"Leave the country"
It wasn't the first time that Madelyn Clary had gotten this message. It started when she was 17-years-old and it just kept on happening. The 21-year-old sighed, slamming her laptop closed before getting up from her desk. She grabbed her books for school. She had Advanced Arabic that afternoon and she had to be focused. She couldn't let the bullies get to her. She had dealt with them for years and she would do the same thing she always did. Ignore it.
As she walked out to her car she thought about what led her to her current situation. She had been interested in the Middle East from the time she was 6-years-old. Back then she knew more about it than most kids would know in a lifetime. It distracted her from her alcoholic of a father and the fights he would get into with her mom. Tales of magic carpets and genie lamps kept her distracted.
Her teachers had misunderstood her and she never had any friends except for her best friend Jamila. Her life wasn't easy. It was hell and it got worse as time went on and the only person who cared was her mom and Jamila.
The brunette sighed and placed her head on the steering wheel for a few minutes before starting up the car. Her movements were on autopilot as she thought about her high school years. The years that were the worst. War started and people treated her worse than she was already treated. She wasn't just misunderstood now. She was an outcast. Just because she cared. Cared about what happened in her favorite countries. The history she loved so much was forgotten and people could only see the bad. It was wrong, but that was the world today.
Madelyn parked her car and rushed across campus now, slipping into the language building. She was promptly greeted by Jamila who offered her some coffee and a hug. "Thank you" Madelyn said as she walked beside her best friend.
The thing about Jamila was that she knew everything that went on with her best friend. Even before Madelyn ever told her.
"Okay talk to me Mads." The girl stopped and turned her friend around to face her. "What happened? You look as though you've been hit by a truck."
If she had a mirror, she would look. Madelyn didn't realize sometimes that her pain wound up being physical as well and she now realized that she had a splitting headache and desperately needed a Pepsi. It would be her third one that day, but she didn't care. She had class and she wouldn't miss it.
"Another message?" Jamila asked as she rubbed her friend's back, leading her towards the vending machines as if she knew her friend needed the Pepsi.
"Yeah" she said softly. "At this rate, I should just give them what they want."
Madelyn sat down and rubbed her head as her friend retrieved her Pepsi for her. "And what if you did?" Jamila asked as she sat down next to Madelyn.
The brunette looked over at her friend as if she was crazy. "What do you mean?" she asked.
Jamila pulled a brochure out of her backpack and handed it to Madelyn. "That's this year's study abroad destination and I think you should go. You're almost fluent in Arabic now and it's a great opportunity for you."
Madelyn looked through the brochure and gasped. "Agrabah? Isn't that the country with the royal family and that cute royal vizier you keep talking about? Why don't you go?"
Jamila sighed and wrapped an arm around her friend. "Because you need it more. You need to start over. You've had a hard life and this is just what you need. Besides, I've already been on a trip like this. I think it's you're turn."
Madelyn bit her lip and looked through the brochure. It all looked amazing and suddenly she really did want to go. "Okay. I'll go" she said with a bright smile on her face. Her mood had changed from sad to happy within an instant and suddenly her life didn't seem so bad. This would be an advernture for her and she couldn't wait to see what awaited her in Agrabah.
AN: Okay so I think this was a good start. I'm trying to picture what a Modern Agrabah would look like in my mind and I hope I'm doing good so far.