Shuffled within an armful of Muscle Milk, was a hidden pregnancy test as an 18-year-old Andrew Manley used the self-checkout at a Walmart in Wahiawa, Hawaii.

Manley was trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

“It’s hard to hide him in Hawaii,” said Joryn Zeek-Lee, now Manley’s fiancée. “It’s such a small place and he wasn’t under the radar at all.”

In 2009, Manley, now Eastern’s quarterback, was the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Hawaii as a senior quarterback for Leilehua High School. He was going to New Mexico State to play football on a full scholarship in two weeks.

Zeek-Lee, Manley’s girlfriend at the time, was about to enter her senior year of high school. Pregnant.

“We were trying to think of every way for it not to be true,” Manley said.

But they could not avoid the truth. Manley said he was devastated. Zeek-Lee said she was frantic.

“I just remember thinking, ‘oh my god. Is this really happening,’” Zeek-lee said. “He was getting ready to leave for college, so I didn’t know what to do. Pregnancy is already really hard to grasp, but that made it so much harder.”

Both Manley’s and Zeek-Lee’s mothers were also parents in high school, giving birth to Manley’s sister and Zeek-Lee herself at the ages of 16 and 17, respectively.

Therefore, abortion was not an option.

“There wasn’t any convincing out of [getting an abortion],” Manley said. “They basically told us, ‘you’re having it.’”

Zeek-Lee felt the same way.

“We made our own bed and had to lie in it,” she said. “There was no running from it.”

Everyone was just as adamant that Manley continued on to New Mexico State while Zeek-Lee remained in Wahiawa to raise their child.

Manley and Zeek-Lee remained together. He would wake up early in the morning in Las Cruces, N.M., where there was a four-hour time difference from Wahiawa, to talk a pregnant Zeek-Lee to sleep on nights when she struggled to fall asleep at all.

In his freshman season, Manley started four games, coming in for injured junior quarterback Matt Christian, where he totaled 604 passing yards for one touchdown with six interceptions.

***

Manley received a call from Zeek-Lee at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 25, 2011. She told him that she was going into labor.

“‘Oh, by the way, your flight leaves at 7:30 p.m.,’” Manley said Zeek-Lee told him.

He was already packed in anticipation. He got a ride to the airport one hour away from a teammate.

He got picked up from the airport at 5:30 a.m. in Hawaii by his sister on Saturday with ample time to prepare himself for fatherhood.

At 9:41 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2011, Troy Kawika Ka’eopa’amekalokomaika’i Manley was born. Manley and Zeek-Lee were first-time parents.

The father was the first person to hold his son.

“This is a little miniature me,” Manley said. “It’s overwhelming to know I created him.”

In that moment, Manley said he was thankful to not follow through with the brief thoughts he had about abortion, as his family of three sat in the delivery room of Kaiser Hospital.

Manley was a father. He had a new meaning. He was overcome with a sense of purpose to not only be the best student-athlete he could be, but to also be the best father and boyfriend he could be.

Only he had to do so 3,000-plus miles away from his son and girlfriend.

“It was tough because I wasn’t able to be there for his growing process as a baby,” Manley said.

But Manley had an opportunity at New Mexico State, and Zeek-Lee was not going to let it slip through Manley’s hands.

“Everything is planned around football,” Zeek-Lee said.

Manley said Zeek-Lee kept him motivated by taking care of Troy while Manley was across the country playing football. She wanted to keep his mind on football.

“She did a hell of a job with that,” Manley said.

But Manley being away was easily managed the second time around. Troy was actually with Zeek-Lee, so she was not alone.

“Troy made days go by faster and helped with the distance between Andrew and I, actually,” Zeek-Lee said. “He gave me something to look forward to by counting days that Andrew would be home.”

***

Next came Manley’s sophomore season. He was the starting quarterback. The team was his.

Manley threw for 892 yards and six touchdowns in the Aggies’ first three games.

He had a career-high 362 yards in the season opener against Ohio. He led New Mexico State to its first ever win against a Big 10 Conference opponent at Minnesota.

Then came the game against UTEP.

Manley tweaked his MCL in the second quarter. He was able to play with the injury, but in the final two minutes of the game, Manley also tore his ACL.

He knew immediately the injury was serious. The training staff did all the necessary tests within the last two minutes of the game, which New Mexico State lost 16-10.

But the Aggies lost much more than just the game.

“They told me my season was over right there on the sideline,” Manley said. “I threw my helmet. I said some things. I was so upset.”

Manley’s parents were there to see him at one of his lowest points throughout his football career.

Christian, now the backup as a senior, took over the starting position again. Manley became red-shirted and watched the remainder of the season from the sidelines.

Manley had surgery 20 days later on Oct. 8, 2011. He then entered “deep depression mode.”

He would idly watch as his teammates practiced day-in and day-out. For two weeks he was nearly stagnant in his off-campus apartment, rarely attending classes even.

Two weeks passed since the surgery and the Aggies had a game at the University of Hawaii. The coaches flew Manley out with the team, where he was made him an honorary captain for the game.

Still on crutches, with his parents in attendance once again, Manley refused to waddle out for the coin toss with the help of his crutches, so he left them on the sideline and limped out to midfield under his own strength.

From there, Manley turned his red-shirt season around. He even sped up his rehab process, finishing two months ahead of schedule, returning in time for spring practices.

***

The next season, Manley found himself in the same position. This time a red-shirt sophomore, Manley had the starting quarterback job again and he finally had his family with him.

Zeek-Lee and Troy moved to Las Cruces with Manley. The family of three was the happiest it had ever been.

“I woke up to them every morning,” Manley said. “I was able to go to class and football then come home to [Troy] running up to me yelling ‘daddy.’”

But while having family with him had relieved the stress of distance, it was an added responsibility to have to care for them firsthand.

“I felt obligated to spend more time with them at home than I did with school and football,” Manley said.

So he devised a schedule: When he was at football, he was an athlete. When he was at school, he was a student. When he was at home, he was a family man.

Manley would make it home each night by 6 p.m. for dinner, where he would pick up his responsibilities as a father and boyfriend, leaving all other responsibilities in the classroom or on the field.

***

On the field, Manley had his best individual year at New Mexico State. He started all 12 games for the Aggies in 2012, where he amassed 2,764 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, sixth and seventh on their single-season passing list, respectively.

But New Mexico State went just 1-11, losing its last 11 games of the season.

Change was coming.

Former New Mexico State head coach DeWayne Walker left to become the defensive backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

A new coaching staff flooded into New Mexico State — so did a new offense — and despite being there for the entirety of spring practices, Manley was no longer the man for the job in the Aggies coaches’ eyes.

“They wanted more of a running quarterback,” Manley said. “It just wasn’t really working out for me there, so that’s why I decided to transfer here.”

June 2013 is when Manley, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound transfer, began his journey at Eastern.

***

Manley was no stranger to former Eastern coach Dino Babers.

As the recruiting coordinator at Baylor and a native of Hawaii himself, Babers said he had Manley on his radar when Manley was coming out of high school, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“Based on the talent level at Baylor, I didn’t think he could play for us,” Babers said. “I always knew he was a really good player, though.”

Babers praised Manley’s arm strength, leadership skills and toughness all as qualities that fit perfectly in the type of student-athlete he was trying to groom at Eastern.

So, when Babers heard Manley was looking to transfer, he pounced on the opportunity and reached out to the former high school standout.

“It was green-light-go from there,” Babers said.

Manley had two options: Walk-on at Hawaii or play for Eastern on a full-ride scholarship.

“It was much easier to pack up a U-Haul and drive to Eastern than flying all of our stuff back home,” Manley said.

All signs pointed east.

“How many quarterbacks do you think would turn down our offense,” Babers said.

Babers was exactly right. Manley said it was the most unique, fast-paced offense he has ever been around, coming from a player who has had six different offenses in five seasons.

Manley to Eastern was a perfect fit off the field as well. Babers’ family-oriented mentality echoed through Manley as a father.

“My job is making sure players will be better sons, husbands and fathers,” Babers said. “I keep my focus on the father, and that’s how I affect the son.”

But an even better fit for Manley came this season with the sixth offense that he has experienced, that of offensive coordinator Greg Stevens under head coach Kim Dameron’s first-year staff after Babers’ departure to Bowling Green.

Stevens’ offense is one in which Manley said is more tailored to his talents as a quarterback, as it is more of a pro-style offense, opposed to the spread style that Babers implemented.

Manley is Eastern’s starting quarterback.

***

The lifestyle in Charleston also best suits Manley and his family.

“We love the small-town atmosphere here,” Manley said. “I’ve met some of the nicest people out here. But the best part is [Troy] enjoys it.”

Manley said Troy has been able to experience Hawaiian, Mexican and American cultures already as a 3-year-old, which Manley hopes will only better Troy for the future.

Troy is now enrolled in a gymnastics class in Charleston. Come summer, Troy will participate in flag football back home in Hawaii.

Like father, like son — Troy wants to become a quarterback.

After all, football is a family first business, Dameron said. And just last week was more telling of that than ever, as both Zeek-Lee and Troy were sick.

“He didn’t go to class, so he could help take care of Troy,” Zeek-Lee said. “We’ve each had to sacrifice going to class ourselves sometimes, so the other one can go to their class and vice versa.”

Manley was also forced to miss his study hall hours with the football team to tend to his family, which Dameron, a family man himself, was understanding of.

“If you can’t be flexible enough to have a man go to college, play football and take care of his family, then I am in it for the wrong reasons,” Dameron said.

Anthony Catezone can be reached at 581-2812 or ajcatezone@eiu.edu.