and then how Yaz wanted to start covering up. Denise seemed really understanding about it.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised, since you know Yaz," Denise said, and I nodded in agreement. "But I've gotta say I'm proud of her. She's really brave to do that, and I can imagine how hard it could be to do that and be judged for it."

"You're a great friend, Denise, you know that?" I beamed at her.

Denise smiled. "I know," she replied smugly, just as Mr Newton clapped his hands to break all the chatter up. The first five minutes of class were always wasted by getting to class and catching up with friends.

"As you all should know, the assignment is due this Friday," Mr Newton announced, causing a chorus of groans.

"I thought you said it was due next week?" Russell complained.

"I never said that, Russell. Maybe you should pay more attention in class," Mr Newton retorted. He was probably the sassiest teacher in this school, which was why he was so popular. Everyone seemed stressed out about the project, but I was glad it was almost over, because then I would be free from working with Damian.

"I'm giving you ten minutes today to discuss with your partner about your presentation, since we will be presenting our findings on Friday's double period." I swear all this class did was groan.

"Hey, I gave you guys plenty of time to work on this. Don't go moaning to me if you weren't productive with your time. You're in year twelve now, stop whining," Mr Newton scolded, but his eyes were twinkling with amusement. I think he secretly enjoying making our lives hell. That was his job, after all.

"If you can't finish it by today, then you'll have to arrange some time to work on it at the library or at home, because we need to move on to fields."

"As in corn fields, Mr Newton?" Damian joked.

Mr Newton rolled his eyes, which was an amusing sight. "No, Damian, gravitational fields, as well as electric and magnetic. This is physics, not agriculture."

"Damn, I must be in the wrong class, then," Damian cursed, pretending to get up and gather his books. Everyone laughed, all except me. He was such a try hard class-clown, I disliked people who always did things like that for attention.

Mr Newton looked amused, though. "Damian, sit down," he ordered, shaking his head slightly as he sat down in front of his laptop to do the roll.

The problem with having a surname beginning with B was that I was always first. There weren't many surnames with A in our year level, except for a couple, but I was rarely in their classes.

After the roll was called, Mr Newton gave us ten minutes to discuss with our partner, and I stayed where I was sitting waiting for Damian to make his way over to me, smirking.

"So, partner, this is how it's going to work – I send you my info, and you do the Prezi. Are we cool?" Damian was kneeling beside me, his face barely a thirty centimetre ruler away from mine.

"No, we're not actually, because I'm not doing the Prezi all by myself. That's not how it works, partner," I crossed my arms, leaning away from him slightly.

"Okay, fine, how about this – you put your info on the Prezi, and then send me the link, and I put my info. Does that sound fair?" Damian looked at me expectantly, cocking an eyebrow.

I was about to spit out a remark, when his words sunk in, and I realized it actually did sound fair. "Yeah, whatever," I muttered. "But do you even know how to use Prezi?"

Damian scoffed. "Um, of course I do. I'm like the Prezi King. No, make that the Prezi president."

I shook my head, biting down a smile. "That was terrible."

Damian shrugged. "I'm just saying, I know how to use it, but the real question is, do you?"

"Duh, I was the one who suggested we use it," I rolled my eyes. This guy was testing my patience, I swear.

"Just checking," Damian winked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're awfully chirpy for a Monday."

Damian ran a hand through his hair, green eyes sparkling. "Well, let's just say that Aidan wasn't the only one who got laid Saturday night."

"Ugh, I really didn't need to know that," I grimaced. Then I realized what else he had said. "Wait a minute, what do you mean by Aidan getting laid? As far as I know, he didn't get to do anything to Yaz."

"Maybe he did, maybe he didn't," Damian said mysteriously, making me doubt Yaz for a second. Was she hiding vital details about Saturday night to me? Yaz wouldn't lie to me, would she?

I shook my head, muttering, "Astaghfirullah." How had I ended up talking about such a sinful subject with Damian Brewer?

"What did you say?" Damn. I had forgotten Damian was right there, kneeling on the floor for some reason and leaning his arms on the desk.

"Oh, uh, nothing," I said dismissively. He wouldn't understand anyway.

"No, I definitely heard something," Damian said insistently, shifting closer to me, his eyes peering into mine so intensely I had to glance away. I didn't like being looked at like that. It scared me.

"I think it sounded like, Damian is really hot, or maybe, Damian is the best - something like that," Damian simpered.

Trust Damian to twist my words, even if I was merely seeking protection from Allah. "You couldn't be more wrong," I said, shaking my head.

Before Damian could utter a remark, Mr Newton caught our attention once again. "Ten minutes are up! We will be moving on now to our next topic," he declared as students bustled around the room, returning to their seats, but for some reason, Damian didn't.

"What are you still doing here?" I hissed.

"I'm comfortable here," he replied simply.

"Go back to your seat," I ordered.

Damian huffed, rising to his feet and shooting me a scowl. "Fine."

What was that all about? Denise slipped into her seat beside me just as Mr Newton started up the PowerPoint. Good old PowerPoints. But Prezi was better, in my opinion.

***

"Wow, Yaz," Theo stared at Yaz in wonderment, taking in her new look. "You look like Mariam now."

"Hey, just because she's wearing a hijab doesn't mean they're twins, Theo," Denise contended.

"That's not what I meant," Theo countered. He studied Yaz's face, and then turned to me, doing the same. "But come to think of it, you guys do have similar features..."

"Well, we are both Lebanese," I pointed out.

"But I'm the prettier one," Yaz joked, fluttering her eyelashes.

"That's debatable," Theo said cheekily, earning a smack on the arm from Yaz. I sent her a pointed look. Touching guys in Islam was forbidden, but it was hard to abide to that rule when Theo kept saying stupid things that made us want to smack him all the time.

"I'm kidding, we all know Yaz is the prettiest," Theo surrendered, rubbing his arm. Yaz gave a mean smack.

"You're just saying that so I don't hit you again," Yaz said playfully, but her eyes were narrowed.

"That's what you think," Theo muttered, biting into his apple with a loud crunch. Theo was a loud eater, so whenever we weren't talking, his chewing filled the silence.

"You know, you guys totally failed with the whole 'turning me into a fun machine' thing," Denise chuckled as she crunched on her barbecue chips. They looked much more appealing than my boring old potato chips. "I woke up with a banging hangover yesterday, I could barely remember anything from the party."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"How much do you remember?" Yaz asked her, a little desperately. That night had been a hard one for all of us, especially for Yaz.

Denise scrunched up her face in thought. "Well, I remember the fight between Theo and Aidan," Denise glanced at Theo with a sympathetic smile. "And then I think – oh, my god." Denise massaged her temples, closing her eyes in pain.

"Are you okay?" I asked gently.

Denise shook her head. "I just remembered what happened that night," she said with dread in her voice.

"What?" Theo pressed, leaning forward.

"I kissed someone," Denise confessed breathlessly.

"Who?" Yaz exclaimed.

Denise sighed. "I don't know. All I know is that I kissed someone, and that's it."

"I wonder who he is," Yaz murmured, glancing around the canteen as if she could find out just by looking.

"Do you remember dancing on the table?" I asked her, remembering what Yaz had said when we were on the phone.

Denise's eyes widened. "What? Did I do that?" she turned to Theo and Yaz. Theo laughed, while Yaz nodded, biting back a smile.

"You sure did, Denise. You go crazy when you're drunk, did you know that?" Yaz chuckled.

Denise palmed her forehead, looking regretful. "Oh, God, what else did I do?"

"Don't worry, you didn't do anything too crazy," Theo assured her. "But you sure did chug those beers down quickly! You won against Felix, who's the best beer chugger in Year Twelve. In a matter of thirty seconds you'd managed to empty two cans, and I gotta say, that's pretty impressive."

"Really?" A smile spread across Denise's face. "That's kinda cool."

"So you are a fun machine after all," Yaz concluded.

"See? I told you we could do it," Theo beamed, high-fiving Yaz.

I wouldn't say that chugging beer meant someone was a fun person, but whatever. "I think you should try having fun while sober next time, Denise," I suggested.

Denise nodded. "I agree, Mariam. Though I sound like a legend, I want to remember it next time. Maybe I should just abstain from alcohol like you guys do in Islam."

I shrugged. "I mean, if you want to."

"Oh, trust me, after waking up on the floor yesterday with a hell of a hangover, I want to," Denise said as the bell rang.

Theo tossed his apple into the bin, which was a few metres away, and it landed with a thunk. "He shoots, he scores," Theo said triumphantly, pumping his fist. When Yaz tried to throw her peach stone into the bin from the same distance, she missed completely and left us all in stitches. But then she tried again and it went straight in.

"She shoots, she scores!" Yaz celebrated her victory, high-fiving us all. When she slapped her palm against mine, I thought of how that simple act of throwing her peach in the bin could be compared to life, and how we may fail the first time we try, but if we dare to try again, we may succeed. Yaz could've left her peach on the floor and not bother to try again, but she picked it up and tried again, and that showed a lot about her as a person. She wasn't one to give up.

Yaz clutched my arm as we headed back to our lockers, walking side by side, with Denise and Theo behind us, discussing the history essay they had to do.

"I'm so proud of you, Yaz," I grinned at her.

"Me too," Yaz said contently. We reached our lockers, and she broke away from me, looking hesitant. "Hey, can I join you for Zuhr at lunch?"

I nodded happily. "Of course! I'd love for you to pray with us. You're more than welcome to, Yaz."

Yaz smiled. "Good. And Mariam?"

"Yeah?" I inserted my key into the lock, twisting it open as I glanced at her.

"Call me Yasmine."

"Why?"

"Because Yaz was the girl I used to be – that crazy girl who forgot about her faith and didn't care if she sinned," Yaz said quietly. "And I don't want to be that girl anymore. I want to be known as Yasmine, but more importantly, I want to be known as a Muslim."

I smiled in admiration for this girl standing in front of me, this girl I was proud to call my friend and sister in Islam. "Okay, Yasmine."