Beyond the window

Chapter 9 : A moment of clarity

Sunday arrived, and Sarah woke up to the sound of knocking. Groggily, she raised her head and saw Zaim standing in his room, visible through the window. It was already 11:00 am, and she was still sleeping. Zaim teased and greeted her with a cheerful "Good morning!"

Sarah grumbled a morning greeting, then asked, "Is your acting done?" Zaim looked puzzled and asked, "What are you talking about? I don't get it."

Sarah sighed, "Ooh, I'm sorry. You don't know me, right? My fault, my fault." Zaim chuckled and asked, "Can you talk clearly or explain what happened?"

Sarah asked, "Why did you say my tricks won't work on you?" Zaim smirked, "I know you... that your tricks won't work on me, but I didn't tell you that... yet."

Sarah rolled her eyes, "Stop playing around. I know it's you, anyway. I'm glad we're from the same universe, and can we meet at the canteen today?" Zaim raised an eyebrow, "Ooh, are you that sure we're from the same universe?"

Sarah interrupted, "Stop it, Zaim. We met yesterday." Zaim feigned innocence, "I swear I've never met you yesterday. Wallah!" Sarah asked, "Then who is he?" Zaim asked, "Who's who?"

Sarah said, "I think it's you from Earth." Zaim's expression changed, "Earth? What's that?" Sarah asked, "You don't know what Earth is?" Zaim simply replied, "No." Sarah explained, "Earth is the planet where I'm living." Zaim smiled and said, "My planet is Turvan."

Sarah's eyes widened in shock. She had expected him to be from another universe, but somehow wished he was from the same universe as hers. Now, her wish had been turned upside down.

Zaim asked, "So, it's sure now, right?" Sarah nodded, "Yes, no doubt." But her excitement had vanished. Zaim noticed and asked, "Why's there no excitement? It's more fun, right?" Sarah shook her head, "I don't think so."

Zaim grinned mischievously, "Ooh, I remember! Please let me tell you. Don't interrupt. I have something... ta-da!" He picked up a piece of paper and read it loudly, "Zaim and Sarah are from the same universe! Oohooo!"

Sarah's face turned bright red as she felt embarrassed. But then she realized the paper had been blown away by the wind. She asked, "How did you find this?" Zaim explained, "Two days ago, the window opened, right? Sorry, I missed it. I think this paper fell from your hand without you noticing it."

Sarah looked puzzled, "But the window didn't open two days ago." Zaim shrugged, "Then how did it get to my room?" Sarah suggested, "I'll try it again." She threw a paper ball at Zaim's face, and he retaliated, starting a fun fight.

Suddenly, Sarah stopped, looking like someone who was hungover from drinking lots of beer the day before. Zaim didn't notice her change in demeanor and threw another paper ball. Sarah was ready to attack and threw a sponge smiley ball at Zaim. Although it wasn't very hard, it managed to hit Zaim's nose, making it turn bright red. Sarah teased him, saying he looked like a clown with a cherry on his nose, and burst out laughing.

Zaim, instead of getting angry, enjoyed her teasing and said, "You should try it when the window is closed, so we can find out if there's any chance for us to communicate even when the window is closed." He asked, "Is Zaim from Earth smart and handsome like me?" Sarah smirked, "No, he's just an idiot like you."

Sarah and Zaim (from Turvan) talked and had fun for a long time. The next day, in school, Zaim (from Earth) was waiting for Sarah. When she arrived, he walked toward her and said, "I thought about it yesterday for so long." Sarah interrupted, "Sorry, I don't get it."

Zaim explained, "I think we should be friends. Among the girls who try to trick, I think you are quite interesting. So, I think we can be friends." Sarah replied, "I think we should avoid each other." Zaim asked, "Why? Oo, are you feeling embarrassed? No need."

Sarah said, "You are a complete embarrassment, so there is no need for me to feel embarrassed." Zaim teased,
Zaim teased, "Hey girl, are you serious? If I just did a slap, girls would cover me like houseflies covering laddu, okay?" Sarah said in a lower voice, "You are the same as the one from Turvan." A small smile appeared on her face.

Zaim noticed the small smile on Sarah's face and asked, "Did you say something?" Sarah replied, "No, nothing." She added, "And I have to go." Zaim said, "Ooh, I'll wait for you in the canteen on lunch break." Sarah was like, "For what?" but she didn't say anything.

Zaim (from Turvan) was walking home with Arjun after school when they ran into a gang of schoolmates who didn't get along with Aizam. The gang knew that Aizam and Zaim were best friends, but they were unaware of the issues between them. They tried to bully Zaim, not realizing who he was. Zaim, who was never one to back down from a verbal fight, wasn't intimidated.

The gang mocked him, saying, "Look at this guy, friends with that stupid Aizam. He must be a waste like him." Zaim never tolerated anyone disrespecting Aizam. He snapped, "What's your problem, bunch of losers? Back off or you'll find out who I am. Watch your mouth when talking about Aizam."

Although Zaim was in control, he lost his cool when they started dissing Riya. He beat up the gang's leader, Varun. Arjun joined in, but they were outnumbered. Despite this, Zaim punched Varun's nose and roughed him up as much as he could. However, the rest of the gang surrounded him and started beating him up.

Just then, Aizam walked by and saw them beating up Zaim, but he walked away.