“Umar! Umar!” my class teacher repeatedly called out my name from the attendance register to mark my attendance.

“Present, teacher!” I answered hesitantly, because I was preoccupied with thoughts about choosing a birthday gift for my best friend Ahmed.

“Why are you so lost? Remember, you’re in the classroom and must pay attention,” my teacher said to me.

“Sorry, teacher. It won’t happen again,” I apologised.

As the bell rang for recess, I went to the cafeteria with my friends Zain and Ali. We were discussing the birthday present we would give Ahmed, since the next day was his birthday. The others had already bought him something, only I was left and I asked them to give me some ideas. Zain suggested books, since Ahmed’s favourite hobby was reading novels, which I found a good idea.

“Perfect! I agree with you. I’ll buy him a novel,” I said.

“Sh ... Shh! Hey Umar, see, Ahmed is coming,” Ali whispered. We stopped talking immediately about the present and birthday, because it was supposed to be a surprise. We had already decided to throw Ahmed a surprise birthday party at my house and taken permission from our parents for it.

“Hey Ahmed, where were you?” Zain and I asked as he came towards us.

“I was searching for you guys in the corridor, and look at you all sitting here …” he said and we started discussing other things. When the school was over, we all bid farewell and headed homes.

I was very excited as now I had a present in mind. So after lunch, I went out to the bookstore to buy a good novel which Ahmed hadn’t already read. After a lot of search, I found one which I thought Ahmed would like, and I immediately bought it.

The next day after school, we went home as usual, but with the plan in place for a surprise birthday party at my house. As planned, Zain and Ali lured Ahmed to my house in the afternoon, telling him that I was not feeling well.

When they arrived at my place, I opened the door and shouted, “Surprise, birthday boy!”

Ahmed was genuinely surprised to see all three of us looking at him, while Ali and Zain took out party poppers from their bags and immediately popped them. Ahmed was very happy and hugged all of us.

We celebrated the birthday in the traditional way, cutting the cake and sharing it with each other. Then came the time to give presents to Ahmed. All three of us gave him presents, and Ahmed opened them one by one, thanking all of us.

Later before departing, Ahmed said, “Umar, your gift is what I loved the most, as I had wanted to read this book so much. You truly are a friend who knows me so well.”

Zain heard it but said nothing, only looked at me annoyingly. The next day was a regular school day, but I noticed Zain was cross with me; he didn’t talk to me.

After asking him the reason several times, he finally said, “You are selfish, Umar. You only think about yourself. You show that you care about your friends the most, but in reality, you just use us!” he said and left.

I was taken aback and didn’t understand why he said such rude words to me. Then I remembered that on Ahmed’s birthday, Ahmed told me that he liked my present the most, and Zain heard it. Maybe he was hurt, I reasoned. However, then it dawned upon me that Zain was the one who gave me the idea to buy the novel, and I hadn’t mentioned his name to Ahmed. I felt ashamed, so I went to Ahmed and told him that the idea to buy a novel for him as a gift was Zain’s and not mine.

Ahmed smiled, and both of us went to Zain.

“Zain, I appreciate your understanding of me and giving to Umar the idea of buying a novel for me. I am blessed to have friends like you all, who have a great understanding and love for me,” Ahmed said.

Zain smiled and replied, “It’s okay. After all, it was I who got emotional, and I know I shouldn’t have acted this way.”

Zain looked at me in embarrassment and we both apologised to each other.

Ahmed said, “Let’s not dwell on past mistakes and be the friends we were before.”

Just then, Ali joined in, “Hey guys, did I just miss anything?”

“No, not at all!” we all laughed and walked home together.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 16th, 2024