CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
📅 June 23rd, 2005
Malik's body still ached from the steel chair shots.
But the pain faded the moment he walked through the front door.
"Look who made it home in one piece!" Aunt Rochelle laughed, pulling him in for a hug.
"Barely," Malik smirked. "That chair had my name on it."
The family had gathered in the living room—cousins, uncles, even Grandma Paulette had her seat front row for this unofficial homecoming. The BWF Championship glistened on his shoulder as he plopped onto the couch.
"You're still in one piece," his uncle joked. "But how's it feel knowing you just graduated, champ?"
Malik blinked. It hadn't hit him until that moment.
He'd wrestled in sold-out arenas. Main evented pay-per-views. Taken steel chairs to the skull.
But he still turned in his final exams. He still got the diploma.
"I'm a champion... and a high school graduate," Malik said with a grin. "Guess I'm officially dangerous in AND outside the ring."
They all laughed.
But pride filled the room like a victory parade.
Later that evening, Malik stepped out for air—hood up, alone on the sidewalk outside a private lounge where a small graduation party had kicked off.
That's when a voice stopped him cold.
"You're even taller in person."
He turned.
Jessica Alba.
Yes, that Jessica Alba. Actress. Superstar. The crush of every magazine cover in America.
She stood casually in heels and denim, arms crossed, looking like she belonged on a billboard.
Malik blinked. "Uh... wow. You're—you're you."
She smiled. "And you're the Tribal Chief. I caught your last match. Brutal stuff."
He regained composure. "Gotta keep the island of relevancy in check. You know how it is."
Jessica stepped closer. "I'm actually working with BWF on a charity promo spot. Figured I'd meet the champ in person."
"Well," Malik said, smirking now. "Now that you've met me, I'm guessing your standards just went up."
She laughed, genuinely. "We'll see."
They talked for a few more minutes—about wrestling, school, life in the spotlight. Malik couldn't help but admire her confidence, her wit. The world might have known her as Hollywood's darling.
But tonight, to him, she was just Jessica.
As the night wind brushed past them, Malik looked up to the stars.
From high school halls...
To steel cages and flashing lights...
To Jessica Alba smiling at his dumb jokes...
Yeah.
Life was getting wild.
And something told him—this was just the beginning.
[End of Chapter 35 – "Calm Before the Next Storm"]