Out of Focus |finished|

49- stares and angry coaches

That same morning the news broke out on campus, Malachi had woken up early at dawn for basketball practice. It had been ages since he'd gone for one and he was sure the coach would rip his head off.

With the cold air pinching his arms and legs, he made his way to the basketball court in his gold and blue Lakers jersey and his new airpods playing cool tunes into his ears. When he got to the court, the first light of the day was appearing and two of his team mates were already throwing rebounds.

Malachi put his phone and airpods in his backpack and jogged to the bench to place his stuff there. He fist-bumped his teammates and began his warmups.

5 minutes later, he was sweaty and ready to play ball till he tuned everything out. Until it was just him, the ball and the hoop. But there was still no sign of coach.

He was about to sit down when he saw Mohammed approach with a basketball under his arm. They hadn't talked for a while ever since he'd seen Mo on a dark road with a girl.

"Hey bro. Still kissing girls in dark alleys?" he winked when Mohammed reach him.

Mohammed let out a hearty laugh. There was something about that laugh. It always made him feel better.

Mo punched him on the arm and said, "You know me." He winked back at Malachi.

Malachi joined Mohammed on the court and they dribbled each other and tried to the ball through the hoop. He hadn't been to practice in a while and it was evident. Mohammed dribbled him a few times, making a show of him before jumping to put the ball through the hoop.

Malachi wiped his sweaty face with his shirt and looked around him. Still no coach.

He asked Mohammed, "Has coach said anything about me missing practice?"

Mo nodded slowly, a wicked grin forming on his face. "He's going to-"

"Kill you," the coach suddenly appeared behind them and answered.

Malachi become rigid almost at once, a deep frown on his face. It was almost as if he was in a military school.
During the next 2 hours of training, instead of joining his teammates, Malachi was made to go round the court in a jog. At first it was easy, he was running but it felt like he was walking and then it became so much harder that he thought he would faint out of exhaustion.

When their training was over, Malachi collapsed on the court while his teammates conversed with each other. Mohammed came over and sat beside him and after a while, left.

He laid there for half an hour and got up. He walked to the coach and said 'thank you' curtly to him and received a smile from the coach in return.

While walking back to his hostel, Malachi realized that the campus was filled with more students than usual. He brushed it off but when he reached the faculty area, he saw muscular men in black camo dragging lecturers out, both males and females.
Without even thinking twice, he knew what was going on.

Abby got the List somehow.

That was the only explanation to what he was seeing. Malachi increased his pace and walked faster although his calves screamed in agony.
He reached the hostel forecourt and realized that now all eyes were on him.
Students standing on their balconies staring and pointing at him as if he'd done something.

A girl passed by him hurriedly and whispered, "I'm so sorry."

As he got nearer to Abby's door, he hoped that her no nonsense roommate wouldn't be around. He knocked on the door and waited as other students who passed by him on the hallway stared at him.

He waved to one guy that he was cool with and asked, "Hey man, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry about Elder. He was a good guy."

"What's going on?"

The guy didn't answer him and walked away. Malachi knocked on Abby's door again and when he got no response, he walked to his room.

He locked the door immediately and threw himself on his bed. That was when he decided to take his phone out and saw numerous messages from his friends and classmates.
Most of them saying that they were sorry about Elder.

Malachi turned on the internet radio on his phone and tuned it to the university radio station. And there it was.
They were talking about the Chill Network and the shock that it had rendered the entire country.
They mentioned Elder's name and it was because of him that everything had been discovered.

Malachi let out a huge sigh and switched off the radio. The dull ache in his heart had returned and he missed his best friend. Missed just having him around.
All those involved in the drug ring would get what they deserved in the end but Elder was still gone. His best companion was still gone.

He reached into his wardrobe and searched through El's photobook. The one which began the chase and investigation for him, Simi and Jamal.

Flipping through the pages, he absorbed the sheer hidden meaning behind the photos. It was strikingly dangerous and yet somehow so smart.
Hiding in plain sight, my boy was so smart, Malachi thought.

In some photos, he saw the backside of that girl again. That girl he thought he knew at the beginning with a tattoo at her back.
He remembered thinking about that tattoo and why it had been so familiar to him.

Asha? He thought and followed with, Of course not dumbass.

He put the album back into the wardrobe and took off his jersey. A few minutes later, he was under the shower, his head against the tiles as the cold water washed over him. It was calming and dulled both the emotional ache he felt in him and the pain he felt in his calves.

Maybe I should just stay here.

Then suddenly it hit him. the tattoo. He remembered where he had seen it.
Malachi hit his fist against the tiles and shouted, "Damn it!"

It was in his face all along. How could he have missed it? Elder had talked about that particular tattoo so many times and how he wanted a similar one because their parents didn't like it.
It was Julia Benson. It had been her from the beginning.

He rushed out of the bathroom, threw on some clothes and deodorant and moved out into his room towards Abby's without brushing his hair.
He knocked harder this time and as soon as he put his hands beside himself, Abby opened the door.

"It's Julia isn't it? She killed Elder." the words rushed out of Malachi.

Abby nodded. "And there's more you have to know."