Jay-jay's POV
"I'm going to slap you!" I threatened Ci-N after he took the bread Kit gave me.
"Just wanted a bite. Don't be stingy," he replied, quickly taking a bite before handing it back.
This idiot, seriously!
"I don't want it anymore! You already bit it!"
The brat just grinned widely—gums and all. He looks like he deserves to have all his teeth pulled out without anesthesia.
"Told you you couldn't resist me," he said as he walked out of the room.
And because he was carrying food, the rest of his fellow misfits followed right after him.
"Share! Share! Don't be selfish!" I heard Eren yell before they all started running like they were chasing down a thief.
I scowled at them. I lost my food. Kit gave that to me. I just went back to where Kit and Mayo were sitting.
"Kit… do you have any more?" I asked, trying to sound pitiful.
"You're always hungry," Mayo muttered under his breath.
Wow. Coming from you.
I gave him a look of mock irritation.
"Maybe Ci-N took it," I said bitterly.
"There's none left, Jay," Kit chimed in. "Someone's been messing with my stuff. Apparently, I'm being robbed of my food."
"Well, obviously not me," Mayo said, avoiding eye contact.
Kit and I exchanged a glance before both glaring at him. Kit kicked him hard, sending him falling off his chair. But Mayo was quick to get back up.
"You keep kicking me! That hurts, you know!" he whined.
"You got a problem?" Kit's voice had a threatening tone.
Mayo returned to his seat like a scolded puppy, shaking his head.
"Nope."
I had no choice but to go back to my seat and sulk. It was already lunch break but we still didn't have food. Eman couldn't cook for us anymore because he wasn't allowed to bring his stuff into the new classroom. So here we were—starving.
Kit brought some food earlier, but it was only enough for a few of us—and that brat took it.
"I'm so hungry," I whispered, burying my face in my arms.
"I'll buy you something," I heard David say, which made me look up at him.
He was rummaging through his bag.
"Where? The cafeteria? You wanna get suspended?" I asked.
He lowered his bag and faced me.
"Better than letting you get sick from starvation."
He was already holding his wallet. Looked like he was serious about buying me food.
I smiled at him. "Aww, how sweet."
"Next time, bring food again—and bring some for me too," he added.
Ah, so that's the catch. He's only buying for me now if I pack food for him next time. This guy...
"It's hard, though. It makes the bag heavy. We should figure out how to sneak Eman's kitchen stuff back in here," I suggested.
"True, Jay-jay's got a point," Blaster jumped in, cradling Josh's cat, Edy, in his arms.
He was even rocking the cat like a baby. Edy just looked at us, flicking his tail.
"Let's just cook the cat. That's siopao right there," said Denzel, reaching for the cat, but Josh immediately smacked him on the head.
"Don't drag the cat into this," Josh snapped.
We all watched them argue. But something started bugging me.
"Wait… are cats even allowed in this building?" I asked, pointing at Edy.
Everyone froze. Then they all turned to Josh, who clearly hadn't thought about that either.
He scratched his head. "I-I think they're not."
He quickly grabbed Edy and walked to the window. He opened it and casually dangled Edy outside.
Then—he let go.
We all screamed in unison. He just dropped the cat like it was a piece of paper.
"You psycho, Josh!" Felix yelled. "What if we're on a high floor?!"
Josh turned back to us like it was no big deal.
"What? It's a cat. It'll land on its feet," he shrugged.
Brilliant reasoning.
"Your friend over here is clearly not right in the head," Drew said, pointing at Josh.
"And you're surprised? You're the same," Denzel replied.
I chuckled a little watching them. I turned to look at David—only to be surprised that he was no longer at his seat. Looked like he left without me noticing.
Didn't even say goodbye.
I turned my attention back to the gang, now arguing about who had the worst case of crazy. It escalated into a full-blown debate about who had the most unhinged brain.
I couldn't really blame Josh for bringing Edy, though. We were used to our old classroom where anything went because no one enforced the rules.
The argument only ended when we heard a shrill scream.
It was getting louder.
We all stood up at once, bracing ourselves for whatever it was.
Is something on fire?
Eman entered the room carrying food and a canned Coke. He was followed by Edrix, hugging a loaf of bread. Then came Rory with a giant pack of fish crackers. And lastly—Ci-N, who turned out to be the source of the high-pitched screaming.
He had a loaf of bread and a bottled Coke pressed against his cheeks as he ran back and forth in front of us.
"CI-N!" I shouted, just to get him to stop.
My ears were in so much pain from how loud and sharp his scream was. He sounded worse than a woman being chased by ten horses—or a fangirl who just saw her idol.
He stopped and looked at us. I thought he was finally going to speak, but instead, he screamed again and started running around all over again.
Then I saw Yuri walk over to him, clearly annoyed that his deep thoughts had been interrupted. He grabbed Ci-N by the collar at the back of his shirt and forcefully sat him down on a chair.
"Ow," Ci-N muttered, pouting.
"My ears hurt," Yuri grumbled, holding one of them.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked Ci-N. He immediately hugged the food he was holding.
"You won't believe it," Eren cut in.
"We bought food from the cafeteria," he announced proudly.
"Enjoy your suspension," Eman said, crossing his arms.
"We're not suspended," Edrix chimed in, now already fighting over the food he was holding.
Hard to believe.
"It's true! That's why we were running back here—to tell you guys," Ci-N said. "Calix is there eating with Mica. Even David's in line to buy something."
For real?
Almost all of us ran out of the room at once. It felt unbelievable—but they actually managed to buy food there. I didn't even know if the rule banning Section E from the cafeteria had been lifted.
Because we were walking together in such a big group, the people we passed by immediately stepped aside. We took up the whole hallway. Even as we left the building, students made way for us.
We all stopped at the cafeteria entrance. We looked at each other.
"Who wants to go first?" I asked.
They all stepped back at once, leaving me alone in front. I turned to face them and gave them a glare.
These jerks. Seriously.
"Why me? You're all grown men but such cowards," I said in frustration.
"You've got someone backing you up. If you get suspended, someone can talk your way out of it. Us? We're doomed," Blaster said.
Fair point.
But the real question was—would Kuya even speak up for me just to stop me from getting suspended? He might kick me out of high school altogether. Probably send me to a convent to become a nun.
And how would that work? I'd burst into flames.
Suddenly, Felix placed both hands on my shoulders and gently turned me to face the cafeteria door.
"You've got this, Jay. We believe in you," he said, giving me a little push.
I nearly fell face-first into the door, but luckily, I caught myself just in time. I looked back at him with a deadly glare—but he just flashed a peace sign.
"Ladies first," Mayo added with a teasing smile. "Ayiee, look at her—so pretty and brave, about to go in."
Enebe?!
I don't know why, but I suddenly burst into laughter. "Cut it out!" I said, pretending to be annoyed.
"You like it," Eman added, laughing at me.
Their teasing continued, and I ended up walking inside just to get them to stop.
I took a step forward, expecting to be stared at immediately or called out—especially by the students from Section A—but nothing happened. I even double-checked if I had entered the right cafeteria.
I walked through the middle of the room, casually glancing around at the other students. But nothing had changed. They just kept eating, chatting, and walking to wherever they needed to go.
I even saw Calix happily talking with Mica.
They're so happy.
I still couldn't understand what was going on. Am I dreaming? It just didn't make sense that we were suddenly allowed in the cafeteria. The rules used to be so strict. Now it was like everything had just… disappeared.
Or maybe it's a trap.
Maybe they're planning to humiliate us.
Maybe they're waiting for us to gather here—and once we're all inside, they'll dump something on us.
AHA!
I immediately raised my fists in the air and started kicking a few times. Some students turned to stare.
"AYA!" I shouted. "You won't fool us!"
Even if I didn't know karate, I was ready to become a martial artist right then and there.
"There she goes again."
"She's totally nuts."
"Isn't that the girl from earlier?"
I could hear some students saying, followed by laughter. I glared back at them.
"What are you doing?" asked David as he approached me.
I ignored him and pretended to punch a guy who was walking toward us—carrying a bowl of soup. I was convinced he was going to throw it at David or me.
His expression showed how shocked and scared he was, and he quickly backed away.
Ha! Beat you to it.
"You have to stay alert. Any minute now, someone's going to dump something on you," I warned, about to walk up to a girl giving me a nasty look—but David stopped me.
"Would you cut it out?" he said, grabbing both my arms. "No one's dumping anything on me here."
"You never know. Maybe that's their plan. Why else would they suddenly let us into the cafeteria?"
"And where did you get that idea?" someone asked.
David and I turned to look at the person who spoke.
There it is! Does he hold my fate in his hands?
I immediately noticed his eyes—first locked on me, then shifting to David's hands, which were still holding my arms.
"Kindly remove your hands off my sister,"
he said with a threatening tone.
David slowly let go of me.
I looked down, facing my brother.
"What were you thinking, flailing around like that? You almost hit someone earlier. What if someone had gotten hurt? You'd be in serious trouble,"
he scolded me.
At least no one got hurt.
"I was just... being cautious, that's all," I answered, sneaking a glance at him.
I noticed his classmates behind him. I hadn't realized how close we were to their table. Ella was shaking her head as she watched us. Freya just stood there, grinning at me.
"You're paranoid. No one's going to do that."
"You don't know that. It could still happen," I insisted.
He sighed deeply.
I could tell he was trying hard to keep his cool, probably because he didn't want to yell at me in front of everyone. Then, he looked at David who was behind me.
"You explain everything to her. I have to go. I've got stuff to do."
"Alright," David replied.
He turned to leave but suddenly stopped and faced me again.
"If you can help it, please don't go wild on the stairs again. You almost got sent to the guidance office earlier."
So he found out about that too...
I was about to explain myself, but he gave me a sharp glare.
So, I shut my mouth and nodded quietly.
One lecture is enough. I don't want to push my luck.
He finally left, followed by his classmates who were clearly teasing me with their chuckles and side glances.
Fine. Laugh all you want!
As soon as they exited, the Ulupong gang came bursting in. They immediately swarmed us.
"So? So? What happened? Are you suspended now, J-ay?" Felix asked excitedly.
I shook my head.
"I think David has something he needs to explain to us," I replied.
We all turned toward David. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at us.
"Let's just buy food first," he said, heading toward the line.
We all followed him right away. The queue moved quickly since there weren't many students left—lunch break was almost over.
After buying our food, we practically sprinted back to the building.
But I had to slow down because of everything I was carrying.
I was gasping for air by the time I got to the stairs, feeling like an old woman with aching hips.
Suddenly, I felt jealous of these Ulupong idiots. They're so full of energy. How do you even get that?
We're together almost every day, but I've never seen those goofballs do anything out of the ordinary to be that strong.
David and I were walking side by side, just a few steps apart.
I wasn't sure if he was walking slowly on purpose or just plain lazy.
Either way, thanks—at least I'm not walking alone.
When we got to the room, the lunatics immediately began eating like they were in a speed-eating contest.
I took a deep breath to recover from all the panting.
Damn it. This is what I get for not exercising.
I walked over to Yuri's table and placed the food down for the two of us.
Good thing I noticed he hadn't followed us earlier. I didn't know what his deal was, but I could tell something was bothering him.
"I'm out of breath," I said as I set down the food. "Come on, let's eat."
I grabbed a chair and dragged it in front of Yuri's table.
"You bought food for me too?" he asked, noticing the double servings in front of us.
"Nope. It's all mine. I just felt like eating in front of you to make you jealous,"
I answered with a grin, which made him smile and shake his head.
"Of course I bought for you. You didn't look like you planned to eat."
"I don't really have the appetite."
"Oh no! Come on, eat with me while we talk. Start the story."
I began eating, but he still hadn't moved.
"Sorry, eating is all I can manage right now. Maybe I'll tell you next time,"
he said, forcing a smile.
I sighed.
I was worried about him, but I didn't want to pressure him.
I let him eat, just as he said.
Since lunch break was almost over, we finished eating pretty quickly.
Well, they did. Because they're all starving monsters.
Yes, just them.
I let out a loud burp after drinking some water. I was stuffed.
I get full so easily from just four orders of rice, fried chicken and pork chop, siomai and dumplings, cupcakes, and cream puffs. I really eat so little.
"Still not enough," I muttered, which Yuri apparently heard.
He nearly choked from suddenly laughing mid-bite.
I gave him a sharp look. "Is something funny?"
He shook his head and kept eating, still chuckling to himself.
That just made me worry more.
He's laughing for no reason now. This is getting serious.
I looked over at the Ulupong gang, who were yet again full of chaotic energy.
They were still causing a commotion, wrestling over food even though they already had plenty. Nothing's changed.
I glanced at Blaster, who was holding some trash.
He walked toward the window, about to throw it out.
"Hey! Blaster!" I called out. He quickly turned around, and the other Ulupong looked at him too.
"Dude! Don't throw that there!" Denzel scolded, grabbing his arm to pull him back.
"We're not in our old classroom anymore, where anywhere could be a trash bin," David said, and I turned to look at him.
"Hey, Dabid!" I called, remembering he still had something to explain to us.
He looked at me, confused. "What?"
"So? Care to explain why we're suddenly allowed to buy from the cafeteria again?"
The Ulupong immediately shifted their attention toward David, who was now staring at me.
He scratched his head before speaking.
"We're allowed to?" he asked innocently.
Damn it, this guy...
I threw my empty water bottle at him, and the others did too.
He just laughed while trying to block them.
"You guys don't have that rule anymore. And you're never getting it back,"
Yuri said firmly.
David just raised an eyebrow at him.
He brushed off his uniform and turned back to us.
"Your brother said he feels sorry for you," David began.
"He said Eman won't be able to cook anymore, so no one's going to feed you."
Oh my... How sweet.
"He said you're basically a starving lunatic and might end up biting people out of hunger,"
he added.
What the hell?
I heard Yuri chuckle under his breath, so I shot him a glare.
"Stop messing around! What's the real reason?" I asked, annoyed.
"That's really what he said."
Well, my brother's something else.
He really can't stand to see me hungry. He probably doesn't want me losing weight either.
"So he just removed the rule you guys made before?" Yuri asked.
"Yeah. He said it's up to us whether we still want to follow it, but he requested that Jay-jay be an exception," David explained.
"Wow, big bro making up for things," Ci-N commented while sneakily stealing some of David's food.
But she got caught and barely avoided a slap.
She pouted and scurried over to me.
"David's bullying me," she whispered.
Poor kid. She looked so pitiful.
"We've suffered under that stupid rule for too long. I'm done with it. Screw it!" Drew said in frustration.
"Me too. I starved for so long because of that," Blaster added.
"I don't think Keifer even cares about that rule anymore," Eren said.
"He only made it for Ella."
He looked at me with a mischievous smile.
"And there's no more Ella now, 'cause we've got Jay-jay."
They all suddenly started yelling like wild animals.
Some of them even banged on the table while Ci-N kept poking my side nonstop.
I made a face and turned my back to them.
And that's when I saw Yuri's sad eyes.
"D-don't mind them," I said, forcing a smile.
He tried to return it, though it was clear he was struggling.