WARNING:
EMOTIONAL CONTENT
Includes mentions of illness, young carers and emotional distress.

At the Syed's, Zee was praying in her room. She had just finished reading Asr namaz. Still sitting on the floor, she raised her hands to her face, to read a dua—a prayer where Muslims can ask God for something. 

"O Allah, please send my blessings to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and to all of the other prophets, as well as their companions and loved ones. O Allah, thank you for looking out for my mum and dad. Please improve their health. They are in a lot of pain and I don't know how to help them. Please keep Nazrat safe, and... please make Irene's dad better. I know she's been struggling lately, so please make things easier for her."

She gently brushed her hands over her face, smiling softly to herself. Sometimes she rushed reading namaz because she forgot to read it earlier, but when she allowed herself to take as much time as she needed to read, she always felt a sense of peace wash over her. Her parents were still ill, her older sister was still away from home, and she still had to deal with school stress, but praying reminded her that she was not going through it all alone. 

"Zalim! It's the door. I think your friend is here!", called out her dad. 

Zalim quickly folded up her prayer mat and put it away. She took off her prayer clothes, revealing a black turtleneck jumper and olive green jeans underneath. She put her prayer clothes and headscarf back in her wardrobe. She quickly hurried down the stairs, having already told 0her parents that she wanted to be the one to open the door. 

She put the key in the keyhole, before freezing. An unusual amount of nerves ran through her body. This was the first time she had ever invited someone over to her house, including her best friend Aurelia. After taking a deep breath, she unlocked the door and opened it. 

"Hi!", smiled Irene. 

She had a lilac knitted jumper on, with black stripes across it. Her hair was parted down the middle, both sides in French braids. She had black leggings and boots on. Despite her excited greeting, the way she fiddled with her sleeves showed she was nervous too. 

"Hey. Come on in."

Irene entered the house and looked around, making sure not to stare for too long as she didn't want Zee to think she was judging her. Near the front door, there were some beads hung up on one of the walls. One was a mustard yellow, one was dark brown, one was orange and the other was bright blue. The dark brown beads looked glossy and perfectly round. The blue beads were also round, but some were more oval in shape than the others. 

"They're called tasbeeh", said Zee. "They're basically special prayer beads. When we do something called dhikr, which is where we repeat phrases to remember God, we use them to keep count of how many we say."

Irene nodded. "They're beautiful."

Irene followed Zee into the living room, where she saw who she assumed were Zee's parents. Zee's mother had a baby blue salwar kameez on, and her hair was styled into a low bun. Her father had a crisp white shirt on, with dark blue trousers. Her father was sitting on the sofa, and her mother was in the adjoining kitchen, stirring a pot of delicious smelling food. 

"Mum! I told you to leave that", said Zee, rushing over to her mother and taking the wooden spoon out of her hands. 

"I can handle stirring a pot, Zalim", she replied. 

Her mother turned around, a warm smile appearing on her face when she saw Irene. She walked closer, resting against one of the tables. Irene was a little surprised. Zee's parents didn't look like they were struggling, not like her own dad was. She wasn't judging them at all though. She knew what it was like to hide what you're going through. 

"Hello, Irene! Welcome to our home", smiled Zee's mother. "Oh, I love your jumper!"

"Thank you!", smiled Irene.

"It's so nice to finally meet a friend of Zee's", said her father.

"Thank you for having me, Mr. and Mrs Syed", said Irene, before reaching into her bag and pulling out a metal lunch box.
"I brought you some homemade carrot cake. I hope that's ok."

"Oh, how sweet! Thank you", beamed Zee's mother. "Are you a baker then?"

"Well, not professionally, but I like it as a hobby", replied Irene. 

"Our eldest daughter, Nazrat, loves baking too", said Zee's father.

Zee frowned, her body tensing up a little. She cleared her throat and turned to Irene, taking the metal lunch box out of her hands. 

"Uh, I'll take that", she said, before heading into the kitchen and putting the box on one of the counters. 

"Um, the food smells lovely", said Irene, trying to change the subject.
"What is it?"

"Well, we weren't sure what kind of food you liked, so we're making chicken nihari with rice and pakoras. We made sure not to make it too spicy", replied Zee's mother. 

"Sorry. I did try to tell them to just make lasagne instead", said Zee. 

Irene shook her head. "No, no, I'm excited to try it! I have a pretty good spice tolerance too."

"See, Hanifa? I told you that you didn't have to worry!". said Zee's father. "She's been panicking that her food choice would ruin the whole day."

"Well, this is the first time Zalim's brought someone over! I want everything to be perfect."

Zee squirmed, embarrassed with how much of a loner her parents were making her out to be. Ordinarily, she wouldn't have cared, but she actually quite liked Irene. Irene chuckled at Zee's reaction. She found herself remembering the phrase 'this house is lived in.' Irene always thought that was usually used as a positive spin on calling a house messy. This house though? Well, it seemed like there was a lot of love in it. It felt cosy and comforting, mostly because of the warmth her parents radiated. 

"The food should be done in about fifteen minutes, so why don't you two watch something on the TV?", suggested Zee's mother. 

"Ooh, why don't I look for home videos to show you Irene?", asked Zee's dad.

"Nope! No way!", exclaimed Zee.

¤¤¤

At the Brown residence, Mr Brown invited the Vander family over. Mr and Mrs Vander were both lawyers, but Mrs Vander worked in the conflict resolution field for five years before becoming a lawyer. Mr Brown had hoped that the Vanders would be able to mend the tense relationship between the Browns and the Agrawals.

Claude Vander, Mr and Mrs Vanders only child, was wearing a black suit with a lilac tie. His father was also wearing a lilac tie, while his mother had a lilac dress on. Claude's jet black hair was jelled to the side, with more hair on his right.

Leon was halfway down their spiral staircase, when he locked eyes with Claude. Claude stood up straighter, lifting his chin up just a little. Leon mirrored his posture, something he often did, albeit unknowingly.

"Ah, Leon", said Mr. Brown. "Come, quickly."

Elliott and Jacob were already downstairs. Jacob was stood to the right of his mother, leaving a gap between them, while Elliott was stood to the left of her, their arms lightly touching.

Mr Vander subtly pushed his son forward, just as Leon reached him. Leon folded his arms, shifting some of his weight onto his right leg. Claude cleared his throat, and forced himself to look back up at Leon.

"I'm surprised to see you here. I would've thought you'd be studying for the upcoming mathematics test, seeing as, in the last one, you scored lower than I did", said Leon.

"Careful now, that cockiness of yours could end up being your downfall", said Claude.

"That's enough now", said Mr Vander, placing a hand on his son's shoulders.

"Yes, we're all friends here, remember?", reminded Mr Brown.

"Leon, why don't you and Claude go up to your room? We'll be quite busy down here", suggested Mrs Brown.

Leon nodded, but Elliott could tell that his brother was reluctant to do it. As the oldest son, Leon was more accustomed to the way the family worked. He was their father's mini me, doing everything he could to uphold the family image.

"Right, well, perhaps we should make a start?", suggested Mrs Vander.
"Ideally, we'd like to get you and the Agrawals in a room together, but that can wait until we establish a plan of action first."

Mr Brown smiled. "That sounds wonderful."

Everyone moved into the living room.
The adults sat on the crisp white, diamond-studded sofas, while Elliott and Jacob sat on two chairs Jacob had gotten from another room. There was plenty of room on both sofas, but they wanted the adults to have more space.

"So, Mr and Mrs Agrawal are alleging that Elliott's food fight fiasco was a ploy to make them look weaker in front of potential business contacts", explained Mrs Vander.

"That's stupid!", exclaimed Jacob.

Mr Brown glared at Jacob, making him close his mouth. Mrs Brown, on the other hand, subtly nodded at Jacob's words.

"I wasn't trying to do that", said Elliott. "Things were said, and I reacted badly to them. I shouldn't have thrown food, but it really wasn't planned or anything like that."

"Be that as it may, the Agrawals have powerful contacts in Wales", said Mrs Vander. "If you don't do something to get back on their good side, you could miss out on those contacts."

"What do you propose we do?", asked Mrs Brown.

Jacob leaned closer to Elliott, lowering his voice to a whisper. "What kind of conflict resolution is this? There's no real conflict."

Elliott shrugged.

"Well, perhaps a social event would bring your two families together? You could invite your contacts. By showing that you're willing to share contacts, they might see it as an olive branch."

Elliott could see the distress on his mother's face. She was very good at hiding how she really felt with other people, but Elliott knew her too well. His body ached with guilt. If he hadn't gotten angry at the gala then none of this would be happening.

"Wait, um, I have an idea. We could still do the social event, but in the meantime, I could try and talk to Sunetra? If I could get her on my side, she could convince her parents to change her mind about us", suggested Elliott.

"We don't want to risk making matters worse, Elliott", said Mr Brown.

"Hold on, dear, I think Elliott is right. We should let the children sort this out between them", said Mrs Brown.
"Elliott is more than capable of dealing with this."

"Ok... if you are sure", said Mr Brown.
"But we should still plan the gathering, just to be on the safe side."

"Great! I could get in touch with the Agrawals if you'd like?", asked Mrs Vander.

"Let's just see how Elliott does first", said Mrs Brown.

"Right, well, I think we've covered everything for now", said Mr Vander.
"I do hope we've been of help to you."

"Oh, of course!", grinned Mr Brown.

"Yes, thank you", said Mrs Brown.

"We should be going now", said Mr Vander.

"Oh, please, stay for some tea", said Mrs Brown.

"We wouldn't want to overstay our welcome", said Mr Vander.

"Too late", muttered Jacob, earning a soft chuckle from Elliott.

"Nonsense. You're always more than welcome here", said Mrs Brown.

While the two mothers were talking, Elliott watched his father take Mr Vander into another room. A small part of him wanted to follow them, but he knew better than to eavesdrop on his father.

In the other room, Elliott's father closed the door behind him.

"Thank you again for your help", he said. "Now, I have been thinking about what to give you in exchange for keeping quiet about the severity of our situation."

"Oh, well, since you insisted earlier..."

The Vanders seemed nice, but not even they could be trusted in this cat and mouse game played by the social elite. Mr Brown needed to make sure that they wouldn't spill any of the details about this drama. Sure, people had seen what Elliott did at the gala, but they didn't know why. And his father intended to keep it that way.

"Now I've already said I'm happy for Elliott to be seen as just causing trouble. In exchange for keeping this quiet... I'll make sure Leon pulls out of the upcoming science competition at the school. I'll make sure your Claude will win."

Mr Vander raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, do you not believe my son is capable of winning on his own?"

Mr Vander didn't seem that confident though. Word of Leon and Claude's rivalry had spread long ago, and he was aware that some of the other families saw Claude as less intelligent. He was aware of how it made his family look.

"I'm sure Claude is quite capable. But why not... seal the deal?", replied Mr Brown, carefully wording his response.

"Hmm. Well, yes, that is a good point. Ok then. Ensure Claude wins in the next competition, and we'll call it even."

¤¤¤

Back at the Syed's, the family and Irene were eating dinner. The chicken nihari was a deep red colour, and it looked like it was bursting with flavour. The white rice was soft, but each grain was perfectly distinctive. Irene attempted to make rice once, and was left with a mushy mess. She was sure she'd be able to make it correctly if she tried again, but rice was just never really something she and her dad ate often.

Irene scooped up a spoonful of rice, and then one and a half spoonfuls of the chicken nihari. She grabbed a couple pakoras, before picking up three more when Zee's mother insisted.

"So, how has school been?", asked Zee's dad.

"Good", said Zee, simply.

"Yeah, good", said Irene. "In, uh, in history class we learned about the League of Nations. It was basically this organisation that was dedicated to achieving world peace."

"Yeah, it was pretty useless", said Zee.

"Well, I think it's good that they tried", said Zee's dad. "Too many people turn to violence as a first resort, nowadays. It's like we've become desensitised to the pain it brings."

Irene thought Zee's dad was quite insightful. In class, there was a discussion about how often the league failed, but Irene thought that more attention should be given to the fact that after the atrocity of the war, they saw that something needed to change and actually did something about it.

Maybe it didn't work out, but they tried.

After that class, Zee thought about the promotion of peace. How it had pretty much been a lost cause. She'd love to live in a world that preached looking out for one another, and meant it, but it was hard to believe that could be a reality when she looked at the social divides in her own town.

"Let's talk about something a bit lighter", said Zee's mother. "Did anything exciting happen in school?"

"Exciting and school don't really go together", said Zee.

Zee's mother rolled her eyes, before looking at Irene. "Irene, you tell me something that happened. Zalim never tells us anything."

"Uh, well... this popular couple at our school broke up. Everything went a bit weird after that. Oh, but Aurelia got a new boyfriend so I guess that's something."

"Ah, did she? So you're friends with Aurelia too? How is she?", asked Zee's mother.

Their surprise surprised Irene. If Aurelia was Zee's best friend, why didn't she tell her parents more about her?

Or, indeed, more about anyone at the school? Irene was used to keeping her home life a secret, but she never kept her school life a secret from her dad.

"Um, she's good", replied Irene.

As Zee's parents looked down at their plates, Irene glanced at Zee. Their eyes locked, and they shared a look. A look of understanding that reassured Zee. Irene may not know why she hid the things that she did, but she was going to support her.

"Would it... would it be ok if I just excused myself? I just remembered that my dad will probably be eating now, and I want to make sure he's ok", said Irene.

"Of course, dear! There's no need to ask us for permission", said Zee's mum.

Irene gave her a small smile, before grabbing her phone and pushing her chair back. She walked out of the room, into the hallway.

"Zalim, does she know about Nazrat?", asked Zee's mother.

Zee's whole body tensed up at the mention of her big sister's name. She just shook her head as she ate another spoonful of rice.

"What, not at all?", questioned her dad.

"Well, look, it's not really something I like to bring up. She knows Naz is in the army, but that's it", replied Zee.

"But... she's your friend. Why wouldn't you talk to her about your sister? What sort of things do you even talk about?"

"School work."

Zee's mother scoffed. "Oh! So you spend all your days talking about homework?"

"No, actually, we also talk about what it's like to have parents who can't–", she started, before cutting herself off.

She saw the sadness on her mum and dad's faces. Instantly, she felt guilty. Her mum went back to focusing on her food, and her dad just stared at his wife.

"I'm sorry. I promise I don't talk about anything bad. It's just... she's the only other person who can relate to me."

Her mum sighed, putting down her fork. "Zalim, you don't need to be sorry. Of course
I am happy that you have someone to talk to about caring for us. We both are. But... I don't want you to be friends with someone just for that reason."

"Your mother's right", said her dad. "We were so excited when you told us you were bringing a friend here. We thought... we thought you were finally opening up."

"I am, dad", said Zee.
"I'm just... I'm not ready to talk about so many deep and personal things. Having ill parents is already deep. I have to do this at my own pace."

Zee's parents looked at each other. Zee's dad nodded, and her mother did the same.
They looked back at Zee.

"Ok. That's fair", said Zee's dad.

The whispers from the hallway got louder, catching the family's attention.

"No, dad, I can't just go in with you on my phone. No, dad I–"

"Is everything ok?", called out Zee's dad.

"Uh, y-yes!", replied Irene, before turning her attention back to her dad.
"No, I'm not going to show you, dad!", she whisper- yelled.

"Are you sure?", asked Zee's mother.

"Uh...", she started, before sighing.
"Um, my dad's on video call and he wants to say hello."

"Oh! We'd love to say hello, come on in", said Zee's dad.

Zee's mother reached for her scarf, putting it on her head as Irene walked back into the room. Her steps were smaller, and she had a nervous smile on her face.

"Um... this is my dad."

Irene turned the phone. Her dad smiled warmly, waving at Zee's parents. Irene quickly looked at the screen, sighing in relief.

"Hello! Nice to meet you! Don't worry about Irene, she's just relieved that I didn't put on a funny face mask for the video."

"Oh! Well, I'd love to see the mask", said Zee's dad.

"Nice to meet you too", smiled Zee's mum. "I'm Hanifa, and this is Tariq."

"I'm George. And how is my favourite lawyer?"

Zee chuckled.
"I'm good, thank you! How are you, Mr. Weber?"

"I'm great. Listen, I just wanted to thank you for looking after my Ri. I'm very jealous that you're all eating nice food and I'm stuck with chicken soup though."

"Oh, well we're giving Irene some to take home", said Zee's dad.

"Oh, you don't have to do that!"

"Please, my husband is absolutely useless in the kitchen, but the one thing he loves doing is preparing food to give away. We don't get to give out food much nowadays, but when Zalim takes food to the food bank, he packs all the meals she gives to the workers."

Irene looked at Zee, her eyes widening in surprise. She couldn't believe how much she was learning about Zee today. Giving food to the food bank was sweet, but making sure the workers were fed was even sweeter.

Was Zee a secret softie?

¤¤¤

"What is Pythagoras' theorem?", asked Leon, looking in his notebook.

Leon was sat on his bed, while Claude was sat on the chair next to Leon's desk.
The pair had never really been alone together, outside of socialising at school, so they relied on the comfort of doing what they always did. Trying to prove that they were intellectually superior than the other.

"The square on the hypotenuse of a right angle triangle's area is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides", replied Claude.

"Hmm. What is a quark?"

"Very small particles that make up neutrons and protons."

"Finish the statement. 'Neutrinos are..."

Claude let out an excited gasp, surprising Leon. 

"Only the most fascinating things ever!"

Leon raised an eyebrow.
"You're excited... about physics?
You really are very odd."

Claude rolled his eyes.
"Oh, please.
You only care about your grades.
One single mark on a paper.
You laude your good grades over the rest of us like it makes you some sort of king. You don't care about the actual knowledge. You just care about how good it makes you look."

Claude's words felt like a slap to the face. The truth was, he wasn't exactly wrong. Getting good marks made Leon feel better about himself, mostly because it reflected positively on his family. He hated that Claude seemed to claim some moral victory. He didn't know how hard Leon had it. To constantly have to be on your best behaviour, not putting one foot out of line for even a second. 

Leon narrowed his eyes, his lips curling in annoyance. He crossed his arms, leaning back slightly. 

"Ok then. You tell me what's so great about neutrinos, if you think you're such a smarty pants."

"Neutrinos are tiny, almost massless particles that are created from violence, like exploding stars or bursts of gamma rays. They're so small, much smaller than we are, yet they can travel through lead the way we can move through air. They're incredible forces to be reckoned with. They don't look like much... but they are so much stronger than they appear. So much more."

Claude emphasised every nugget of information, a twinkle dancing around in his eyes as he spoke. Without realising it, an enthusiastic smile had appeared on his face, lingering even after he had finished speaking.

It was clear that, to Claude, this was so much more than a spouting of facts. It resonated with him, although Leon wasn't sure why.

Seeing Claude speak so earnestly, shocked Leon. They had been rivals pretty much since they met, but Leon always saw Claude as quiet and passive. Sure, they exchanged their usual banter, but that was all.

"That's... that's, uh, quite interesting actually."

Claude smiled softly, after hesitating. Leon wasn't surprised though. This must've been the first time he had ever said anything nice to Claude.

"Is there not a subject that you find as interesting as I find physics?", asked Claude.

Leon thought about this. School bored him, but he enjoyed the thrill of competition. There was nothing quite like the adrenaline rush that high intensity situations like competitions gave him.

"I suppose I like politics."

His father taught him and his brothers all about politics. Not so much the politics of governments, but the politics involved in keeping up with the social elite.

Claude chuckled, shaking his head.
"Why am I not surprised?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Ever since we were thirteen you've cared about your image. At every competition you always suss out the crowd, then network with others afterwards", explained Claude.

Leon's eyebrows shot up.
"You've been... watching me?"

Claude's eyes widened and he froze, looking like a deer in headlights.

"Uh, well... yeah."

"Why?"

Claude shrugged.
"We've kind of always known each other. But when we were kids... well, it's safe to say we didn't have the responsibilities that we do now. I guess I always found it interesting to see how we changed."

"Oh. Well, it's obvious that we changed. As kids, we didn't understand the importance of our families' legacies. Now we do."

Claude frowned. He looked down at his hands, and Leon could tell there was something more he wanted to say. Maybe not to him, but there was definitely something he had to get off his chest.

"Do you, uh, do you think our parents have finished?"

Leon shrugged.
"My parents have never had to seek this kind of help before. How long do your parents usually take with the conflict resolution advice?"

"It depends on the problem. Your brother messed up by throwing food at the Agrawals. I can't imagine this blowing over."

"My brother was just doing what he had to to protect our family", snapped Leon, startling Claude.

Claude had never seen Leon publicly defend his family. When his brother Jacob made a fool of himself at a gala a couple of years ago, Leon stayed quiet. Just like his father. Claude wasn't at the event where Elliott threw food at the Agrawals, but from what his parents said, Leon didn't defend his brother then either.

But here he was, showing that he truly cared about his brothers. It was a side to Leon that Claude wished he could've seen more of.

"I bet the Agrawals looked funny, covered in food", said Claude, smiling a little.

Leon paused, unsure of how to react at first. When he saw Claude's broad smile, he chuckled.

"It was quite amusing", he revealed.
"There was a large clump of frosting on Mr. Agrawal's head, and it just kept slipping down his head the angrier he got."

Claude burst out laughing, placing a hand over his mouth to suppress his laughter. Leon joined in, feeling comfortable enough to express his amusement.

"Claude! We're leaving now!"

Leon decided to join Claude as he made his way downstairs. Mrs Vander smiled when Claude reached the last step, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you again for the tea", she said, turning to face the Browns.

"Yes, we'll see you soon", said Mr Vander. "Leon, good luck in the science competition."

"Thank you", he said, his eyes flickering to Claude. Claude smiled, and Leon smiled back at him.

After the Vanders left, Mr Brown turned to Leon.

"Son, there's something I need you to do", he said.

"Of course, father. What is it?"

"The upcoming physics competition.
  I need you to drop out."

"What?", exclaimed Elliott.

Their mother gasped, and Jacob stepped closer. Leon's smile dropped.

"He can't do that! It's all he has going for him", said Jacob.

Mr Vander rolled his eyes at Jacob, before looking back at Leon.

"Drop out so that Claude Vander wins", he clarified.

"Leon's never lost to him though!", exclaimed Elliott.

Their father whirled around, pointing a finger at Elliott.
"This is your doing!
If you hadn't pulled that little stunt at the gala, we wouldn't have needed to turn to the Vanders for help. Doing this is the only way to ensure they keep this drama between us."

Elliott recoiled. He'd seen his father angry before, but never at something he did. Atleast not to this extent. Elliott felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Richard, there's no need to shout", said their mother.
"Elliott was only sticking up for us."

Their father sighed.
"I know. Believe me, I know. It was admirable. But Mellissa, you know how important it is to maintain our image."

Leon stayed quiet. He was still trying to process what he had to do. Before today, he would've done what his father said, no questions asked. He would've been a little sad that he had to lose, but he still would've done it.

Now, it just felt wrong. He thought back to his conversation with Claude. About how much his rival loved science. Truthfully, Claude could've won against Leon without any meddling.

He deserved to win.

Leon didn't want him to win by default.

And then there was Claude's parents. Why would they have agreed to this? Leon couldn't understand it. Didn't they know how smart and brilliant their son was?

"Father, I... I don't want to do this. It's not right."

There. He actually did it. He actually defied his father. It felt unnatural when the words first left his mouth, but then he felt his heart relax.

Their father's eyes widened. "Oh, why are all of my children disobeying me? Elliott with his childishness, Jacob with his uselessness and now Leon—the one person I thought actually understood what was at stake!"

Leon's face turned red and a lump formed in his throat. He desperately fought the urge to cry. He couldn't remember the last time he did cry. But his father hadn't shouted like that in a long time.

He looked at his younger brothers, both wide-eyed and worried. Then he saw his mother, who had placed her hands on their shoulders to comfort Elliott and Jacob.

"You're... you're right, father", said Leon. "I'm sorry. I think I was just upset about wasting all of the hard work I put into it. But the family's reputation is more important. I'll... I'll drop out of the competition."

"Thank you, son", he said.
"I knew you wouldn't let me down."

Their father left the room, with the boys' mother following after him. Elliott turned to Leon, an enormous amount of guilt pushing on his chest.

"Leon, I-I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I hate that I ruined this for you."

Elliott could handle a lot, but one thing he couldn't stomach, was letting his family down.

Leon shook his head.
"It's ok, Elliott. It's not your fault."

But then... why did it feel like it was?

----

Hi. 

I loved including Zee's prayer scene. I don't think actual prayer, or dua scenes are shown much in the media, which is a shame because I think it is beautiful. I think every religion has a form of prayer, and Islam is no exception. I am not sure if there is another religion that does something like a dua after prayer, but I know that the concept of a dua is something other religions have. Through Zee's dua, we are able to see the things that are most important to her. Her parents' health, her older sister, and we are also able to see the kind of love she has for her friends, through her asking for Irene's dad to get better. I just think it's a really beautiful scene, and hopefully it brings some awareness to what praying is like for Muslims. 

Zee is still learning to open up, but Irene is the perfect friend for her right now. She is understanding and excited about learning more, without pushing her.

I also thought it was important to show the difference in Zee's parents and Irene's dad's conditions. Irene's dad is probably someone we'd expect to see when thinking about young carers looking after a parent. But Zee's experience is also valid. Some days are good, some days are bad. Sometimes her parents can move around on their own, and other times they need help.

I enjoyed exploring Elliott's family dynamic again! Initially, I wasn't going to include much about Elliott's family, but after writing the gala chapter, I found myself actually becoming quite investing in them. Each sibling has a struggle within their family:

Leon feels like he has to be a certain way and can never make mistakes. He takes on a lot of the responsibilities of the family.

Jacob is seen as quite useless, and rejects responsibilities.

Elliott is trying to do right by his family, but he is still young, and is learning the best way to do that without lashing out.

The brothers still care deeply about each other though, and that's something I really wanted to drive home. I also really loved exploring the Claude & Leon dynamic, as we get to really see who Leon is.

What are your thoughts on this?

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

starryeyedturtle

DoodleYeet

LeMystical-Puffle

niallhoranslovebot

Tornado-Jockey