Ola had always been a loner. One who lurked in the background but still managed to grab everyone's attention. It wasn't mostly her fault. Some could say that she was pretty and when her slightly simplistic beauty was paired with her head covering, she looked ethereal.

But not everyone thought so.

Ola was only 13 years old when she was first bullied for her appearance. She didn't understand what the problem was as she frowned at the two boys in front of her, who had pulled at her head scarf while she was walking past them.

Their excuse for an apology was transparent, just like their fake smiles, and Ola saw right through their façade. But she didn't care because they didn't matter to her.

She told herself that everything was fine as long as she kept to herself. Besides, there was never anyone that would want to talk to her about something other than the parts of her that made her different from them.

It was something she had learned at a young age. The things that made her different than the children around her.

She didn't just look different, she also felt things in other ways.

Ola had been a reserved child from the very start. She was quite disciplined even in her toddler years, which was a surprise for her parents as well. She usually kept to herself in school and that was also part of the reasons why no one befriended her.

And somewhere deep inside of her young heart, she did somehow desire a friend.

But that one slightly sunny day, she searched out that desire and choked it with her own hands. That one afternoon when she took the big decision to change the way people saw her.

The two 13-year-olds in front of her looked at Ola with sly smiles as the girl frowned at them. She wasn't sure what they needed and why they had suddenly come to a halt in front of her. She, at first, didn't think much of it as she sidestepped them and chose to pass them by. But both of them slid in front of her again.

"Do you need something?" The young Ola asked as she watched the two boys in front of her shake their heads innocently. They were just a few inches taller than the girl but somehow felt really large.

Ola tried to pass them by again and this time succeeded as the boys didn't come in her way again, but that relief was short lived as Ola felt a cold liquid on the top of her head and then make its way to the rest of her body.

Her eyes had widened in surprise as her body jolted. She tilted her head upwards as far as it could go to see three other boys holding an empty bucket on the first floor of the school building.

The courtyard quickly filled with laughter as Ola felt the discomfort seep into her, just like how the water had absorbed into her clothes. Her hair was a wet mess underneath her scarf which was the most soaked.

"I'm guessing you also shower with that on." One of the two boys who had approached her, spoke from behind Ola. "What a joke."

Ola wondered what the joke was as she tightened her jaw and made her way over to the girls' bathroom without even sparing a glance back at the boys. Their laughter faded as soon as she distanced herself away from them.

But no matter how far she walked from them, she remembered their laughter. She remembered their comments. She also had their faces clear in her head, judging her for who she was.

That was the day when Ola chose to stop covering her head as she entered her apartment. Mr. Shafi had been the only one at home that day, as he sat in the living room, just watching some show, while his wife was out visiting a relative.

Ola had walked inside of the apartment with her scarf in her hands and tears in her eyes.

It was the first time Mr. Shafi had seen her cry, as he immediately switched off the television from the remote control and stood up. His eyes moved from Ola's hands to her head where her hair was still soaking wet.

"I don't w-want to wear this anymore." Mr. Shafi watched his daughter speak with tears brimming in her eyes. Her voice coming out with pauses. Ola looked at her father as she tried to keep her tears in her eyes, thinking that maybe they'd absorb back into them.

There was a long pause shared between the two before Ola heard her father speak. "Okay."

Her eyes finally released the tears as she looked at Mr. Shafi with widened eyes. She wanted her father to console her and tell her to keep covering her head. A part of her wanted him to force her to continue wearing a scarf since she didn't want to stop doing it.

"Okay." He repeated again as he moved forward and embraced his daughter silently. Ola clenched her jaw as she let her tears fall freely. Her hands still clutched her scarf tightly as they both stood embracing one another.

That was the day Ola understood something quite clearly, as she had faced her mother's wrath later in the night, who had scolded her for taking off her head covering out of the house. She understood how her father was more understanding than her mother as he had handled his wife's questions and complaints, and they both had come to the decision to go to Ola's school the very next day.

Ola didn't face any bullying after that. It was mainly because of how Ola's parents had registered a complaint to the school about the bullying, but it was also because of how Ola had stopped covering her head. She kept the scarf hanging from her neck, as she kept her hair tied in a ponytail.

She looked just like every other girl now. And boys looked at her just like they stared at every other girl. She was no different anymore.

Even though she knew she was still different, and that was all that mattered to her at that time.