During the last week of July, the lottery kids from Rimor were required to pack up to move to a new dorm building. Badr, Yousef, and others from their grade became second-year students already and as Mr. Fady and Ms. Nasma promised, they weren't going to be crammed in one room anymore.

"We're finally moving! Woohoo!" Badr exclaimed happily, as he stretched out his arms. "Who do you think will be your roommate?"

"Hmm, I wonder. I don't know, actually," Yousef had his hands clasped at the back of his head.

"I just hope that we're close to each other at least. Yahya was right beside you and I was so far away just because your letters are both Y." Badr groaned.

"Well instead of sitting down and dreaming of being together, continue packing your things because we have a nice surprise for you idiots," Mr. Fady, the manager of the male dorms, said as he forced the boys to get up and continue packing.

Badr and Yousef struggled to pack all their stuff in their bags because their things have increased in number since they came to this boarding school. After finally trying to fit everything in their bags, the boys followed Mr. Fady to the new building that actually had the exact same design as the rest.

"So, let me tell you something boys. This year you're free to choose whoever you want as your roommate because we decided to be kind to you. Next year however, we'll be putting you as roommates according to alphabetical order." Right after he announced that, the boys started cheering and shouting loudly.

"Keep your voices down!" Ms. Nasma yelled at the boys who were acting like they were jungle animals. "Let's go inside girls!" She led the girls, who were squealing and hugging each other, inside.

"YAAAAYYYY!" Badr and Yousef exclaimed together as they celebrated by jumping together stupidly. Other boys also could not stop their excitement.

Then Mr. Fady led them inside and the boys noticed that there wasn't any difference between what they used to live in and this house. The same kitchen was open to the living room and the dining table, which had a big modern television. This time there was no PlayStation attached to it.

"Don't complain okay?" Mr. Fady snapped at the boys, who suddenly became disheartened at the sight of the missing PlayStation. Then he directed them upstairs to where their rooms were located. In this house, there were ten rooms positioned next to each other instead of one giant bedroom that had all the beds stuck together. Ten wooden doors were in their left view, and on the other side there were the windows and the large boy's bathroom.

Mr. Fady pointed at the five computers which were placed facing the wooden doors of the bedrooms in the corridor. "Those are just for studying okay? No playing games on them during the school year!"

Then he ordered them to go inside.

"Let's go inside!" Badr turned to Yousef who nodded and followed him. Then they both gathered their things and went inside one of the bedrooms.

At first glance, it seemed a little small. But it was actually enough for them because it contained what students would need. Badr and Yousef dropped their bags and ambled to the end of the room to open the curtains, which covered the white window that was nearly the same height as the wall it was stuck to.

Now the room brightness and size were enhanced. Badr hopped on to the bunk bed that was placed in between a closet and a small fridge. On the other side, Yousef stepped inside the bathroom that was in one of the corners next to the window.

"I've never slept on a bunk bed before!" Badr shouted aloud.

"Same," Yousef agreed after coming back from studying the bathroom. Then he sat on an office chair that was initially pushed in the timber desk. There was of course a second desk right next to it that was the exact same: wooden with drawers on the bottom right and shelves on top of the writing bureau.

"It's mainly because I have a younger sister and that's it. She's five years younger than me," Badr pointed out. Then he inquired: "What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

"Uhh...well no," Yousef shrugged as he looked down while placing his hands between his thighs.

"Oh that's boring! You must feel lonely! Though my sister is really quiet...she's like the exact opposite of me!"

"Really? Hahaha I can't believe it!" Yousef chuckled. Badr scanned the room and sighed.

"How are we gunna survive without PlayStation games? And there's no TV in here!"

"We'll buy one later on...wait that would be expensive with a TV..." Yousef suggested.

"Let's save money and buy a PSP next year!"

"Yeah okay. Can't wait then!" Yousef exclaimed.

For the rest of the day, the boys just scattered their things all over the room. While Yousef was unpacking his belongings, he stumbled upon the bag which had fallen in the river before. He opened it and took out what was inside.

"What's that?" Badr inspected.

"It's a family crest I own," he handed it to Badr so that the brunette can examine it. Badr opened the velvet box stared at the golden piece of treasure. The crest was shaped like a shield and had a lion symbol lying in the middle. Its designed borders were enameled and two crossed swords were attached to them.

"Wow..." was the only word Badr could mutter.

"This is the important thing I didn't wanna lose," Yousef revealed.

"It looks expensive," Badr observed.

"I used to be very rich before," confirmed Yousef.

"Before?" Badr asked the blonde. "How come now you're not rich anymore?"

"I-I had...to move out," Yousef told him. "It wasn't the best experience."

Badr stared at the crest for a while longer. The piece was fastened with a clutch pin on the back and a crown was engraved onto it. He then gave it back to Yousef. "It's pretty. Who gave it to you?"

"My mother," Yousef answered. He carefully placed the golden crest inside the bag.

"Well, I don't have a crest for my family," Badr scratched the back of his head. "Is it a tradition in your family?"

"Something like that," Yousef replied.

They chatted for a while longer until there was nothing to talk about anymore. After that, they rested on their beds as the sun began disappearing under the sea in the distance. Badr and Yousef both fell asleep by the time the sun had set.

The next few days were just for all of the boys to get used to their new way of living. Everyone got to know each other and they frequently played games together. Though Mr. Fady always reminded them of being independent, he always bought them food from the groceries and loaded it in the fridge.

The day has finally come for Badr to leave back to his hometown, Rimor. That Thursday morning, he packed some essential things in his big travel bag. Yousef sat down on the bottom bed slightly worried. His blue eyes were gazing at the woody floor and he had his arms stretched to his knees with clasped fingers.

"Yousef! It's time for me to leave. Bye!" Badr cried.

Yousef gazed at Badr, then without a word he moved over to Badr and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Wait." He suddenly spoke.

"What is it?" Badr turned around.

"B-before you leave I wanna say, thank you...for bearing with me. And becoming my friend." He faced Badr with eyes of sincerity. "You're honestly the nicest person I've ever met...Sorry, was that sudden? I'm just-"

"You're welcome!" Badr immediately gritted his teeth. "Yousef...no thank you! I'm so glad I met a friend like you! And don't worry, I'll be back sooner than you'd expect."

"Badr...I wasn't expecting to make any friends from Rimor. I thought they were mean people...but you...you changed my mind. I'm glad I met you Badr."

Badr smiled sincerely: "Really...I'm so happy I met you too. You helped me so much with everything. You're such a nice person and you're truly my bestest friend!"

"N-no I'm not...Stop saying embarrassing things, stupid!" Yousef lowered his head and avoided eye contact with Badr while pushing him slightly with the palm of his hand.

"Ehh-" Badr scratched the back of his head.

Yousef breathed heavily then glanced at Badr once again. A smile formed on his face and Badr couldn't help but grin even wider.

"Before you go can we make a promise with a special...uh gesture?"

"Yeah of course. What is it?" Badr questioned.

"Will you promise to stay best friends...forever?"

"Yeah of course!" Badr attempted to hug Yousef right afterward.

"Wait...n-not like that!" Yousef blurted out. Badr stopped then stood there surprised.

"Actually...I don't mind but I want something cooler. Like how brave knights would do it. Like this." Yousef demonstrated the gesture by placing his right fist onto his left chest.

Badr's round eyes shined as he smiled and did the same. They fist bumped in unison. "Yeah I promise."

Yousef's smiling lips couldn't help but widen. "Sorry Badr, maybe it's weird...right?"

"No! It's fine!"

"Really? Okay then, bye! Have a safe trip."

"Bye! Seeya!" Badr carried his bags again and hurried downstairs.

"Badr! Do you need any help with your bags? Are they heavy?" Badr heard Yousef follow him from behind.

"No, no! It's fine they're light!"

"Okay...bye Badr!" Yousef shouted, while waving his arms.

"Bye Yousef!" Badr shouted even louder and waved back as he disappeared into the bus.

During the trip on the bus Badr felt really bored. Neither Yousef nor Malak were traveling back to Rimor with him. He tried to find something to do while sitting in the vehicles but all he did was just stare at the window or sleep.

At last, the plane finally reached Rimor. Badr picked up his bags and rushed off to the airport. Then Mr. Samer collected all the students and drove them home, sometimes stopping by to talk to their parents. Badr realized that he was the last person to reach home since his house was the furthest from the airport. It was one of the last houses in Rimor and it was close to Alin at the same time.

Mr. Samer watched Badr climb the old stairs of the small house. He sympathized for his family because they were quite poor from what he saw. The house itself was in the middle of a beautiful meadow but it looked very simple. The walls were mostly dirty and cracked and the bricks felt like they came from another era. Badr opened the door and stepped inside. It made a squeaky noise because its hinges were rusty.

"Badr!" Badr's mom exclaimed happily once she saw who it was. Then she rushed over to hug her son. Badr smiled and dropped his bags to hug her back.

His mom stared at him. "How are you dear? Are you tired? Have some cake...I just made it this morning."

Badr nodded and walked over to the small kitchen. He grabbed a piece of cake and stuffed it in his mouth. His mom chuckled as his little sister, Reemy, came over, "Oh, Badr, since when were you here?"

"What, you don't want me here?" Badr took hold of his bags and carried them to his small room. Reemy followed him.

"Where's dad?" he asked her.

"Sleeping," she said before leaving. Badr rested down on his bed but soon got bored so he decided to go and have a chat with his grandfather.

He soon reached his room and opened the door quietly. His grandfather was sitting down on his mattress, drinking tea.

"Hi grandpa!" Badr greeted loudly as he moved over to hug the old wrinkled man.

"Badr!" his grandpa's hands trembled so he spilled his tea whilst trying to hug Badr back. They both giggled and attempted to clean the mess.

"How was the new school?" his grandpa asked after Badr settled down.

"So cool! I'm so lucky that I won the lottery, honestly! I met many nice people there like Yousef and Malak and there were many new things to learn! School was still boring and I failed math but going on adventures with my friends made it fun. I joined the football, volleyball and swimming club and they were all so fun!"

His grandpa laughed while Badr continued to talk about everything that happened in the school. They spent the whole night conversing until they got tired and finally slept.

Author's note: Hello everyone! I hope you read this chapter and if you enjoyed it then please give it a vote, it would really mean a lot. ^^

Sorry for all the confusion. This chapter should have happened before second year and I skipped all these details. So I changed the numbers of all the chapters after it because this is supposed to be ch 12.

I just thought that writing more about Badr and Yousef's friendship is really important. Also I kind of wanted you to know how Badr used to live before.

Thank you everybody! :)