Tracy....
At first, no one said anything. Not out loud, anyway.
Laila and I worked quietly through our biology project — a report on plant cell mutations. It was nothing personal, just schoolwork. Two people doing what they were told.
But small towns don't stay quiet for long.
By the third day, I noticed it — the way Sarah leaned in a little closer when Laila passed by. The way Peter whispered into his palm, loud enough for me to hear:
"Tracy and the hijabi, huh?"
I pretended not to notice.
Smiled like I always do.
Laughed when someone made a joke about me converting.
But it stayed with me — like a burr clinging to your skirt hem, impossible to shake off.
---
Sunday came too soon.
After service, I helped clean up the altar room like always. Folding cloths. Dusting candle stands. My mother came in with her soft voice and sharp eyes.
"I heard you've been working with the new girl," she said as she packed away hymnals.
"She's in my class," I answered, careful with my tone. "It's for a project."
"She's Muslim, isn't she?"
I nodded.
Mum sighed.
"I'm not saying don't be kind, Tracy. But remember who you are. What you're called to be. Sometimes we get tested in strange ways, especially before taking vows."
I knew what she meant.
Everyone knew I wanted to become a nun. I'd said it since I was nine.
---
At dinner, Dad mentioned it too — casually, like it wasn't heavy.
"You need to be wise about the people you spend time with. Especially now. These are delicate years. Friendships influence the heart more than you realize."
I nodded again.
Swallowed too hard on dry rice.
---
Monday came and I sat next to Laila like always. She looked the same — calm, focused, never saying more than she needed to.
But something inside me had changed. Not a big shift. Just a quiet weight.
The kind that sits in your chest like a question with no words.
---
Later that night, when I opened my journal, I found myself writing her name.
Not the way you write about someone you like.
The way you write about someone you can't stop noticing.
And you don't know why.
---