"You look so different."
"Bro, you're telling me," Abdullah said, shocked. "Look at you. When did you lose so much weight?"
"Oh, I don't know," Tomek shrugged. "I've just been dieting."
"How was Pakistan?" Tomek asked.
Images rushed through Abdullah's mind. Zane laughing as they played together, baby Mira crying late into the night, Aunt Amira's warm smile, Big Nano laughing, Papa and everyone sitting together in the same room.
"It was fun," Abdullah said simply.
The first day back at school felt strange but familiar. Abdullah was greeted by almost everyone.
Erop was the first to come up to him.
"Bro, how long were you gonna be gone for?" he said. "You missed everything. You're so cooked."
"Yeah, man," Abdullah laughed. "I haven't even thought about school in ages."
Jan came up too.
"Bro, you were gone for so long. What are you gonna do for the exams?"
"I don't know," Abdullah said. "Just catch up, I guess."
"Bro, I'm already cooked for my exams. If I missed that much, I'd get zero on everything."
Alois joined in next.
"You were gone too long," he said. "It was so boring without you. Had no one to talk to."
"Well, tell me now," Abdullah said. "Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"
"No," Alois replied. "Literally nothing. All the fun went away."
Later, Abdullah turned to Nadeem.
"Hey, did you miss your personal lunch box?" he joked.
"Hey, come on," Nadeem laughed. "You're more to me than just that."
"Oh, so you don't need food from me anymore?"
"Who said anything about that?"
They both laughed.
The first day back went well. People had missed him, even if they didn't say it directly. Abdullah slowly slipped back into school life, often sticking with Erop.
One day, Abdullah was talking with Erop when Jan came up and started chatting about random things. After Jan left, Erop shook his head.
"Bro, just ignore him. You don't have to talk to him."
"I know," Abdullah said. "But it's fine. He's nice."
"Yeah," Erop replied. "He's also annoying as hell."
"I guess."
In class, Jan talked to Abdullah more than he expected.
"You know, I've been going gym for like two years," Jan said one day. "I've got my own home gym. All the equipment. I can deadlift 150kg."
Abdullah listened quietly.
He looks like he weighs forty kilos at best. No way.
Nadeem overheard.
"Yeah, right," he laughed. "I'd be surprised if you can even carry your bag. Look at you."
Jan went quiet.
"Abdullah, that guy's the biggest liar ever," Nadeem added. "Don't listen to him."
Another day, Abdullah was walking with Erop when he saw Alois with Kyle. He went over to talk, but soon Nadeem came rushing in.
"Yo, bro, hold up," Nadeem said dramatically. "Listen to this. Isn't it fire? New album just dropped."
He stood there playing the song while Abdullah, Erop, Alois, and Kyle waited awkwardly.
What the hell is he even saying? Abdullah thought.
"Just wait for the beat drop," Nadeem kept saying.
Two long minutes passed.
"Did you hear the beat drop?" Nadeem asked proudly.
"Yeah," Abdullah said. "Very good."
He hadn't heard it at all.
After Nadeem left, Alois sighed.
"Oh my god, that was so awkward. He just came over and stood there. And he kept saying 'wait for the beat drop,' but I didn't even hear it."
"Yeah," Abdullah said. "I didn't hear it either."
"Honestly," Alois continued, "he thinks listening to that stuff makes him cool or something. He's actually so cringey."
"I don't know," Abdullah said. "I don't really listen to music."
"Yeah, but even you can admit his music taste is shit."
"Maybe."
Later, Abdullah walked away with Erop, who brought it up again.
"Bro, that shit was not tough. I swear no one actually likes rap. They just pretend to like it to seem cool."
"Like genuinely," Erop added, "who listens to UK drill unironically?"
"I guess Nadeem does," Abdullah laughed.
"Yeah," Erop said. "I don't even know why we let that guy into the friend group."
One day, Abdullah was talking with Alois when Erop came up excited.
"Okay, so later we're doing the v4 trials," Erop said. "We need a third person, so join us, yeah?"
"Okay," Abdullah said.
After Erop walked away, Alois leaned in.
"Honestly, why are we even friends with Erop?" he said. "Isn't he kind of weird?"
"Well," Abdullah replied, "aren't we all weird in our own ways?"
"Yeah, but he's annoying. He's always so loud."
"Not all the time," Abdullah said. "He's funny."
"He tries to be," Alois replied.
In maths, Abdullah learned more about Mr. T. He often mentioned his background in psychology and how he could tell when someone was lying. One day, instead of teaching, he spent the entire class talking about the history of maths.
"Did you know," Mr. T said, "that the word algebra comes from al-jabr, part of the title of a ninth-century Persian mathematician's book—Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi. That's a name most of you wouldn't be able to say ten times fast."
At home, Abdullah continued talking to Zane and his family on the phone.
"Hi, Zane. How are you?"
"Hey, Zane," Aunt Amira called. "Come over. It's Abdullah."
"Look," Zane said excitedly. "Baba bought me a toy gun."
"Oh wow," Abdullah laughed. "That's amazing. Don't shoot me though."
Aunt Amira laughed.
"Okay," Zane said seriously. "I won't shoot you for now."
Abdullah smiled.
"So, Abdullah," Aunt Amira asked, "how are your studies going?"
"They're fine," he said. "I still miss you guys a lot though."
"Awh," she replied. "We miss you too. But it's alright. Just keep at school, okay?"
"I will," Abdullah said. "You know, when Zane's fully grown up, we should send him here on a student visa. I'll take care of him and everything."
She laughed softly. "That's still a long time from now."
"Yeah," Abdullah said. "But it's worth the wait."
Mira started crying in the background.
"Sorry, Abdullah," Aunt Amira said. "We'll talk another day. I need to take care of this."
"Alright. Bye."
The call ended, and Abdullah was left staring at his reflection in the black screen.
That'll really be a sight to see, he thought. The Pakistan family in Ireland. Hopefully it'll happen.
One day…