Omar Rising

Omar makes good grades in his other classes but receives a D on an English test. Headmaster Moiz urges the boys to work harder in order to maintain their places at Ghalib. Omar finds Kareem, Faisal, the cooks, and a teary Naveed in the kitchen. Naveed got a low C on his test, and like Omar, wonders how they can work harder. Faisal somberly explains that this is their “weed-out” year. At least half, and sometimes all, of the scholarship students are drummed out in the first year. Kareem puts forth his theory that Ghalib only accepts scholarship kids so that the school looks charitable, but in reality, the school does not really want them. To maintain their right to stay at Ghalib, scholarship students must keep an A-plus average, which is nearly impossible. Regular students are not held to this standard. Basem says it is good to know early on that they will become “ghost boys”—scholarship students who disappear and are never heard from again. Shuaib encouragingly declares that the boys will succeed wherever they go, but Omar disagrees. He dreads returning to the village as a failure after everyone has pinned their hopes on his success.