It was another day at school.
Abdullah walked up to Tomek and saw him standing with Nadeem and Erop.
"Hey, what's up?" Abdullah said.
"Hey, Abdullah," Tomek replied, sounding off, like he was already annoyed.
"Yo, wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?" Abdullah joked.
Tomek looked at him.
"Bro, can you back off a bit? You stink."
"What?" Abdullah said, instinctively smelling himself. "I don't smell that bad."
Erop stepped forward and exaggeratedly sniffed him, pulling a dramatic face.
"Ughh, bro, do you not take showers?"
Nadeem laughed. Tomek laughed too.
"I do, bro," Abdullah said, confused.
"Yeah, well you stink of curry," Tomek said flatly.
Erop burst out laughing.
"Bro, it wasn't that funny," Tomek said blankly to him.
"My bad," Erop replied.
Another day, Jan and Abdullah were talking.
"Does water expire?" Jan asked.
"I don't know actually," Abdullah said. "Does it?"
Tomek looked at them.
"Are you two braindead? Obviously it expires. You're gonna drink water that's been out for ten years?"
"Yeah, but what if it's in the fridge?" Jan said. "Wouldn't it be fine then?"
Nadeem joined in.
"Jan, I think this conversation's too high IQ for your peanut brain."
"Yeah, honestly," Tomek added.
They walked away laughing.
Jan stayed quiet for a moment, then leaned toward Abdullah.
"Fuck that guy, man. Honestly. I'd actually break his head in. He thinks he's so tough, calling me stupid when he's literally the dumbest guy in this school."
"Who?" Abdullah asked. "Nadeem or Tomek?"
"Nadeem. Who else?"
"It's not worth it, bro," Abdullah said.
"Yeah, I know," Jan muttered. "That's why I don't say anything."
One afternoon, Alois was talking to Abdullah like normal, telling a story about a girl.
"Basically, there was this girl me and my friends were trolling," Alois said, laughing."And we got one of our friends to tell her he liked her. She believed it straight away."
Abdullah listened.
"And then he was telling her he loved her and told her to meet him somewhere," Alois continued."But instead, his girlfriend showed up."
Alois laughed harder.
"She was like, 'Why are you trying to meet my boyfriend?' and the girl just started crying. She seriously thought he liked her."
Abdullah stared at him.
"Bro… that's kind of fucked up."
"I mean, look at her," Alois shrugged. "She's fat and ugly. Did she seriously think she could get a boyfriend?"
"Yeah, okay," Abdullah said slowly. "But you didn't need to bully her."
"We weren't bullying her. It was just for laughs."
"Okay… I guess."
Later, Abdullah told Tomek about it.
"Did you know Alois does stuff like that?"
"Yeah," Tomek said. "In September he catfished me for a bit."
"Damn," Abdullah said quietly.
That was the day Abdullah saw Alois differently.
As the days went on, Abdullah heard the same comments over and over.
"You smell bad.""Stink of curry.""Your breath's stink."
"Tomek, what should I even buy to smell better?" Abdullah asked one day.
"Shower every day," Tomek said. "Body wash, shampoo, deodorant, brush your teeth, mouthwash."
"I already do all of that," Abdullah said. "Except mouthwash and deodorant."
"Well, it doesn't seem like it."
Abdullah bought them anyway.
Still, the comments didn't stop.
Maybe I don't actually smell, he thought. Maybe they're just taking the piss.
He asked Tomek how to lose weight.
"Just search it up."
That night, Abdullah searched everything.
Calories in, calories out.Eat less than you burn.
Tracking apps all cost money, so he just ate less.
He searched calisthenics, tried working out for three days straight, then collapsed from soreness.
Okay. Eat less. High protein.
But most of the food at home didn't fit the "diet."
At school, he gave his lunch away to Nadeem.
"Why don't you eat anything?" his mother asked.
"Don't take the diet so seriously, you stupid child."
"What would you know?" Abdullah snapped."All you do is feed me garbage. Look at me now. Just ask Dad to bring chicken."
For the next two weeks, Abdullah ate one chicken leg a day.Three to four hundred calories. No carbs. No fats.
He was starving.
One day, he tried to walk upstairs and collapsed.
His dad sat him down.
"Listen," he said. "I know you want to lose weight, but this isn't healthy. I'm a chef. You need carbs, fat, protein — all of it."
He paused.
"My friend's daughter stopped eating. She became a skeleton. She ended up in hospital. You don't want that."
"No, Baba," Abdullah said quietly.
"I know you're smart," his dad said, pulling him into a hug."But you don't know everything. Think before you do things like this."
"I'm sorry."
"Alright," his dad said, smiling. "Let's get you a burger."
At home, the family often watched Bollywood movies together.
Abdullah loved the Shah Rukh Khan ones.They were always about love — impossible love, dramatic love, love that fought everything.
"In a few years, you'll be getting married too," his mom joked.
Abdullah thought about it.
I wonder who it'll be.
The way those men fought for women felt noble.
"I wanna be like that," he thought. "Honourable. Chivalrous."
"Oi," his dad laughed. "What are you thinking so hard about? You're not getting married yet."
The next day at school, Abdullah saw Kyle with Alois and Agim.
Kyle looked thin. Athletic.
"Are you a fast runner?" Abdullah asked.
"Uh… why?" Kyle said.
"I don't know. You just look like it."
"Oh, we'll test that," Agim said. "Abdullah, chase him."
"No thanks," Kyle said quickly.
"He can do a backflip," Agim added.
"No way," Abdullah said. "That's sick. Show me."
"Maybe another time."
From that day on, Abdullah asked him constantly.
"Agim, I actually hate you for this," Kyle said once.
Agim laughed.
Later, Ali whispered, "Is that guy gay or something?"
"I don't know," Abdullah said. "I'll ask."
"Hey, Kyle, are you gay?"
"What?" Kyle laughed awkwardly. "No."
"Alright. So… backflip?"
Kyle sighed.
They went to a grass patch. Kyle did it.
"Holy shit," Abdullah said. "You actually did it."
"Practice," Kyle said.
One day, Nadeem said he was about to get jumped.
"Yo, what did you even do?" Abdullah asked.
"Nothing," Nadeem said.
Abdullah looked at Agim.
They both watched Nadeem panic.
They started laughing.
Another week, Abdullah sold pancakes at school.
Agim tried one.
"These are good," he said. "I'll tell people."
That day, Agim brought him customers.
In maths, Marcus told Abdullah, "The answers are in the back of the book."
The next day, Mr. T checked homework.
His mood changed instantly.
"Where did you get this answer?" he asked a student.
"I… forgot."
"Don't lie to me. I've been teaching for twenty-five years. Explain why your face is red."
"Did you use the back of the book?"
"Yes."
"Detention. Thursday."
One by one, he broke them down.
When he reached Abdullah, he glanced at his work.
"Good job."
And moved on.
I used it too, Abdullah thought. Why didn't he say anything?
After that day, he never risked it again.
At night, Abdullah stared at his ceiling.
School was getting louder. Meaner. More complicated.
Exams were coming.
Abdullah looked at the ceiling tired staring at the
cracks...