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Hasan
"I can't believe this is the first time we visit Maher, even though we've known each other for such a long time!"

Omar
"It's your first time, not mine, I used to visit him a lot when we were kids to play together."

Hasan
"Yeah, I forgot you guys are childhood friends."

Amani
"Maher will be here in a minute, he just woke up, you see. I'm glad you came to visit, I've always wanted to meet his friends."

Hasan
"I'm glad I came too, Congratulations! Maher will join the police force; you must be proud."

Omar
"Yeah, congrats. He was very nervous about his future—I'm sure he'll do well as a police officer."

Amani
"Thank you so much for your kind wishes,but the truth is, I was heartbroken when I found out."

Hasan
"Why?"

Omar
"Maher is mature, responsible, and disciplined. I'm sure he'll do well."

Amani
"That's exactly why I'm heartbroken, my son is such a good boy; he always does what he should, He acts and behaves based on what is proper and expected of him. If the government says he's an officer, he'll obediently become an officer, But the truth is, my son can't become an officer, I know that because I'm his mother.
He hates blood; it makes him anxious and uncomfortable, He hates violence and hurting people. When he was little, his father bought him violent video games about zombies, He never played them; he only played car racing games."

Omar
"Yeah, I know. Even now, he only likes strategy games and racing games."

Hasan
"That's right! I've never seen him play a violent game either."

Amani
"It's true. When he was younger, he found my old guitar and fixed it. He used to play it so well until his father asked him to stop. He told him to practice sports instead, to maintain a strong body, and that music would make him soft."

Hasan
"Your husband was too strict. That explains why he's always so serious."

Amani
"I know. He made him exercise a lot, and he was too harsh about his grades. He made me cook only healthy meals for him, and everything was properly planned by my husband during his childhood."

Omar
"I understand that he was doing what was best for him, but isn't that..."

Hasan
"Too much for a child?"

Amani
"I used to tell him that. I tried to spoil him a little to balance my husband's strict rules, but as my son grew, he started rejecting my affection. He even used to write poetry when he was 11 or 12. I remember how happy he was to read them to me."

Hasan
"Maher writes poetry?"

Amani
"For some reason, he stopped."

Hasan
"Why?"

Amani
"It's like my dear boy has given up on his life before it even began."

Hasan
"That's so depressing. Why isn't he trying to live his life? I'll never understand."

Omar
"Obviously, he adopted his father's views and moral judgment."

Amani
"But deep down, I know it pains him to live this way, not only did he adapt to them and gotten used to them, he completely stopped thinking for himself I'm afraid, I don't want this for him, as a mother I want my son to be happy."

Maher
"That's not true, mother I'm grateful for the way my father raised me, it's better to accept our reality and behave according to it."

Amani
"But my dear, what are you going to do when you become an officer? They probably chose you for the straightforward answers you gave, your athletic record, and your physical strength, but they don't know your heart like I do!"

Maher
"I'll be fine, mother."

Amani
"No, I know you won't, you can't even watch a horror movie without feeling sick. How are you supposed to chase after criminals and shoot them?"

Maher
"You're exaggerating."

Amani
"No, I'm not! Do you remember what happened when you played football with Imad in the park and he fell and hurt his leg?"

Omar
"Yeah, I remember. You were paralyzed and looked so uncomfortable."

Maher
"I was only 12 back then; it's different now."

Hasan
"Listen, man, you can apply for a job swap."

Maher
"The only jobs people get when they apply for that are low-wage jobs or hard labor."

Omar
"Not necessarily. You could get a job as a teacher or a lawyer if someone in those fields wants to swap, that's why it's called a swap."

Maher
"What are the chances of that happening?"

Amani
"Please try it out, my dear."

Hasan
"Maher, I think you should try it. I mean, I was serious when I said the police uniform would look good on you, but it's not worth it if it's going to make you unhappy."

Maher
"Not you too! I'll be fine. I'm not weak; I'll just get used to violence with time. After all, I'm good at adapting."

Omar
"And that's the problem. You always seem to adapt to your problems rather than try to solve them."

Maher
"I adapt to my reality."

Amani
"Please, son, just try it out and apply. Any job would be better for you than this. Can you imagine being in a life-or-death situation every day and having to deal with corpses and gunshots daily?"

Maher
"I'm not weak, mother!"

Amani
"Physically, no, you're not. But your heart won't take it."

Maher
"Guys, you came here to pick me up to go somewhere, right? Let's go!"

Hasan
"Wait a minute! I'm coming with you; you don't know where we wanted to go!"

Omar
"Thank you for having us, we need to go."

Amani
"Please help me, dear Omar, try to talk to him, he might listen to you."

Omar
"I'll try."

They followed Maher out of the house and stopped near the park.

Hasan
"Wait, man! Why are you running?"

Omar
"You shouldn't have stormed out like that. Your mother was worried about you."

Maher
"I'll apologize to her later, I just need to get away from home. I need some space."

Hasan
"I get it, man, but make sure to talk to her."

Maher
"I will. Sorry to get you involved with this."

Hasan
"Come on, we're your friends. Who else is supposed to get involved?"

Maher
"No one. I'm not a child; I can handle it myself."

Omar
"Don't be like that, you know we're here for you."

Hasan
"If there's anything we can do, just let us know."

Maher
"Thanks, but I'm serious. I can handle this myself. Since we're already here, let's go for a walk."

Hasan
"Sure, I don't mind."

Omar
"Yeah, it's nice here."

Maher
"I can't remember the last time I came here, even though it's close to my home."

Hasan
"Because you're always busy with studying, working, and practicing. I begged you many times to hang out with me, but you always said you were busy."

Maher
"Strange... I don't even remember that."

Omar
"Really? But he does that every day!"

Hasan
"See? You were so focused on studying that you don't even remember your time with us!"

Hasan
"I bet years from now, you won't even remember my face."

Omar
"Let's make an experiment—close your eyes and describe Hasan's appearance."

Hasan
"Please don't. My heart won't take it if he fails!"

Maher
"Stop, both of you. Just because I forgot a few details doesn't mean I'm going to forget my close friends."

Omar
"Then prove it! Turn around and describe Hasan's appearance."

Maher
"Fine. He's tall, skinny, with brown hair, brown eyes, bronze skin, a long face, and a silly smile. He also has one ear that's bigger than the other."

Hasan
"No, I don't!"

Omar
"Let me see... You actually do! Your left ear is bigger than the other one."

Hasan
"I've never even noticed before!"

Omar
"Wow, I'm shocked."

Hasan
"Me too! How come I never noticed?"

Omar
"No, I'm shocked that Maher noticed such a thing—not even your mother would notice!"

Maher
"See? I do pay attention to my friends."

Hasan
"Hey, he works the hardest out of the three of us. I heard that smart people have higher abilities to notice things or something."

Maher
"But I'm not the smartest, according to the IQ test, you're supposed to be the smartest, Hasan."

Omar
"That's right—getting accepted into nursing school requires a higher IQ than business school or police force."

Hasan
"Nah, I probably just got lucky again."

Maher
"You still insist on that theory?"

Hasan
"It's the only logical one."

Omar
"There's nothing logical about it."

Maher
"Maybe if we actually torture him, he'll give up and tell us how he managed to get higher results than us."

Hasan
"No, please! I'm so tired today, I can't run!"

Omar
"Another reason to go for it!"

Maher
"This time you capture him, and I'll get the rope."

Hasan
"Okay, I will admit it!"

Hasan
"I might have inherited some intelligence from my mother."

Maher
"So you're a natural genius now?"

Hasan
"No, I'm not a genius, it's just easier for me to understand things related to science."

Omar
"Did you actually study for the IQ test?"

Hasan
"I checked the questions from previous tests and read the materials."

Omar
"Read them?"

Maher
"You managed to get accepted into nursing school just by reading the materials?"

Hasan
"Look, I never wanted to become a doctor or an engineer, so I did what was enough to get me accepted into a decent institution. I hate stressful jobs—you know me, I always prioritize my mental health above all."

Omar
"Amazing... Out of everyone in our school, you're the only one who managed to choose his future job."

Maher
"Because he knows his potential. It's easier to choose lower than to try to go higher. I'm happy for you, Hasan. I bet your parents expected you to become a doctor."

Hasan
"Yeah, my mom looked so disappointed when she found out I'll become a nurse not a doctor ."

Omar
"What about your father?"

Hasan
"He's no longer with us."

Maher
"I didn't know..."

Omar
"How strange. Both of you are my close friends, yet only today I found out these important things about you."

Hasan
"Sorry, I wasn't trying to be mysterious or anything. I just didn't think it was important to talk about it."

Maher
"You're a snake!"

Hasan
"That's so cruel, please don't call me that."

Omar
"No, he's just a mysterious guy."

Hasan
"Not you too, Omar!
No seriously, it's not that I don't want to share with my friends, it's just that's I'm a chill guy, I don't like talking about sad things, or the past, you know what they say, the past is in the past."

Omar "Ok, if you say so, still, when you want to talk I'll listen, that goes for both of you."

Maher "Thanks Omar, same to you"

Hasan "Oh Omar, you're so sweet, you know what, even if you become a snobby rich man I won't block you, unless you post about your annoying business meetings like those cringy people who works at top companies"

Omar "I'm afraid I can't promise you anything "

Hasan "oh, no!, in that case it might be better to end this now!"