Wake up, Ramez. Come on, you're going to be late."
Ramez, with his calm features, opened his eyes and put on his glasses.
"We have many lectures today."
He got dressed and quickly headed outside while his mother called out to him for breakfast.
He arrived at the university. Ramez is known for his excellence and always being the top student. He is now in his third year at the Faculty of Education.
"Finally, the lecture finished," Adly said as he looked at Ramez.
Adly: "Of course you wanted it to continue."
Ramez: "No, we have other subjects."
Sarah jumped into the conversation directly.
Sarah: "That's exactly what the first and second in the class say. You guys are boring!"
Adly: "Stop calling me second!"
Sarah: "Don't mind him, he's always like that."
Sarah, with a lovely smile: "Explain to me whatever part you can from the syllabus."
Ramez laughing: "Alright."
Sarah: "By the way, why did you join the Faculty of Education, even though you could've entered any college?"
Ramez: "Honestly, because my dream in life is to be a role model — someone to look up to. And I realized that the best people to influence are students and kids, since they are usually lost and confused. So I want to be their guide and role model."
Sarah: "Nice. One more question… do you like Adly?"
Ramez, quickly: "Of course not! No one talks to me except him."
He paused for a second, then smiled and said,
Ramez: "Adly is my only friend."
Sarah: "And I'm talking to you too!"
Ramez: "That's for your own good," he said jokingly.
In the university cafeteria, Adly sat alone thinking, but his friend Mostafa interrupted.
Mostafa: "Hey Adly!"
Adly: "Hi Mostafa. Looks like you're thinking hard — and probably getting angry while doing it. It's all because of Ramez. How do you feel about him?"
Adly, quickly: "Of course I hate him."
Mostafa: "Why?"
Adly: "Because he's too perfect, like an angel that came down to earth. And no matter how hard I try, he always beats me. He takes everything just because he's more talented. How I hate talent!"
Mostafa: "But second place isn't bad!"
Adly: "What's the tallest mountain range in the world?"
Mostafa: "The Himalayas."
Adly: "And the second?"
Mostafa: "I don't know."
Adly: "It's the Karakoram. See?"
Mostafa: "But if you keep thinking this way, your life will be hell. Besides, your dad owns property and will give it to you. You're not fit to live with this kind of thinking."
Adly: "I don't care. My dad is never on my side because I'm always second. He wants me to be first so he can brag to his rich friends. He made me join a public university so people don't say I passed because of money. He wants me to compete with everyone. Damn him. That's why I'll make myself first."
Mostafa: "How?"
Adly: "By destroying the first.
Ramez was on his way home.
Ramez: "Finally, I'm going back. My mom has made my favorite meal."
But suddenly, his phone rang.
Ramez: "Hello, Sarah? What do you want?"
Sarah: "Come quickly, Ramez. I'm in trouble."
Ramez: "What? Where are you?"
Sarah: "I'll send you the location. Just come fast."
Ramez arrived at a parking garage.
Ramez: "What? Where's Sarah?"
Sarah: "Come inside the garage quickly."
Ramez: "What's wrong?"
Sarah: "I want to tell you something."
Ramez: "What is it?"
Sarah: "I love you, Ramez..."
Ramez smiled.
Ramez: "I love you too. But why did we come to this weird place? You always like mystery and excitement."
Sarah smiled and said,
Sarah: "I'm sorry."
Ramez: "It's okay. I'm really happy."
Sarah: "No, I'm really sorry."
Ramez: "It's alr—"
Before he could finish, Sarah sprayed something in his face that made him pass out in shock.
When he woke up, he found five men standing in front of him. He was tied up.
Ramez: "Who are you? What do you want?"
One of the men said,
Man: "We're from your so-called only friend. We came to play with you..."
Suddenly, the men started hitting him one after another. He screamed in pain. Then one of them stepped back, picked up a camera, smiled, and said,
Man: "Smile, guys."
They recorded everything — the beating, the humiliation. They took off Ramez's clothes and did everything you can and can't imagine. Ramez cried like a little child until he passed out again.
When he woke up, he found himself injured, naked, and broken. He had lost his dignity. A horrifying thing had happened to him. Could anything be worse?
His mother called while he was crying. He answered the phone and heard her crying voice:
Mother: "What is this video? What is this?! Where are you?"
Ramez, crying: "I'm so sorry, Mom. Please bring me some clothes."
The next day, after this painful incident, Ramez discovered that the video was shared in every university group. It spread like wildfire.
He didn't leave the house, but the university president came himself and went up to Ramez's room.
President: "Hello, Ramez."
Ramez was in shock and silent.
President: "I know how big this is, and this isn't the right time, but I'm sorry… You will be expelled from the university."
President: "A teacher must be a role model, and someone who was abused like this… can't be that. I'm sorry."
Ramez cried hard. He wanted to speak, to say something, but he couldn't.
President: "It's okay. I came myself to apologize. I hope you get through this and continue your life. I'm sorry, son."
(End of the first story)
.......................
The Owl: "So, what do you think? After that, we did to him just like we did to you." Yasser: "Did he die?!" The Owl: "Most likely, yes. But in all the stories, there was one person who didn't die. Try to guess who… and why." The Owl: "So, have you made your decision?" Yasser: "I don't know. I got pulled into the story with you. But I'm sure of one thing — death is more merciful than the life Ramez had after what happened. But let's continue, I'm enjoying this even though I got bored in the last part." The Owl: "Good, good. Don't worry, the boredom will fade. I haven't even started the real exciting story yet. And don't forget — your own story is the most fun. You know that." Yasser: "Damn you." The Owl: "Let's start the second story. This one has no hidden symbols because they don't mean anything in this story. Even though the last story had very subtle symbols, you had to focus to understand them. But I'll give you one symbol only this time: (A cat about to die)."
The Owl: "Let's open the second bag." Yasser: "Wait, before we start… I have a question." The Owl: "What? Are you interrupting me again?" Yasser: "Why did Sarah betray Ramez even though she said she loved him?" The Owl: "Because she took a lot of money from Adly. Not just to bring him to the garage, but to break his heart." Yasser: "So… does she love him or not?" The Owl: "I don't know. You guess."
(And now let's begin the second story)
.................