DESTINED TO CROSS

Chapter 7: The Domino Effect of Disasters

Shanaya's  POV

As soon as I reached home, I wasted no time. I flung my bag on the floor and grabbed my phone, instantly dialing a video call to Mayra and Samaira.The call connected, and I saw Mayra's face pop up on the screen first, followed by Samaira’s. They greeted me with smiles,"Samaira! You won't believe what I saw in the art room today," I said, leaning closer to the camera as if to make my point more dramatic. "Mayra and Imaad were—"Before I could finish, Mayra’s eyes widened in horror, and she lunged toward the camera, her voice a panicked squeal. "Stop! Don’t you dare finish that sentence!" Samaira, caught between confusion and amusement, raised an eyebrow. "Mayra and Imaad?? What were they doing?" she asked, clearly intrigued by the suspense.“We were just talking! We were just talking!” Mayra almost screamed, her face turning bright red as she tried to defend herself. I couldn’t help it—I burst out laughing. It was too funny to see her so flustered.The whole ride home in the auto, I’d been teasing her non-stop. Every time I thought about what I saw, I couldn’t stop grinning. Mayra had clearly been mortified the entire time.“Come on, the position you two were in did not look like you were just talking,” I said, still laughing. Mayra covered her face with her hands, practically melting into the screen with embarrassment. "It wasn’t what it looked like!" Samaira, who had been silently watching this back-and-forth, finally burst out laughing too. "Okay, now I have to hear what this 'talking' looked like!" “Well... let’s just say there was a lot of leaning involved from Imaad's side" I said still trying to hold my laugh. Samaira’s eyes widened with excitement, leaning closer to her screen as if trying to get every detail. "Excuse me, what? What was happening? Please, tell me the whole thing!" she demanded, practically bouncing in her seat. Mayra’s scream cut through the air, panic written all over her face. "NO! Nothing happened! We were just talking, I swear!" She was practically begging now, waving her hands frantically at the camera. "Please, listen to me, you two! Please!" "Alright then, spill it! How did you end up in the art room with Imaad? What were you two talking about? Come on, tell us everything!" Shanaya pressed Mayra. "It was because of my keys," Mayra began. "They had fallen on the floor, right in front of the art room. That’s when I saw Imaad painting, and it caught my attention. So, I went inside and asked him about it. That’s how we started talking. We were just chatting until you showed up and spotted us," Mayra explained.

“Then why was he leaning so much toward you ?” I inquired.“Ooooh!” Samaira squeaked. “It was because he was getting suspicious about why I was asking so many questions about the LPRC,” Mayra replied.“What? You were asking about the LPRC?” I exclaimed.“Hey, we agreed not to tell anyone!” Samaira reminded Mayra.“I didn’t say anything to him about us. Oh, wait! I have to tell you guys something,” Mayra said, glancing around to check if anyone could hear her before continuing. “So, it looks like Imaad and my brother bought the leaked papers. Imaad told me this. That’s why I asked him if he knew who the culprit was. He said they didn’t interact with anyone while buying them; it was at some old abandoned building. They exchanged the papers through a counter with a hole, so they didn’t see who was selling them,” Mayra finished, her expression a mix of concern and curiosity.“Wow, I did not expect this turn in the story! I got excited for no reason,” Samaira exclaimed.“Me too! By the way, what building was it?” I asked Mayra.“I couldn’t ask any more questions because the next second he was leaning in front of me, asking why I was so curious about this stuff,” Mayra replied with a sigh.“Ah, I see. That explains the scene I witnessed,” I said, giving Mayra an apologetic smile.“Okay, but if no one has seen the culprit's face, how did that student know he was from the second year?” Samaira raised a valid question.“That’s what I found weird too,” Mayra admitted.“Maybe he lied. He might have just said whatever came to his mind out of pressure. That means it could be anyone, not just someone from the second year. The culprit could be anyone in the college,” I said, piecing together the situation.