As soon as his friends visited him again, Hashem started hollering. ‘Can you believe that Amal visited me yesterday.’ He ordered ‘the sons of bitches’ to each find a place to sit down so they could listen to the full story. ‘She was wearing a fancy thawb al-malass and said, ‘Don’t worry, Hashem,’ and she held my hand….’ He stopped to wipe away his tears. ‘She held my hand and said, ‘Don’t worry, Hashem. I promise you, as God is my witness, that we’ll be engaged as soon as you get your secondary certificate.’ What do you think?’ ‘I think you need to focus all your energy on studying then,’ Emad said. ‘Amal will be your reward for passing your exams. Work hard,’ Medhat said. ‘This is a gift from the heavens,’ Hashem said. ‘Oh, if you’d seen her yesterday in her thawb al-malass....’ ‘Lieutena
