A-Ha!

Moment
By Fatima Sadiq
I never knew how much stereotypes can hurt someone until it happened to
me.
It was another day at school where I sat bored out of mind waiting for the
bell to ring. Everyone was glancing at the clock like a bomb waiting to go off. I could
hear the intolerable sounds of arrhythmic people tapping on their desks and the
shuffling of papers. The click clacking of my teachers keyboard distracting me from
the work I was supposed to be doing. Eventually everyone discreetly started to put
their things away.
It was then that I felt a shadow looming above me. I already knew it was
Vicky from her outfit starting with her obnoxious shoes to the sound of her
excessive amount of jewelry. She stands in front of me as a way to get my attention.
I look up at her silently questioning her presence. She looks back down at me and
says, Where are you from?
I reply with a simple, Here. I look to see other people starting to engross
themselves in our small conversation after hearing a soft snicker.
She looks at me incredulously and then exclaims No, your ethnicity!
I look at her skeptically for a brief second before telling her, Im from
Pakistan, Im a Muslim.
She then gets a smirk on her a face that I know is no good. It is then I know
where this is going. She looks around as if to check if other people are witnessing
this (they are) and proclaims So youre a terrorist? How many people have you

bombed? It seems as the entire class had their attention on us at that very
moment, the sounds of their laughter mocking me. I rolled my eyes, and grabbed
my stuff just as the bell rang.