Obvious Truth, Oblivious Mind {ZIAM}

Ch. 3: Round One

❝

Liam,

You knew I was outcasted when we first met, but that was all just little kid stuff. Back then you would defend me constantly; if anyone made fun of me, you were always there to tell that person to stop. And I thank you for that, because you were criticized for it too. You were always there to stop the bullies, when you were around. And you couldn't always be there for me. I don't blame you, you can't always be by my side and most times it just made me look weaker. I still had to stay a while after school the days I couldn't ride home with you from school. It was days like that after school that I received the worst of it all. I'm sorry I never told you, it only would've made you feel bad and I never wanted to do that.

❞

"I was just leaving my grade three teacher's classroom at the end of the long day. Because my mum was picking me up, I expected there to be no other kids at school. I was quickly proven wrong, because I heard the sound of roudy laughter and the patter of footsteps stop at the end of the hallway around me. I was a couple hundred feet from the door and continued walking.

"Hey you!" I recognized the voice immediatly and began walking faster. Liam's old friend, Drew. Not that they hung out anymore, Liam stopped being friends with him when he started to make fun of me.

"Hey scaredy cat, what's wrong? We just want to talk to you!" The voice continued shouting with a couple of hoots following him. I turned around to see two other boys next to him. As much as I wanted to keep walking, I stood my ground and faced him. Drew was close behind me now, almost arm's distance. He held out his arms and said:

"Give me your backpack."

"N-no," I said, forcing myself to look into his eyes. To do so I had to look up at him; I had never felt so small.

"Give it here or I'll take it," He insisted.

Very slowly, I shook the backpack from my shoulders and watched him and his friends shuffle through it. He nearly cackled with laughter as he grabbed my favorite Batman comic book.

"Please, wait," I said, as he flipped through it. Liam gave it to me, and to me it was precious. I realized then that I should not have said anything.

"Does this mean something to you?" He asked, holding it high in the air so I had to jump to hardly miss it. He threw it to his friend who threw it into the water fountain. I watched the pages become fragile and smudged. I forced myself not to cry as a teacher walked out of her classroom and caught the boys harassing me.

"What is going on-" The three boys were gone before she could even finish the sentence. I was stuck to the floor, tears blurred my vision and I turned away to wipe them so she wouldn't see.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked me, bending down to my height. I turned towards her and nodded. I recognized her as Liam's teacher, Mrs. Whitmore. She was the youngest teacher in the school, in her mid twenties. She was very pretty, with long brown hair and greenish-blue eyes. She looked concerned when I didn't speak, but I honestly couldn't. My throat was dry as a bone and I could feel myself flushing. "I think I've seen you around school. You're Zayn right? Liam's mate?"

I nodded my head once and walked towards where my backpack was abandoned on the floor. I could see her pick up the soggy comic book.

"Can you wait here for me?" She asked, handing me the soggy comic book. I nodded despite not knowing what she had in mind. "What's your last name?"

"Malik, M-a-l-i-k," I said spelling each letter.

I waited outside for a few minutes before the door swung open and she handed me an envelope that said To Mr. and Mrs. Malik on it. "Is your mum here?"

I nodded, forgetting that she was probably wondering what was taking me so long.

"I'm sorry, Zayn. Kids can be cruel sometimes. I'll make sure there are consequences for those boys. It's a good thing I'm their teacher," She said, forcing a tight lipped smile.

"Thanks Mrs. Whitmore," I said finally.

"You can call me Zoe if you want. That's what my class calls me. Mrs. Whitmore sounds terribly formal don't you think?"

I nodded my head and walked out of the school, turning once to wave, "Thanks Zoe."

"Anytime, Zayn," She said, turning to lock her classroom door. I walked outside, forgetting about the rain and running to my mum's car.

"Zayn, are you okay?" My mum asked, concern evident on her face.

I held up the miserable comic book and said, "The boys.

My mum and I use the code words "the boys" to mean that someone made fun of me, or destroyed my stuff. She kissed the top of my head and looked in my lap to see the perfectly dry letter. "What's that?" She asked.

"Mum, why isn't the car moving?" Waliyha asked from her car seat in the back.

"We're leaving baby," She replied, looking at me and rolling her eyes comically. I laughed, moments like this I realized that if it I hadn't had Liam, my mum would've been my best friend.

I found out when we got home that Zoe had written my parents a short letter describing what happened, explaining that Drew and his friends were going to be in big trouble. Apparently she also left $100 to replace the comic book, saying that she had no idea the value of it and we could keep the change. The comic book was only $15. My mum cried and now I realize why. That money would pay the rest of our bills next month, and it was all thanks to a teacher that hardly knew me. She said that Liam spoke so highly of me that we were worth spending the money on.

It was reasons like those that stopped me from being bitter towards the people who bullied me. Or so I thought...

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Thank you so much for reading!  I know it's not the best written fic you've probably ever seen, but it's been so much fun to write and I hope you enjoy reading.

This is going to be hopefully the fist of many Ziam works, so give it a like, if you like.  

Thanks again for reading!  Bye guys.