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An illustration of a young girl wearing a purple hijab and backpack, with headphones, standing in a school hallway.

An illustration of a young girl wearing a purple hijab and backpack, with headphones, standing in a school hallway.

Shirin is a sixteen-year-old girl in high school. She is upset because she has changed schools many times. On her first day at her third school in two years, she keeps to herself and avoids looking at others in the hallways. When a teacher says her name wrong and thinks she should be in an ESL class, even though she speaks English well, Shirin gets angry and uses a bad word, which gets her in trouble. Her older brother, Navid, is good-looking and makes friends easily. He tries to help Shirin feel better by inviting her to lunch, but she says no. Last year, after 9/11, two men hurt Shirin and choked her with her hijab. Now, she hides earbuds in her scarf and listens to music all day to cope with her anger about people and their racism. See more