Ahmad+Nadeem

=**Literary Critique**= What causes two friends to become enemies? What causes one friend to become a fugitive so it leads the other one to arrest him? From the story //After 20 Years From Now// by O Henry, two men named Bob and Jimmy Welles were best friends when they were younger, but then separated for a period of time.The men agreed to meet at a restaurant 20 years later. During the period of time both men took different paths. Bob, who went to Chicago, took the easy way in life by becoming a well-known criminal, while Jimmy stayed in New York and became a police officer. Jimmy, who was in uniform, went to restaurant where he and Bob agreed to meet 20 years later. When he approached the restaurant, Bob, who didn’t know the officer is Jimmy, assured everything is okay. After explaining everything about the appointment to Jimmy, Bob tells him he will wait for Jimmy for thirty minutes. Jimmy in that time has a plain clothes officer to take his identity. After meeting with Bob, he and the officer looked at each other and Bob realized he wasn’t Jimmy. The officer then arrested Bob and gave him a note that was from Jimmy explaining everything. As shown, O Henry uses irony to describe what should have been a happy reunion, into one arresting the other.  It was ironic for Jimmy when he saw his best friend Bob at the night of the reunion. Jimmy would probably was mostly expecting a man of high morals. To Jimmy’s dismay, his friend was an enemy of the law. “Bob. When you struck the match to light your cigar, I saw the man wanted in Chicago,” (Henry) Even if he was or was not a police officer, Jimmy could not believe that his best friend was a notorious criminal. Although he had the handcuffs right there, Jimmy didn’t have the heart to put them on Bob. “Somehow I couldn’t do it [arrest Bob] myself.” (Henry) A good friend in a way, Jimmy could not arrest his old chap. But Jimmy has one quality that Bob will never have, and that is that he will always put law over friendship.  Bob, being a fugitive, is shocked to hear the revelation of his best friend Jimmy is part of New York Police Department. Bob was most likely expecting Jimmy to be a business man, an office worker, some other occupation that it is not related to the law. When he encountered Jimmy in uniform, he thought he was about to be arrested and reacted in a frantic manner. “As the policeman [Jimmy walked up to him [Bob] the man spoke suddenly. ‘It’s okay officer,’ he said reassuringly. ‘I’m just waiting for a friend.” (Henry) Bob, being a mobster, would not expect his best friend to be a police officer. “You [Bob] may read it [note]… I [Jimmy] at the appointed place on time [and was the police officer you saw]” (Henry) Bob, like most ex-fugitives, would most likely never forgive Jimmy for putting him behind bars. It is people like Bob, who are utterly broken when their friends betrayed them due to their choices.  Jimmy and Bob were similar when they were younger, but in the end, they couldn’t get any more different. People should be aware, that not only their friends, but people they know can change throughout the years. This is how Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi was like that. He was a hero for bolstering Libya oil industry. Eventually, due to the massacre of his people, it leads to a civil war in Libya, which ended in Gadhafi’s demise. More and more people will have relationships like Jimmy and Bob and their relationship is the worst: a friend betraying a friend, or a friend who took actions against his friend because it was right. = After 20 Years From Now = Gazing at the huge time machine in front of my eyes, I then looked at the clothing I was wearing, my big puffy black jacket, mittens and heavy sweat pants and quadruple layers of shirts so I don’t freeze to death when I time travel.  Now why am I time traveling? It all started when the government had been secretly making a time machine since 1972 and there was a contest a contest to have the first kid to travel in time. The way it was decided was through a system similar to the lottery. Out of the millions of names, mine came out of the jar.  So today August 8, 2013, I’m about to walk into the first time machine ever made and I was punching numbers in, and the scientist said I can go anywhere in the future, but I can’t go anywhere in the past since I stick out like a sore thumb (later did I find out that the scientists were afraid I might accidently get into a heated battle from some war and I might change the outcome with the time machine being there in all).  “Just remember, when you come back, you punch in the time 6:30,” said Dr. Doffenshmirtz (not the guy from Phineas and Ferb). “And remember, your belt can enable you to see your future self without breaking the space time continuum for fifteen minutes, and then you have to leave.”  I step in the time machine and entered the date August 8, 2033, 6:55 P.M. 20 years from now. Dr. Doffenshmirtz also put on a device that allows me to be in the presence of anyone in the future. I then also entered my name in along with the day of my birth since my name is very common.  Everything happened very fast after I pushed the big red button. All of a sudden I was freezing (I guess quadruple layers aren’t nearly enough). After a minute it got warm again and when the door opened, I saw a man in a black suit sitting at a fancy glass office desk with a futuristic Mac book and other office supplies, who was in shock to see me right there.  “Hello,” I said in a low voice.  “Um kid, what are you ding here with that vintage time machine that’s behind you,” the man said in light voice.  “You wouldn’t happen to know Ahmad Nadeem.”  “I happen to be him.”  “Great, because I happen to be you as a kid.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> After I said that, the man opened his mouth but no words came out. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “So how was your life after the whole time travel thing,” I began to say. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “Well I enjoyed the fame for a while, but then I asked to the government that I can stay under the radar, because I didn’t want to be famous.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “Why did you give up fame?” I asked. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “Well you know that my, or our religion says life isn’t all about fame and fortune,” the future me said. “Anyhow, after all that, I completed middle school, and we moved because you know the reason. After I finished high school was able to attend to Colombia University with full ride for my six years of college. I took a major in finance, and took a minor of history. After college I was able to start a small business that I still run today.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “What’s the name of the business?” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “It’s called United Enterprises,” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “Why didn’t you recognize me as you as a kid?” I then question. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “I practically forgot my face as a kid and I never look at family albums,” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> There was a beep that was coming from my belt and hinting me I had to go back to the present or I’ll end the universe in two minutes. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “That’s my signal to go.” I said. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “Oh, before you go, take this,” future me said, as he handed me a space heater. I closed the door and punched the numbers August 8, 2013. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">