chapter 16

                                1Zaini gave him a stern look and said, "It's obvious. You will support them only. Why would you support an outsider??" said Zaini in anger."If I had to support them, I would have removed that piece of paper without letting you know about it. When you could not know when it was posted on your back, you would not know when was it removed. Anyways, you have done whatever you could", said the boy and went inside Principal's room. Zaini was surprised to see that he did not need any approval to go inside. It was like he owned the office rather than the principal himself.Zaini was now feeling furious and angered. She wanted to go back to the department but she was not in any mood to look at the faces who had humiliated her. She went to her room back. The news spread to the other staff too. Zaini wanted to talk to someone about it."What should I do? Should I call Prague? No... No. He was already anxious and he even warned me about the bullying part. He will panic and shout at me. No... No. Should I call Mom? No, she will not understand me. She was also against my idea of coming here. I can call Huma. But... She will be busy preparing for her engagement", thought Zaini.She was still in her thoughts when her cell phone rang. It was Prague. Zaini's heartbeat increased thinking he might have come to know about the incident from that distant friend about whom Tushar Sir talked about.The cell phone kept on ringing, Zaini was in dilemma if she should receive the call or not. Finally, Zaini received the call. "Hello""Hello, Zaini. How are you? How was your first day? Where have they posted you?" asked Prague in one breath.Zaini could sense that he was not aware of the incident. She took a sip of water from the water bottle and cleared her throat. "I am all good. They have posted me in the Anesthesiology department. Our HOD is quite a strict doctor. I got numb when he asked me some questions but eventually, I made him understand that I am an encyclopedia of my subjects!!" said Zaini in a proud and happy tone. "I knew it. No one can beat my love when it comes to studies. Good job!! So we can say you rocked on your first day!""Absolutely!""What about food?" "I grabbed something in their cafeteria. I think it will not be that difficult to manage. It can be managed.""Sounds good. I was worried for no reason. You have settled so quickly. Great!! And, I am posted in the Cardiology department.""Your internship was supposed to start the day after tomorrow, isn't it?" "Yes, but the duties have been posted on the display board.""Oh, okay"They chit-chatted for a while. She realized Prague had not made a mountain out of a mole about Javier sharing the same flat. Zaini could sense some happiness in his voice but why was he happy and understanding that she was not aware? She thought of telling him about the incident but then she dropped the idea.                                 2In the evening, Nazma met her. "Babe, what have you done?" asked Nazma as soon as she saw Zaini sitting on the couch and scrolling through her cell phone. "So the news has reached you too!" said Zaini keeping her cell phone down on her lap. "Of course, everyone is talking about it. Many bullying had happened in the past but no one has dared to complain about it to the Principal except you. The CCTV cameras are being checked to see who has done this. All your classmates are denying their involvement in it. It's just that they didn't tell you about the piece of paper pasted behind your back", said Nazma."Was I wrong? You also think that I should have ignored it?" asked Zaini making a face."No, it needs the courage to stand for what is right especially when you are not even in your own country. You did the right thing. The only problem is your life will get a little worse here from now onwards", said Nazma and patted Zaini's back. Zaini was already feeling sad and now she started feeling even saddened. Nazma read her face and tried to console her."I would have spent some more time with you but I am hellish tired. I need to grab some sleep before going for the Night shift. See you tomorrow!" said Nazma and went to her room.Zaini was still sitting on the couch thinking about what would happen next with her. "No one will talk to me. What else can happen?? It's fine. I don't need anyone to talk to me. I can focus on learning the language and gaining practical experience. What else...? Everything feels so boring and sad right now. How will I live like that?" thought Zaini.Feeling low and depressed, Zaini went to her room. She played Kim Jae's TV drama on her laptop and got lost in it.The next day, Zaini entered the department on time. Her classmates were murmuring but she ignored them and kept her attitude. Dr. Park was again busy and all the interns were asked to go to the general wards and to check on the patients. Then only Zaini was asked to go to the office.Zaini entered the Principal's office. "Miss Zaini, we have found the culprit and fired her from the hospital too!!" said the Principal showing Zaini CCTV footage. Zaini saw that nurse pasting the piece of paper behind her back while talking to her. "Why would she do that? She is not even a student here and you have fired her already?" said Zaini as she knew the nurse was not the actual culprit. "What do you want, Miss Zaini? Do you want her to apologize to you? She has given her apology in a written letter. Look at this", said the Principal showing Zaini a paper.It was a typed paper that she had signed. Zaini was not satisfied.