Chapter 18: Chapter 18

1 hour, 57 minutes, 36 seconds.

Hassana was late.

I had been sitting here patiently since 6:30. I had watched the sun sink into the ground and seen evening bleed to night... And she was late.

She was two hours late.

I groaned for the last time and checked my brand new wristwatch I had managed to get custom made at such short notice after the last one got stolen from me.

Stolen.

I couldn't think of that girl... That night... without getting a heart-attack... I didn't even know her actual name. And I didn't know what hurt more. The fact she left me after practically robbing me or the fact that I couldn't forget her face, no matter how hard I tried.

I sighed. Shook my head. Pain. That's what I get for falling for a gold digger.

I stood up from the steps of the academy building, about to walk away and solitary confine myself to another night of dark academics.

"Hey, I'm so sorry I took so long. My eyeliner just wouldn't cooperate. And I met Nova on the way, he just wouldn't stop complimenting me. He was going on and on and on and on..." She groaned.

I turned at Hassana's high-pitched voice that tell her plainly that I had no idea who this Nova person was. But the sight of her, held me by the throat. I literally choked on air.

Meeting her for the first time, her beauty was something that could not be ignored. Her beauty was soft edges and faint curves. You saw her and you thought of porcelain pieces and fine china and  pressed flowers between notebooks. Nice, delicate, warm.

I had noticed from her uniform that she was the kind of person that liked to show a lot of skin. Her uniform skirt was shorter than most and her blouse was fitted to perfectly sculpt her silhouette

Right now, she wore very short white shorts and a tiny off-shoulder top, choker necklace and converse, the light skin of her legs and stomach were on display. Her blond braids, I'm very sure that went against school protocol, piled high on her head. Her make up made her already big eyes look even bigger and she seemed to have experimented with dark red lipstick.

Wow.

"I couldn't pick a look. Casual, classy or sexy, so I just went with all three. I had to pick between these three lipstick colours. See?" She suddenly brandished three lipsticks in front of me. "In the end, I picked the middle one. How do I look? Do I look okay?" Her big brown eyes filled with the hope of validation implored mine.

I found myself nodding. "Yeah. You look nice... Just..." I took of my jacket and draped it over her. "I think you should cover up. So you don't catch a cold."

She hugged my jacket gratefully, her eyes, wide in shock like she hadn't expected the gesture. "T...thank you." She whispered.

We started walking.

"So I'll tell you a secret!" She chirped as she skipped along beside me, taking my hand in hers.

"What?" I asked.

"This is my first real date." A sad look flashed across her face, so suddenly, I'm almost sure I imagined it.

At first, I wanted to correct her. That this wasn't a date but the look in her eyes made me swallow my words.

She continued. "I've never been on a real date before."

"You're joking." I decided. She was one of the prettiest girl I'd ever seen in my entire life. Granted, she wasn't my type, but still, I wasn't blind.

"I'm not." She muttered, like she was deep in thoughts.

She remained like that for a while, quiet and pensive, when suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, her ears, perked up, eyes alert.

There was silence for a few minutes, excerpt the chirping of insects and birthing of darkness.

"What are you-"

"Shhh!" She slapped her palm against my lips, shutting me up.

We were on a path towards "market square" an entire area filled with meshai spots, suya stands, pizza huts and even outdoor cocktail bars that everyone flocked to in the night.

The path leading to the noisiest part of the school was lonely, quiet with fewer street-lamps and people, usually couples, holding hands and talking.

"Do you hear that?" She whispered to me.

"Hear what?!" I mumbled against her hand still on my lips.

"Come!" She creeped behind a hedge, sat in the grass and beckoned me to come over.

I sighed, rolled my eyes and questioned Allah why I only attract crazy people into my life. Still, I did as she instructed, going to sit beside her, behind the hedge. She gestured at me to be quiet.

I did as she asked... And heard them.

"I just don't know what to do, man. One moment, I have it all, the next, everything's gone. Fucking hell, I'm losing my fucking mind!"

That voice. That was Kam!

My heartbeat accelerated, pulse quickened. He's talking. He's finally talking shit out, but to whom?

"I feel you, man." The voice was deep. Unrecognizable. I didn't know this person. "I really do. Though, I won't lie. I saw mine coming. My dad walked into it."

Beside me, Hassana gasped. Her eyes watered. "Ivandor." She mouthed to me.

I realized now. The person Kam was talking to was that prick from earlier... That wouldn't even acknowledge his friends.

I started aching in jealousy.

For days, weeks, months, I've been trying to reach out to Kam, to get him to talk to me, and all I got for my efforts was a broken nose and crushed spirit. But here he was confiding in a total stranger.

I gritted my teeth, my growing dislike for this Ivandor guy darkening and intensifying and thickening with petty jealousy.

Soft hands suddenly clasped around mine in a tight embrace. I looked into Hassana's soft pleading eyes. Don't hate him. She seemed to say. Please don't hate him.

I almost rolled my eyes. I didn't understand why a nice girl like her would like someone like him. Someone that treated her like dirt in front of an entire crowd... But then, I remembered we don't always choose who we fall in love with.

I mean... Look at me, I fell for an ice witch, and later, a gold digger and they both left me feeling like a joke.

"I just don't understand what's going on. It's like I'm having a bad dream, I just wanna wake up. The way I see it... I don't think she'll make it past February." Kam groaned loudly, exhaled. "Fuck. Fuck fuck, I don't even want to think about it. What do I do? What do I fucking do? She's all I've got, man. If she dies... Fuck, if she dies, I'm officially fucked. I don't know what to do. Where to go." He was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Kam.

My heart ached for him. He couldn't keep the emotion from his voice and I heard him sob quietly in his hands. I closed my eyes, looked up at the stars and tried to remember a time when things weren't so shitty for him. For us.

"Look. Kam... I don't know." Ivandor's voice was gentle, patient. "Like I really don't know what to tell you. I mean, I'd help if I could but we're in the same dipshit right now... From what you're telling me, bro, your friends really care about you. They want to help."

"I don't want them to see me like this. I don't want her to see me like this. I don't want her to see me differently."

"Her? Oh! Your girl."

"My ex." Kam corrected.

There was silence for a moment. Then Ivandor whispered. "Get help Kam. You deserve it... At least you have people that are ready to die for you. The only one I had is currently angry with me for ghosting on her when shit got so bad."

"Giwa?"

Ivandor sighed heavily. "Correct."

"The universe just knows the right time to fuck us up doesn't it?" Kam mused.

There was silence for a moment.

"Maybe you're right... Maybe I'll talk to them," Kam whispered quietly, "I miss them..." He sighed heavily. Took a deep breath for the first time. "But first, what's up with your fist? You punched a hole in a wall or something. It's bruised badly."

Ivandor laughed a sick, sick laugh. "I... Uh... I punched my guy in the face. I didn't know how much I packed in that single punch."

"Woah! What did he do? Steal your girl, too?"

Ouch, Kam. Ouch. I ignored the painful jibe at me.

"No," Ivandor whispered, "he cheated on my cousin."

"What?!" Kam shouted. "Geez, that's fucked up!"

"Yeah... I'm not sorry for hitting him... But, he's my friend, y'know... I hate the fact he'd do stupid shit like that. I actually feel betrayed. He was the closest thing to a best friend to me. I wonder if he ever even saw me as a friend. If it was all a joke to him. That he could easily disrespect my blood like that."

Silence.

"Remember what I said, Kam. Get help. Talk it out. " I heard Ivandor rise, "Tell your girl exactly what's going on. Be straight with her. They like that kind of thing... I hope things work out between the both of you."

Kam remained quiet for a second. "Me too."

__

When we reached market square the air was heavy with the scent of suya, fries, meshai... Even pizza. Everywhere, thick with sound and light and laughter as students of Trinity and Castron mingled and interacted.

Uproar by lil Wayne was booming from the nearby speakers and there were two boys in a dance off, a huge crowd of Castron students and some Trinity boys surrounding them, chanting, "Aaron! Casper! AARON! CASPER!" And I just wanted to get away from all the noise.

"Woah!" Hassana was whispering to herself as we walked. "...So... No wonder... So... Wait o... Giwa and Ivandor are fighting? Is that why Giwa has been so down lately? I should have recorded the entire convo and shown Giwa. Ivandor sounds really bad. I hope he didn't hurt her." She gasped suddenly, "I hope she didn't hurt him... But then it's Giwa, I mean, she hurts everybody. Shey, Amir?"

My petty jealousy aside, I noticed grudgingly that my respect for that Ivandor guy had grown considerably. As long as Kam was happy... As long as he finally gets the help he needs, a friend of his could be a friend of mine.

"Amir, you're not listening to me naw. I literally just speculated why Giwa and Ivandor are not talking again and you were not even listening. Why are you so quiet? Are you okay? Are you sick?!" She gasped, horrified, "oh God, if you are, I know just the right cure. ICECREAM!" She squealed and started pulling me into the restaurant which was our original destination.

"Woah. Wait, I don't like ice cream."

She actually stopped and looked at me like she just saw a ghost. "You don't like ice cream," she mouthed the words thoughtfully, shaping her lips around them, stringing them together like those words shouldn't exist together. Then she gasped, her hands slapped her cheeks, her eyes went wide in horror. "YOU DON'T LIKE ICE CREAM?!"

I shrugged.

"Are you lactose intolerant?"

"No."

"Have you tasted icecream before?"

"Yes."

"And you don't like it."

"No."

"What don't you like about it?"

I shrugged a nonchalant roll of my shoulders. "I don't know... The taste. The smell... It's just not my thing."

She looked at me like I was speaking pig latin, an honest confused expression on her face. I held her gaze.

"Woah, you're not kidding." She realized. "Well, this sucks..."

We slid into a booth after ordering our food. In the end, she got ice cream and chicken pie for the both of us. I gave her my share of ice cream and poked at the chicken pie with weird gooey gravy sticking out of it.

I frowned in distate and decided not to take it.

"What the actual FUCK?! Amir, asshole, what the fuck are you doing here?!"

Dave.

Sigh.

His face appeared into view and fucking hell, he had company. Haliya and Asa of all people were staring at me in confused shock, then, at Hassana, then at me again.

I gripped my hair, wondering for the second time tonight how I came to know and love so many people.

"Haliyaaa!" Hassana sang, going to hug a statuesque Haliya that blessed her with a tiny smile. "I didn't think I'd see you again. Amir asked me out on a date, and I said Yes!"

Ya Allah!

Haliya raised an amused eyebrow at me but didn't say anything. She must have been used to Hassana or something. Haliya used to he friends with Hassana, until she changed schools in JSS3. Out of everyone, she shared a bond with Hassana that she had long forgotten.

"Wow, Liyaaa, your hair!" Hassana cooed. "I swear, it grew another inch! How do you do it?! It's so full!" She looked like she was trying to hold herself from touching Haliya's hair.

Haliya patted her hair, glowing with pride. "It's really just good genes."

"And yooouu!" She sang to a startled Asa. "Your skin, ohmygod!" There were literal stars in her eyes. "You're so pretty! Come! Join us!"

Asa giggled, placing a hand over her mouth as she slid into the booth. "Wow, Amir, you've clearly outdone yourself with this one."

"If you ask me, I'd say he finally grew some balls." Dave snorted.

I groaned, "Can you guys not embarrass me-"

"In front of your new girlfriend, shey?" Dave wiggled his eyebrows at me, then smiled warmly at Hassana. "I'm Dave."

Hassana launched into meet and greet mode and I leaned back and watched as they introduced themselves and talked and talked, a little bit shocked that they had opened up to her so easily...

I had opened up to her so easily... Usually I was guarded against strangers and people invading into my friend group... I wondered what it was about this Hassana that scattered glitter everywhere.

I watched as she laughed and talked with Haliya and Dave. Asa watched, silently slurping her smoothie and pinching at the disgusting meat pie.

I didn't know how to not stare at Asa. Granted, my feelings for her had reduced considerably, but old habits die hard.

I noticed she had done something new with her hair. After the bathroom incident, she had been on wigs and weaves. Her present hairstyle was a chic bob with a fringe that hid her big forehead. The tips ended just below her jaw, further sharpening her already sharp chin and pronouncing her cheek bones. Her cold, hard beauty, more prominent.

She was also spilling out of her clothes.

"What did you do to her?" I suddenly asked.

Everyone at the table looked at me.

"Why's Asa dressed like this?"

Haliya raised a mock eyebrow at me. "We discussed this in the group chat, Amir. We're launching "Operation Save Kam" tonight." She smiled smugly. "And as for who's responsible for the dress up, well it's me of course."

Asa tried desperately to cover up more cleavage. "Haliya, are you sure this is okay?"

Haliya waved her off. "Sure, I'm sure. Kam is a very visual creature. He thinks with his dick and he really likes boobs... I mean... You probably know that more than everyone gathered here."

Hassana choked on her soda and started coughing. Dave offered her a tissue.

"I mean..." Asa picked at her meat pie forlornly. "I don't want to look like I'm trying too hard."

"I'm sorry, who fucked up again?" Haliya asked sassily, cupping a hand to her ear at Asa.

"Me." Asa whispered quietly.

"Good. You have to try too hard. Heck, you're not even trying hard enough. I'd have been on my knees, crawling after him if I was in your shoes."

"You'd never do that," Dave scoffed.

"Doesn't mean I can't trick her into doing it."

Asa sighed heavily, eyes downcast.

"So, what's this operation Save Kam, about?" I asked.

"Who's Kam?" Hassana suddenly blurted. "Is he like... Your boyfriend?!" She pointed at Asa, who hid her face behind her hair. "Oh God! He is!" She slapped her head now. "Kam! He's that guy that was talking with Ivandor!" She nudged me. "You know?! The guy?! It's him, right?! He's your friend." She pointed at Asa again. "Your boyfriend."

Asa blushed furiously.

I massaged the sore spot where she had nudged me with her elbow. "Yes, he's the one."

Hassana nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, he said he loves you guys. And misses you. Especially you!" She pointed at Asa and I almost screamed at her. "He said he doesn't want you to see him differently. And he's afraid you'll die soon!"

Ya Allah!

Everyone froze and looked at me.

"Yes, he said all that... But the part about someone dying," I glared at Hassana. She giggled and wriggled her fingers at me, "I'm guessing he was talking about his mum, not you, Asa."

Asa wasn't in our universe anymore. "H... He misses me." She whispered to herself. "He loves me." She teared up. "Even after everything..." She murmured in disbelief.

Dave awkwardly patted her back. Haliya yawned and thumbed through her phone boredly. "I just texted Jordan, Osahon and Lola to meet us here, they should be arriving any moment now."

Haliya was still talking when Jordan bounced in. "Guys, you won't believe the awkwardness I just walked out of." He was rapping on and on as he pushed Dave deeper inside the booth and took his place.

"What are you talking about?" Asa asked him, not minding he was stealing her fries.

"Osahon and Lola are having the 'What are we, now' talk. I don't think they'd be joining us anytime soon and-" for the first time, his eyes landed on Hassana. "Ooh! Who's the chick?"

Haliya answered boredly. "This is Hassana." The same time Dave replied, "this is Amir's latest conquest."

I glared at him. He stuck out his middle finger and continued chewing his fries.

"Aww, she's cute. Let's keep her." Jordan reached out and patted her hair.

Hassana beamed and giggled.

"So..." I coughed. "The operation. What's it about?"

Haliya kicked Asa under the table. "Tell 'em."

Asa glared at her but looked at me. "My aunt opened a GoFundMe account that's filling up fast. She wants to help with the treatment and investigation."

"No offense, but... Why?" I asked, cautiously. "Does your aunt know Kam's family personally?"

She avoided my gaze and stuttered. "Kind of... I live with my aunt and it started to get difficult to... to even eat a decent meal sometimes. Kam's mum helped us a lot. When we had nothing and no one."

Everyone at the table fell silent. Even Hassana that was excitedly talking with Jordan about Chanel no. 5 perfume fragrance, paused from their conversation. I noticed she looked at Asa with a new light in her eyes.

Asa avoided our curious gazes and scratched her elbow nervously.

In that moment, I realized I knew nothing... Absolutely nothing about Asa.

I didn't know her... Not the way Kam does.

"Long story short, it's a huge deal and a very big step. We can even save the house and get a legal team to defend his grandfather in court."

"That'll cost a fortune." Haliya murmured, "let's not dream big dreams yet. One step at a time. Kam's mum's and grandfather's health first, every other thing is secondary."

Dave nodded. "Fact."

"And his father still hasn't reached out?" I inquired.

"Not a single word." Haliya shook her head.

"What happened?! What's with his father?! Did he..." Hassana gasped, horrified, "did his father... Abandon him!" She looked like she was about to cry, her eyes, watered. She choked out. "Did he?!"

Everyone glanced at her nervously, not sure what to say.

"Do we trust her enough to tell her?" Dave suddenly asked.

Asa slapped him upside the head. "Be sensitive, Dave! Don't talk like that in front of her."

Jordan suddenly jumped up, laughing nervously. "C'mon, Sana. Let's get ice cream!"

I didn't think she'd fall for such a shallow move but my jaw dropped when she squealed, "ice cream!" And followed Jordan out of the booth, towards the counter, bouncing excitedly beside him.

We gaped at them.

Haliya muttered, more to herself than to us. "Not very bright, is she?"

The others murmured their agreement but I found myself staring at her. I narrowed my eyes at the exaggerated smile on her face, the forced cheer in her eyes.

And decided she had to be bright enough to be able to fool Haliya of all people.

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