when kamala was three, she had met her very first celebrity. or so her mother told her every year when they would watch their annual reruns of classic bollywood romance films. the story always played out the same. in the middle of a crowded street of New Jersey, with a toddler clinging to the hem of her dress, muneeba had briefly exchanged a hurried glance and a few flustered words with india’s reigning heart throb shahrukh khan. he was in town shooting a film, she would tell her daughter, her eyes glazing over with starstruck wonder. every time, without fail, kamala would encourage her mother with a nod and a smile as she loaded the tape into their vcr player, pretending like she remembered anything but a sea of bodies and the blistering heat of that fateful day. when kamala was sixteen, she met her second celebrity and like muneeba, she would retell the story for years to come.
meeting @dinopunching was something that had become such a far fetched fantasy, that kamala had to physically pinch the thin skin of her elbow to remind herself it was real. in her makeshift costume, she paled in comparison beside the polished blonde. ❝ carol, can i call you carol ? it makes it sound like we’re already friends, which would be great, but maybe that’s rude and improper so let’s pretend i didn’t even ask that. so cap — nope, sorry, one more time — captain marvel, ❞ kamala khan, you bumbling idiot. how many times had she rehearsed exactly what she’d say if she ever miraculously bumped into her idol ? she’d had scripted introductions ready for all sorts of first meetings: nearly walking straight into carol as she turned a corner with her starbucks coffee, watching carol swoop down to save her from impending peril, even what she’d say if she hopped into the back of an uber only to find her uber pool companion to be none other than captain marvel herself. yet here she was, tripping over her words and barely managing to stand still. ❝ okay so i know you’re probably here for some serious butt kicking, and you’re really busy, and i don’t want to keep you from it, but I’m kind of your biggest fan and was hoping i could get a quick, super quick, selfie with you. ❞ she paused to take a deep breath in. ❝ or even a hug, yeah, that works too. ❞