If You Ask Noman:

We’re not another NYU couple, but we’re not not another NYU couple. I graduated 2 years before her, we met through the IC, but that was all the prologue of our book, the real story of Zainab and Noman doesn’t really start until 2019. We both worked in the city and took the LIRR for our commutes, and we became closer friends and train buddies. We would talk about our days, all the drama at work and kinda decompress on the packed train homes (she’d get off a couple stops earlier than me, very rude I know). Then you know, that whole Covid thing happened, and neither of us wanted to take trains into the city, and we were fortunate with jobs that let us be remote. So we moved from train buddies, to LI outdoor dining buddies with some other friends during 2020-2021. We became the best of friends and I kinda knew there was something there, well I like to think we both kinda knew 👀.

Then in 2022, I asked if she wanted to go to Burger World near midtown (side note: its one of the best halal burger spots in the city, prove me wrong I dare you), and she obviously said yes (re: the side note). We met outside the restaurant, I handed her a bouquet of her favorite flowers (yellow sunflowers) and she told me she kinda saw this coming, and we went to Obao (a nice vibey thai place with awesome pad thai).

I like to think we’re at like Chapter 4 right now of a multi-book series. The high points of the book are only yet to come 💗

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If You Ask Zainab:

Noman and I weren’t really close friends while we both were in college. If we happen to cross paths and had some time to kill, we’d grab some Thai tea boba (with less ice) from Boba Guys and sit in Washington Square Park, or try Eileen’s Cheesecake featured on BuzzFeed’s “Worth It” series. Sometimes we would take the same train after Jummah Prayers on Friday. As the years passed, we slowly began to see each other more, mutual friends birthday’s, summer night Ralph’s runs where we’d open the trunks to our cars as seats, and a carpool buddy. Noman doesn’t like to admit it, but we were besties. Fast forward to summer 2022, Noman and I had made very casual plans to try this hole in the wall burger joint. As I waited outside the place, I saw Noman walking down the block, with a bouquet of sunflowers. Before I could even ask who the flowers were for, Noman told me were not having burgers for dinner, and took me 10 blocks north to a dinner reservation at a OBAO. And the rest, you know :)

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The photo is the sunflowers Noman gave her; she still has them.

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