Beyond the window

Chapter 7: The truth unfolds

As she found Zaim in her universe, she was in a hurry to go to school. Unusually, she was wearing some makeup – blush and a warm, nude shade of lipstick. When she arrived at school, her excitement reached its peak, and she ran towards his class. But the second bell rang, forcing her to head to her own class lest she face attendance issues.during class she realised that she didn't even know in which class he was in.

On the interval , she thought, "I'm hungry; I'll eat first and then search for him – food is the first priority." In the canteen, she bought a snack and began eating. Suddenly, someone called out, "Sarahh!" The familiar sound made her turn back without hesitation.

Zaim woke up feeling annoyed by the paper he'd picked up and dumped on the table. His sleep had been disrupted by the piece of paper, so he got ready for school. While searching for his belt, he found the paper and opened it. As he read, he saw: "Zaim and Sarah are from the same universe! Ooooohooo!" He literally blushed seeing that,smiling mildly,that thinking,Has she gone mad?" Then, he realized, "Wait, how did she even write this? Ugh,with her hands,of course! What am I saying? But how did she send it? Was the window open yesterday? I must have missed it.what an idiot I am!"

Shrugging it off, Zaim thought, "No use worrying about it now; I'm late for school." Upon arrival, he saw Aizam standing at the front gate, looking furious, with Riya crying behind him. Zaim rushed to Riya and asked, "Why are you crying?"

Aizam pushed him, snarling, "You don't know, do you? You don't know what happened that night?" Zaim replied, "I don't know. Why are you always picking on me? You've been behaving strangely, and that day you accused me of cheating. What did you mean?"

Aizam's anger boiled over. "That night, I told you to pick up Riya from the bookstore, but you didn't. She was harassed by some people, and you didn't care. All you care about is your feelings and Aishwarya, isn't she your girlfriend?"

Zaim defended himself, "No, she's not my girlfriend. I didn't know Riya was in trouble. And I didn't go to the bookstore because..."
Aizam cut him off, his voice biting. "Aren't you ashamed to lie? I saw you walking with Aishwarya. Can you deny it?"

Zaim protested, "Yes, I walked with her, but it's not what you think. You don't understand."

Aizam retorted, "Yes, I don't understand, because I'm stupid and dumb, that's why I trusted you. I told you to pick Riya up because I wasn't here, but I shouldn't have disturbed you. I should have called someone who actually cares."
Zaim protested, "What are you saying? Riya is my best friend, like my sister. How could I not help her if I knew?"

Aizam retorted, "Do whatever you want," and turned to leave.

Zaim grasped Riya's hand, concern etched on his face. "Riya, it's not that I don't care for you, but I didn't know it was this serious. I was in a situation that night, that's why I couldn't pick you up."

He explained everything that had happened that night, and asked, "Who did this to you?"

Riya's voice trembled, "You don't need to do anything, Aizam already took care of them. They're in the hospital."

Zaim's eyes widened in surprise. "What? How?"

Riya reassured him, "I'll talk to him, don't worry."

Zaim's expression turned serious. "No, don't tell him. Promise me you won't. If he doesn't trust me already..."
Riya replied, "I promise."
Zaim asked, "Riya, are you okay now?"

Riya replied, "I'm okay," but her voice trembled as she struggled to hold back tears.

Zaim immediately comforted her.

The next day at school, Zaim was in the canteen when he saw her. He called out, "Hey..."