Jay-jay's POV
TRASH! Trash everywhere. Trash here, trash there. Piles of trash filled the entire gymnasium.
"What is this?!" I said in frustration.
I looked at the troublemakers who were kicking trash away from themselves. Edrix and I walked closer to them.
"Jay-jay!" C-in greeted me excitedly while waving.
"Why is it like this here?" I asked him.
He shook his head. "I don't know. It was already like this when we arrived."
Why do I feel like this was done on purpose?
It was disgusting to stay here, not to mention the slightly foul smell.
"We can't stay here!" Drew said, irritated.
I agreed with him. Who could tolerate this mess?
"Section E." Someone called out to us.
When we turned to the entrance, we saw Sir standing there, looking confused at the sight before him. He was carrying his bag and lesson plan. We all rushed toward him.
"Sir! We can't have class here!" I said.
"Yeah, Sir!" Kit agreed.
Everyone started complaining, but then I felt someone grab my arm. I turned to see Yuri, who gently pulled me away from the troublemakers.
"W-why?" I asked him.
"I went to your house, but they said you had already left. Why didn't you wait for me?" There was sadness in his eyes.
I scratched the back of my head. "I rode with Aries." I smiled at him when I remembered what I wanted to tell him. "...we're okay now! We made up!"
He smiled too. "Really?! Congrats!"
But the sadness in his eyes didn't fade. It was as if he was carrying a problem he didn't want me to notice.
"Are you okay? You seem down."
He shook his head. "I was just worried earlier."
I frowned at his answer. Worried? About what?
"Why would you worry? I was just coming to school."
He quickly avoided my gaze. "I-it's about Sato."
But it felt like that wasn't the real reason. I chose to just shrug it off.
"That? You act like you don't know me. I can handle myself." I smiled and playfully hit his arm.
What's bothering him?
I turned my attention back to the troublemakers talking to Sir. We couldn't have class like this. I felt like their discussion would never end.
"Just clean the gymnasium. That's the only way you can stay here and still be taught by the other teachers," Sir explained.
"Sir, seriously?! It was already bad enough that they kicked us out of our room, and now this?!" Eren protested angrily.
Others agreed, but some sided with Sir. And, of course, there were also those who just wanted to stir things up.
"Let's just blow up the other classrooms so they'll have to stay here with us!" suggested the biggest troublemaker of all.
C-in, as always!!
"Yeah, keep up that stupidity," Josh said sarcastically.
The troublemaker immediately glared at him. "If you're so smart, then what should we do?"
"If you're smart, why are you asking me? Why don't you answer that yourself?" Josh retorted.
"Go on, keep arguing. That'll really help a lot," Blaster egged them on.
"Fight! Fight!"
Everyone's attention shifted to the two fools arguing over who was smarter. Their brains must be working overtime.
I smacked my forehead. I was this close to punching myself out of sheer frustration. I was getting stressed! Today was supposed to be a happy day.
"Enough! What we need right now is teamwork," Sir Alvin said, stepping between them.
C-in turned his back on him. I thought he had finally backed down, but then he suddenly started singing.
"What do we need? Teamwork! What do we need? Teamwork!" We all turned to look at him. "...Wonder Pets! Wonder Pets! We're on our way!"
At that moment, I wasn't the only one who face-palmed. Sir and the troublemakers did too. His mental age was really regressing.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," David said as he approached Sir. "...Where's the cleaning supplies?"
"In the storage room with the other equipment," Sir replied, pointing to a door at the far end.
David walked towards it, followed by Eman, Denzel, C-in, Felix, Kit, and Josh. The others wouldn't have gone if they hadn't been pushed forward.
I followed too. We each grabbed a broom, dustpan, mop, and garbage bag before spreading out.
There was so much trash—remnants of food from the Pests—oops, I mean the students of this school. Even the bleachers in the corners of the gym were littered with garbage.
Wasn't it embarrassing enough that we got kicked out of our classroom? And now we had to deal with this mess?
They're so kind. I hope the Lord takes them soon.
"Jay-jay!" C-in shouted, but I didn't turn to look at him. I already had a feeling about what he was up to.
"Look at me! Hurry!" he shouted again. I sighed. He never ran out of nonsense. "Come on! Just look at me!"
So persistent!!!
I took a deep breath before turning to him. And seriously! Oh, my goodness!!
"Aren't I beautiful?!" he said dramatically, even waving.
He wore the garbage bag like a dress. He even tied another one around his head like a headband. He looked completely unhinged with what he was doing. He spun around like he was wearing some extravagant gown.
"Oh no! A crazy person got in here!" Felix shouted, followed by laughter.
"Tch! You're just jealous of my beauty!" Ci-N replied flirtatiously.
"Oh no! He finally lost it!" Calix teased.
"That's the effect of the garbage smell!" Kit added.
That could be true!! The stench was so strong it probably melted his brain.
Laughter erupted among them. Even I couldn't help but laugh. Meanwhile, that Brat—there he was! Strutting like a runway model. He even walked over to David.
"Hi, Dabid." He greeted, batting his eyelashes.
David grimaced at his appearance. "What are you? A trash monster?"
"No." Ci-N twirled before striking a pose with his arms up. "I am a beautiful princess!" he said flirtatiously.
Oh wow, there it is!
David's brows quickly furrowed, and he flicked Ci-N on the forehead with all his strength. The brat immediately protested, holding his forehead with teary eyes.
"You're wasting the garbage bags. Can't you see? We have a lot to clean, and here you are playing around."
Ci-N shot him a glare, but it quickly disappeared, replaced by a sweet smile. He even clung to David's arm and rubbed his cheek against it like a cat.
"You're too hot, Dabid. Chill out. I'll give you a kiss, you want?" he puckered his lips toward him.
There it is! He's really gone now.
David tried to push him away, but the brat clung to him like a leech. We all burst into laughter—well, not everyone.
"Stop that, Ci-N! You're disgusting!" Drew said in annoyance, making us all turn to him.
"He's just joking… let it go." Denzel replied.
"Even so!"
"Do you have a problem with gay people?" I asked, crossing my arms.
He turned to me with furrowed brows, clearly unhappy about suddenly becoming the center of attention.
"N-no… whatever! They're just gross." He turned his back to us.
He continued cleaning as if he wasn't aware that everyone was watching him. I glanced at Kit and Mayo, who exchanged knowing looks.
I just shook my head and went back to work. Luckily, there were a lot of us, so we finished cleaning the entire gymnasium in about an hour.
"There! It's clean!" Sir said with a smile, checking his watch. "...though we won't have time for class anymore."
"Well, what else is new…" Blaster mumbled, but I still heard him.
"I'll just give you a copy of today's lesson so you can still study it." Sir explained. "You might as well use the remaining time to rest."
"Alright, Sir."
"Thanks, Sir."
"Time to relax."
Sir was about to grab the garbage bags, but David stopped him, volunteering for us to handle the disposal. Sir left, still looking worried about us.
I couldn't blame him—we looked like beggars here. I didn't even know why we still bothered coming to school. It was obvious we weren't welcome here anymore.
"I need some help here," David said, but no one paid him any attention. "...come on. A little cooperation."
The idiots continued to ignore him, lost in their own activities. Some were chatting, others playing on their phones. A few even decided to lie down on the bleachers and take a nap.
Wow, amazing! These snakes are so kind.
I saw David glance at Ci-N—who was still in his "fashionable" attire.
"Hey, beautiful princess. Maybe you'd like to help me out?" he said sarcastically.
The brat dramatically flipped his imaginary long hair, rolling his eyes before crossing one leg over the other.
Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous.
I let out a deep sigh, stood up, and walked over to David.
"I'll do it. It's obvious you can't expect anything from them."
I grabbed four garbage bags roughly, and David did the same. They were so full that walking was a struggle. We barely managed to squeeze through the entrance with all the trash we were carrying.
The school's original dumpsite was quite far—it was behind the old buildings at the back. David and I walked in silence. Thankfully, it was still class hours, so no students were loitering around.
If they were, we'd definitely be the topic of gossip again.
We arrived at the first-year building—one of the oldest in the school. What was strange was that only one classroom was in use. The rest were either vacant or locked.
"That used to be my room." David said, staring at the building. "I was in second year when I transferred to Section E."
I looked at it too. This building seemed even older than the one where Section E was. This school was obviously targeting us! They had an even older building here, so why were they so eager to demolish ours first?
The people in this school were insane!
I turned back to David. "Why did you end up in Section E?"
He looked back at me before smiling and continuing to walk. I quickly followed.
"There was a big issue in my old section. Some of my classmates were about to be expelled, and others were facing suspension. To keep things from escalating, I took the blame for everything." he explained. "...I also had a backer, so it wasn't a big problem for me."
I nodded, accepting his answer.
"What about you?" he asked. "...why did you end up in Section E?"
I smiled at him. "Because I was too beautiful. They were afraid other girls would feel insecure around me."
That's it!
I heard his soft laughter. He really asked that as if he didn't know I used to be rebellious at my old school. But maybe I was really meant to end up in this section. I don't know! It feels weird.
We arrived at the back of the old building. Who would have thought—they actually have proper waste segregation here. The bottles were separated from the plastic. Biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste were sorted properly.
Then why can't they segregate their students?
I looked around and saw two men organizing the garbage disposal area.
"Where should we drop these off?" I asked David.
"Probably over there." He pointed to a pile of garbage bags in the corner.
We were about to head there when a man suddenly called out to us. David and I turned to him at the same time as he approached us.
"Where did you get those?"
We exchanged glances before answering.
"From the gymnasium."
The man suddenly frowned at us and scratched his head.
"Sorry, but we can't accept that."
Trash that can't be accepted? What is this, some kind of requirement we missed?
"Huh?" My eyes widened at what he said. "Why won't you accept it? Does the gymnasium have its own dumpsite?"
The man suddenly looked embarrassed and bowed his head. If I didn't like his answer, I swear I'd smack him on the back of the head.
"That's what the Guidance Officer told us. That trash is meant for you."
I let go of all the garbage bags I was holding. I couldn't take it! Meant for us? What did they mean by that? That we were garbage and belonged in a dump?
You sons of—!!!
"Kuya!" I yelled at the man in front of us. "...As far as I know, we don't have any problems with each other, but maybe now we do!"
He took a small step back. I wasn't even trying to intimidate him, but—damn it! I was itching to punch someone! This school was seriously testing my patience. Just a little more and we wouldn't have to see each other anymore since we were about to graduate, yet they still did this to us.
"Kuya, this is trash. What, are we supposed to take care of it?" David said. "Just let us leave it here."
He let go of all the garbage bags and pulled out his wallet. He took out some money, which looked to be around five thousand pesos.
"This should be enough to keep you quiet." He added while handing the money to the man.
I suddenly felt like becoming a garbage collector myself.
The man quickly took the money and grinned widely, showing his dark gums and yellowing teeth. At least they were still intact, even though it looked like bacteria were already eating his mouth.
"You can count on me, Sir." The man responded.
David signaled for me to leave. We left the garbage bags in front of Kuya. I really wanted to complain about what happened, but to whom would I even do that?
I couldn't believe it. This school deliberately dumped trash on us. What were they trying to accomplish?
I was frowning as we walked back. My companion remained silent. Maybe he was aware that I was boiling with rage.
Annoying! Such a damn pest!
We arrived at the gymnasium quickly, probably because I was taking huge strides. As soon as we stepped inside, loud shouting echoed throughout the entire building.
I looked to see what was going on. The Snakes were arguing with Section D.
"You're doing this on purpose!" Eren yelled at the girl in front of her.
"We're going to use the gymnasium, so you all need to leave!" said one of the guys.
"This place is huge! Even if more than 200 of you use it, there's still plenty of space!" Mayo replied angrily.
"What now?!" I muttered in frustration.
David and I quickly ran over and stepped in between them.
"What is this?! What is this?! What now?!" I said, standing in the middle of them all.
One of the Section D students turned to me. "You need to leave. We're using the gymnasium."
I looked around the building. The place was huge. If you included the bleachers, the space was enormous.
"Seriously? This place is massive. Why do we have to leave?" I said irritably.
"Isn't it obvious? We can't stand being in the same place as you." one of the girls said sarcastically.
Oh, so that's how it is! Acting like she's all that.
I almost flicked the girl on the forehead. Good thing I remembered what we were actually talking about.
I clapped my hands together. "Would you look at that? We can't stand being around you either! So why don't you just leave instead?"
The girl I had just annoyed rolled her eyes at me. Should I poke them out?
"Miss!" A guy, who I assumed was their president, called out to me. "...This gymnasium is for P.E. classes. Obviously, you're not here for P.E. class. You're just using this place as a hangout because you don't have your own classroom."
What the hell! This guy was pissing me off. I was about to speak when Yuri suddenly stepped in front of me.
"FYI, we're not here just to hang out. The school management placed us here." She crossed her arms, her stance clearly intimidating. "...So if anyone should leave, it's you."
The Section D president let out a mocking laugh. "Don't act so high and mighty, Hanamitchi. You're only acting this way because Watson isn't here."
What does the King have to do with this?
My eyebrows furrowed as I looked at the arrogant fool in front of Yuri.
This section is overflowing with arrogance. If you think about it, they're just a lower section if Section E didn't exist.
Yuri smiled at him—just a normal smile, as if he were only talking to a friend. He removed his arms from their position and placed a hand on the shoulder of the person he was speaking to.
"You're right, Watson isn't here." He leaned in slightly, aligning himself with his ear. "...so no one will stop me if I punch you."
As soon as he said that, he tightened his grip on the guy's arm, forcing him to sit down. Section D immediately became alarmed and was about to move toward Yuri, but David stopped them.
"We can just talk this out properly," he said while standing in between them. "...you can just use the area you need in the gymnasium and let us stay here in the bleachers."
"That's not how it works," said a girl from Section D. "...we're not comfortable having you here."
"Neither are we… we're not comfortable having you here either, but what can we do?" Denzel replied irritably.
"There is something you can do! Leave! End of discussion!"
Once again, the conversation turned into shouting and arguing. It looked like they were about to start throwing punches too. In the middle of their heated argument, I noticed Josh, Eren, Drew, and Blaster walking out of the gymnasium, carrying their bags.
I immediately ran after them because I had a feeling I knew what they were about to do.
"Where are you going?" I asked them irritably.
Eren and Josh stopped, but Drew and Blaster kept walking.
"It's a waste of effort if we keep arguing. It's obvious they want us out of this school," Eren explained.
"Eren's right," Josh added. "...if you haven't noticed, they're just toying with us at this point."
I wanted to argue with them. I wanted to tell them they were wrong. But no matter how I looked at it, that was exactly what was happening. They turned their backs on me and walked away. With slumped shoulders, I walked back into the gymnasium.