Lesson 8:A Girl Named Amira

Three girls — Helen, Lisa, and Vanessa — sat across the
table. I knew them from last year. The girls whispered to each
other and giggled. They did not notice anybody else. One
empty chair remained — the one between Vanessa and me.
Only one piece of food on my lunch tray looked good to
eat — an apple. I picked it up and cleaned it with my shirt. I
bit into the apple just as a girl sat in the empty chair beside
me. I didn’t know her name, but I remembered her from last
year. She always wore a black head scarf to school. The other
kids at the table stopped talking as the girl started to unpack
her lunch.
Helen, Lisa, and Vanessa looked over at the girl. Even Jack
stopped eating to watch her. He seemed to think she was going
to do something unusual. The girl unwrapped her sandwich
and bit into it. She didn’t say a word to anyone.
Jack poked me with his elbow and whispered, “What’s
with the scarf” I frowned at him, to warn him to be quiet. I
was sure the girl heard him. She didn’t look up, though.
Twenty minutes later, the bell rang. Everybody
rushed to clear their trays and go to their next class.
I saw the girl from our lunch table walking away.
It was easy to see her black head scarf in the
crowd of students going down the hall.
The students at Table 7 eat lunch
together for the first time.
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