Jay-jay's POV
Lunchtime. I was dragging Ci-N by his collar. I just needed to talk to this kid.
"Let me go..." Ci-N whined like a sulking seven-year-old.
I let go of his collar but immediately wrapped my arm around her neck.
"Ouch!" she yelped.
"You idiot... You almost got me in trouble earlier."
"S-sorry... A-ahh, that hurts."
I let go of her right away but not before giving her a hard flick on the head.
Such a troublemaker.
"That hurt!" she complained, rubbing her head.
"Oh, really?! I wasn't aware," I replied sarcastically.
She pouted, looking embarrassed. I felt a little bad.
She's lucky she's cute.
"Are you buying something from the cafeteria?" I asked.
She perked up at my words and immediately smiled. The usual smile.
"Sure," she said with a nod.
We started walking toward the cafeteria. Ci-N kept humming the whole way.
Tsk! She really is a kid!
"Ci-N, how old are you?" I asked.
"Uhm… I'm 14," she answered with a smile.
I suddenly stopped in my tracks.
She should only be in first-year high school. She really is a kid—three years younger than me.
"Then how are you in fourth year?"
"Uh... How did that happen again...?" She paused, thinking. "I just took an exam when I was in fourth grade, and they placed me straight into first-year high school," she explained.
Accelerated?
"Then how did you end up in Section E?"
"Ahh, hahahaha... I kissed my pretty classmate," she answered, smiling again.
Oh, so this one's a hokage (smooth playboy), huh?
"That's it?!"
"Then she punched me, and things got messy... Since I started it, I got sent to Section E. Haha."
"See? That's what you get for using ninja moves."
She scratched the back of her head but was still smiling. I couldn't help but smile too. Her energy was contagious.
We continued walking.
When we reached the cafeteria door, we stopped in our tracks. A notice was posted on the door:
"ALL Section E students are NOT ALLOWED inside!
P.S. That includes you, girl!"
All of Section E?! And I was included too?!
Damn it! Of all days, why did this have to happen when I didn't bring lunch?!
"What now, Jay? Even you can't go in," Ci-N said.
Are you kidding me?!
Maybe they're just bluffing. Maybe this rule doesn't actually apply to me yet.
I reached for the door handle, but Ci-N stopped me.
"Don't even try. You don't want to find out what punishment they'll give you for breaking that rule."
"Tsk! What if the rule doesn't apply to me yet?"
"It does… From the moment you set foot here. They didn't stop you before because you're a transferee and didn't know about Section E's cafeteria issue yet."
I narrowed my eyes at her.
"How do you know that?"
She rubbed the back of her neck.
"I overheard Section A talking about it the other day."
Confirmed. This one's a gossipmonger.
Like you're not, Jay?
We walked away from the cafeteria, feeling like we had lost a battle.
We ended up sitting on a bench in front of a big building.
I took a deep breath, resting my elbows on my knees and propping my chin on my hands.
"I'm hungry, Jay..."
"Me too, Ci… I swear, I'm bringing my own lunch next time."
"Oh! Me too! Pack mine too."
I turned to her.
"What?! Lucky you, having someone pack your food."
She pouted at me.
"Come on… No one at home prepares food for me."
"Why? Where are your parents?"
She looked away.
"T-they're both at work..."
"Do you have any siblings?"
"I do… But they're busy too."
She clearly didn't want to talk about her family. She wouldn't look me in the eye, and her voice grew softer with each answer.
"Fine… I'll prepare your lunch too."
She instantly lit up and smiled at me.
That's better.
"You said it, okay?"
I nodded and smiled back at her.
But that moment was ruined when both our stomachs growled from hunger.
Food! Rain down from the heavens, please!
"What are you two doing here?" someone spoke from behind us.
I turned around to look.
It was Rakki. He was smiling at me while brushing back his long hair, but his smile disappeared when he saw Ci-N beside me.
"Hi, Rakki!" Ci-N greeted excitedly.
Hmm? Ci-N suddenly changed. What was that? She seemed full of energy despite being just as hungry as I was.
"Hmpf!" Rakki scoffed at her.
She walked over and sat beside me.
"How are you, Jay?"
"Starving… You?" I replied flatly.
"Why don't you—"
Ci-N cut Rakki off.
"Aren't you going to ask how I'm doing?"
Rakki immediately shot her a glare.
"No! It's obvious you got into a fight!"
"Ahihihi..." Ci-N giggled like a girl in love.
What the hell was that?!
o_O?!
Now I was confused about Ci-N.
Rakki and I had the same reaction.
"Weirdo…" Rakki muttered before turning back to me.
"...You guys haven't eaten yet?"
"Nope… I got banned from the cafeteria just like them," I said, pointing at Ci-N, who was still grinning at Rakki.
"Is that so?"
She glanced at the cafeteria entrance.
"...Give me your money. I'll find a way to fix your problem," she said, holding out her hand.
Though I was confused, I handed over my money.
Ci-N, of course, had no doubts and gave hers as well.
What was odd, though, was how she handed it over—she pressed her palm firmly against Rakki's.
"Ahihihi..." she giggled again, lovestruck.
Is this conversation helpful so far?
"I'll take you on," Rakki threatened, but Ci-N didn't back down.
"What do you want to buy?"
"Rice for me, and maybe menudo for the viand. What about you, Ci-N?"
"Special order for me. It's called 'Rakki,'" he replied with a mischievous grin.
Rakki immediately shot him a glare. "Tsk! Stop fooling around!"
Ci-N chuckled. "Just get me the same as Jay-jay."
Rakki just nodded and quickly walked to the cafeteria.
This was my chance. My chance to dig up some gossip.
"Hey, Ci-N! What was that?!"
"What do you mean, 'what was that'?"
"That thing with Rakki!" I asked irritably.
"Well... She was my classmate before. She's the one I... um... kissed," he explained, his cheeks turning red.
So, he's the real Hokage here!
I squinted at him. "You have a crush on Rakki, don't you?"
He suddenly got all giddy, squirming in his seat like he was on fire. He didn't even need to say anything—it was obvious. He was blushing worse than a girl!
"Get a grip!" I scolded him, noticing the way people were starting to stare.
"This is your fault..." he muttered.
I smacked his arm hard, nearly knocking him off his seat.
"That hurt!" he complained, rubbing his arm. I just rolled my eyes at him.
I saw Rakki coming out of the cafeteria with our food.
"Here you go..." She handed over our orders.
I smiled at her. "Thanks..."
"Thank you, Rakki babe," Ci-N added.
Rakki's eyebrows immediately furrowed, and before she could say anything, I grabbed Ci-N and pulled him away. I nearly tripped from the force of his tugging.
We stopped near the Section E building.
"You idiot," I said, catching my breath, but the shameless Ci-N was still grinning like he'd just won the lottery.
We looked for a place to eat, somewhere safe from food thieves.
We ended up hiding behind a pile of junk, setting up a bench and table. But as we ate, the DAMN MOSQUITOES started biting us! It hurt and itched like crazy!
Of all places, Ci-N just had to pick the mosquito-infested one!
After eating, we went back to the classroom, and I immediately disinfected my bites with alcohol.
The whole class was still avoiding eye contact with me. I looked at Felix, but he also turned away. Did Aries do something to him?
The bell rang, and shortly after, the teacher arrived. The lesson didn't last long since we had P.E. next, and we were given 30 minutes of free time to prepare.
I stood up to go change, but I was shocked when the entire class suddenly started taking off their polos.
I tried to hurry out before I saw anything I shouldn't, but it was too late—they had already taken off their shirts and tank tops.
Oh no. Oh no. Hold on a second.
I was used to seeing shirtless guys, but there were just too many of them.
I bolted out of the room and ran to the nearest restroom to change.
Our P.E. uniform was just jogging pants and a t-shirt, while the guys wore shorts and a t-shirt.
When I returned to the classroom to put away my uniform, I stopped in my tracks.
Some of them were still half-naked.
"Oh, crap..." I muttered under my breath.
It would have been fine if they were just shirtless, but some of them were only in their boxers.
Like Keifer—his skin was so fair, even whiter than mine, and his body was sculpted like a Greek god. A total "Machete" diet!
He and Yuri had similar builds, but Yuri had noticeable scars on his body. He also wasn't as fair-skinned as Keifer.
"Easy on the staring," someone whispered to me, making me jump in surprise.
It was just Ci-N. He was already dressed and grinning at me again. I rolled my eyes and stuffed my uniform into my bag.
"Let's go," he said.
I nodded and followed him.
This was my first time going to the gymnasium.
I just hoped this damn P.E. class would go smoothly.