‘Maybe we should go somewhere else,’ I say. ‘This place is too crowded and way too noisy.’
Ma just frowns, not even looking up from studying her menu. ‘You can go if you want. I’m eating here.’
I sigh, slinking down in my seat and ducking my head so Maya won’t spot me. Maybe we can eat and leave without her even knowing I was ever here.
But when Ma finally looks up from the menu, her frown deepens. ‘Why are you slouching?’
‘No reason.’
‘And who are you looking at?’ She turns all the way around and her eyes light up when she sees Maya and her family across the restaurant. She starts to wave wildly – so wildly that I’m sure half the restaurant sees her. And, of course, Maya and her parents do.
‘Ma, leave them alone,’ I say, but it’s too late. I can only watch in horror as Maya shuffles over, a hesitant smile pasted on her lips.
‘Hi, Auntie,’ she says, her eyes quickly flickering over to me before travelling back to Ma. ‘It’s nice to see you.’
‘Maya, I missed you at Isra’s dawat the other day. And Dina never told me that you were back.’
I groan. Ma has always been obsessed with Maya, and I’ve never really told her how bad our break-up was. She still thinks that Maya moved away and so it made sense for us to stop seeing each other.
‘I’ve only been back for a few weeks,’ she says. ‘I’m coaching our old school’s football team now.’
‘Wow.’ Ma actually looks impressed. ‘Dina’s coaching a football team too, did she tell you?’
Maya gives me another fleeting glance. ‘Yeah. We’re actually going to be playing each other. Our teams, I mean. In a few weeks. It should be … fun.’
Definitely not the word I would use, all things considered.
To my absolute horror, Ma stands up. ‘I should go say salaam to your parents. I’ll be right back.’ She offers me and Maya a bright smile, before hurrying away.
I expect Maya to scurry after Ma, but she just stands there in front of our booth, shifting from one foot to another.
‘I didn’t expect to see you here,’ she finally says.
‘Yeah, I didn’t expect to see you here either.’
‘Did you go shopping?’ She nods to the bags beside me in the booth.
‘Yes.’ I pause for a beat, then add, ‘It’s for a makeshift kit for my team. We don’t have fancy school funds to get us stuff like that.’
‘Oh.’ Maya actually looks surprised, like she expected a council team gets all of the support that a team like Westbrook does. She looks over at where Ma seems to be having a lively discussion with her parents, before sliding into Ma’s seat and giving me a serious look. ‘Can I ask you something?’
I almost want to say no, afraid of what she might ask me. The last time the two of us spent more than five minutes with each other, things became too much too fast, and I’m not sure if I’m ready to dig into our past. Especially not here, in this crowded restaurant, with our parents so close by. ‘Um, I don’t—’
‘It’s about my students. Do you really think they’re bullies? Like … were they really being awful to your team?’
I blink at her for a moment, trying to digest what she’s just asked. When I had marched up to Maya at the park, it had been adrenaline pushing me forward. I’m not even sure I totally remember everything that I said.
‘I don’t know. I haven’t met any of the girls from your team. All I know is they were mean to some of the girls on mine, and I … wasn’t going to tolerate that,’ I say. ‘If you’re still offended about—’
‘I’m not. There’s this girl on my team, Laila. I think … she’s being cyberbullied,’ Maya sighs. ‘Iknowshe’s being cyberbullied. I brought it up to Ms Jacobs, and she talked to her parents earlier today. Their solution was to make her get off social media, which feels … unfair. I was just thinking maybe it was some of the other girls on my team, or maybe it’s just nobodies on the internet.’
‘Sorry,’ I offer, but a tendril of warmth tugs at me. I remember what it feels like to have Maya care for you.
Maya gives me a tight smile. ‘I just wish I could help her.’
‘You looking out for her is already helping,’ I say. ‘You know … there’s this girl on my team. Jade. She’s a social media influencer. Maybe she and …’
‘Laila,’ Maya says when I look at her searchingly.
