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“There’s not much to say,” Tehilla protested, snapping on a pair of rubber gloves as she handled the chicken thighs. Next to her, Yaakov snickered as he prepped the asparagus.
“That’s not what you told me last night.” Yaakov winced. “In excruciating detail, I might add.”
“Yeah, I don’t need that kind of detail,” Raina said quickly. She set the peeler on the counter and rinsed the potato in the sink, dropping it on a cutting board. “How did it happen? You—and Zara Ashcroft? I never would have called that.”
“We spent some time together at a club meeting, and then we started spending time together by ourselves. Things happened. For Raina’s sake, I’ll keep it PG.”
Yaakov let out a relieved breath. “Oh, thank god.”
Tehilla snorted. “It’s not that bad. I don’t understand why everyone’s making a big deal out of me and Zara dating.”
“Because Zara doesn’t date. She hooks up, yes, but she’s neverdatedexclusively.” Raina paused before picking up another potato. “Youareexclusive, right?”
“Yes.”
Once she’d slid the tray of potatoes into the oven, Raina turned her attention to Shabbos lunch. They’d decided to make a deli roll this week, so she grabbed a packaged deli and puff pastry and a bottle of mustard from the fridge.
“Oh Raina, my mom said to offer you my SAT prep books if you wanted them,” Tehilla said as she shucked her plastic gloves into the garbage.
“Let me guess: our moms talked?”
“I can’t confirm, but most likely. Is your mom on an SAT kick?”
“She’s been intensely focused on college lately,” Raina answered as she mixed the rest of the sauce ingredients together. She began spreading the sauce onto the puff pastry, careful to keep it even. “She wants me to start on my personal essay.”
“It’s notthatearly. I think I started looking at mine over Pesach. Which last year was…April.”
“What did you write yours on?”
Tehilla opened the oven and slid the chicken onto the bottom shelf. “So I ended up writing four different essays. The first one was on being Jewish in a predominately non-Jewish school, which my tutor thought was well written. However, I wasn’t applying to a Jewish school, so it was nixed. My second essay was about a trip we took a few years ago, and my third was about redecorating my room.”
“But you didn’t go with either of those?”
“My personality didn’t shine through,” Tehilla explained. “So in the end, I rewrote the first essay. Instead of specifically talking about Judaism, I wrote about how I brought a unique experience to my boarding school. I talked about how my presence caused people to question things they’d been told, to ask questions and want to learn more. I then tied it back to my future, talking about how educating others has always been a passion of mine, and how I’d be able to do that at their school.”
If Raina knew how to whistle, it would have been appropriate. “That’s impressive.”
Tehilla shrugged. “Hey, the idea was only half of it. I had to write the essay, and that was a pain. I think we went back and forth with edits like, six times.”
“Someone in my class was asking me about anti-Semitic myths the other day,” Raina said. “It was kind of sad, to be honest. That a high school girl, a smart one at that, still believed Jews had horns.”
“You can’t blame that on the kids,” Tehilla replied. “They learn what they grow up with, so it’s likely from the parents. Especially if this girl had been raised in a non-Jewish community. She’d never have had a reason to be curious before. Are you two friends?”
“Absolutely not. She hates me.”
Tehilla was silent for a minute. “Did you answer her?”
“I did. I never even considered not answering. She’s never been nice to me. In fact, she’s the exact opposite, but I couldn’t let her keep living with those misconceptions.”
“That’s what makes you a bigger person,” Tehilla said softly. “There are a lot of reasons for hatred. And often, they don’t actually hate you, they’ve just convinced themselves they do. So if you ever see an opportunity to teach someone, take it. Even if they’ve been horrible to you; you never know the catalyst behind their actions.”
“A boy in my middle school tripped me once,” Yaakov added, causing Raina to jump. He’d been salting vegetables so quietly she’d forgotten he was there. “Later that afternoon, I found him bawling his eyes out in the bathroom. His parents had told him they were getting divorced, so he was acting out. He’s one of my best friends now.”
“Even if the other person is horrible, it’s important not to sink to their level.” Tehilla handed Raina the sesame seeds she needed to sprinkle on top of the deli roll. “As Jews, we're scrutinized. So it's essential that we keep proving over and over why we'regood, to prove any anti-semetic rumors wrong, and then nothing will stand in our way.”
“‘You should always be kind to everyone, no matter who they are,’” Raina said, repeating one of her mother’s favorite phrases.
Tehilla smiled warmly. “Exactly.”
