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037| The Power Of A Drew Hoodie

~H A N N I E L~

It was hard to concentrate on the game.

My mind was focused on her. I had a terrible headache and I tried to focus while running along the court. As much as I loved basketball, I wanted out right now.

I threw the ball into the basketball hoop and it entered right in. It fell into my hands and I turned to the others, running back into the game while I used my singlet to wipe my face.

A loud clap had my attention. "The conference is in less than two weeks. Good game, Hanniel, but you seem distracted. Hassan, your reflexes aren't that quick. You need to work on that."

Senior Solomon continued pointing out everyone's fault while my head felt like it was about to explode. The headache had suddenly come from nowhere.

"Are you okay?" Someone placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Ibrahim, looking worriedly at me.

"Yeah, sure. Nothing to worry about." I told him and went to the bleachers. This was the indoor basketball court. It was probably the one used to host games and all. But the last time I played, it wasn't in here.

The door opened and even though it wasn't with a loud sound, the small person who literally marched in had our attention.

"Well, look who it is." Ibrahim mused beside me.

"What is she looking for?" Someone muttered and began walking towards the small senior.

I recognized them. The popular duo. Exceptionally popular for their contrasting height and personality. Tall varsity jacket guy and bubbly Senior Inaya.

I think tall varsity jacket guy's name was Amir?

"His name is Amir, right?" I asked Ibrahim who stood next to me, smiling at the duo. He nodded.

Senior Inaya greeted everyone and apologized for disrupting our practice. We were already done, I think.

Both of them were engaged in a conversation and all that made me not tear my eyes away from them was the fact that Senior Amir was really looking down at Senior Inaya while they were talking. I mean to me, it wasn't unusual but theirs was really glaring.

Best friend goals.

"Ibrahim!" Senior Inaya yelled suddenly.

"At your beck and call, my queen." Ibrahim mock bowed and ran to where they both stood. He seemed really free with the both of them.

"Please, call Komisola from her class. Tell her to come to the basketball court."

I frowned. Senior Amir mirrored my expression instantly. "What's your business?" He asked.

"You know how much I like this girl, Amir. So, shut up. There's nothing normal in running that fast just to forfeit."

Senior Amir exhaled and walked away. Senior Inaya's shoulders visibly slumped and she walked away too. She came up to the bleachers and took her seat, just a few feet away from me.

Everywhere felt dizzy and my vision became blurry. Ugh, what was happening to me?

I looked up when Komisola entered the basketball court with Ibrahim, awkwardly trailing behind his back. She looked really sad and nervous at the same time.

I rested my head on my knees and closed my eyes. My head was really aching. It was getting hard to see or even focus on anything.

"I'm coming, please." I heard her say. I wondered where she was going to.

In a few seconds, I felt someone's hand on my neck and I raised my head up slowly. She was standing at my front.

"Are you okay?" Her brows creased at their ends, a scowl plastering itself unto her face.

"Stand up, let's go to the clinic. I don't think you're okay." Senior Inaya said and helped me stand up.

"I'll take care of him, Senior Inaya. Thank you." Komisola stepped in and held me. I wanted to smile at her action but then, it felt like a sledgehammer was hitting my brain up in my head.

I was too weak to stand up. It felt like all energy had been drained from my body and I couldn't even stand on my own. Komisola stopped and came to my front, observing me for a minute. "You definitely don't look okay..."

I trailed out what she was saying. Everything was getting black and I was falling forward till I slumped on her shoulder.

~

After what seemed like eternity, my eyes fluttered open. I could hardly remember anything. The first person I saw was Komisola. My vision was a bit blurry but it cleared quickly.

She was staring at me. Her grey eyes pierced through me like she could see every detail about me exposed to her. It freaked me out.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" I asked, cautiously. I shifted to the wall and eyed her. Grey eyes noticed that and rolled her eyes at me before standing up. "How did I end up here?"

The last thing I remembered was Komisola standing in front of me. Did I black out?

"I don't know what's wrong with you, but take some medicine or whatever. I'm going to class."

Seriously???

"Wait," I called out to her. I knew I sounded desperate but I couldn't care. I just woke up! "You want to leave? C'mon, you just got here."

I may have wrongly phrased that statement. Let's rephrase.

Grey eyes shot me a weird look. "Okay, you've been here for a while. Which really melts my heart-"

"I can't miss class."

"Why can't you miss class?" I groaned in annoyance.

I was shocked. Wasn't Mr. Jarah the teacher who caught us passing notes to each other in class? That man had a scary demeanour that made you not want to cross his paths by coincidence.

"I want to be selfish." I said and sat up. I wanted to have Komisola to myself. It sounded really weird but really. Just like when we both stood in the rain, I wanted a similar scenario to that.

Komisola had opened up to me a little. She'd given me brief smiles, more than a hundred words in reply and it made me happy. But I really wanted to know what others knew about her.

Why she was being treated this way.

Then I remembered. What sort of friend was I?

"How are you?"

That question came out so weird, I closed my eyes for a second and blinked them open.

"What do you mean, how am I?" Komisola raised her brow. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head?"

I actually smiled at that. If she didn't intend for that to be humorous, I did. "I meant, are you okay? What happened in class?"

"Don't worry about that. Ibrahim helped me. Well, and Senior Inaya."

That short female senior. Her height was very much amusing.

"She really likes you," I told Komisola. "I feel like she'll have your back every time."

Komisola was quick to answer, "funny, because what brought us together was a Drew hoodie."

"A Drew hoodie," I repeated, smiling to myself. "Komisola..."

Grey eyes looked up at me and I stood up from the clinic bed to go and meet her. Every time I told myself I liked her, my feelings became more intense. She definitely did not see me the way I saw her. We were both teenagers with secrets, hiding away from the world and putting on a facade to fit in.

Life was tough. And if even I wasn't happy, I wanted her to be happy. I didn't know her past, yes, but I wanted to know her.

Maybe her past didn't matter.

"Remember when I told you the only way I try to comfort you is by smiling at you?"

Komisola nodded hesitantly, staring at me like I wasn't a normal human being. I could handle that much judgment.

"I want to know you, Komisola..."

"Let's forget about me for once, and focus on you, golden boy." Grey eyes interrupted me from finishing what I had to say. She folded her arms at me and went back to her seat.

I blinked. Golden boy? How did she know that?

And... was that a hint of jealousy in her tone?

"How'd you know?" I teased. "It's what Ameenah calls me."

"Apparently, every one who comes to your table or sits next to you can see, Hanniel. You plastered it on your table."

Oh, that. "Actually," I started, "I didn't know how to dispose it and I didn't want to either so..."

"You know she likes you, right?"

The room suddenly became silent. I didn't understand what Grey eyes just said 'cause I wasn't expecting it. Why on earth would Ameenah like me?

~K O M I S O L A~

Hanniel was a clueless idiot. I wouldn't blame him though. He was a new student and didn't know Ameenah as much as I did. As much others did. And although they knew, they didn't have any problem with her.

Moreover, he unintentionally led Ameenah on. Holding hands everywhere and teasing her like they were best friends. You'd think they were dating at first sight.

"You're ignorant." I muttered to myself. He heard me. The scowl on his face proved it.

"How am I ignorant?" He scoffed. "Ameenah can't like me cause I like someone else-"

"Who told you she can't like you because you like someone else?" It was my turn to scoff. "How do you get good grades?"

"First of all," he raised a finger, "ouch. Second of all, I really don't think Ameenah likes me."

I didn't say anything in response. It baffled me how someone could be this oblivious to something that greatly had to do with him?

I had another question to ask him. Hanniel noticed my facial expression and rolled his eyes. Someone was acting like a jerk.

"If you have another quest-"

"Why don't you want people to know your surname?"

"You should really let me finish speaking, you know," Hanniel grumbled and heaved an exasperated sigh.

"You're the one who asked me to stay, and I don't feel like keeping quiet. You're my friend, right?"

I feigned a smile at him and he bit his lip, staring at me in annoyance. "Why don't you want people to know your surname?"

Hanniel tensed. I could see it in the way his face hardened. He sat up and avoided my gaze.

"Why do you want to know?" He said.

Why do I want to know? Was he hearing himself?

He was the one who was so hell bent on figuring every thing about me and now it seemed like a crime to ask this one thing about him?

"Nevermind. I'm going." I stood up again but Hanniel stopped me. He held my hand and pulled me back, urging me to sit.

"I'll tell you." I decided to let go and sit. We both sat in awkward silence for a while before he spoke up.

"There's a lot of things about my family that people don't know. Especially when it comes to my dad. People adore him, since he's an Australian who supports the black community-even his wife is African. That, and he's the CEO of InFoodCo."

Sometimes it was too much to me for believe the fact that Hanniel was actually Felix Cardin's son. Hanniel never spoke about his father. He never spoke his parents but it was obvious he really liked his mother.

"I used to adore him too. But that was until he divorced my mother."

Right, the celebrity Cardin couple was divorced.

"I blamed myself for not regarding all the signs. I was too obsessed with perfection that I ignored anything that could flaw me. Until I met you. I think I've changed a little."

I didn't know what to say.

Until he met me?

"When Dad walked through the door of our mansion in a drunken, staggering state, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was too surreal. My parents started fighting. Dad's business was suffering huge losses and according to him, Mum wasn't understanding."

I was too dumbfounded to register all what Hanniel just said. He had such a perfect life, perfect cover, flaws weren't to be put in the same word with Hanniel. That's why people liked him. He was too perfect.

Hanniel didn't make mistakes. He had everything, looks, money, talent, intelligence, skills, and a relationship with God. He was even at the top of the food chain in school.

Who could've thought he also had his own problems? I knew something was wrong that day when the look in his eyes changed in the natatorium. Nothing would ever be right about wanting to hide your identity and I didn't see a good reason why. There was nothing to change about him.

That's what I thought. But obviously, I was seeing a different thing.

"When they divorced, it affected me. My mental health was on a disapproving scale but I helped myself. I didn't leave my Bible, I didn't leave God. God didn't leave me too." Hanniel laughed, ending it with a peaceful smile.

I wonder when I'd be able to feel that way too. About God.

"But I guess it wouldn't have affected me much if my parents weren't celebrity. It was all over the news, their split. I received questioning gazes in school and even though my school mates didn't say it to my face. I knew what they would be saying; 'The perfect boy isn't so perfect after all.'"

Why on earth was he so worried about being perfect?

It was harmful.

He wasn't through, "I tried to ignore everything. But it was hard to. Things changed. My parents didn't come for my PTM meeting again. They hardly involved themselves in my life. But I wasn't angry, they had their own lives."

Guess I wasn't the only one with parent issues.

"After their divorce, Mum and Dad started getting closer. It was strange to me. I tried to be happy but I didn't see the need to be. I knew they were friends before marriage but getting closer after divorce? Sounds surreal to me."

"Is that why you don't want people to know of your surname?"

After hearing all what Hanniel just said, I realized he was insecure. Coming from his point of view, he didn't want people to find out about his identity because his parents were divorced.

I tried to see what the problem was, but we all have our own issues.

"Where'd you get Alonge from, then?"

I gave the third degree.

Hanniel pressed his lips together, squinting his eyes at me before grinning like he had just been given a gift, "I found it on HiNet: Nigerian names."

What...