Omar Rising

Exhausted but afraid of falling behind, Omar gets up after the lights-out bell to get a head start on his chores. As he folds towels in the laundry room, he realizes that Ghalib has a huge staff. It therefore follows that the school only makes the scholarship students do chores to remind them of their lower status. Omar understands why Kareem does not want others to know that his father is a janitor, but he is hurt that Kareem did not confide in him. Naveed, who is also worried about falling behind, joins Omar in the laundry. Omar shares Faisal’s suggestion of doing kitchen chores in the morning, and Naveed likes the idea of getting the chores over with early in the day. Both boys think that doing chores “stinks.”

In the morning, Kareem, Naveed, and Omar join Faisal for kitchen duty. They chop fruit for breakfast and prep vegetables for lunch under the guidance of the older head cook, Shuaib, and a younger cook, Basem. Omar feels comfortable there, for the camaraderie and cooking prep remind him of home. The boys discuss their favorite subjects, and Omar delivers a deadpan joke that Moiz is his favorite teacher, making the others laugh.