For Omar Moujalled​, a bright future seemed just around the corner.
The 18-year-old from Greenvale was only a few days away from graduating high school, when Monday night's extraordinary storm rolled into Melbourne.
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Hospitals deal with 'thunderstorm asthma'
Family distraught after 'thunderstorm asthma' death
Two people, including 20-year-old law student Hope Carnevali, have died and at least 30, including two children, are in intensive care after an extraordinary epidemic of 'thunderstorm asthma' in Victoria on Monday night. Vision courtesy Seven News Melbourne.
The previous Friday, he'd walked out of his last exam – French – and by all accounts had an exciting future ahead of him, with plans to study a Bachelor of Design at the University of Melbourne and pursue a career as an urban planner.
"He spent the entire year nervous about exams, cracking jokes about our eventual ATAR results," said close friend Shuayb Talic​.
"We were planning road trips, outings, gaming [sessions] on that very day. Yet when he stopped reading messages, and the news slowly poured in, our hearts all sunk."
Omar died on Monday evening after he, like more than 1000 people around the city, started to struggle to breathe when the storm brought wind that whipped up irritants and moisture caused pollen grains to burst.
It is believed his mother took him to a doctor's surgery, but he died of a "massive asthma attack" before he could make it to hospital.
The shocking turn of events has devastated Omar's family and close-knit school community at the Australian International Academy, an Islamic school in Coburg where he was described as an "exemplary" and "respected" student.
The head of the school's senior campus, Gafiah Dickinson, said it's been very difficult for everyone to accept the news.
"He is a lovely boy and a very respectful and decent young man. A lot of people looked up to him, he was a real gentlemen," she said.
Omar was the oldest of four siblings and leaves behind three younger sisters.
"It's very raw for the family," Ms Dickinson said.
"Although we visited them, they are very devastated. You're not able to have a conversation with them.
"They are in pain. They are beside themselves."
Although this year's Year 12 cohort have officially finished studies, most came back to the school on Tuesday on the news of the death of their popular schoolmate.
An assembly and religious prayers were held in his honour, while the Year 12 graduation planned for Wednesday night has been cancelled. Omar had been part of the International Baccalaureate program.
Special counselling sessions have been made available to students.
Omar's friend Shuayb Talic said he was planning to create a banner in honour of Omar to display at the upcoming Melbourne City versus Sydney football match.
And his friends also set up a gofundme.com campaign, raising money to build three wells in Bangladesh in Omar's name.
Mr Talic said he never thought he would be inviting his friend to a soccer session one day, then writing his eulogy the next.
"The feeling is strange. He'd drop me off home nearly every day. Even when he was absent during school days, the void left by the sudden disappearance of his jokes or presence was felt by everyone," he wrote on Facebook.
Omar's funeral prayer (janazah) was held on Wednesday at the Meadow Heights Mosque, followed by a burial at Fawkner Cemetery.
It is understood the young man's death is being investigated by the coroner.