All Chapters of A Chance To Rise: Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
63 chapters
Chapter 31 The Start Of The Journey
A few days later, Zaid was already giving up on weightlifting. His arms still ached from his session with Hossam, and the whole thing just felt too hard. Instead, he found himself focusing more on his laptop, learning about cameras and editing from Khamis.They were sitting in Khamis's room, and Zaid was complaining. "I've been trying to get bigger, you know? Gain some weight and get stronger. But it's impossible."Khamis stopped scrolling on his phone and looked up, a lightbulb practically appearing over his head. "Wait, that's it!" he said, pointing a finger at Zaid. "That's your channel. Your whole thing."Zaid looked confused. "What is?""Your journey!" Khamis explained, getting excited. "We'll film the whole thing. You show yourself trying to lift, failing, all of it. People love that stuff. Show your progress in every video. Make it funny. And you can read books about healthy food, make videos about easy health tricks, how to make cheap, good meals... it's perfect!"Zaid made a
Chapter 32 First Video
Zaid and Khamis were busy setting up for Zaid’s first vlog video. Tripods were being adjusted, and Khamis was fiddling with a microphone, telling Zaid to speak up for a sound check.Suddenly, Zaid’s phone buzzed loudly on the desk. He picked it up, his eyes scanning a new message on the screen. It was from the system.[New Quest: Viral Launch][ Objective: Get over 50,000 views on your first video. ][Reward: 150 Dinars.]A huge, determined grin spread across Zaid’s face. He shot up from his chair, nearly knocking over a lamp.“YES! Today is the day!” he shouted, pumping his fist in the air. “We are going to break the internet! I’m going to pull myself together and make this the best video ever!”Khamis flinched at the sudden noise, clutching his chest dramatically. “Will you keep your voice down!” he hissed. “You’ve been jumping around and startling me since the day I met you! My heart can’t take it!”But he couldn’t help but smile a little at Zaid’s sudden burst of energy. ___The
Chapter 33 Partners First Fight
The next morning, Zaid and Khamis were huddled outside the school building, figuring out their plan.“Okay, so we can’t film inside the classrooms,” Khamis said, stating the obvious. “That’s a problem.”“Not a problem!” Zaid said, holding up his phone. “We’ll do it like a mini-documentary. I’ll take quick clips before and after each class, and then I’ll just talk over them. Easy!”He hit record and started his video with a big smile. “Hey everyone! Welcome to a day in my life at school! First up… Arabic class.”He showed a quick, shaky clip of the classroom door. In a voiceover, he explained, “So, back in my old school, I was the king of Arabic. But here? It’s a whole different story. The kids in this class write poetry that would make Al-Mutanabbi himself feel average. Me? I’m just trying to remember the grammar rules.”Next, he cut to the gym. The clip was short and brutal: a dodgeball flying straight into Zaid’s face. He groaned in the voiceover. “And this is gym. I hate dodgeball.
Chapter 34 Mr Popular
Bassam was quietly sketching at his desk, but for unknown reasons, his art was odd and abstract, a sharp contrast to his usual realistic style.Zaid, watched from his bed, he frowned as he failed to connect the lines and understand where this art was going to. "Hey, Bassam. What's all that?" he asked, pointing at the sketchbook. "It looks... different."Bassam didn't look up. "It's just how I feel today," he mumbled, his pencil moving in quick, agitated strokes.Zaid tried to understand, leaning closer. "Yeah, but what does it mean? Is something wrong?"Before Bassam could answer, Zaid's phone buzzed loudly. A bright notification flashed on the screen:[Quest Complete: Viral Launch!][Reward: The reward has been transferred to your wallet.]"Yes! We did it!" Zaid yelled, jumping up from the bed, his focus entirely on the phone. "The first video hit 50,000 views!"He was so excited he completely forgot about Bassam. When he finally looked up, he saw Bassam silently gathering his drawin
Chapter 35 The First Live Stream
Zaid was practically floating down the path to his dorm, his phone feeling like a winning lottery ticket. A new system quest had just popped up.[Film Another Viral Video.][ Reward: 200 Dinars.] He was already mentally on cloud nine. Now with the money he saved up, he can get a new phone for his mom, a beautiful new abaya for his grandma for Eid, and maybe even those cool shoes he’d been eyeing. Life was looking good for him.His happy daydream was shattered by a familiar, sickening sound: laughter mixed with pleading. He looked over toward the campus garden. The same group of Blue Card bullies was back, stomping through Salim’s carefully tended flower beds. Salim was frantically trying to stop them, his voice trembling."Please, stop! This is my project! My grade depends on it!"One of the bullies just shoved him aside. "Who cares about your stupid flowers?" Another laughed and threw a basketball, which hit Salim squarely in the chest, making him stumble back.A hot wave of anger w
Chapter 36 The Mentor Quest
The sweet, syrupy residue of the iced tea felt like a lie on Zaid’s tongue. He watched Salim shuffle away, his shoulders permanently curved as if against a constant, invisible wind. The victory of the live stream, the thrill of the 200 dinars now sitting in his digital wallet,.it all felt hollow. He had chased off the wolves with a flash of light, but the sheep was still trembling.He was halfway back to his dorm, the mental list of Eid gifts (a sleek new phone for his mom, a soft, embroidered abaya for his grandmother) failing to lift his spirits, when his phone buzzed. It wasn't the sharp, social media alert he was used to. This was the distinct, soft chime of the System.[New Quest: The MentorObjective: ][Guide a fellow student to find their inner strength. Help them achieve a public act of confidence.][Reward: 300 Dinars. ]Zaid stopped dead in his tracks. The money was, as always, a powerful lure. 300 dinars was more than he'd ever gotten. But it was the objective that made hi
Chapter 37 Genuine Resolve
The silence in the dorm room was a physical presence, thick and heavy as wet wool. For three days, it had suffocated Zaid. Bassam’s side of the room was a monument to his absence, bed perfectly made, desk eerily tidy. When he was there, he was a ghost, slipping in after dark and leaving so early, his headphones a permanent barrier. Zaid’s mumbled, “I’m sorry about what I said,” had dissolved into the stagnant air, unanswered.The 300-dinar quest, “The Mentor,” now felt like a taunt. Bassam’s words were on a loop in his mind: “You’re using him… You’re just a clown.” He’d tried to sketch out “Project Bloom” with Khamis, but the ideas that once seemed brilliant now felt cheap and exploitative.“We can call the first episode ‘The Wallflower,’” Khamis had said, tapping a pen against his storyboard. “Open with that sad shot of him getting hit with the basketball from your live stream.”Zaid had stared at the crude drawing. “Using that feels… wrong.”“Wrong?” Khamis had scoffed. “It’s our be
Chapter 38 The Price of Content
The graph on Zaid’s laptop screen was a soul-crushing sight. After the high of the live stream and the genuine success with Salim, the analytics for his channel had plateaued, then nosedived. The line representing his views was less a mountain peak and more a sad, flat desert.“We’re dying, Khamis,” Zaid groaned, slumping over his desk. “It’s over. We had one viral moment and now we’re back to being losers.”Khamis, peering over his shoulder, clicked his tongue. “We’re not dying. We’re… slowing down. The algorithm is a tricky beast. It needs to be fed, constantly. We just don’t have any good meat to throw at it right now.”“What about the ‘Genuine Resolve’ stuff? The heartfelt journey?” Zaid asked, though he already knew the answer.“That’s a slow burn, Zaid. A side dish. Right now, we need the main course. We need something loud, flashy, and immediate to remind people we exist.” Khamis snapped his fingers. “A gaming live stream. Just like old times. My followers will come, your few f
Chapter 39 Common Ground
The lunchroom was noisy with its usual chaotic energy, a symphony of clattering trays and overlapping conversations. Zaid was picking at his food, the weight of his empty wallet a heavier burden than any tray. The 300 dinars were a necessary sacrifice for his channel's integrity, but the reality of losing that amount was a bitter aftertaste.He didn't notice Tariq approaching until the lanky boy was standing awkwardly beside his table, shifting his weight from one foot to the other."Hey, Zaid. Can we talk?" Tariq's voice was less nasal than the day before, but still carried a hint of his cold.Zaid looked up, surprised. "Sure. What's up?"Tariq sat down, not making eye contact. "Look, about the camera... you don't have to pay for it. It was my fault. I wasn't focused because I was sick. It's really not a big deal for me to handle it."Zaid put his fork down. He'd been expecting this, and he'd rehearsed his answer. "I appreciate that, Tariq. But it's one of my rules. I take responsib
Chapter 40 The Gifts and the Tradition
The familiar scent of home hit Zaid the moment he stepped through the door, a comforting blend of Rose air freshener and the faint smell of last night’s dinner. It was the scent of his mother, of his grandmother's olive oil, of safety and comfort. His backpack felt lighter than it should have, its usual weight of textbooks replaced by two carefully wrapped packages that represented months of secret effort.A slow, proud smile spread across his face as he hurried to his room. He stashed the gifts at the back of his closet, buried under a pile of sweaters. The new smartphone for his mom, and the new brown abaya for his grandmother. He could already picture their faces. This Eid would be different. This year, he was the provider.The sound of gentle humming drew him to the kitchen. There, standing at the counter with her back to him, was his grandmother. Flour dusted the air around her like a soft halo, and the rich, sweet aroma of dates and flour filled the room. She was kneading the do