Closer than we knew

Chapter 8

Next Day

Salar and Sitara walked down the hallway leading to the dean's office. Sitara's heart was pounding in her chest, she looked over at Salar who looked calm, but she knew that he was equally nervous.

After the fight in classroom, news spread across the university and it didn't take long for the disciplinary committee to summon them. Sitara couldn't stop thinking about the consequences, Salar can get into serious trouble because of her.

They entered the office where the disciplinary committee was gathered. The dean, a middle-aged woman, sat at the centre of the table. On her sides were three other faculty members and a student representative.

Qasim was already present there. He sat on the other side of the room with his bandaged nose.

"Please, sit down," the Dean said. Both of them sat down glancing at each other briefly.

She began, "We are here to discuss the events that took place in the classroom yesterday. Salar, you were involved in a physical fight with Qasim which is something we take very seriously. We also found out that this fight might have started because of a photo of Sitara which was posted online without her consent allegedly by Qasim."

Sitara felt uncomfortable at the mention of photo. She hated how her private moment was being discussed infront of so many people.

The dean looked towards Salar. "We understand that you acted this way because you felt the need to protect Sitara, but resorting to violence is never the right way to handle things. Can you explain what made you confront Qasim this way?"

Salar cleared his throat. "I know what I did was wrong. I shouldn't have hit him and I'm sorry for that. I should have respected university rules but when I found out that Qasim was the one who posted that picture of Sitara, I just.... I just lost control. He humiliated her in front of everyone and in fit of emotions I couldn't think of anything else."

"We understand that you were upset, Salar, but fighting is not the solution. Also, we are deeply concerned about the photo. Sitara, would you like to say anything?"

Sitara took a deep breath before speaking. "I don't know how it happened. I got to know when it was posted on university forum. I felt exposed and embarrassed. If that day Salar wouldn't have helped me... I don't know what else could have happened, I just..... I just want this to be taken seriously. Nothing else."

The dean exchanged glances with the other members. One of the faculty members, a woman with short curly hair, spoke next. "We understand Sitara that whatever happened with you was clear invasion of privacy and dignity." She paused for a moment and continued, "However, there's no conclusive evidence that Qasim was the one who uploaded the picture."

"I have the proof" Salar said, gaining attention of everybody in the room.

"What kind of proof do you have, Salar?" the Dean asked.

Salar glanced at Qasim who immediately shifted uncomfortably in his chair and began, "I found messages between Qasim and one of his friends. They were talking about the photo. Qasim mentioned that he posted the picture to teach Sitara a lesson."

The faculty members exchanged glances, "Do you still have those messages?"

Salar nodded. "Yes. I have the screenshots. It's all there, dates, timestamps, everything."

Qasim's face paled. It was over for him. He thought Salar was just saying he had the proofs to threaten him.

Dean replied after thinking, "This is a very serious accusation, Salar. If what you're saying is true, it will change how we approach this case. However, before we take any action, we need to verify the authenticity of these messages."