Aariz freezes as a guy from GMU introduces himself as an alumnus of The Gems School. Yasir.

"Yasir! Yasir! Yasir!", Aariz rained down the punches on him in the corridor beside the bathrooms. The entire year 11 supported Yasir who had snitched upon Aariz and his friends for smoking in the bathroom stalls. The guy who had introduced him to his down spiraling game of addiction spewed his guts out because he didn't have money for the cigarettes but still wanted one.

And now here he is standing in front of Aariz. How could he not recognize? Is it the facial hair he shaved away or the weight reduction? Aariz's jaw tightens as he opens his mouth to speak.

"My life has always been uneventful. Keeping a low profile. Simple and easy. Going with the flow of events. But then I realized that going with the flow is not what we should aim for. Dreams-"

Aariz scoffs. Uneventful? Pretty uneventful. Never did he get three students expelled. Never did he ruin the chances of getting into new schools. He never did anything. Aariz bets he still smokes. A thunderous round of applause brings him back to earth.

When he looks up Selena is staring in his direction. Her eyes aren't playful. They hold concern. She nods her head in his direction questioning. He nods back in negation. Aariz breaks off the eye contact as he stands up for his speech. Aariz can feel Selena's eyes on him.

"Truce, Selena.", he mumbles as he walks towards the mic. At this moment he decides to finally lower his cannons and drop his gun. He ends the war here. A high-pitched sound echoes in the auditorium as he fixes the mic. He winces and apologizes.

"Good afternoon everyone, I am Aariz, a first-year medical student at the University of Copenhagen. Jay Shetty writes, 'our search is never for a thing, but for the feeling, we think the thing will give us.' I'll take you all back to 2019. It is February. The O levels exam is around the corner. I haven't scored well on the mocks and I am still not motivated to start preparing for the exams. I hate my dad for forcing me to study on weekends. I am a smoker. I smoke in the bathroom stall.", he pauses as he scans the auditorium.

Selena goes back in time. The talkative Aariz. The quiet her. The paths that never crossed between the nerd she was and the socializer he used to be. No interaction. She is in the phase of hating every man that ever existed and he is in the phase of wooing everyone woman who ever existed except of course Selena.

He breathes deeply. He picks the cordless mic from the dice and switches it on and walks to the center, "I know I am getting addicted to cigarette smoking and the strawberry flavor vape. Within months I become a person who slips out of the home at night with an excuse of tea and is seen lurking in secluded areas alone by himself smoking in peace. In May, I was caught. And I can see my fantasy of a perfect life slips out of my hands. I am expelled. I am the talk of the town."

Her dad flashes in front of her from the time when Mr. Hafeez called after O levels results came out complaining about how he has been expelled from school for smoking. Aariz remained the subject of every dinner they sat for in that month. And when he finally got into The American High her father complained about how Mr. Hafeez is throwing his money on the lost cause. But with the pandemic, all attention got diverted to COVID. The number of people dying replaced Aariz in the dinner talks. After a year when they finally meet on eid and for Selena's celebration for getting into DMC Mr. Asad could feel a refreshing change in him.

He pauses and smiles to himself reflecting on where he had started, "I am cut off from pocket money. Locked at home for a good one month to focus on studies and I still manage to fail.", he laughs when the students join him too, "Terrific! No good school is left to accept my past. A bad influence. Makes sense. So, my dad pays extra money to get me into The American High. '', he points his finger at the ground, "Two years later I am the valedictorian of the school who is undergoing nicotine therapy for the mess I made myself into."

This refreshing change was nothing but hard work that got him good grades and put people back into their places. He was still struggling with insecurities. And Selena can finally see that after making peace with her past. She was still learning to trust men when Aariz proved to be a silent egoistic jackass.

The crowd goes wild. They cheer and hoot as they exchange glances. The principal of The American High stands up to clap. He gives Aariz a proud father smile recalling a mess he took in the school a few years back. He sits back in his place. The principal of The Ma'arif High turns to look.

"If there is one thing that life has taught me is that these downfalls are the subtle hints. The hints of uncertainty. The hints that great things lie ahead. Redirect. REDIRECT yourself! And keep going. Don't just move with the flow. Be the flow of your own. Be the resistance to others' flow. Be you.", he stands on the stage feeling his thumping heart against his rib cage.

The haze of confusion and the spells of embarrassment have lifted off his shoulder. He sees himself in everyone. He sees the various parts of him in all of them. The one struggling to survive under the burden of others' words. The ones enjoying life are still unaware of what is about to hit them. The one being hit and driven over by life.

"What is this guy talking about? How is this good for my career guidance? Tsk? What is this?", he knits his eyes brows as he questions himself, "It's not. It's nothing related to your career guidance. It is for those who are stuck in the quick stand and can't find a way out. Let me be the pull you need out of it. You can do this. Believe! And you are halfway through. Before you need those grades, you need yourself. The self you lost on the way. Get it. Hold him close. Hug him. Tell him he can and will do it. Thank you and have a nice day. "

Selena can feel the goosebumps crawling up her face. She rubs her wrist trying to relax the muscles causing it. Her eyes follow Aariz to the dice where he places the cordless mic and turns around. Her heart stops as their eyes meet. He smiles. Genuinely! And places his mask back in place.

He is gonna be the death of her. The blooming red tulips in her heart wilt at the thought of him leaving for Denmark next week. He is bad news. They aren't meant to be.

---

So how was it?

Did I fill in the gaps or was it just the repeat of what have been revealed earlier in the book?