Tamika "Mik" Sykes Timeline and Summary

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• Mik is at her school's spelling bee when she gives us the backstory about her life. It goes like this: She got meningitis when she was a kid and lost her hearing, so now she has to use hearing aids that she doesn't like so much.
• She makes a business arrangement on the side: She'll do her friend Gale's homework for some cash. Gale wants to be more than friends, but she's not that sure.
• Meanwhile, some guy named Jaekwon flirts with Mik a bunch. His girl Shanelle warns Mik to stay away from her man—or else.
• One day, Mik meets a newspaper girl named Fatima who knows sign language. Mik is impressed and follows her home to introduce herself, and then she invites Fatima over for dinner.
• It turns out Fatima knows what it's like to be an outsider. She's a refugee from Africa and is in the country illegally.
• Mik and Fatima take a boat to visit the Statue of Liberty, but before they can get there, it gets rained out; all they can see of the statue are the feet.
• The girls decide to make their own statue. Well, sort of. They paint a mural with the Statue of Liberty since they didn't get to visit the real one together.
• Mik's boss, Joe, leaves her money to get a fancy new hearing operation. She doesn't qualify for it, but Fatima convinces Mik to get new hearing aids that work better than her old crummy ones. Even though Mik agrees, she doesn't like the aids very much.
• With the leftover money from Joe, Mik helps Fatima get an immigration lawyer so she can stay in America legally. The grand total? Sixty-five grand, or all of the money from Joe and her mom's life savings.
• Shanelle calls a mob to attack Mik one day after school since she's creeping in on her man—Mik tells Jaekwon to get lost, but it doesn't help.
• The mob cuts Mik, and at the last second, Jimmi runs in and rescues her; he takes her to his cave to lay low.
• In the meantime, word gets out that Jimmi has kidnapped Mik. Everyone takes to the streets in search of him, and when they find him, they attack.
• The mob kick sand punches Jimmi and hangs him. Suddenly, Fatima appears and stands in between the mob and Jimmi, demanding they release him.
• Jimmi is pulled down and taken to the hospital, but in the shuffle, he accidentally mentions Fatima to someone who calls immigration on her.
• Mik visits Fatima in the deportation center. They share a heartfelt goodbye and promise to see each other again.