Hala

Please, Lord, grant us good in the world...

and good in the hereafter

and save us from the hellfire.

Amen.

Hala! You missed fajr.

What are you still doing?

Are you going to skip morning prayers every day now?

What's wrong? She slept in.

Not in this house.

Four letters. Poems of praise.

-Hymn. -Hymn.

H-Y-M-N.

Ten letters. Conducive to success.

Let her eat.

-Auspicious. -Auspicious.

What did I tell you?

She gets her smarts from me.

Of course.

She'll be late because of your silly crossword.

It's not silly.

Didn't you already miss the bus?

Yeah.

I told you not to get that skateboard.

She's skating without a helmet. What if something happens?

Let her live. She's not breaking any laws.

As long as she's not spending time with boys, she's okay.

Am I picking you up after school?

I'm good.

Everyone to their seats, please. Writing journals out.

"What she feared most wasn't the words--

hurtful words, mean ones, or the ones that could cut.

No, she could manage that.

What she couldn't manage were the spaces between the words,

the silence,

the judgment, and the subtext,

what was left unsaid.

She feared the inaccessible, invisible world

of the almost-said, should've-said, would've-said, could've-said,

but didn't.

She feared the terrifying abyss of the unknown,

a shapeless, dark thing that she could sense

in a quiet, uncomfortable pause at the end of a sentence...

or right before the beginning of a new one.

It was in the quiet, in the dark,

in the moments alone,

that she could see herself most clearly.

Is there something you want to say, Mr. Byer?

Well done, Hala.

You know, everyone will be reading from their journals for the rest of the week,

so I'd be prepared for that.

Order's not gonna be alphabetical.

So for homework...

journal entry...

on this.

What's yours? What does it mean?

Why should we care?

Out of my classroom!

Okay, the big question is, how do we spend our summer after we graduate?

Not touch a book for three months.

I've decided I'm dyeing my hair,

I'm gonna get a tattoo, I'm gonna pierce my nose.

Your mom's never gonna let you.

I'm 18. They can't say anything.

Plus, I'm moving out.

I actually like your mom.

Well, she likes you too 'cause you get good grades and make me look bad.

No, I don't.

This summer you're teaching me how to skateboard.

If you teach me how to drive.

Done.

Come on, ladies, let's go! Hustle! Let's go! Come on, ladies!

May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.

Careful, it's still hot.

I told you.

Put the phone away. Why won't you eat?

What's wrong?

Our firm doesn't want a trial, but it could be a big win for us.

I don't have a choice.

You always have a choice.

Everything else, in Allah's hands.

Okay. You are right.

How was school?

Good. The same, you know.

You're always talking with your dad.

But with me, you go completely quiet.

When have I done that?

Your attitude totally changes.

No, it doesn't.

-See what I mean-- -Why are you picking on her?

-Leave her alone. -Fine.

So, what have you been reading?

We just finished The Stranger.

And now we're reading A Doll's House.

The play by Henrik Ibsen.

Do you get to read War and Peace?

We had an entire class on that one in college.

Yeah, next semester.

There's more real human experience in that one book

than anything else you will ever read.

I'll tell Tolstoy you said that.

Okay, the food's getting cold.

In a recent poll, when asked whether immigrants

were an important part of American identity,

75% said yes.

I think you need to be a little more understanding about Mom.

She's overprotective.

What do you expect? She's your mom. That's her job.

Has she always been this way?

She is this way because of you.

You know, when I first met your mom her head was full of ideas.

She had a real adventurous spirit.

When my parents were looking for someone for me in Karachi years ago,

they wanted someone who was loyal and trustworthy.

And that's how we found your mom.

She had a whole life before she met me, before she had you.

So your parents chose Mom?

That's how it happened there.

Do you love her?

That's a silly question.

Marriages are more than about love.

They are about values.

We want a good Muslim man for you.

Everything follows from that, beta.

There is a warmness that starts at the throat.

Hard to swallow.

Feels its way down the spine.

Heavier and heavier.

Harder to shake.

The feeling that a gaze can render you naked and vulnerable,

that shifts and shapes itself inside

until the center cannot hold.

All right, I'm outta here. You want a ride?

I'm good.

All right, see you.

Bye.

Did that scare you?

No. Why would I be scared?

Didn't you say you were scared of the silences?

Isn't that what you wrote?

You know, the "almost-said, would've-said,

should've-said, could've-said, but didn't"?

That was a character.

-So it wasn't about you? -No.

-It was just part of a story. -I see. Okay.

Interesting.

But it's kind of about you, right?

Sure.

Well, I'd love to read it.

It's not done yet.

And it's probably not even very good.

So I don't know if you would want to read it.

Well, I'm sure it's not that bad.

I should get going.

Okay.

Hi.

Hello.

Today was the hardest one. I didn't even try it.

What do you think about this one?

Eleven across. Emission of light.

Luminescent?

L-U-M-I-N-E-S-C-E-N-T.

It's like your name.

-What do you mean? -"Hala" in Arabic, that means "halo."

Or the light surrounding the moon.

How did you and Mom pick that?

We decided that if you were a boy that Mom would choose,

but if you were a girl I would.

What would you have named me if I was a boy?

Annoying?

That's mean.

Okay, this one.

Seven down. Craftsperson?

Good night.

Good night.

You know how she gets.

You get to keep this between the two of us then.

What she doesn't know won't hurt her.

Mrs. Ahmed called.

She said her son saw you at the skate park...

and there were a lot of boys there.

I can't help it if boys are there. And I went with Melanie.

That's what I told you and Dad. You said it was okay as long as I didn't go alone.

Yes, but be careful.

You know what our community might think.

They'll start gossiping.

I mean, I don't really care what they think.

If it were up to them, I would be married off already.

I understand, but...

you're older now.

And you're a girl.

Just be careful.

Dad and I won't always be there to protect you.

Okay.

I'm waking you up for fajr tomorrow. No sleeping in.

-Good night, beta. -Good night.

Do you think Kristine betrayed Nora?

What?

From A Doll's House.

Spoiler alert.

Haven't finished it yet.