Page 59 of The New Girl

‘Baba! Is it really you?’ Safa cried out, staggering towards him.

‘Yes, it’s me.’ Mr Karim opened his arms just in time to catch his daughter.

He wrapped her up in a huge hug. She inhaled his scent. Baba’s smell.

Was this really happening? Was her father really here, in front of her? Safa pulled back and pinched herself on the arm. ‘It is real?’

‘Yes, it is,’ her father said.

Mama was standing behind him, smiling and crying at the same time. It really was her dad. Baba, he was OK. He was alive, he was here.

‘Baba, I missed you so much.’ Safa began to cry. All of her fears, worries, and nightmares about never seeing her father again bubbled up from deep inside her and exploded out of her. She cried and cried. Her whole body shook.

Baba held her tighter. Beside her Ruby was sobbing too. Safa looked around. Everyone was crying, even Annabelle, who looked like she never cried. Robbie was shouting, ‘Again!’ in the corner.

Safa turned to Ruby. ‘Thank you. Thank you for the best present I could ever have wished for.’

Ruby gave her a teary grin.

‘Kank you, kank you!’ Robbie shouted.

Everyone laughed.

It was all right, Safa thought. Everything was going to be all right. Magic did happen. Good things did happen after bad. There was a silver lining in this cloud.

She snuggled closer to Baba and let his arms hold her and keep her safe.

The last day ...

Mrs Roberts stood up in front of the microphone. She cleared her throat and asked for silence.

Everyone stopped chatting and turned to her.

‘I have a special announcement this morning. As it’s the last assembly before Christmas, this year we have decided to give a special pre-holiday award for courage. It’s the first time we’ve given out this award, but it was suggested to me by one of the girls, and I think it’s an excellent idea.’

‘Courage.’ Amber said. ‘I never heard about this award?’

‘I bet it’s for you,’ Chrissie said. ‘You’re so brave, being the star ofThe Wizard of Ozand always saying exactly what you think.’

Safa, Ruby, Clara and Denise giggled.

‘The award is going to a girl who has been in the school for a few years now. She has always been a quiet girl, and little did we all know that underneath that quiet exterior was a heart full of courage. This girl went out of her way to help a fellow classmate. She devised a plan to find this student’s missing father.

‘This girl contacted the Department of Justice and got them to search for this man. She and her two friends found Mr Karim. They reunited Safa with her father. The recipient of the first ever Medal of Courage is’ – she paused for dramatic effect – ‘Ruby Fitzpatrick.’

Ruby felt her cheeks burn.

‘Go on.’ Safa nudged her. ‘Go and get your medal.’

‘It was you, wasn’t it? You told Mrs Roberts to give me this award,’ Ruby said.

Safa smiled. ‘Yes, I did, because you deserve it, Ruby. You’re the best friend I could ever, ever have wished for.’

Ruby’s legs felt like jelly as she walked up to the top of the hall and climbed the steps to the stage.

Mrs Roberts put the medal around her neck. ‘Congratulations, Ruby, you did a truly wonderful thing.’

‘Thank you.’

---