Bhai for Now by Maleeha Siddiqui

Author:Maleeha Siddiqui [Siddiqui, Maleeha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2022-07-08T00:00:00+00:00

Ashar never thought he’d have to be sneaky to pray, but there he was with his forehead touching the ground in Shaheer’s walk-in closet. His go-to excuse for disappearing was that he needed to use the bathroom. Dad and Dada were probably starting to think Shaheer had contracted a serious case of diarrhea. Ashar snuck out of the closet, which was conveniently connected to the bathroom, and flushed and washed his hands to complete the ruse.

“All set, sport?” Dad asked when Ashar reemerged in the living room. Instead of the table, they’d spread out books and packets to work on the floor. Dad had suggested they go through a couple of topics Ashar said intimidated him. Dad broke it all down for him into digestible pieces. Ashar wasn’t headed for first place at the science fair by any means, but he felt more confident about the Arlington exam than he had before. He was still in the running and wouldn’t count himself out until he was out out.

“Yup. Let’s keep going,” Ashar said, eager to take advantage of every minute.

“I think we’ve covered enough for one day, don’t you think?” said Dad. “I don’t know about you, but I’m burned out.”

Ashar remembered it was his day off and instantly felt bad. It was already past noon. Dad had spent most of their first Sunday together last week catching up on data entry from home, which didn’t leave much room to squeeze in fun time.

“Okay. What do you want to do next?” Ashar asked.

“Go for an outing,” Dada suggested from his favorite armchair. He lowered the tablet and paused the drama he was watching. “It’s not too hot out today.”

“DC!” Ashar bounced on the balls of his feet. “You wanted to go, right, Dad?” Ayoub Mamou had taken him and Zohra to all the museums and attractions plenty of times, but there were always new things to check out.

Dad looked at Ashar thoughtfully. “I don’t mind. Abba, you up for it?”

Dada loved his walks, but could he keep it up for that long in the city? Ashar felt bad for thinking it, but he didn’t want Dada to slow them down. At least not much about Dada gave away that he was old old except for the gray-white roots starting to grow out of his brown-dyed beard.

Dada lifted his reading glasses and watched Ashar closely. Without even blinking. Ashar squirmed under the laser-like focus, his heart pounding. Finally, Dada said, “I’m going to stay back. You two have fun.”

“All right. We can head out after my nap.” Dad stood up and stretched his arms over his head. He smoothed Ashar’s hair as he headed to his room to lie down, setting an alarm on his phone as he went.

“Why the sudden change of heart?” Dada said when they were alone.

“What do you mean?” asked Ashar.

“You haven’t agreed to sightseeing in a while. What’s so special about DC?” There was that stare that made Ashar feel like he was being examined under a microscope again.

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