‘Ilyas? Ilyas!’

I turn around and stare at Ms Mughal in surprise. ‘Sorry, miss. I was a million miles away.’

All around me people are clearing their stuff away, getting ready to go home for the weekend.

‘Are you OK?’ she says, motioning me over. ‘You’ve been dazed all lesson.’

I stand by her desk and shrug miserably.

‘Ready to win the Kablamo! Kon IV competition?’ She smiles at me, her eyes dancing with excitement.

‘No, miss,’ I say, looking down at my shoes, my mind constantly replaying those images of Kelly.

‘Oh no, you must. Even Idris was blown away by your fabulous idea!’

‘He called PakCore a rip-off,’ I remind her.

‘Only because he thought you could refine it.’ She looks at me, frustrated by my lacklustre attitude, then taps her computer. ‘Come on, show me PakCore again. He was just the sort of character I wanted to see as a kid. And anyway, Idris won’t be a judge on the day.’

Sighing, I drop my bag. She rubs her hands together as I double-click on the latest version of my comic. I think she’s just trying to make me feel better. It’s working. A faint, wavering glow is awakening in my heart.

‘I switched it up,’ I explain as the file loads. ‘PakCore is now Big Bad Waf.’

On cue, the comic explodes on to the screen. Ms Mughal’s hand covers her mouth. Shit! I think. Beavering away on the animation for weeks, losing track of the real world, I’d almost forgotten Big Bag Waf was based on my maths teacher. Man, I hope she’s down with me basing the character’s look on hers.

‘Is that Ms Mughal?’ Kara asks from over my shoulder, dialling my embarrassment up to eleven.

‘You didn’t make that!’ Ray says. ‘Did you?’ he adds, a little more doubtfully.

I gape at them, surprised that they haven’t already gone home.

‘No. Yes. I mean, I guess I was inspired by Ms Mughal … Is that OK, miss?’ I ask, blushing. ‘I mean, I won’t be entering the competition anyway, so no one ever needs to see this. I can delete it if you want?’

‘Are you serious? This is the most flattering thing anyone’s ever done for me,’ Ms Mughal says, relief washing over me. ‘A superhero – wow! Idris is going to be so jealous.’

‘What’s this comic about?’ Kara asks, her eyes flitting back and forth between the panels.

‘Er, I can show you. I made a motion comic … a sort of movie out of it …’

‘Grab the popcorn!’ Ray says, perching on his desk.

Kara joins him, ripping open a bag of Maoam. ‘Budge up!’

Ms Mughal dims the lights, then sits down on Kara’s other side. Kara offers the bag of sweets, but Ms Mughal politely shakes her head.

The presentation begins. I’ve ripped tracks from a whole bunch of movies and dubbed over them using my own voice. It sounds crap. But although I’m always my own worst critic, even I have to admit the animation is on point. The camera tracks and pans, following Big Bad Waf as she runs across roof tops, faster and faster, her jilbab billowing like a sail in a gust of wind. She leaps and swoops and dances from building to bridge to a radio tower. There’s a close-up of her hazel eyes as they flare like beacons, providing her with a magnified visual on a group of bad guys. They’ve hijacked a research facility and are packing some serious heat. Big Bad Waf’s eyes switch to infrared mode, quickly scanning a van parked suspiciously close by, only to discover it filled with explosives. She leaps off the tower, zip-lines along a telephone wire, then thrusts her arms wide. With a clap of thunder, her jilbab snaps open like a parachute, and she glides towards the action.

I glance nervously at my audience, but their expressions are hidden in darkness. My armpits start to leak like taps.

Waf unleashes holy hell on the bad guys, eventually saving the day. I’m not prepared for the rapturous applause that follows. Not one bit.

‘Did you come up with that story yourself?’ asks a silhouette in the doorway. He snaps the lights on, and I freak because it’s Daevon.

I stutter, apologize, and deny everything.

‘Look at my dude!’ Daevon tells my audience. ‘He’s a genius, and he don’t even know it.’

‘I don’t know whether you guys know this,’ Ms Mughal says, ‘but Ilyas was going to enter the Kablamo! Kon IV competition. The winner gets to develop their idea with an industry professional. Who thinks he still should? Say aye.’

But I’m already shaking my head. ‘My co-creator, Kelly Matthews, helped me develop the character and make the story better. Doesn’t seem right to do this without her.’

Kara frowns. ‘Kelly Matthews? Isn’t that the girl on the sex tape? She was some bougie bitch who hung around Jade and that lot!’

Ray shakes his head. ‘My sister found the clip on my phone this morning and legit thought I’d been downloading porn! Now I’m grounded.’

‘That’s enough!’ Ms Mughal starts up, completely shocked.

‘But that’s just it!’ I say, throwing my palms out. ‘Kelly isn’t just the-girl-on-the-sex-tape. She was amazing long before that ever happened. And she’s still amazing. She’s clever, and funny and woke.’

Kara raises her eyebrows. ‘Suppose her best friends Jade and Melanie better change their names to Woke-ahontas and Melanin Central.’

‘She’s nothing like her so-called friends, though. Her mum doesn’t want her hanging out with a brown boy from these ends, but she does anyway. She sees past all of this –’ I draw circles in the air around my face – ‘straight to this.’ My fist thumps my heart. ‘If that ain’t woke, then I don’t know what is.’

‘That is woke.’ Daevon nods in agreement.

‘And I don’t care that she fell in love with the wrong guy and ended up making the biggest mistake of her life. It doesn’t change anything. She’s still Kelly. She’s still my best friend.’

‘Bro, I had no idea she meant that much to you,’ Daevon says.

I wait for the ridiculing, to be told how lame I am. Instead, Daevon walks up to me and gives me a hug. Not a bro-hug, but a proper one.

‘You boys are gonna make me cry!’ Kara says, stuffing her face with Maoam.

Ms Mughal stands up to address us. ‘Ilyas is right. Stanley Park may have its problems, but the one thing we do get right is that every student matters. None of us is perfect. Not teachers, not students, no one. What gives anyone the right to assassinate this poor girl, who must be feeling absolutely devastated? Newsflash: people tend to remember the bad stuff more than the good. When I’m the one lying face down in the dirt, you better believe I’m going to pray I was nice to the person standing over me.’

Everyone is silent. Then Ray clears his throat. ‘I can’t even imagine what’s going on in her head right now. So, you know what? I think you should win this competition for her.’

‘Yes!’ Kara squeals. ‘Winning something for me would get me like …’ She jumps off the table and begins to perform a mesmerizing victory dance.

‘I finally get why you been ghosting,’ Daevon says, chuckling to himself. ‘Ilyas, man, this is your tribe. And Kelly. Not DedManz. Haven’t seen you this happy since primary.’

‘I don’t think you belong with DedManz either,’ I blurt.

He glares at me, but my mouth won’t stop yapping.

‘You’re too good for boys playing gangstas, Daev. Amma always said, “Be careful what you pretend to be, cos one day you’ll become it.”’

He looks away, his shoulders gradually stooping. ‘You might be right.’

‘So you gonna enter this masterpiece?’ Ray asks, directing our attention back to the comic.

I wrinkle my face. ‘You guys seriously think this could win?’

Everyone says yes except Kara.

‘Honestly?’ she begins. ‘I think the voices were crap. I go drama school every Saturday, so I know what I’m talking about.’

‘So what do you suggest?’ Ms Mughal asks, grinning as if she already knows the answer.

Kara stands a little taller and begins to tell us her idea.