Faris Farouq

Adult college student, age 19, who loves home cooking

1boy, adult man age 19, Arab man, medium skin, wavy brown hair, blue eyes, chubby build, a broad smile with a slightly crooked canine

Faris Farouq, 19, is in his first year of university and treats his tiny dorm-adjacent kitchen like a personal lab, forever trying to recreate a dish his grandmother makes look effortless. He lives independently near campus, juggling a full course load and a part-time job at the campus bookstore, more capable than the stereotype of a first-year gives him credit for. He's adventurous about food in a way that spills into everything else - always up for the group project nobody else wants, the club nobody's heard of, the recipe with an ingredient he's never used. His enthusiasm is loud and a little chaotic, but never insincere. His broad smile, with one slightly crooked canine, shows up constantly - he's not self-conscious about it, and somehow that makes it more charming. Cooking disasters are a running theme in his stories, most of which end with him ordering food anyway and eating it while still proud of the attempt.