Camouflage and veil

Before breaking the class into four study groups, Professor Young asked students to quickly introduce themselves and explain why they'd signed up for Journalism 101.

Besides Fatima bin Laden and Lt. Basel Zakly Faris, USMC, their study group would include Ikaika Kane, who'd been a football star at Kailua High until blowing out both knees, and now aspired to a career as a sports writer; Sandy Yamada, who really wanted to write romance novels under the name Amethyst Jones but figured you had to start somewhere; and Steven Chinn, a business major whose Trumpish dreams included newspaper magnate.

Baz, skipping past the part about him tagging along with his fellow Marine and signing up for journalism only because the beautiful young woman he judged to be Muslim had just signed up for the class, said he had issues with the media and wanted to understand it better, while improving his own communication skills. Call it verbal camouflage.

Fatima, seated in the back of the room, spoke last and charmed Baz with her English accent. She skipped past the part about her Uncle Osama sending her to America to avenge his friend and colleague Muhammed Resurreccion, who was still being held in the Navy brig on Ford Island, and that if she survived this death mission against America she hoped to use her new journalism skills to get a job with al-Jazeerah, and in that way support the jihad against the corrupt West. Instead she said that she just arrived from the Philippines and, as Mrs. Young knew, hoped to take an English class to improve her skills, but they were filled and so here she was in journalism. Call it a verbal veil.

Prof. Young glanced at her watch. They wouldn't have time to break into groups today and finish the assignment, so as homework the groups should meet privately to compare front pages of the daily papers and be prepared for a discussion at the next class -- same time, same place, two days hence.

Steven, already in full magnate mode, was far too busy shuttling between campuses for classes; he'd do this one on his own.

Ikaika had transportation issues and would not be back on campus for two days; he'd also do the assignment alone.

Sandy said she was flexible.

Fatima had already made up her mind not to meet without Sandy -- it would be improper to be alone with males not of her family.

Baz said he could do it tomorrow during lunch.

So it was agreed to meet the next day, noon, in the library.

As they left, Baz smiled at Fatima. She lowered her head, smiled.

But she wouldn't have smiled if she'd known that at that moment a recently arrested Chinese agent, the one her uncle hired to meet her, was singing to HPD Detective Sherlock Gomes about an al-Qaeda threat to Hawaii.