He looks past me and I follow his gaze as Jessica floats by, bumping into me. She keeps walking, her cronies following behind her and obviously giggling—the type of giggling they want you to hear. “Oh my God, it’s going to be the best party ever!” one screeches, and I assume it’s yet another party I’m not invited to, and whatever.

“I heard what she said.”

I look back at him and ask, “About the party?”

“No, about you.”

My face heats up and I look down, to the side, anywhere but at him. Yeah, I can handle this, but that doesn’t mean I want the whole school knowing about what she says. “It’s nothing.” I start walking away, knowing he’s following me.

“She does it to me too.”

I look back at him, taking in his tan skin and dark eyes, and ask, “You’re Jewish?”

“No, no,” he says, catching up to me at the door. He ducks his head a little and we walk toward the cafeteria. “She calls me a terrorist.”

“Wait, what?” I ask, stopping now. “Why?”

“Because I’m brown?”

“Yeah, I know that, but why would she say you’re a terrorist?”

“Because clearly all Indians are. Didn’t you know?”

I thought he was meek before, looking away whenever her icy eyes looked at him. But he’s not; he’s just irritated and hurt. Like me. “She says I’m going to hell, even though Jewish people don’t, you know, believe in hell. She’s an awful human being.”

“Pretty much. I’m just, and I know this sounds weird, but I’m glad it’s not just me.”

I look at him. “You’re glad other people are being insulted by her?” As he shakes his head and starts to explain, I interrupt. “I get what you’re saying. It’s nice knowing she’s not just against you. You’re not her one and only target.”

“Yeah, exactly,” he says. “She makes the Apu voice at me.”

“And let me guess, she assumes your parents own a gas station.”

He looks away and dodges when two members of the football team run down the hall shouting. They’re allowed to do that, of course. “Okay, so they do, but it’s not the worst?”

I smile because, aw, and say, “It’s cool. My grandparents regularly sneak food out from buffets. That whole ‘Jewish people are cheap’ thing? Not true about everyone, but totally true about them.”

He looks at me, and a moment of camaraderie passes between us. Like, I get him, and he gets me, and it’s weird having this understanding with someone I barely know.

The hallway chatter is lower, and I know what that means. “Bell’s about to ring,” I say. “I should get to lunch.”

“Yeah, me too,” he says. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” I say, smiling. “I look forward to it.”