Thursday - September 14, 2017

Chicago, IL

The past month seemed to just breeze by. Every day is seemingly half the length of any other. The thought of going back home leaves an emptiness in fifteen-year-old Kareem Shahidi's chest. From the doorway, he watches his dad load his last bit of luggage into the car before getting in. He takes a step out the doorway and looks down both sides of the street one last time before the car horn startled him, his dad's signaling him to hurry. He looks at the time on his phone. 7:37 AM. He takes a deep breath, grabs his bags, and makes his way into the car. Quickly after closing the door, Kareem turns his iPad on. He begins quickly scrolling.

"What are you doing?" His dad asks.

Kareem responds, "I'm trying to see what famous people are in Toronto."

"And you mean superheroes when you say 'famous people'?"

Kareem glances at his dad before shifting his attention back to the screen.

"Ahh!" His dad chuckles. "I'm not sure why you're so fond of those kinds of people."

Kareem shrugs. "I dunno, they're just cool."

"No, people like that are no good, not anymore. Back then it was simple, look at Daniel Davison, his brother, and the rest of their family. Everybody knows them as who they are and what they can do. Now it's all about having these cool names, cool suits, and powers, they are heroes for recognition, not the safety of the people anymore."

"Mhmmm," Kareem responds, slowly nodding and turning his head to face his iPad.

His dad sighs. "I'm sorry I— Are you excited about the move? Seeing your relatives again?"

"Yeah." He pulls out his phone and starts scrolling.

"The Plague," Kareem utters with a puzzled expression on his face.

"So soon? It is too early for all these electronics ibn. This time is intended to be spent together." with His dad says putting his hand behind Kareem's headrest.

Kareem smacks his lips as he slowly closes his iPad cover before looking out the window, taking one last gaze at his home.

As he passes through the neighborhood, memories flash through his mind with every street he sees. Kareem shifts his eyes downward as the area around him seems to get more and more unfamiliar, feeling as though he's left all those memories behind. He sighs as he takes another look out the window, surveying every building he passes until his eyes grow heavy and eventually shut.

Toronto, CA

After hours of driving and falling in and out of sleep, Kareem and his father have finally arrived at their new home. He looks at the time on his phone. 7:10 PM. He slowly gets out of the car, grunting as he stretches before closing the door behind him. He stands staring at the building, his father speaks but he is too distracted to make an effort to understand what's being said. Kareem and his dad are greeted by his aunt, uncle, and cousins who all emerge from the house shortly after.

"Kareem!" His aunt calls out. "Ya Allah, you've grown so much! How old are you now? And—" she scoffs in disbelief. "your hair!" She exclaims.

"He's fifteen now and I know, it's outrageous." His dad answers. "I've been trying to get him to cut it but he refuses. But I guess he is growing up and can make his own decisions." He says, sparking laughter between the adults.

"Kareem—" his aunt starts as she lays her hands on Azam's shoulders, the oldest of her children. "Of course, you remember your cousins Azam, Maya, Asem & Zahra."

Kareem greets them with a silent nod, quickly shifting his eyes to each of them.

"He's still very tired. He slept almost the entire drive here!" His dad says.

"Al-ʾaṭfāl, why don't you show your cousin around the new place? Give us some time to talk." His aunt suggested.

Following his cousins, Kareem makes his way up the stairs and into the house. After the short tour and only emptying his luggage full of shoes, he lies on his bed with his phone in his hand, mindlessly scrolling through his list of superheroes until he falls asleep.

After some time he opens his eyes to see what seems to be a ghost with a glowing purple aura, floating right in front of him. He quickly shifts his attention to what look like eyes and a mouth, glowing a slightly light purple.

Kareem hears a female voice coming from the ghost but can't make out what it's saying. After a few seconds of floating above the bed, the figure suddenly sprouts wings and lunges directly toward him.

He jumps up sweating. It was a dream. He feels blood pouring out of his nose and rushes to the bathroom to stand over the sink. "What the freak?!" He faintly exclaims as he watches the blood continue to spill.

His dad rushes into the bathroom. "What's going on, ibn? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, ab, I just woke up and my nose was bleeding."

"Okay as long as you are not hurt." His dad says, looking at the blood on the floor. "Make sure you clean up before you go back to bed."

Kareem nods his head as he sticks the tissue in his nose.

Friday - September 15

Kareem opens his eyes, awoken by the sound of the vacuum. He pulls the cover over his head in hopes that it could block the noise. It's ineffective. He turns to look at his phone—9:37 AM. Kareem lets out a heavy sigh, throws the cover off himself, and makes his way toward the noise. He opens the door to see his dad vacuuming the rug and everyone else making breakfast, no less than two tending to each task.

His dad and uncle both smile at Kareem. "Sabah alkhayr!" They both say in unison.

"Mornin'." Kareem replies.

"Ibn." His dad gives him a stern look.

"Sabah alkhayr." Kareem groans.

His uncle turns to him. "You have to cheer up some, nephew. Allah let you see another day, you should wake up happy."

"I am happy."

His aunt chuckles. "Nephew—" She starts in Arabic. "Delusion does not look good on you." She holds her hands on Kareem's face. "Now you hurry up and get ready. You, Maya & Azam, are going to walk around and get familiar with the neighborhood, take care, and keep your eyes on each other." His aunt looks him in the eyes. "Keep your eyes on them." She says, switching to English.

They both turn their eyes down to Asem, who's looking at them with a wide smile.

"Can I go too?"

"No, we don't need you getting lost." His aunt says.

Asem's smile quickly turns into a frown with his arms folded. "Now you need to finish brushing your teeth, and eating your breakfast so you three can be on your way."

Kareem watches as his aunt walks off. He then ambles his way to the bathroom, leisurely completing his morning routine before joining his family at the table for breakfast.

"Oh, Kareem! Your uniform should be here by early Sunday." His dad chuckles. "Aren't you excited about school?"

"Yeah, what is it again? Institute of...?"

"George Harvey Collegiate Institute." His dad corrects.

"That's the same one Azam goes to." His aunt includes. "As well as Maya now."

Kareem's dad turns to Maya & Azam. "Ahh yes! Maya, this is your freshman year, correct? How is everything going?"

"It's been good, everything is pretty easy so far, but it is still only the first week." Maya says with a slight grin.

"That's good. And Azam, football again this year?"

"Oh yeah, most definitely."

Kareem's dad's and uncle's faces both beam with joy.

"Kareem," His uncle begins. "you should play football too. You're just as fast as Azam, yes?"

Azam laughs. "I don't know about that one but he can join. We could use him."

Kareem silently shifts his attention to each of them. Watching as they each stare at him, waiting for a response to their suggestions.

"Uhh, I'm not really interested in that, to be honest."

"C'mon bro you have to try something. There's no point in going to Harvey if you don't join any clubs or anything." Azam responds while he carefully plates his food.

Maya turns to Kareem. "Yeah, that's actually a big deal at Harvey so you need to figure that out as soon as possible. The people in your group are YOUR people, which is why Dani and I have decided to be in the same group."

"She goes there too? Dang, I forgot about her." Kareem says, shifting his eyes upward in thought. Maya tilts her head, giving him a stern look.

10:47 AM

After breakfast, Kareem, Azam & Maya head towards the door, Asem watching the three make their way out.

"So—" Maya begins, "where do we want to go?"

"How was it in Chicago? How long were you out there?" Azam asks.

"Do you want to just walk around and see what we can find?"

"You got a girlfriend?"

Maya & Azam send each other stern looks. Kareem alternates, shifting his attention as the two ask their questions.

Kareem shrugs. "I don't know. It was okay I guess. Like two and a half years. Yes and no."

"Dani can be your girlfriend."

Kareem stares at Maya. "No thanks."

"Why not?"

"She's annoying. When I left she wouldn't stop texting me. She still hasn't." Kareem shakes his head.

Maya's eyes widened. "Wait! Do you want to go say hi to Dani now?"

"NO!" Kareem & Azam yell in unison. They look at each other, then back at Maya, walking off as she bends over laughing.

Monday - September 18

On his way to school, Kareem sits back, scrolling through his phone. He searches through a list of heroes, studying every one of them. After minutes of doing so, he puts his phone in his pocket. "How long until we get there?" He asks shifting his body to the middle seat.

Maya & Azam laugh.

"What?" He asks.

"Bro, did you not hear anything we were saying?" Azam asks, talking through his laughs. He glanced back at Kareem from the driver's seat. "And did you have your seatbelt on? You could've gotten me pulled over."

"Worry about what's on the road, not back here."

Maya turns back. "Did you figure out what group you want to join?"

"I haven't looked at what they got, I'll figure it out later. How long until we get there?"

"We're here," Azam says with a stern tone.

Kareem looks out the window to see he's in the parking lot of his new school. "Oh shoot okay."

"You nervous?" Azam asks as he turns to Kareem.

"Why would I be? Something going on in there I should know about?"

"No," Maya says, "but there are people in there who are waiting to meet you." Maya jumps out of the car, swiftly going to open Kareem's door and the two follow her into the building.

Kareem walks through the hallway behind his cousins, watching everyone stopping to greet them.

He looks around, occasionally catching stares from others.

"So," he starts, "who here wants to see me again? And why? Nobody here even knows—"

"Oh my god!"

Kareem hears an unsettling familiar voice shout from behind him. He shifts his attention towards Maya, staring with a blank expression on his face.

"Look who it is." The voice lets out a loud shriek. Turning the heads of many students in its direction.

Kareem slowly turns around. "Hi, Danielle." He says with a sigh. Seeing her stand with another girl right next to her.

"It's Dani." Dani lets out a slight chuckle. "It's been that since before you left, I thought you'd remember."

"Hm." Kareem nods.

"I'm glad you too remember each other." Maya intervenes. "This is Karina by the way. I believe you two have first period together so...be friends." She smiles.

The two lock eyes as they shake hands.

"Yo- uhh...You have nice eyes. That's a nice...green I like it." Karina says her voice softly quivering.

Kareem slightly smiles. "Thanks."

"Okay," Azam starts as he nods with a wide smile, "we can get you to your class now, I got some more people for you to meet later. Maya, you two, we'll see you later. Hopefully not."

Azam stretches his arm around Kareem's shoulders turning the other way they begin to walk down the hallway and make their way to Kareem's first class.

Azam & Kareem walk up to the doorway. "Hey Ms. L!" Azam exclaims, walking through with a wide smile.

The lady's eyes widen as she takes one last sip of her coffee before putting her mug down on her desk.

"Good morning, Azam." She gets up and walks towards the two. "Kareem." She extends her arm to shake Kareem's hand. "I'm Ms. Lattimore, it's nice to finally meet you."

Kareem shakes Ms. Lattimore's hand. "You too."

"You can take any seat, they aren't assigned." She picks up the remote off the desk next to her and points it toward the TV to turn it on.

Azam follows Ms. Lattimore to her desk.

"Alright," Ms. Lattimore claps her hands, "Good morning people! Azam, get to your class."

"What? The bell didn't even ring yet!"

"Mine did and you're in the wrong classroom."

Azam slowly gets up and leisurely makes his way out of the class.

"Okay so today, you and whoever is next to you will review what we were doing last week because I know you haven't studied over the weekend."

Many students exclaim, in response.

"But before that, we have an unfamiliar face. He was not here last week."

Kareem's eyes widen as he locks eyes with Ms. Lattimore.

"So, Mr. Unfamiliar face, would you please come up to the front of the class and introduce yourself?" She smiles at Kareem.

Kareem slowly makes his way up to the front of the class. As he walks he looks into every pair of eyes facing him. The room seems to get increasingly warmer with every step he takes.

"Uhh... Yo, what's up? m—" his voice cracks.

He lets out a nervous chuckle as he watches the class fills with laughter.

"I'm Kareem...uhh Shahidi. I mean yeah I'm new here... and shi- uhh stuff!" He corrects himself.

The class bursts out into laughter once more.

"Where are you from Kareem?" Ms. Lattimore asks.

"Well I'm from Toronto but I moved to Chicago a few years ago. I just came back Thursday."

"Oh wow. Why'd you move?"

"I'm not sure. I think ab just wanted somewhere new to stay and I guess it didn't turn out the way he wanted."

"Ab?"

"Awe yeah I mean my dad." Kareem drops his head and covers his face with his hands.

"Wait." Kareem looks to see a classmate raising her pen in the air.

He looks at her and nods.

"You're Arab too?" She asks.

"Oh, that's right!" Ms. Lattimore smiles. "Now we have two Arab students in this class. Kareem and Malak."

Malak smiles. "Egyptian?" She asks.

"Yeah, Egyptian and Black." Kareem watches as most of his new female classmates look around, giggle and smile at each other.

Ms. Lattimore scoffs at the class's reactions. "But your cousins aren't, mixed right?"

"N-no, just Egyptian." He locks eyes with Malak whose holding a slight smile.

"Well, if there's nothing else you would like to share, why don't you and Malak sit next to each other?" Ms. Lattimore suggests.

Kareem watches as Malak's smile widens. He then shifts his attention to Karina whose eyes are focused on Malak.

He slowly grabs his bookbag from his original table, then goes to sit next to Malak.

"On a more serious note, I was going to have you review today but we'll have to put that aside for now due to some unfortunate news."

Ms. Lattimore turns the TV to a new reporting channel and the students silently watch as the reporter speaks.

"Recently, the hero known as the 'Raven', also known as Starling, has tragically passed away in a fight with an unnamed criminal. After the killer was captured, he claimed that he had no idea what was going on. He said that at first, he felt as if it were somebody else inside of his head, then he woke up in rubble with a dead body lying in front of him. He has been taken into custody for further questioning."

Kareem feels a heavy weight on his shoulders. His stomach begins to turn and blood begins to pour out of his nose. "Ah, freak!" He exclaims as he lifts his head and runs out of the room. Stopping at the doorway, he quickly turns around. "Where's the bathroom?" A few students giggle and Ms. Lattimore jogs her way out of the room to assist Kareem.

After cleaning himself up, Kareem walks down the hallway. "No way. Raven? I can't believe someone like her..." He makes it back to his class and takes his seat. He pulls out his book on famous heroes and flips until he reaches the Raven.

"Dang." He whispers.

Malak looks over at the book. "You know about her?"

"Yeah, she was so popular I can't believe out of all people this happened to her." Kareem says.

"Really? I've never heard of her."

Kareem looks at Malak with widened eyes.

"What? I'm just not that into them. It's not my fault, it's just...my parents would never let me even think of something like that. They think the lifestyle is too dangerous' but I can see you're a fan."

"I think they're pretty dope, yeah." Kareem shifts his eyes down at the table in embarrassment.

"Aww, you're a little fanboy."

He feels the heat in his cheeks as he chuckles nervously.

"You should tell me about them sometime." Malak says with a smile.

Kareem's eyes lock onto Malak's. He smiles. "Yeah, definitely."

11:04 AM

Shoulder to shoulder with Azam & Maya, Kareem walks onto the football field and takes a seat on a bench, setting his half-empty lunch tray next to him. He looks down at the tray. He quickly shifts his thoughts to the news report he heard earlier this morning.

(Dang.) He thinks to himself. Thoughts about what the news reporter said enter his mind. (The Raven is dead. Someone was in control of another man's body. The killer didn't know what he was doing. No way, he definitely knew what he was doing. But if not what villain has the power to manipulate someone else's mind? No one I know of. That's so crazy.)

The faint sound of Azam's voice suddenly cuts his train of thought. He looks up at both of his cousins staring at him as he sits.

"What?"

Azam throws his arms in the air. "Ya Allah."

"Kareem you need to pay attention this is important." Maya tells him.

"It's like he does this on purpose."

"What?" Kareem asks yet again.

"We need to find you a group you can join!"

Kareem drops his shoulders in disappointment, giving his cousins an expressionless stare. "I don't want to join any groups."

"What about them over here they look like they can use you." Maya gestures toward a group of boys all standing right next to them, laughing and pretending to fight each other. Kareem looks at a few of them intently before turning back to his cousins.

"No thanks. Seems corny."

"Corny?" a voice from the group shouts, demanding the attention of all three.

A tall, broad-shouldered boy emerges from the group. "What the fuck do you mean corny? Any of my boys could beat your ass easily." He exclaims.

Kareem stares, giving the boy a slow, single nod.

The boy walks up to Kareem and shoves him causing him to fall. Azam starts to step up but Kareem gets up and puts his arm in front of him, stopping him.

"Yo Vic chill out! Coach finds out and you can't fight this week, remember?" Another one of the boys comes and holds him back.

The boy looks at Kareem. "Friday, I'm gonna fuck you up!" he says before turning around, the group following.

Kareem looks at Maya, then at Azam who is still staring at the group of boys with anger in his eyes.

"This is why I don't want to join any groups."

Maya turns to Kareem. "I'm sorry Kareem. If I didn't try so hard–"

"It's not your fault that happened." Azam interrupts. "Victor's always purposely starting shit with everyone just because he's supposedly the best one in the boxing club and no one will fight him." He glances at Kareem and then back at the group. "I'll fight him."

Kareem's eyes widen as he focuses on Azam.

"You're gonna fight him?" Maya shouts.

"Yeah. I'm not gonna let him embarrass me or my family like that."

"Do you think you can win?" she asks.

Azam stays silent.

The bell rings.

Arabic Translations

Ibn ~ Son

Ya Allah ~ Expression similar to "oh my god"

Al-ʾaṭfāl ~ Children

Ab ~ Dad

Sabah alkhayr ~ Good Morning

Daniel C. Forrest