"5 Years Later"

"Omar graduated from college and is now working in his uncle's company.

Maher couldn't change his profession; he had to go to the police academy.

While Hasan is now working full-time at the city's hospital."

--

Omar:
"Good afternoon, sir, did you summon me?"

Tareq:
"Oh, come here, dear Omar. I want to tell you something.
Do You remember Mister Jalal?
The one who was in charge of you during your internship period—I had a private meeting with him earlier, unfortunately, he will no longer work with us."

Omar:
"What? Why?"

Tareq:
"Because he refused to work under you. I told him that I'm going to promote you."

Omar:
"Wait, I'm getting a promotion?"

Tareq:
"Yes, I decided that you will be the new manager of the marketing department."

Omar:
"Why would you do that?"

Omar:
"He got mad and quit when you told him, right?"

Tareq:
"Yes, he said things like, 'You're crazy if you think that brat can do a better job than me!
"How typical of you, asking me to train your nephew and then hiring him for the same position that I've been working hard for years to get".
Then he called me a lot of names and told me that he'll never come back to this company."

Omar:
"Great, now he hates me because of you. Honestly, he's right, I only have two years of experience if you count my internship period. I still have a lot to learn. Besides, isn't it against the regulations to skip senior employees and promote fresh ones?"

Tareq
"Yeah, but I need you by my side,
Jalal indeed has more experience than you, it's true he's more suited for this position, But, he's too straight forward, Too honest, always says what is exactly on his mind, and never thinks twice before speaking."

Omar
"Oh I see now, you don't want him as the manager because he's a man of strict ideals, you know that if he becomes the manager he won't be afraid to oppose you."

Tareq
"You're making it sound like I'm some corrupt CEO."

Omar
"Well, you didn't answer my question, Why did you do it?"

Tareq
"I already told you, I need you by my side, you're my boy, I raised you myself, when you're in my position you need people you trust by your side, I can't wait for you to gain experience by working as a regular employee, You will learn much faster from up here, Trust me, you don't need to go through the process, Besides, Jalal wouldn't last long in this position. As I said, he's too straightforward. He wouldn't be able to handle our clients."

Omar:
"And you think I can?"

Tareq:
"Of course. You're my nephew. I'll teach you myself how to handle them. I'll teach you everything I know. You will absorb all of my knowledge in no time."

Omar:
"Well, it's not like I have a say in this matter anyway."

Tareq:
"Oh, come on. You should be happy. Most young men would kill for what you have."

Omar:
"Yeah. Me from five years ago would too. Isn't it odd that the government assigned me to study at the school of economics?"

Tareq:
"No, it's your fate. Your Qadar!
You have my blood in your veins. Naturally, you inherited my talents, and the government discovered that through the IQ test."

Omar:
"So that's how it works?"

Tareq:
"Indeed, that's our system, and it's working in our favor."

---

Maram:
"No way! He made you the new manager of the marketing department?
I thought he hated us!

Omar " yeah, I thought so as well"

Maram:
" He abandoned us when we needed him the most! It was a massive shock for me when he offered you a job in his company two years ago. I thought he only wanted to help you get an internship because he felt guilty about being a bad uncle."

Omar:
"Oh, you poor girl People like him never feel guilty about anything. It's simple—back then, we were a burden, We were his orphaned, useless nephew and niece. But after I got into the school of economics, I became useful to him. He needs someone he can trust by his side, someone to become his mute puppet, Who's better for the job than his grateful orphan nephew?"

Maram:
"Oh, now that makes sense!
Well, it's not like you have many options."

Omar:
"I don't have any other options."

Omar:
"If I try to leave my uncle's company with only two years of experience, all the other companies will view me as, the brat who failed to secure a job even in his uncle's company."

Maram:
"So you're his slave now?"

Omar:
"Well, at least it's a fancy form of slavery, and I'll get paid well."

---

Doctor Zain:
"Are you going home, Hasan?"

Hasan:
"Yeah, my shift just ended."

Doctor Zain:
"I'm leaving too. Wait for me to change; we can share a cab to the station."

Hasan
"Okay, just hurry up."

It was the end of March, and the weather was unstable. In the morning, when Hasan got out, it was sunny and warm, but now it had started raining heavily.

Hasan had to wait in the rain with the doctor for a cab, with no coat or umbrella.

Doctor Zain:
"How come we both forgot to bring an umbrella?"

Hasan:
"Isn't it hilarious? My whole life, I never had to think about these things because I had my mom-friend, Omar. He's the type who watches the news, so he knew when it was about to rain, and he always shared his umbrella with me as we walked home together. God, now I realize how privileged I was. Having my childhood best friend as my neighbor was so fun. What about you, doctor?"

Doctor Zain:
"What about me?"

Hasan:
"Why didn’t you bring an umbrella?"

Doctor Zain:
"Because I lost mine last week in the subway, and I had no time to buy another one. Sorry, I don't have a cute backstory like you, But now I see where this positive energy of yours comes from, must be nice having childhood friends and going home with them."

Hasan:
"No way, doctor! Were you not popular in school?"

Doctor Zain:
"Not really. Most kids just avoided me, But I don't blame them, I was quite scary."

Hasan:
"No way! But you're such a kind doctor. I wouldn't think of you as a scary person."

Doctor Zain:
"Well, you see, this is my new personality after rehab. Back in middle school, I was obsessed with collecting dead insects and lizards. I used to put them in jars and collect them in my room, and sometimes I'd color them."

Hasan:
"Wow, you had such a weird hobby."

Doctor Zain:
"After the IQ test, the government made me go to rehab first before starting med school."

Hasan:
"How did they find out?"

Doctor Zain:
"I used to show off my collection at the school's science fair. It's not like I was keeping it a secret."

Hasan:
"Oh."

Doctor Zain:
"Well, the past is behind me now. It's probably for the best, Besides, I found a new passion."

Hasan:
"Really? What is it?"

Doctor Zain:
"Collecting my patients' teeth and doing experiments on them."

---

Maher:
"I'm home."

Amani:
"Welcome back, dear, You can take a shower while I make dinner, I'm making your favorite dish—Molokhia soup and rice."

Maher:
"Thanks, Mom. I'll go take a shower."

When Maher was assigned to become a police officer, he became more straightforward than before.

He only talked when necessary and replied with short, to-the-point answers.

When the government rejected his request to change his profession, he accepted his fate and never talked about it again.

Amani:
"So, how was your day, dear?"

Maher:
"It was just like any other day. I'm still a traffic officer. Nothing unusual happened during my shift."

Amani:
"I see."

Maher:
"Where is Dad?"

Amani:
"He said he was a bit tired, so he went to bed. He asked me not to let him sleep till morning."

Maher:
"Oh. Thank you for the food. I'm going to bed too."

Amani:
"Okay, sleep well, dear."

Maher:
"Good night."

---

When Maher was in high school, he had a crush on his classmate Selena, but he never told anyone about it.

No one ever noticed, not even his closest friends.

He had always been good at hiding his feelings.

He was afraid that if he ever revealed them, reality would hit him in the face.

After all, Selena was one of the best students, while he had to study day and night just to pass his tests.

In the end, she was assigned to study at one of the most prestigious institutes, while he was assigned to the police force.

They went their separate ways, and he decided to forget about her.
But these days, he's been losing sleep thinking about her.
He had missed her more than he thought he would.

Maher's internal thoughts:
"It's been five years, She must have forgotten all about me.
Even if I try to find her again, what will I say?
How will she react? She might not even remember my name, I can't believe that I still feel the same way after all this time, I guess it's my destiny to live like this, I deserve this, This is the result of my cowardice.I had many chances in the past, and I'm suffering now because I wasted them. But, at least now, I have something to look forward to. I'll hold on to these feelings until we meet again."

---

Omar:
"Come in."

Fadi:
"Hi, you're the new manager of the marketing department, right?"

Omar:
"Well, why else would I be here in this office and on this floor?"

Fadi:
"You got a point. I'm Fadi, the manager of the IT department. The last manager was my friend. When he resigned, I thought Jalal was going to take over. I was so shocked when I found out that Jalal also resigned."

Omar:
"Yeah, and now this company is stuck with me."

Fadi:
"I'm sorry, I didn't come here to provoke you—that came out wrong. I just came here to introduce myself and meet you. You seem like a decent guy. I'm looking forward to working with you."

Omar:
"Same here, Mr. Fadi. I'm looking forward to working with you too."

Fadi:
"My office is on the other side of this floor. If you ever face any technological problems, I'd be happy to help."

Omar:
"Thanks, I'll keep this in mind."

Fadi:
"Now, excuse me, I have to go. Thank you for your time. Congratulations on your new position, and good luck."

Omar:
"Thanks, Mr. Fadi."

---

Tareq:
"So, how was your first week as the manager?"

Omar:
"Better than expected. I thought everyone would be whispering things like 'Oh look, there comes the spoiled brat' when I walk in the corridors. But surprisingly, everyone is so accepting. All the department managers came to meet me."

Tareq:
"Because they are smart people, they know you're related to me, and they want to get on your good side, they think that being on good terms with you would benefit them. Don't be surprised if they try to befriend you."

Omar:
"Yeah, when you put it that way, it makes sense."

Tareq:
"All of them are ambitious and full of ego, they care about their positions in this company more than anything. Someone like Jalal wouldn't be able to put up with them or keep up with them."

Omar:
"And you think I can?"

Tareq:
"That's why I asked you to come see me today, There's a lot that I need to teach you, Your first lesson is to learn how to keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Omar:
"Oh, I see, So you want me to put up with their acts and befriend them?"

Tareq:
"Exactly! You're not stupid. You know they need something from you, but on the other hand, you need something from them too."

Omar:
"Okay, got it."

Tareq:
"Be careful around Mr. Jacob especially. He's such a snake—you never know what he's thinking."

Omar:
"Jacob? I don't think I've met him yet."

Tareq:
"I see, so he hasn't introduced himself to you. That's typical of him. He must think he doesn't need to win your affection for now, But he'll surely approach you when necessary."

Omar:
"Okay, I'll take note—be wary of the snake, Jacob. What about Mr. Fadi?"

Tareq:
"He's the cautious type—so logical and systematic, he's not the worst snake, but don't underestimate him, did Alia come to meet you?"

Omar:
"The manager of the accounting and finance department? Yes, I met her during the lunch break."

Tareq:
"Good, she's your best friend from now on. Do your best to maintain a good relationship with her."

Omar:
"Got it."