"I can't have a class with him, no way." I repeated for the fiftieth time as we walked down the hall, heading to Spanish. I had told the girls everything that had happened with Badr and my plan to stay away from him, but I couldn't stay far, far away if we were in the same class!

"I don't understand why you're freaking out. If you really want to go through with this stupid plan of yours, then just sit on the other side of class." Estrella hummed, shrugging. Luckily, Estrella was also in my class.

"No, no. You're right. I'll just... sit as far away as possible from him." I concluded, still freaking out.

"Why are you freaking out so much? Calm down, Salah. Remember, back in 10th grade we did all that research on Muslim boys and girls being friends?" She looked at me expectantly.

"Yeah, I remember. Why?"

"Well, you said you just wanted to be his friend. There's nothing wrong with that. As long as being around each other and talking to each other doesn't lead you to sin, you're fine. And you can just not talk to him that much if you're worried about it being makruh." She stopped outside the door to the class, pulling me aside. "Salah, god does everything for a reason and everyone we meet holds a lesson for us to learn. Don't be scared of being friends with him. Just remember your rules and keep your distance. If you think you like him, pull away. Tell your parents if you want, but... if you think you'll sin because of it, then stop being friends with him." She let out a breath. "If he starts to like you and starts showing admiration or whatever else, pull away. If you both like each other, tell your parents." She smiled softly. "Just remember what is haram and you'll be fine."

I couldn't help but smile after that. No matter what I acted like, Islam was a big part of me and to see that my friends had learned so much made me ecstatic. I wrapped my arms around her, giving her a short hug. "You're right. Thanks, El."

"First, that's what friends are for. Second, you know I hate hugs!" She whined as we walked into the class, sitting down in one of the rows in the middle.

I stuck my tongue out at her jokingly. "That's why I gave you one." I teased.

I leaned back in my chair, placing my laptop in front of me. I logged in and the first thing that popped up was the article I was reading the other day. It was titled, "How to be YOU." I immediately turned the brightness all the way down, hoping El hadn't seen it. I closed the article and slowly turned the brightness back up, letting out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

"Buenos dias, clase." A tall woman wearing a blue pencil skirt and white blouse stood at the front of the class. She had a bob cut and wore square, black-framed glasses. "Me llamo Señora Bella. Hoy, hay un proyecto, pero eso es todo. Es un proyecto para ver cuánto sabe el español de la clase. Trabajarán en socios, pero los elegiría."

El is Hispanic, but her parents never taught her Spanish, so she wasn't fluent in it. I, on the other hand, had been taking Spanish since I was in Kindergarten, so I was near fluent. El leaned in and whispered, "I understood most of that, just not the last part."

I laughed softly. "She said that her name is Mrs. Bella. Today's there's a project but that's all. The project is to see how much Spanish the class knows and we're going to work in partners, which she will choose."

El tapped her chin comically. "I wonder what the project will be about."

"I think we're about to find out." I hummed as I grabbed the stack of papers from the person beside me and took one sheet, passing the rest to El.

"Su proyecto es sobre de su pareja. Usted llegará a conocer el uno al otro en dos semanas. Haga un pequeño póster sobre ellos y preséntelos a la clase." The professor walked to her desk, scanning a sheet of paper. She clicked on her computer and the projector turned on. There were all the names of the kids in our class in one column and two index cards beside it with the button shuffle beneath them.

"I think I get it." El looked at me, proud of herself. "We have to get to know our partner and make a small poster about them, right? And then we present it?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yep, you got it." I gave her a high five, turning back to the board. Señora Bella began to shuffle the names, calling out the partners.

"Sofiá y Dylan, Estrella-oh, ese es un nombre bonito-y Pearce," She went on and on, but I was only listening for my name. I couldn't wait to find out who I was working with. It was a chance at a new friendship. "Y por último, Salah y Badr."

"Wait, what?"

Words:
-Haram: Forbidden, not allowed

A/N I apologize for the bad Spanish, I was writing it myself with a little help from SpanishDict. Feel free to correct my mistakes, thank you!

-"Buenos dias, clase." : Good morning, class
- "Me llamo Señora Bella. Hoy, hay un proyecto, pero eso es todo. Es un proyecto para ver cuánto sabe el español de la clase. Trabajarán en socios, pero los elegiría." : My name is Mrs. Bella. Today, there's a project, but that's it. It is a project to see how much Spanish the class knows. You will work in partners, but I would choose them.
-"Su proyecto es sobre de su pareja. Usted llegará a conocer el uno al otro en dos semanas. Haga un pequeño póster sobre ellos y preséntelos a la clase." : Your project is about your partner. You'll get to know each other in two weeks. Make a small poster on them and present them to the class.
-"Sofiá y Dylan, Estrella-oh, ese es un nombre bonito-y Pearce," : Sofia and Dylan, Estrella-oh, that's a pretty name-and Pearce,
-"Y por último, Salah y Badr." : And finally, Salah and Badr.