Jay-jay's POV
I don't want to go to school! I know my vacation has already been long—about three days—but I still don't feel like going.
Maybe I should write an excuse letter? Say that my hospitalization got extended. Will they accept that?
But what if they call Kuya Angelo? That's it! I'll surely end up back in the hospital. He might pinch my ear off. If he were the spanking type, my butt would probably be swollen by now.
Good thing he's not.
I heard a loud bang on my bedroom door. The kind of bang that makes you think the door might break. Of course, I knew who it was.
Damn! Worse than a fire alarm.
"So slow!" he yelled.
"Fine, fine! Are you the one opening school today? Is that why you always have to be early?!" I snapped back.
Suddenly, the door opened and Horoscope came in.
Oh, I forgot. It wasn't locked.
"What? You said something?" he asked. I quickly grabbed my bag.
"Here, I'm ready. Let's go. We always need to be early at school to get ahead. Most factual, right?" I said as I started walking.
I knew he was behind me because I could feel his annoyed gaze. He was probably thinking of ways to kill me.
"Factual? Maybe you meant punctual."
Haha oops. My bad.
"Yeah, maybe we're a bit dumb in that part," I said, scratching my head.
"You're the only one who's dumb." he replied, and I secretly stuck my tongue out at him.
Look who's talking—Mr. Genius. I was so ashamed of him. Who gets kidnapped just because he was looking for his cellphone? Right? That's dumb too! Grown man, kidnapped. All because his brain is filled with Ella.
We reached the garage, and that's when I noticed his car was already home. Lucky him, at least he knows how to go home. I just hope not all cars are like that. Self-driving cars are scary.
"Can I make a request?" I asked while he was busy driving.
"What?"
"I don't want to go to school. Please don't tell Kuya Angelo."
Just trying my luck. Maybe he'll go along.
"Sure." he replied lifelessly.
"Really?"That sounded fake.
"Don't go. I won't tell Kuya."
I clapped in joy. Even my ears felt like clapping. A wide smile slowly spread across my face.
"I'll just text him." he added, making my shoulders drop and wiping the smile off my face.
Great. Really fun to talk to this guy. I should drag him back to the hospital. Maybe beat him up and say his enemies did it. When asked who, I'll just mention the tukmol gang and the always-hungry crew.
Jay-jay gang and corporation.
I was forced to stay quiet and leaned back in my seat. This brother has zero chill.
It's not like I'm lazy to study… well, that's part of it—that's just part of being a student—but the real reason is, the school might suspend classes once they realize the real goddess has returned.
Charot.
I think they gave me the wrong meds in the hospital.
I'm still super embarrassed about the Ulupong incident. The way I acted when their King needed help. After he saved me, I turned my back on him when he needed someone. I was completely useless in that moment.
Aries parked the car and I almost wrapped my seatbelt around my neck to avoid getting out.
"Let me stay here for a bit." I pleaded.
"Out." he said with a threatening tone.
"Later."
"I'll call Kuya."
And just like that, I was out of the car before he even moved. I slammed the door shut.
"Whatever! Taurus isn't speaking to you!" I shouted and quickly walked away.
I looked up at the huge building in front of me before finally walking in. Why don't I feel happy that we're now in the new building? I liked our old, trashy one better. Even if it was full of junk, we were happy there.
I walked in with a scowl and immediately caught the attention of students from other sections.
That's another issue. The whole building is crawling with enemies. What if they suddenly decide to attack us all at once? Ganging up on us.
I kept going up the stairs to our floor. I couldn't stop thinking—they might target us now that we're closer to them. Maybe dump garbage on us again. Or worse, push us while we're on the stairs!
I ran into two girls from Section B. They were laughing and lightly nudging each other. Probably a tactic to push me. Next thing I know, they'll go full shove.
Better beat them to it!
I suddenly raised both hands in the air and lifted one leg like I was doing martial arts.
"You won't bully me!" I shouted at them.
They were clearly shocked and backed away. They kept staring as they continued going down the stairs.
"Isn't she from Section E?"
"Crazy."
I still heard them as they hurried away. They probably couldn't believe I outsmarted them.
Ha! That's me!
I kept climbing up. Another group approached—this time boys. If I'm not mistaken, they're from Section D. Real enemies.
I started punching the air and threw a kick that didn't really reach them. They were all shocked, one even fell down in surprise. Others grabbed onto whoever was beside them.
"What was that?!" one of them said.
"You can't handle me!" I shouted, pretending to kick them again. They all scattered in different directions.
"What's her problem?!"
"I think she's gone crazy."
"Psycho! Who is that even?"
They disappeared from view. The rest of the students nearby quickly left and changed direction. Good. Stay out of my way.
Thanks to that, I reached our room quietly. They probably thought I couldn't be messed with.
Smart move, me. Smart move!
I was about to open the classroom door but hesitated. What if I'm not welcome anymore? What if they won't accept me because of what I did to their King? What if… haizt!
Whatever happens, happens.
I opened the door. Nothing much had changed. Everyone was still goofing around, chatting, messing with each other. Even though I didn't want to step in, I had no choice.
I was expecting them to ignore me or maybe even throw mean comments. But the moment I stepped in—
"Good morning, Jay." said Denzel while chatting with Josh, who gave me a nod.
"G-good morning." I replied awkwardly.
They greeted me like nothing had happened. Or maybe it was just them? Maybe the others were still mad.
"You're early, Jay." said Drew while walking to his seat.
"Hello Jay!" Eren greeted cheerfully, loud enough for the others to look at me and wave.
I shyly raised my hand to wave back.
"Jay-jay!" Ci greeted me with a wide, gum-showing smile.
I quickly walked to my seat and dropped my bag.
"Why do you look like that?" she asked.
She probably noticed how anxious I was.
"A-aren't they mad at me?"
She shook her head. "No. Why would they be?"
"Because… that thing I said… during Keifer's incident?"
She stared at me for a moment, like she was trying to remember. Then she started nodding once she recalled.
"That? It's fine. Everyone understood. Yuri explained that you have a fear of blood, that's why you reacted that way."
I finally breathed a sigh of relief. I really thought they were mad at me because of that.
I slumped on my desk. These past few days have been so exhausting. But overthinking is worse—especially when you have no brain to begin with.
That must be some kind of illness.
I looked over at Ci-N who was busy playing with small toys on her desk. I wanted to ask her if she had any news about their King.
I thought of messaging him too, but I didn't even know what to say.
Plus, doing that would just make me look desperate.
I let out a deep sigh, but my thoughts were interrupted when a peanut skin landed on my table. I picked it up and examined it. I quickly looked around to see where it came from and saw Kit eating nearby. Mayo was sitting beside him, his back turned toward me.
I walked over to them and returned the peanut skin. Kit smiled at me.
"Want some, J?" Kit offered.
"Don't give her any," Mayo interjected and moved the bag of peanuts away.
"Then don't! Shove it down your lungs!" I snapped.
Kit quickly gave him a light smack on the head.
"You don't get to be stingy. I brought those."
I laughed right in his face. He was clearly annoyed at me—idiot—witch—jerk—whatever he is!
I sat on the chair in front of Kit, grabbed some peanuts, and started shelling them. I piled them in one corner before eating. Shell-eat-shell-eat is tiring. I prefer shell-pile-shell-pile-eat.
"What made you bring these, anyway?" I asked as I continued shelling.
"He loves peanuts," Mayo said with a teasing grin. "But he prefers hotdogs even more."
Kit immediately swung his leg to kick him. I just stared at them, confused as to how hotdogs suddenly entered a peanut conversation.
"That hurt!" Mayo complained, rubbing the side where Kit's kick landed.
"Get out of here before I hurt you more," Kit threatened.
"Why are you kicking me out? Who's the real annoyance here?" Mayo suddenly pointed at me.
"Why me?" I protested.
"Want a flashback?" he asked sarcastically.
"Cut it out! That's over. You already got your revenge, didn't you? You slapped him." Kit reminded him.
"That wasn't enough. That guy deserves daily slaps." Mayo's reply silenced me.
"You still haven't moved on? I got kidnapped and you all saved me, and this is still your issue?" I asked seriously.
"Mayo, stop it," David chimed in. I didn't realize he'd been listening.
So he's awake? I thought he was asleep.
Others around us started looking over after David spoke. Even Ci-N stopped playing and turned her attention to us.
"Can you blame me? What happened caused big problems between us," Mayo said.
"You think it didn't hurt me too? I was devastated, especially after you all betrayed me," I said.
"He should be the one getting slapped—for messing with you like that," Kit added.
Mayo looked away, but David glared at him, making him face me again. He took a deep breath and leaned his cheek toward me.
"Here. Slap me. Get your revenge."
I raised my hand, but instead of slapping him, I just gave him a gentle tap.
"That's enough. Don't think about it anymore. I deserved it," I said with a small smile.
I saw the anger in his eyes soften. Sure, Mayo can be a jerk, but he's also been someone who defended me before—even if we fought a lot.
Kapour!
"If only I had thought more about what I said back then, maybe you all wouldn't have fought." I added. Kit quickly smiled at me.
"But we probably would've still fought in the end once they found out the truth. It's better it came from me."
"So we're good? No more slapping?" Mayo asked.
"I'll do the slapping now," Ci-N suddenly appeared in front of us.
Before Mayo could respond, Ci's palm had already landed on his face. She clapped happily as she walked away after the slap. We were all too stunned to speak. That's when I noticed a line had formed—those sneaky Ulupong.
"Let me slap him!"
"Me too! Me too!"
"Make it hard!"
"You idiots—!" Mayo tried to respond, but someone slapped him again.
He tried to fight back, but more slaps kept coming—some landed squarely on his face, his forehead, and even his chest.
The Ulupong were having the time of their lives. After all the slapping, Mayo's head fell onto the table, limp.
"It hurts…" he sobbed, looking at Kit. "Rub it, please. It really hurts."
The poor guy was literally in tears.
Kit ignored him and continued shelling and eating peanuts. I nudged him and pointed to Mayo.
"He said rub his face," I told him. Kit frowned.
"Not the face," Mayo clarified. "Down there—."
Mayo went flying. Literally. He nearly crashed into the next table. Kit had kicked him hard to shut him up.
I didn't even catch the last thing he said, so I just let it go. I went back to piling my peanuts but stopped when I noticed the pile I had been working on was gone.
I immediately looked under the table, thinking I may have knocked them over without realizing, but there was nothing. It was clean, like a vacuum had sucked them away.
"Did you see the pile I made?" I asked Kit, but he just shook his head.
"Not on the floor?" he asked back.
"Nope," I replied, and was about to ask Mayo—who was dusting himself off—but his eyes were still fixed on Kit the whole time.
"Darn it! Someone stole from me!"
"Who took my peanuts?!" I asked angrily.
The goofballs laughed. They probably thought I was joking. But I'm serious! I collected those peanuts!
"Who took them?! Fess up!"
The idiots just laughed louder. "Who's the peanut thief?"
"It's Eren!"
"I didn't take any peanuts!"
"Damn it! I worked hard for those!"
"Just give back Jay-jay's peanuts!" said Mayo, but it ended with a loud laugh.
"Maybe it's Kit's peanuts. They really belong to Kit. Jay-jay only asked for some."
The shameless bunch burst out laughing again.
"Give back Kit's peanuts," Eren added and laughed hysterically. "Kit's got peanuts! Moron!"
These guys are so annoying!
They wouldn't stop laughing. I saw David turning red as he glanced at me. He quickly looked away when he noticed I caught him staring.
Just as I was about to shout some serious curses, Sir Alvin entered the room, smiling warmly at us.
I went back to my seat, frowning. All that effort collecting peanuts—wasted.
"Are you enjoying your new classroom?" asked Sir Alvin.
"We would, Sir..."
"...especially if the aircon worked," someone added.
They all pointed at the big air conditioner at the back. It looked old and probably broken, so I never expected much from it.
"Ah, that?" Sir pulled something out from his drawer.
It was a white remote. He pointed it at the aircon and pressed a button. The unit roared to life and started blowing cold air.
We all cheered a loud "yes" in unison. It felt so refreshing—we didn't have to suffer with just one ceiling fan anymore.
"So the remote was just there all along," said Ci-N. I noticed he was chewing something. He was digging into his shirt pocket and putting stuff straight into his mouth.
I stared closely—my nostrils flared in anger.
"You stole it, you rascal!" I said, ready to smack him, but he dodged quickly.
Turns out, he was the one who took the peanuts I had collected from Kit. Since I only asked for them, technically, they still belonged to Kit.
"Just wanted a few," he said with a fake innocent face.
A few? You took them all!
"Wow, you really went for it," I muttered and reached for his pocket.
We were all distracted when the door opened again. Yuri entered, her hair a mess. One lens of her glasses was foggy, and her uniform was wrinkled and unkempt.
"S-sorry I'm late," she said, bowing to Sir before heading to her seat.
My eyes followed her. She had never been this late before, and she never looked this disheveled either. She immediately tried to fix her hair as she sat.
Our eyes met when she turned toward me. She gave me a quick smile. I didn't hide the concern on my face, but she made sure to smile sweetly, assuring me she was okay.
I was forced to face forward again even though I had so many questions.
"That's the first time she's shown up like that," David said, not looking at me.
I nodded subtly. It's true. I couldn't help but worry about what might have happened to her. Her mom was always so careful, making sure everything was in order. She usually arrived with neat clothes and a tidy appearance—but now her uniform was all wrinkled.
Something bad must have happened.
"Keifer's still not here?" Sir suddenly asked, making my heart skip a beat.
Tsk! Sir! Don't say bad words!
Just hearing his name makes me feel weird already. This isn't good! What if my heart suddenly decides to quit on me?
I'm not ready to lose my heart yet.
"Still not here, Sir," answered Felix.
Sir just nodded while checking his records. I noticed he stole a glance at me, his smile mischievous.
"He's been gone quite a while," Sir muttered.
"Ms. Mariano?"
Whut?
"What? Sir?! Why are you asking me?! How would I know about that guy?! Why would I care?! Maybe he extended his vacation! I don't know anything! Let him stay there! Good riddance! Maybe he's got a girl there and can't leave! He's probably happier there! And we're happier here! Happy-happy! Maybe he's friends with James Bond now!" I rambled, almost out of breath.
I scratched my head. Okay, that was a bit much.
"Let's just leave him alone. Maybe he's just... uh... his back... he has... something..." I said while awkwardly pointing to my back.
I couldn't say he got shot.
Sir might start asking questions I don't want to answer.
I heard quiet chuckles from the Ulupong gang—and even from Sir Alvin. I frowned. I said so much, and none of it had anything to do with his actual question.
Wait, what was Sir asking again?
"Sorry, Sir, what were you asking again?" I said, scratching my head.
"I was just asking if you're okay. You just got discharged from the hospital, right?" he said, smiling annoyingly.
Oh. That's what he meant. I thought it was about Keifer.
"I'm okay now, Sir. Alive and kicking!"
And then I heard the goofballs laugh again. I glanced behind at a few of them.
Felix coughed—except it wasn't just a cough.
"Miss cough him cough!" he said.
I gave him a deadly glare, but he just smiled at me—wide and smug.
You little pests!
"I don't miss him!" I defended myself.
"We never said it was you," Felix replied with a teasing grin.
"Oops! Now we know!" Rory shouted, and the entire group erupted in laughter.
"You little shits!" I shouted, my eyes wide with fake rage.
They laughed even harder. I looked at David for help, but he was laughing with them too.
"You're just hungry, Jay," said Eman, so I turned to him.
"Hungry for Keifer's love," he added, and that set everyone off again like a pack of hyenas.
You're all insane!
Before I could get too mad over their teasing, I took a secret glance at Yuri again. I couldn't stop myself from worrying.
But she didn't seem bothered. It was obvious she was lost in thought. She even missed her glasses falling off.
"That's enough. Let's get started," said Sir Alvin, pulling my attention to the front again.
I wanted to look at Yuri again. I wanted to go to him and ask if he was really okay.