Page 48 of Views
Yasira looks at her watch.
“She finishes school in less than half an hour.”
“I’m on my way there now.”
Yasira stands up and gives her partner a hug. “Thank you.”
“Sure. Anytime.”
Michael grabs his coat and leaves the office.
“Hey,” says Jenny, gently squeezing Yasira’s arm. “You need to call Zara.”
“You’re right,” says Yasira. “Of course.”
Yasira dials her daughter’s number. Obviously Zara doesn’t answer, as she still has lessons, so Yasira sends her a voice message. And for the first time, she is glad that her daughter keeps looking at her phone. She will definitely see the message.
“Zara,” she says, “listen to me...”
Then she deletes the voice message again.
She has to think about what she wants to say first. She has to make the seriousness of the situation clear to Zara without appearing too panicked herself. Clear and focused. Yasira tries again.
“Zara. You could be in danger because of my involvement in the Lena case. A picture of you has popped up in Active Homeland-Protection Telegram groups. They also know the address of your school. I am so sorry! But the situation is under control. Michael will pick you up today and take you straight to Grandma and Grandpa. Please call me. And stay in the school building in case Michael isn’t there when school ends. There might be some asshole who’s already lying in wait for you.”
NEXT LEVEL SHIT
“I’m fine, Mom,” Zara says on the phone. She’s sitting in Michael’s car on the way to her grandparents’ house in Lüneburg. “Don’t worry.”
As if that were possible, Yasira thinks, but says: “That’s a relief. Give Michael a hug from me.”
“But he’s driving now,” Zara replies laughing.
Yasira is proud of how cool her daughter has remained. She had been afraid that she would have to argue with her, but Zara immediately understood the danger. She probably doesn’t mind the week off school either.
“Do you have any idea who could have taken the photo in the schoolyard?” asks Yasira.
“No. I can’t imagine it was someone from my class. I mean, some boys are stupid, but not that stupid.”
“Hmm.”
“What about you, anyway?” asks Zara. “If I’m in danger, then you’re in even more danger.”
That’s true, of course. But it’s Yasira’s work that puts her in danger. She chose this path years ago, well aware that there are much safer professions. Zara, however, did not choose this. That’s not fair. It’s just not fair.
“I can take care of myself,” says Yasira. “Always been the best at the shooting range. Don’t worry.”
Now she had thoughtlessly demanded the same impossibility from her daughter as the latter had demanded from her. Not to worry. As if.
“Can you pass me to Michael?”
“Sure.”
Right away, she hears Michael’s gruff voice: “We’re not being followed. Rest assured. Even if someone had been waiting outside the school, I definitely lost them in the city traffic.”
“Yeah,” she hears her daughter yell. “Michael is driving like a maniac!”
“I know,” says Yasira, smiling. “I know.”
