The truth About cypher ✓

The Liar

The weather had changed. Kazan was changing. People had switched their soft sweaters with heavy, long coats. October was around the corner. The winds felt fuller, the mist was heavy. But apologizing to Haidar felt even heavier on Laila's heart. The man had made her write 200 words long apology letter.

The principal had summoned her into his room. This was the first time Laila was visiting Mr. Vas and it wasn't because her club needed sponsorship or because she was supposed to deliver a message from her godfather. She had had dinner with the man on several occasions. At the time when she got her admission, Ali Raza had invited the dean over. He did that quite often excluding their business dinners. They were acquaintances turned friends.

"May I come in sir?" Laila asked from outside, her hands behind her back as a sign of respect. Mr. Vas gave a slight nod in response as the girl closed the door behind her.

"Laila, do you remember your first day this year? When we were in the dome hall, I had given a word of advice. Would you mind paraphrasing them to me?"

The girl thought for a while, recollecting the memories of her first day.

"You said to experience new things, have fun."

"I did, didn't I? But that does not mean I gave you permission to mess with my staff. Maybe your friends pushed you into this, maybe you were hazed. But it was your duty to keep the prank teacher-friendly." Vas moved from behind this table towards a glass window.

His office was quite breathtaking. One wall was just a large glass window. You could see the beauty of Kazan. The statue placed in the center of the campus seemed so small. Laila imagined herself watching the trees change color, seasons pass by. How awe-striking the scene would be. His table was in the center of the office. It was decluttered. Walls decorated with framed vinyl records, maybe a 90S band.

He wasn't wearing his bow tie anymore. Laila could see the red tie peaking from his side drawer.

"Do you want to say something?"

"No sir."

"Are you sure? I'm giving you a chance to justify your actions." He asked once more, searching for any sense of regret or guilt in her eyes.

"I am sorry for breaking into his office. I should've stood up to my clubmates. But I won't give a bullshit reason to cover up my ass for my truth." The man laughed over this statement.

"Aren't you afraid of the consequences?" he frowned, his eyebrows furrowing.

"If I was gonna suffer consequences, I wouldn't have been forced to write that shitty apology letter. I respect your decision as a dean. You had to protect your staff. But that's all I respect in this situation." She huffed, her arms moving from behind her back to her side in a balled fist. Her gaze was sharp with a straight face.

If he bought her here to disrespect her, she wasn't gonna stay silent.

Mr. Vas stood there in silence for a while. It took him a few seconds to reorganize his thoughts and filter words. Walking to his shelf he pulled out a book.

"The demons. Great work honestly." He said, tracing the cover of the book. "Have you read it Miss Akhmetova?" He handed Laila the book. The girl held it in her hands, noticing the broken spine. He must've read the book quite often.

"Dostoevsky. Not completely sir. 'S got a lot of parts." She said, looking up to find the man behind her.

"He has a quote, "To make the truth more plausible, it's absolutely necessary to mix a bit of falsehood with it." Recognize it?" The girl stayed silent. She knew what he was implying.