Omar Elmi has always had an affinity for the Ottawa Public Library. When his parents, Ali and Muno Elmi moved to the City of Ottawa, Ontario, from their homeland of Puntland, Somalia, they lived within walking distance of the Ottawa Library branch near Elmvale, in the east end. Come to think of it, Omar used to hang out there all the time with his cronies.
Omar's family encouraged him to hang out at the Ottawa Public Library as a young man because they wanted him to stay out of trouble. In the City of Ottawa, Ontario, far too many young men from the Somali immigrant communities gravitate toward a life of crime. Omar became something of a glorified nerd, unlike a lot of the young Somali men he knew, who became thugs.
What Omar figured out early on is that all those young African women who chase after thuggish guys tend to lose interest when these thugs end up in jail. Why bother risking one's life and freedom to impress such a flaky bunch? The thug life seems cool to a lot of young men of African descent, until they have to pay the consequences. Omar knows it's just not worth it in the long run.
A lot of people used to clown Omar for hanging out at the Ottawa library and keeping a low profile. While other young Somali men were out there smoking weed, banging hot chicks and committing petty crimes, Omar was hitting the books. Sure, he missed out on a lot of fun but at least he made it out of the hood. Omar wants to become a police officer someday, that's why he's studying Police Foundations at Algonquin College.
Nowadays, Omar is in his second year at Algonquin College, and he also works as a security guard for some extra bucks. The security company which Omar happens to work for often sends him to the Ottawa Library branch located near his college campus on Baseline Road. The location is convenient, except for one thing, an annoying librarian named Mabel Tremblay.
