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Chak de phatte: (Punjabi) an expression you might use to encourage your side in a battle against the Mughal army, in a sporting event, or in a video game competition.
Look, it’s Saranjit. Hmm.
Zaynab’s full name is Zaynab Yongki, but Indonesians don’t usually use their last names as a sole title. As much as I want to portray this school as painfully formal and authoritarian in the British tradition, I also don’t want it to be the least bit racist, so Zaynab’s teachers aren’t going to call her, or anyone, by the wrong name. The same goes for Thurga on the next page, who can be Thurga, or Thurga Ramakrishnan, or Miss Thurga, but not just Ramakrishnan (she’s Tamil, I think, South Indian at any rate).
↓ Transcript
Panel 1: The girls on the Republic Girls' Club smile. Head teacher: "Well done, girls. Next I'm chuffed to bring up our Apocalypse Ant team."
Panel 2: Head teacher: "Our own Blue Ants did not disappoint in last week's tournament, trouncing the girls from Sri Citizenship-- a amelu school!"
Panel 3: The audience applauds the Apocalypse Ant team, who stand along the wall of the gym-- Safia, Maida, Zaynab, Jewana, and Maria. Head teacher: "Let's have a round of applause for Kilwa, Jaridi, Ahmed-Kosovar, Khan, and Januario!"
Panel 4: Maida bows her head and smiles. Narrator: "For the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt like what happened in my life was up to me."
Panel 5: The Apocalypse Ant team high-fives each other at the front of the assembly and accepts the accolades of other students. Girls: "Blue Ants form up!" "Chak de phatte!" "Go Blue!"
Panel 6: Saranjit sits somewhere in the audience and gestures a small explosion with her hands. Saranjit (whispering): "Boom."
Panel 2: Head teacher: "Our own Blue Ants did not disappoint in last week's tournament, trouncing the girls from Sri Citizenship-- a amelu school!"
Panel 3: The audience applauds the Apocalypse Ant team, who stand along the wall of the gym-- Safia, Maida, Zaynab, Jewana, and Maria. Head teacher: "Let's have a round of applause for Kilwa, Jaridi, Ahmed-Kosovar, Khan, and Januario!"
Panel 4: Maida bows her head and smiles. Narrator: "For the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt like what happened in my life was up to me."
Panel 5: The Apocalypse Ant team high-fives each other at the front of the assembly and accepts the accolades of other students. Girls: "Blue Ants form up!" "Chak de phatte!" "Go Blue!"
Panel 6: Saranjit sits somewhere in the audience and gestures a small explosion with her hands. Saranjit (whispering): "Boom."
Discussion ¬