Jay-jay's POV
Since I enrolled in class a bit late, Sir gave me a copy of the lessons I had missed. Fortunately, their lectures hadn't gone too far ahead yet.
Sir Alvin is an English teacher and also the adviser of Section E. My start in this class section wasn't great, but for now, things have been relatively quiet.
*Tik *Tok Toink
I take it back! I haven't had a moment of peace! A ghost, maybe?
Someone has been throwing paper at me for a while now. Just small, crumpled-up pieces. But whenever I turn around to see where they're coming from, the whole class acts innocent.
What the heck?! What did I even do to you guys?!
We moved on to the next subject, but the same thing kept happening. The paper balls were scattered all around me.
Calm down, Jay. They're just messing with you!
I refocused on the lecture. Just like Sir Alvin, the next teacher also gave me a copy of the previous lesson.
I was busy writing when I suddenly felt something hit my hair. I reached up and immediately felt… something wet?
They had thrown a wet paper ball at me. No need to ask where the water came from. The mouth is the fastest and easiest water source for a person, and the texture was kind of slimy.
Yuck! Ewww!
I quickly grabbed some tissue and alcohol from my bag. Girl scout mode, boy!
The same scene continued through our next classes. Damn it!
As soon as the teacher left, I stood up and faced the entire class, my eyes sharp with anger.
"WHO THE HELL KEEPS THROWING STUFF AT ME?!" I yelled furiously.
No one answered. Just as I was about to speak again, everyone suddenly raised their hands, each holding a crumpled paper ball. Those things were rolled so tightly they were almost the size of an apple.
They were all aimed at me.
I saw Keifer smirking. He stood up and positioned himself like he was about to pitch in a baseball game.
My eyes widened at his stance. What have you gotten yourself into, Jay-jay?!
I swallowed hard and shut my eyes as I saw him throw the first paper ball at me. After it hit my face, the others followed in rapid succession.
"Aaarrggghhh..." I groaned.
It didn't really hurt, but there were so many of them that I couldn't move or fight back. They threw them at me while laughing.
"Keep going! Hahaha!"
"There's still more here!"
"Hahaha!"
I was sure there were only about 15 of them, but why did it feel like over 100 were throwing at me?!
"Arghhh! What the heck?!" I yelled, but of course, it had no effect.
I had no choice but to grab my bag and run out of the room as fast as I could. They kept throwing at me until I made it past the door, but they finally stopped when I completely left.
I didn't stop running until I was far away from the building. They were so mean to me! I should've just ignored that Keifer guy!
Since it was lunchtime, I decided to go straight to the cafeteria. I got in line to buy food, busy looking around, when I suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"That was so funny... Hahaha..." It was Rakki and his classmates.
I immediately turned my back to them.
Why is this line so long?!
"Hey, Rakki..." I heard someone call him. I wasn't eavesdropping on purpose, but I couldn't help listening.
"Wassup, Mykel?" Rakki greeted.
"I heard you met the transferee. What do you think of her?"
That's me, isn't it? They're talking about me.
"Uhmmm... She's pretty and a little noob."
Should I be happy? He complimented me but insulted me at the same time. What even was that?
Why is this line moving so slowly?!
"Hahaha... What do you mean?"
"She went to our section instead of Section E's room." They all suddenly burst into laughter, including Rakki's classmates.
"That's embarrassing..."
Tell me about it!
The line finally moved, and I reached the cashier. I bought two meals, knowing I'd need the extra fuel, plus a big Piattos, Nova, and Cheapy. I had everything packed for takeout because I had no plans of showing my face in Section C. This was too humiliating! After grabbing my food, I walked quickly toward the cafeteria door—only to freeze when I bumped into Aries. My cousin.
His eyebrows immediately furrowed when he saw me. I couldn't move from my spot. I was screwed!
"Hey, Aries! Over here!" Rakki called.
But Aries didn't move either. Neither did I. I felt someone approach us until...
"Jay-Jay? You're here too..." Rakki greeted, then turned to everyone in the cafeteria. "Guys, here's the transferee."
SHe put an arm around my shoulders and turned me to face the crowd. It was too late to resist.
"She's Jay-jay... The one I was talking about earlier." Rakki introduced me.
I just lowered my head. I didn't know who I should be embarrassed for—myself, the people here, or Aries.
Aries had left home as soon as he found out I would be staying with them. We never had a good relationship because of the things I did in the past.
"So, Jay-jay... How's your experience with Section E?" one guy—probably Mykel—asked.
I couldn't answer. I didn't want to tell them that Section E had already ganged up on me. They might think I was snitching.
"I-it's fine... T-they're nice to me," I forced a smile as I replied.
"I think that's a lie. Section E is full of barbarians. They have records inside and outside of school," Rakki commented.
I frowned. Barbaric? That made them sound like monsters!
"No need to worry... Jay will fit well in that section," Aries suddenly said.
I turned to look at him. I had no idea what he meant by that.
I knew I would just end up embarrassing myself more if I stayed here. I gently removed Rakki's arm from my shoulders.
"R-Rakki... I have to go. Sorry."
I didn't wait for their response. I quickly left the cafeteria.
I don't know why, but the atmosphere there felt too suffocating. Maybe it was because I was embarrassed to see Aries.
I used to be a troublemaker at my old school. Since we were a broken family, I rebelled. My grandma took me in to take care of me, hoping my life would turn out better with her, but it had no effect.
Until one day, Grandma had a heart attack because of one of my fights. My aunts got mad at me—except for Aunt Gema, Aries' mother. She was the only one who made me feel that not everything was my fault. Out of shame, I told Grandma I would just leave. Aunt Gema took me in since they didn't have a daughter. I agreed and promised Grandma and everyone else that I would fix my life and myself.
When I arrived at their house, I thought everything would be fine, but Aries got mad when he saw me. He said that if I didn't leave, then he would. Aunt Gema didn't do anything, so Aries left, and we only saw each other here. That was really hard for Aunt Gema—I could feel it, even though she never said anything. If only Aries knew that I had already changed.
Before I even realized it, I had reached the Section E building. Wait! I can't go in there yet. I'm sure they'll mess with me again, and I won't be able to eat properly.
I looked around. I decided to grab a decent-looking table and chair and settled there to eat.
I opened the first meal I had bought.
I also placed a handkerchief over my blouse—just in case something spilled on it. That would be a hassle. Our uniform consists of a simple blouse with a black necktie and a skirt that's two inches above the knee. The necktie indicates what year we are. There are white stripes—since we're in fourth year, there are four stripes.
I had just finished my first meal and was about to open the second one when someone snatched it away. Fast—faster than The Flash.
"I'll take this!" yelled the one who grabbed my meal. I was sure they were my classmate.
I couldn't do anything. My other classmates quickly gathered around and fought over it like a bunch of starving people.
I saw Keifer leaning against the wall, just watching our classmates scramble for food.
"Share some!"
"Give us some!"
"This one's mine!"
Seriously, are they starving? Didn't they have lunch?
"Forgive them, they're just hungry," someone said.
I turned to see who spoke, and he was suddenly beside me. A mushroom? Just popping up out of nowhere? He was one of the guys I talked to earlier—the one with Keifer. His hair was brown.
"I'm Felix," he introduced himself, holding out a hand.
But I ignored him. What does he think this is? Luck? After leading me astray earlier? Tough luck!
I just took out the big Piattos from my bag. I was about to open it when someone snatched it away again.
"Hey! What the—" I yelled.
The thief disappeared, buried under the swarm of starving classmates. What the hell?
What kind of classmates do I have? Vultures? They're worse than eagles when it comes to snatching food.
"Hahaha… Don't bring out any food yet," Felix said.
I glared at him. "What's wrong with your classmates? Starving wolves?"
He laughed at my comment. "Hahaha… Kind of."
I felt like all the energy from my meal had been drained away just from being annoyed with my classmates. They just scattered the wrappers and leftovers all over the ground.
Just hungry, huh?