Jay-jay's POV
"What now? Still nothing?" I asked Keifer.
The idiot didn't answer. I'd been waiting for days for his plan to catch the culprit.
But until now—nothing! I was waiting for nothing. I was getting frustrated.
I felt like Ci-N would never go back to the way she was before.
The money in my bag was just sitting there, rotting. I was even tempted to spend it.
But every time, Ci's face would pop into my head.
"If you really don't have a plan, just say so."
"Tss."
Damn it!
What the hell am I supposed to do with that 'Tss'? If only it was useful.
"Ugh!" I huffed and walked away from him.
I went back to the room to check on Ci-N.
He seemed even worse now. He didn't want to talk to anyone anymore.
"Jay… There's really nothing," Eren told me.
I had already asked for their help to bring Ci-N back to normal. But they were close to giving up.
So frustrating!
I couldn't just sit here and watch Ci-N like this. I had made up my mind!
I was going with my original plan.
I grabbed the money from my bag and quickly walked out of the room.
Keifer saw me, but I didn't wait to hear what he had to say.
My destination was the main building. But before I even got there, I saw Aries and his group heading to the cafeteria. Section E students weren't allowed in the cafeteria!
I might get some serious punishment for this. But I had to do it! Screw it—whatever happens, happens!
I walked straight into the cafeteria. The moment I entered, the whole place fell silent. I don't care about any of you!
I marched up to Aries' table, and they all stopped talking and turned to me.
"E students aren't allowed here!" Freya immediately said.
But I only focused on Mykel. I threw the wad of cash at him.
"What the—" He didn't even get to finish.
"That's the money you gave that girl!"
"Why are you giving it back to me?" Mykel asked.
"Maybe Ci-N felt guilty, so he returned it," Freya butted in.
"No. Ci-N didn't steal that money… I did!"
Aries chuckled. "Trying to be a hero again for Section E?" He crossed his arms.
"Jay… Don't do this. The girl pointed at Ci-N," Kiko said.
Even you?
"But she didn't actually see Ci-N take it! Because I was the one who took it and handed the bag to Ci! She just didn't notice that it was me who gave it to her!" I explained.
Accept my explanation, you bastards!
"How did you know there was money in the bag?" Aries asked directly.
Oh, crap.
"I-I overheard her and her boyfriend talking about it!"
I can do this. Just make up a story. Maybe I can get away with it. For Ci-N!
"Why did you take it? Kuya could've given you money if you needed it," Aries asked again.
Ugh, can he just shut up? Why is he getting involved? He's cornering me!
"I was embarrassed to ask Kuya! And I was tempted by the money!" My voice started to rise.
Get it together, Jay!
"You sound defensive," Freya said.
This one should just stop talking. Nothing she says is even relevant! She's just being annoying!
"How much was the money?" Mykel asked. "...The amount you stole."
"20,000," I quickly answered.
"But this one is 25,000," Mykel said, waving the money in the air.
"B-because you gave 25,000 to that girl! I don't want to owe you anything!"
Mykel smirked.
"If that's what you want… then fine. You're the thief!" Aries said.
"Really?!" I said smugly and immediately walked out of the cafeteria.
I needed to get back to the room. I had to think of what to tell Ci-N.
Excuses and explanations.
But when I entered the room, everyone was gathered around, holding their phones.
They all turned to look at me.
"What were you thinking?!" Keifer snapped.
"W-why?"
"You were on a Facebook live." David showed me his phone.
Crap!
From where I was standing, I could see who recorded it. It was Freya's account. That witch!
My heart was pounding. I didn't expect this. But I had to be ready—I chose this.
"Why did you do that, Jay? You put yourself in danger," Ci-N asked worriedly.
I smiled at her. "Because I want you to go back to being yourself."
"But what about you? What will people say about you now?"
"I don't care about them. Me? I can handle this!"
I've been through worse than this. I don't care what anyone says.
I knew I might get in trouble for what I did. And with Grandma coming soon, there was no way she wouldn't find out. I'd just have to prepare myself for what she had to say.
"Thank you, Jay..." Ci said, smiling at me.
I smiled back, letting him know that I was okay.
For now…
Aries's POV
"I got thousands of views and comments." Freya bragged.
"Why did you even have to post it?" Kiko asked irritably.
Concerned?
"She needs to learn a lesson—that meddling comes with a heavy price." Mykel said.
I wanted to complain about what they did. It would have been fine if only the whole school saw it.
But even outsiders had access to it. It probably already reached Kuya.
But they had a point. Jay needed to learn to stop interfering.
"Are we getting Jay suspended? She entered the cafeteria even though it was forbidden." Mykel asked.
"No need. She's already going to suffer enough from what's coming."
"What the fvck?!" Freya suddenly cursed. "...Someone deleted the video!"
"You deleted it?!" Mykel asked angrily.
Freya rolled her eyes. "I said someone, didn't I?" she replied sarcastically.
"But it's your account! No one else could've deleted it except you!" Mykel countered.
"Unless it was hacked," I said nonchalantly.
Freya's expression shifted to panic, and she immediately started typing on her phone.
"That's karma..." Kiko muttered.
One of these days, I need to talk to this guy and clear things up about Jay.
Keifer's POV
"Successfully deleted!" Edrix announced.
This guy was really a genius when it came to computers. We were lucky to have him with us.
"Freya's probably throwing a fit right now," Yuri said.
"Is Ci-N okay now?" I asked them.
"He's doing a bit better, but he's still worried about Jay," Kit answered.
"Do you have a plan? We're not just going to let Jay-jay take all the blame, right?" Yuri said.
I looked at him, confused. Why do I smell something weird?
Smells like… worry? Concern?
"I'll talk to Ci-N about it," I answered briefly.
"Hahaha… Freya's trying to get her account back." Edrix laughed.
"Give it back already... She might cry," Kit teased.
"Should I?" Edrix asked me for permission.
I just nodded. I had no use for her account anymore.
It's not like her face was worth looking at.
It was just full of her nonsense anyway.
Jay-jay's POV
Ci-N was okay now. Not completely, but at least we could talk to her. He could even smile a little. We were walking out of the school. I had already prepared myself for this.
"So it really was her, not Ci-N."
"She had no shame. She used Ci."
"I feel sorry for Ci-N."
"She should be expelled."
I clenched my fists. I thought I was ready. But I couldn't help getting annoyed.
"Are you okay, Jay?" David asked me.
I just smiled in response.
We parted ways once we got out of the gate. They had somewhere else to go before heading home, so they couldn't walk me back.
I stopped by the Mini Mart. I wanted ice cream—to lighten my mood a little.
"Welcome to Mini Mart!" the cashier greeted me.
I just smiled at her and went straight to the fridge to grab my ice cream.
After picking what I wanted, I went back to the cashier.
She kept glancing at me while scanning my items.
"98.50 pesos," she said.
I handed her the money. I was about to leave when she stopped me.
"Miss… If it's okay, can I check your bag?" she asked.
I looked at her in confusion. "For what?"
"Ah… W-well..."
I already knew why.
This was part of what I did, so I should've prepared myself for things like this.
"And if I don't agree, what are you going to do?" I challenged.
"Miss… I-it's just..."
"You have CCTV cameras, don't you? Why don't you check them?"
She quickly turned to her computer and reviewed the footage.
Then she looked back at me. "S-sorry, Miss."
I stared straight into her eyes.
"A piece of advice—though I don't consider you a friend, nor would I ever want to be—don't be so quick to judge. Maybe you saw that video, but you weren't there to know the full story."
I didn't wait for her response. I felt like I was about to cry.
Now I knew how Ci-N felt.
And this was just one person. What if it was the whole school? I might not be able to handle it.
But it's okay… I'm okay.
And all of this… is okay.