Free Safiah's Smile by Leora Friedman

face was still
as a marble statue. Even her sparkling eyes were fixed, barely even
blinking. But, no. Something was different. The animation in
Safiah’s eyes was absent. The smile was swept from her face. No,
not merely swept. It was stolen.
    “ You know, my uncle died
last year because of you.” A voice from the corner of the room. A
man with black eyes and dark wavy hair frozen into place with globs
of hairspray. Malia stared in disbelief. Because of her? Malia speculated
to herself. What did she
do?
    “His kids don’t have a father now.
What do you have to say about that?” He was looking at Safiah with
unbridled anger. His hands were balled into fists.
    Safiah tried to open her mouth to
speak, but no words came out.
    “ Who do you people think you
are?” Malia stood in front of Safiah, perplexed and furious. What is happening? she thought. Is this all a
dream? No. This must be a nightmare. A nightmare gone horribly
wrong.
    “How can you speak to her like
that? Treat her with such animosity. After everything she’s been
through.” She felt her pulse quicken. Her body went feeble. Weary.
Restless. Tired of this absurdity. “She has done nothing wrong.”
Malia stood firmly between Safiah and Reese.
    Reese gaped at this
five-foot-three eighteen year-old who spoke so fiercely before
crowds of onlookers. Then, suddenly, his face softened. He broke a
smile and whispered something into Malia’s ear.
    “Malia, don’t get mixed up in
this. Come on,” he grabbed her arm and began gently pulling her
towards the crowd. Towards the people. The silent spectators.
    She urgently shook her head and
freed herself from his tight clasp on her arm.
    “ No, Reese. You shouldn’t
have gotten mixed up in this.” With that, Malia pranced to the exit
with Safiah following closely behind, the stares of their fellow
freshman drilled into their backsides.
    Safiah breathed heavily when they
finally reached the darkness. “Malia, no. You shouldn’t have done
that. We should have left,” Safiah gasped. “They will hate you,
too, now.”
    Malia stared in disbelief.
“Safiah, you have to stand up for yourself. You can’t let them walk
all over you. You’re better than that. You… you just have to show
them that… that….”
    “No, Malia. There’s no hope. I
have to give it time. To wait for the world to heal.” In spite of
everything, Safiah did not shed a tear. Her eyes were clear, but no
longer bright. They were dark with resignation. “And then maybe
it’ll go away someday.”
    Sighing, Malia shuffled with
Safiah to the freshman dormitories to rest after an emotionally
exhausting day.
    Maybe she’s
right , Malia thought. But, no. What would she have done in the seventh
grade if Danny and her brother hadn’t defended her from Joey
Gandalini? But that was different. Much
different. She knew that.
    “We’ll figure this out, you know,”
Malia finally declared. That’s what her brother had said to
reassure her in the eleventh grade after she had been cut from the
girl’s varsity lacrosse team. It had been her dream. And it was
shattered by Haylie Thomas – the only sophomore ever voted captain
of the varsity team. But once again, Malia’s heart sank in the
realization that her sorrow was only a flare in comparison to
Safiah’s fire of trouble.
    “Right. Sure, we will,” Safiah
mumbled. But then she glanced at Malia’s eyes. They were pained.
“Malia, I don’t want you worrying about me. You have so much else
to be… thinking about right now. Please. I’m not worth it.”
    Just like her
sister wasn’t worth it? Just like Beth’s mother wasn’t worth
it? Malia thought quietly to herself.
Sometimes she felt that her thoughts dominated her mind. Massaging
her pale forehead, she felt a throb of pain. A sharp headache
approaching.
    After reassuring Safiah once more,
they muttered their farewells. But Malia still lingered under the
golden stars and silver moon of the nighttime sky, wishing
vigorously for a