HADIZAH'S POV**

I scrunched my forehead as I struggled to find answers to the questions swirling in my brain. Trust me, it was hard to come by.

I scanned the exam room and spotted Michael and Ethan already finished with their exams. Are they machines? I secretly wondered.

The bell rang, and I let out a sigh. May God bless what I wrote. We had just started our exams, if you might ask, and it was taking a toll on me.

"How was your exam, Habibi (my love)?" Ava asked, wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

"Good, and yours?" I inquired.

"Do you even need to ask? Man, I hate Maths," she groaned.

"I know you'll pass, my darling. Have faith," I reassured her.

"What would I do without you?" she asked, squeezing me in a hug.

"Nothing, my dear friend," I replied jokingly.

We headed to our usual spot in the lunch hall, and I was glad to see Julian there. He wasn't in the science department, so I wasn't very familiar with his schedule.

"Hey," I greeted, taking a seat.

"Hey, you," he replied with a smile.

"How did your exams go?" I asked.

"It was good. And you?" he returned the question.

"Alhamdulillah," I said.

We all dug into the spaghetti and meatballs, and trust me, it wasn't pork.

"I'm glad you made it back to school okay," Julian commented.

"Me too," I replied.

"Me three," Ava chimed in.

My eyes wandered around the hall, searching for the one person who knew I was sick and didn't wish me well. I don't know why it bothered me so much.

"Hey, are you expecting someone?" Julian asked.

"No," I answered flatly, taking a sip of my juice.

"You have a little something on the side of your mouth," Julian pointed out.

"Oops, where?" I asked, trying to locate it.

He gently reached over and removed the speck of spaghetti from my face. His fingers lingered on my lips for a moment, sending a shock through my spine. Time seemed to stop, and he was the only thing that mattered to me right then. We locked eyes deeply, and I found myself falling for him more than I had ever imagined.

"Cough, cough," Ava faked a cough, breaking us out of our trance.

Blushing, I looked away shyly. Ava was definitely going to tease me about this later.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and we all headed out of the hall.

"Hmm, hmm," Ava hummed, playing with my chin.

"What?" I asked.

"What do you mean 'what'?" she teased. "What is it with you all lovey-dovey with Julian?"

"Nothing," I said, hiding my face.

"What do you mean 'nothing'? He's head over heels for you," she insisted.

"I'm not beautiful or hot enough to be his type. Have you seen me? I wear the hijab, woman," I replied genuinely.

"I can't believe my friend is the smartest dumbest person I've ever met," Ava said.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, twirling the end of my scarf nervously.

"Why do you think everyone stares?" she asked.

"Because they think I'm a freak who probably has a bomb under her hijab," I said.

"Because you are a fine glass of banana milkshake! Girl, have you seen your eyes?" she asked rhetorically. "Everyone thinks the color of your eyes is to die for."

"Everyone thinks the color of my eyes is to die for, but behind every free gift, there is a hidden danger," I replied.

"That is definitely not true," Ava said.

"Girl, you are an African goddess!" she exclaimed in her sassy voice.

I blushed at her compliments but tried to keep my cool. Was I really that pretty, I wondered. I just hoped I wasn't causing anybody Fitnah.

"No thank you, I do not want anybody to worship me," I said, snapping out of my thoughts.

"If you say so," Ava said.

"I'm glad you're my friend," I admitted.

"Me too," Ava replied.

Suddenly, a wave of guilt washed over me. Was I making the right decision by falling for Julian? Would I end up getting hurt? He was my first crush, maybe even love, but things were bound to happen.

"Ava, do you think I'm doing the right thing by falling for him?" I asked nervously.

"You know what, Habibi (my love), you cannot control your feelings. Nobody can. You just have to take things slow, and if you think you can't do it anymore, you'll always have me to rely on," Ava reassured me.

She was right.

"I'll never leave you, Ava," I promised.

"Me neither," Ava replied.

The next paper was History, and we all took our seats for the exam to begin.

We were writing History specifically, with Mr. Lois and Miss Melissa supervising.

I noticed a small ball of paper roll onto my side. It was an exam cheat sheet. Picking it up was a problem, but leaving it there was another issue. Do you get where I'm going with this? Miss Melissa had left, and Mr. Louis and I weren't exactly on good terms, so I decided to wait until she returned. I tried to hide it under my table.

But before I knew it, Mr. Louis had called my name.

"S-sir?" Fear was evident in my voice.

"Bring it along with you," he instructed.

I carefully stood up, holding the cheat sheet in my hand. All my classmates had stopped writing, and all eyes were on me. I felt a panic attack coming on, but I fought it back. Miss Melissa returned, and I knew this was serious.

Mr. Louis took the paper from me and opened it, revealing it to everyone in the class. That was when I realized it was a cheat sheet.

I was done for.

"I knew it! I knew she was nothing but a fucktard who only wants what isn't hers," Rose accused.

"Stop it! Why do you always think the worst of someone?" Ethan defended me.

"Whatever," Rose muttered.

Even Daniel looked skeptical. He had a look that said, "She definitely couldn't have done that."

I looked around and wished the ground would swallow me whole, or that I could disappear from existence.

"Mr. Louis, Hadizah would never cheat," Ava interjected.

"Please, Mr. Louis," I pleaded, but he didn't budge. He whisked me away to the principal's office.

I thought I heard Michael faintly call my name as I was led away.

In the principal's office, I awaited her judgment with tears flooding my eyes like a tsunami, overwhelmed by waves of emotions.

Mr. Louis narrated everything to her.

"Miss Damilare, what do you have to say for yourself?" she asked, disappointment clear in her voice.

"I would never cheat. Please, I promise. I've been on my best behavior since I got to this school. Please, just give me a chance to redeem myself," I pleaded desperately.

"That's not enough to exonerate you. Whatever just happened, you are a good student, but things can change. I can't believe this," she said disappointedly.

"I hope you don't take this lightly. You must suspend her or, better still, expel her from this prestigious high school," Mr. Louis insisted.

"Mr. Louis," she said sternly. "You are in no position to dictate how I run my school."

Suddenly, I realized Michael was sitting beside me. He knew I didn't cheat, so I had to put that to good use.

"Principal Mavis, Michael sat beside me during the exam and he knows I didn't cheat. Please, let me call him as a witness," I requested.

She called her secretary over the speakers, and within minutes, he was there. I was relieved to see him.

I quickly wiped away my tears.

"Mr. Williams, did you sit beside Miss Damilare?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied.

"Did you see her cheat, by any chance?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, ma'am," he hesitated.

"That's not an answer," she said firmly. "I'll ask you one more time. Did you see her cheat?"

"I... I don't know, ma'am," he finally said, his voice dropping.

What had he just done? Why couldn't he have just said, "No, ma'am, she did not cheat"? Why did he have to ruin my life?

"Michael, how could you?" I whispered, barely able to speak.

"You may leave," Principal Mavis dismissed him.

"You will come to this school with your parent tomorrow," she instructed me.

"Okay, ma'am," I replied quietly.

I walked out of her office filled with regret, sadness, hope, and embarrassment.

**MICHAEL'S POV**

What the hell have I just done? If only I had said no, she would have been free. Maybe then I could finally tell her that I've started developing feelings for her. But I guess I'll just have to forget about all that and move on with my shitty life.

Then I remembered something my papa always said, when you're not sure about something, just say you don't know. That's exactly what I did.

Who could have framed her? Who could have done this to her? She barely had any fights with anyone in this school, except for a few who didn't know how to mind their own business.

I wished I could tell her how I felt. I vowed never to have a crush, let alone like someone, but here I am feeling hopeless.

I walked a few steps to get to my locker, but then I stopped in my tracks.

"I'm finished. I'm going to lose my scholarship," I heard a familiar voice say.

I hid in a corner, afraid of what would happen if she saw me. I couldn't bear her hating me.

"Don't be sad. I'm sure God will vindicate you. That's the meaning of your surname, right?" someone said. I expected it to be Ava, but when I looked closely, it was Julianna. That was weird.

"I just wish everyone believed me and everything would be back to normal," Hadizah said, her voice breaking.

"You know what? Everything will work out. That's a promise," Julianna assured her.

"Do you really think so?" Hadizah asked, fighting back tears.

"I promise," Julianna replied.

"Thank you," Hadizah said, hugging her.

"I'll leave now," Julianna said.

"School doesn't end now. It ends in the next hour," she added.

"I know. I just... I can't take the pressure anymore. It's unbearable," Hadizah admitted.

A sudden realization dawned on me. What was happening to me? All because of a girl? I could have just said no. No was all I needed to say.

She left with her head hanging low, devastated, heartbroken, disappointed, and all because of me.

When I looked back at Julianna, she had a subtle smirk on her face. Then she mouthed, "There's more coming." What did she mean by that? What the hell was going on in this school?

WRITER'S NOTE :
You know girls I think I'm going a little to hard on Hadizah's life, don't you think she's been going through a lot recently especially from bullies, but what if I were to tell you that she still going to go through times ten of this there is a lot of sugar in this book. Thanks for reading.

QOTD :
The loneliest moment in someone's life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.