“Idon’t get it,” sniffed Dini, perched cross-legged on her hotel bed. “The way Rina chewed us out, you’d think we’d stolen the stuff, not bought it with our own money.”

Though Dini didn’t actually look at her, Huvy, sitting on the floor in a corner of the room, squirmed. She hated when they complained about her mother, and she was regretting coming into Dini’s room to begin with.

It was like a school shabbaton, where everyone gathered in the popular girls’ room at night. Staying in her own room made her feel like a neb when she knew the action was going on elsewhere. But joining the crowd, which she inevitably did, made her feel like an even bigger neb.

“I think she was angry that we were late for the filming,” said Aliza. “Which we were. Connor was waiting for us.”

Dini rolled her eyes. “For about five minutes. Like that was a reason to go ballistic.”

“It was longer than that,” said Aliza. “You wouldn’t know, you and Malka were the last two to come back. And Rina’s paying big money for every minute of this trip.”

Huvy shot Aliza a grateful look. It was brave of her, risking Dini’s wrath to stick up for Mommy. It was what Huvy herself should be doing, if she had anywhere near Aliza’s self-confidence. Of course, it wouldn’t carry the same punch, coming from her.

But she could, at least, change the subject.

Clearing her throat nervously, she said, “Aren’t you guys excited for the film shoot in the shul tomorrow? It should be cool, seeing a shul built over 100 years ago.”

Dini looked like she was ready to ignore her and continue on the shopping theme, but then Leah said, “Actually, I heard Rina and Gabriella talking. It’s going to be complicated filming there, with the broken window and the extra security and everything. They weren’t even sure if the shul would let them anymore.”

From the blank stares all around, Huvy guessed she wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what Leah was talking about.

“Hello! Where’ve you guys been? There was some sort of anti-Semitic attack here the other day. Someone broke the window of the shul.”

Some of the girls gasped, others shrugged. “Breaking a window doesn’t sound so awful,” said Dini. “Why shouldn’t we be allowed to film there?”

“Well, it would look strange if there’s this big, gaping hole in the window,” said Leah. “And of course, it’s awful, someone breaking a window just because it’s a shul. It’s like… like Kristallnacht.”

Huvy thought that was a good analogy, and even Dini, who didn’t like to be challenged, conceded the point.

“I guess you’re right.” She paused for a second, then went on, “But back to what I was saying, was it, like, such a crime that we dared to go shopping? Especially when I bought such an adorable purse! And did you guys see my new bangle bracelets? Aren’t they funky? The shopkeeper said they’re the latest rage here. Won’t that be cool, to come back to school wearing the latest Bulgarian rage?”

Huvy rolled her eyes and sank backwards into her safe, shadowy corner.

Gabriella let out a huge yawn as she leaned back in the bus seat. It had been yet another long day of filming, and now they were making the three-hour trip to Kovachevitsa, so they could start bright and early on the filming tomorrow.

“It went great today, didn’t it?” Rina asked, sitting down next to her.

“After you sweet-talked the police into letting us film there.” Gabriella shot her an admiring look. “You have a real gift for that kind of thing. I would’ve been kicked out onto the street in two seconds flat.”

Rina beamed. “Nah, you wouldn’t have,” she said generously. “Everyone likes to be flattered. It’s just a matter of finding a person’s weak spot, where he’s craving that affirmation. And you have”—she cleared her throat—“uh, very good people sense.” Her gaze flitted to Huvy, sitting two rows behind them, and a shadow passed over her face.

(Excerpted from Family First, Issue 631)