Chapter 1: Welcome to School
Sameer Khan had been living the good life ever since he, his mother, and his stepfather had moved to Banville, California. Sameer had become best friends with his neighbor, Reese Garrick. The two boys played video games together and were both on the Banville Junior High School soccer team. Sameer was a starting player on the team, and so was Reese. Sameer had helped Banville Junior High score numerous goals.
Sameer wondered what his future at Banville Junior High School would be like. Everything seemed to be fine. Then came September 11, 2001. The day that changed everything.
Sameer woke up and turned on the television. He was horrified to see news coverage of the World Trade Center in flames!
Sameer's mother, Mandira, was horrified by what she was seeing. Rizwan made no comment.
A candlelight vigil was held in Banville. Sameer wondered why some of the folks from Banville were giving he and his family dirty looks. He tried not to think about it. He had a feeling that things would change at school.
It just didn't make sense when he returned to school. Weeks ago almost everyone at this school seemed to like him. Now, most of them were trying to intentionally avoid him. It was so unbelievable how quickly things had changed. During soccer practice, Reese was the only player that would speak to him.
How drastically things had changed at Banville Junior High School.