changes his face.

Nurah, I didn’t mean

to make you cry.

Sorry.

Ammi, I can’t take it anymore.

I hate this place.

I’ll read later.

And then he is

slamming the door

behind him,

gone.

My Family

Is beginning to fracture

one day at a time

while we are stuck

in this stuffy

hotel room.

Maybe when school starts

when the leaves

start changing

colors . . .

Baba has promised us

the leaves will change into

the colors of

hot spices:

cumin, red pepper, and turmeric.

Maybe then, things will get better.

Ammi Says

You should:

Make your bed

Go for a walk

Pray on time

Go find a pool

Go find a pool . . . ?

Owais and I

exchange a look.

If we find

a safe blue cocoon,

maybe then

our moods

will cool?

Where?

Where is a pool?

Where are the crows?

Where is the garden?

Where is home?

They’re a 15-hour flight away.

Part Three

The Rec Center

A sigh of relief

even though it

smells of

stale socks

and warm sweat,

because most importantly

there is the smell of chlorine.

A pool.

Warm Welcome

I s l o w l y

d

i

p

the big

toe

of my

right foot

into the pool.

Bliss.

Blue Cocoon

Under the water

the bright-blue world

welcomes me

with a cool hug.

Under the water

Owais and I exchange

one watery smile.

If I just close my eyes

hard enough,

if I float just so,

I can almost imagine

I’m back

home.

Trophy Case

Between the locker rooms

is a shiny wall

with swimming medals and trophies,

and when we walk by the wall,

Owais takes a quick look.

But I take a

slow

look,

place my hands on the glass,

leave behind smudgy fingerprints,

but take my dreams with me . . .

TV

On the Olympics channel

Owais and I

tune in to swimming.

As I watch,

I hold my breath.

Exhale when

the race is over.

Owais flicks off the TV.

Keep practicing

maybe you can be in the Olympics . . . ,

says Baba

looking at Owais

the star athlete.

My mouth turns

the tiniest bit down,

so he adds

You too, Nurah!

I nod,

turn my lips back up again.

But the good energy in the room

that was swimming around us

is now drowning me.

What does it feel like

to be a winner?

School Morning

On my first day of school

when we climb into the big yellow bus

step by step

we don’t know that Baba follows our bus to school

stop by stop.

Ammi tells us later

Baba wanted to make sure

we reached school safely.

I guess it’s not just Ammi—

Baba worries too . . .

The First Day of School

The leaves still haven’t changed colors.

I knew I was short at school,

but I didn’t realize

how short I really was

until I saw Jason Flynn