Chapter 10:"One Smile, A Thousand Troubles"
1226 Words
The afternoon heat clung lazily to the air as Hakeem jogged toward the meeting spot where his friends had gathered under the lone baobab tree at the edge of the field. His cleats thudded softly against the dried earth, his backpack slung loosely over one shoulder.
He was smiling not wide, not forced but the kind of soft, helpless smile that betrayed the war raging inside his chest.
He could still see her.
Mia.
The way she had tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, how she shifted her weight from one foot to the other so lightly it was almost a dance. The way she had tilted her head when she said, "Good luck, Hakeem."
It wasn’t just what she said.
It was how she said it.
Like she already knew he would do great. Like she saw something in him nobody else ever had.
He replayed it in his head over and over every small detail sharpening under the microscope of his memory.
The soft flick of her wrist, the slight teasing lilt in her voice, the casual way her sneakers scraped the ground as she turned away.
Hakeem shook his head, chuckling quietly to himself.
Bro, focus. You’re being ridiculous.
Still, he smiled like a fool as he reached his friends.
“Ehhhhnnnn??”
A chorus of teasing erupted the second he got within earshot.
Trap, the loudest of the bunch, clutched his chest dramatically. “Somebody is in love! Look at this face!”
The others burst into laughter.
Anna leaned against the tree, arms crossed, a sly grin plastered on her face. “Boy, who charmed you like that?”
Stephanie, never one to miss a beat, started miming Hakeem's dreamy walk, staggering around like a drunk person in love. “Mia, Mia, Mia, I cannot breathe again, Mia, come and carry me!” she sang, pretending to faint onto the grass.
Hakeem rolled his eyes and threw his backpack down, trying to act cool.
“You people are crazy. Relax, please.”
But he couldn’t hide it.
Not from them.
It was all over his face that stupid, bright-eyed glow he hadn’t managed to shake since Mia walked away.
Trap squinted at him, pretending to study him like a scientist inspecting a new species.
“Bro, your mouth is smiling by itself. You are not even aware.”
“Please, leave him,” Anna added, laughing. “Love is an automatic reaction.”
Hakeem raised his hands in protest. “First of all, nobody is in love. I just she........she was just being nice, okay? She only said good luck, and you people are already exaggerating.”
Trap snorted. “Ordinary good luck, but you are replaying it like a Netflix series inside your head.”
The group roared again, slapping palms and hollering.
Hakeem shook his head, trying not to laugh with them. “Man, please. I came here for trials, not for girl matters.”
“Lie!” Stephanie pointed accusingly. “The lie detector is broken because of you. Just see how you are smiling like a goat being scratched on the neck.”
More laughter followed, and Hakeem finally gave up trying to fight it. He leaned back against the tree, chuckling along with them, feeling lighter somehow.
And yet...
In his heart, he knew.
He did like her.
Already.
Way more than he wanted to admit even to himself.
Every little action her laugh, her glance, her playful handshake was branded into his mind like a fresh tattoo.
Permanent.
Undeniable.
But before he could get too lost in his own head, Trap, the ever-annoying gossip master of their squad, decided to open his mouth.
“You know Mia is the Captain’s girlfriend, right?” he said casually, tossing a pebble into the air.
The whole group froze.
Anna stopped mid-laugh.
Trap straightened up, his mouth half-open.
Even Stephanie, who had been busy mocking Hakeem, blinked as though she had misheard.
Hakeem’s smile faltered.
“What?” he asked quietly.
Trap shrugged, like it wasn’t that big a deal. “I am just telling you now. She is Ghost's girlfriend. They have been together since last semester. Everybody on the senior squad knows it.”
The name hit Hakeem’s chest like a brick.
Ghost.
The team captain.
Tall, muscular, cocky, already a school legend in sports and popularity.
Mia was with him?
Hakeem looked down at his shoes, suddenly very aware of how foolish he must have looked smiling like a lunatic over a girl who probably didn’t even think twice about him.
Trap hissed loudly. “Trap, you always know how to ruin the mood!”
Stephanie threw a twig at Trap’s head. “What concerns you? Must you talk?!”
Trap dodged it easily, grinning. “I am just giving an update. So our boy does not keep having endless hopes.”
Anna stepped forward, slinging an arm around Hakeem’s shoulders. “Forget that thing, my guy. It does not mean anything.”
“Exactly!” Trap added fiercely. “Girlfriend is not an engagement ring.”
Stephanie nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! May the best person win.”
The energy around them shifted playful, but also solid, brotherly.
They weren’t going to let him spiral into defeat.
Hakeem forced a chuckle. “You people... you are talking as if it is a football match.”
Trap punched his arm lightly. “Everything is a match for real men. Especially love.”
Anna leaned closer, lowering her voice to a mock-serious tone.
“You think Ghost will be afraid of a small boy who just arrived today? You can win her over without even trying hard.”
The group whooped and clapped again, their confidence infectious.
Hakeem couldn’t help but laugh a real, belly-deep laugh that shook some of the doubt from his mind.
Even though deep down, that small pinch of fear still sat in his chest.
What if she really loved Ghost? What if he was just a nobody to her?
Still.
Best man wins, they said.
Maybe, just maybe, he could be that man
The boys eventually sprawled across the grass, sweaty and tired but still teasing each other, throwing jokes and trading insults that had no real bite.
Trap, trying to save face, started ranting about how he once "collected" a girl from another boy back in his old school a story so exaggerated even he couldn’t keep a straight face halfway through.
Trap mimed slow clapping.
"Congratulations, mr Collector."
Stephanie rolled on the ground laughing. "Trap who cannot even collect bus fare, now collecting someone's girlfriend?"
Anna wiped tears from her eyes. "Story for the gods!"
Through all the laughter and shouting, Hakeem sat back quietly, his mind slipping back to Mia’s face.
Her smile.
Her laugh.
Her voice saying, "Maybe we’ll be cheering for you soon."
Maybe this was crazy.
Maybe he didn’t stand a chance.
Maybe Ghost really was her everything.
But sitting there, surrounded by friends who already treated him like one of their own, feeling the slight bruises of football trials on his shins and the bright sting of hope in his chest Hakeem decided something.
He wasn’t going to give up.
Not on football.
Not on Mia.
Whatever happened next, he would give it everything he had.
After all...
Best man wins.
Always.
- Writer
