Tariq arrives at the train station early in the morning. He has a big smile on his face. He is very happy today. He has some wonderful news. He wants to tell his friend Sara. Sara is coming to the station by train. Tariq looks at the big board on the wall. The board shows the train times. Sara's train arrives in ten minutes. Tariq buys a cup of tea from a small shop. He sits down on a bench near the platform. He feels excited and a little nervous. He holds his phone in his hand. He reads his good news again on the screen. He wants to make sure it is real. The train arrives at the platform. Many people walk out of the doors.

Tariq looks for Sara in the crowd. He sees her near the end of the platform. She has a blue bag on her shoulder. "Sara! Sara! Over here!" Tariq calls out. Sara sees him and waves. She walks quickly towards him. "Hello, Tariq! It is so good to see you!" she says. "Hello, Sara! I have something very important to tell you," Tariq says. Sara looks at his big smile. "You look very happy today," she says. "What is your news?" Tariq takes a deep breath. He feels so excited that he can hardly speak. "I got the job!" Tariq says in a loud, happy voice.

Sara's eyes go wide. "Really? That is amazing!" she shouts. She gives Tariq a big hug. "I am so happy for you!" Sara says. "Thank you," Tariq says. "I got the phone call this morning. I could not believe it at first." Sara laughs. "You worked so hard for this. You really deserve it," she says. Tariq nods and smiles. "I wanted to tell you in person," he says. "That is why I came to the station today." Sara shakes her head slowly. "You are such a good friend, Tariq," she says. They walk together out of the station, both of them laughing and talking.

Tariq reaches the train station just after dawn, the wide concourse almost empty and the morning light filtering through the tall windows onto the tiled floor. He has been awake since before sunrise, too restless to sleep after receiving the most exciting news of his life. A confirmation email arrived late the previous evening, and he had read it so many times that he practically knows the words by heart. He checks the departure board and sees that Sara's train is on schedule, pulling in at platform four in roughly twelve minutes. Ordering a tea from the station café, he settles onto a wooden bench, turns the warm cup slowly in his hands, and watches the first commuters of the day hurrying past with their briefcases and headphones. He had considered calling Sara straight away, but something had made him pause. News this significant, he decided, deserved to be shared face to face. The train glides in almost silently, and within moments the platform floods with passengers streaming through the barriers.

Tariq spots Sara before she sees him, her bright yellow scarf making her easy to find in the moving crowd. He raises his hand and calls her name, and her face breaks into a warm smile as she steers towards him, wheeling her small case across the concourse. "Tariq, it's wonderful to see you, but why are you here so early?" she asks, studying his expression with obvious curiosity. "You look as though you're about to burst," she adds, laughing softly. Tariq grins and shakes his head. "I needed to tell you something properly," he says. "Not over a message, not over the phone." Sara tilts her head, waiting, and Tariq draws a slow breath before finally saying the words out loud.

"I got the position. They offered me the role yesterday evening, and I accepted it this morning." For a moment Sara simply stares at him, processing what she has just heard, and then she lets out a genuine laugh of delight. "Tariq, that is absolutely wonderful news!" she exclaims. "You have been working towards this for so long, and you've earned every bit of it." Tariq admits that he still cannot quite believe it is real, that part of him expects to wake up and find it was only a dream. Sara squeezes his arm reassuringly. "It is very real," she says firmly, "and you deserve every second of it." They step together through the wide station doors into the bright morning, already deep in conversation about what comes next.