Jay-jay's POV
Boring!!!!!!!!!!! So boring! Super boring! We don't have a teacher. Maybe they've lost the motivation to teach our section. These useless idiots.
I'm so mean! Just kidding, of course. But three teachers already haven't shown up for our class.
"Is there a meeting?" I asked David, who was playing on his phone.
"They said there is..." he answered, bored.
What the heck?
It almost feels better when we have problems to deal with. At least we're busy and restless figuring things out.
Just kidding!!!
I actually want a break from all those problems. I haven't even reached the second exam yet, and we've already been through so much. I also need to clear my mind. I have problems at home too. Before Grandma left, she clarified what the Twins had been saying.
Apparently, 'Ex-BF' has woken up. But he still hasn't recovered. He can't even speak properly yet. Those damn Twins really scared me on purpose. Twins, you animals!
Kkkrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnggggggg!!!!
Lunch time. I should be excited since I can finally eat, but I'm still bored.
I was about to walk to our usual spot when Keifer blocked my way.
I arched a brow. What does he want?
"What?"
"I was going to collect the payment." He held out his hand.
Shoot! The 25k I borrowed.
I forced a smile. I had to act nice to the collector.
"I don't have it yet..."
"When do you plan to pay me back?" he asked calmly.
Out of all the people who collect debts, he's the only one who isn't mad. It's actually nice to owe money to someone like this.
I scratched my head. "I don't know yet."
"Tss."
There it was—the infamous 'Tss.'
He still didn't move out of my way. Some of our classmates were already watching us, pretending not to care but clearly paying attention.
Then, Keifer suddenly smirked. That mischievous grin that tells you he's cooking up something ridiculous in his head.
"If you don't have money to pay me back, you can pay me with something else." He said it while looking at my chest.
My eyes widened. I immediately crossed my arms over my chest and leaned away from him.
Pervert!
"You don't want to?" he asked, his voice laced with teasing.
Oh, you piece of sh—
"You idiot!"
He suddenly laughed. The other idiots who overheard us started laughing too.
"Stupid. I'm just messing with you." he said.
This damn Keifer! But I'll admit, my heart pounded a little faster. This devil, the king of all idiots.
"You're annoying! You know that?" I said, rolling my eyes.
"Tss. Just pay me back with food." He suddenly said.
"Food?"
"Pack me lunch, like what you do for Ci-N and David."
Oh, that actually sounds like a good idea. At least I wouldn't have to worry about finding money to pay him back. Nice! Nice!
"Until when?" I asked.
"Until graduation."
So demanding!
"You're lucky, huh?"
"You owe me 25k. If you had just listened to me, that money wouldn't have ended up with Mykel." he scolded.
"Convert all that nagging into the food I'll use to pay you back!"
"25 pesos per lunch pack." he said, crossing his arms.
"What?! Where do you even find rice and a meal for 25 pesos?!"
"It's on promo! Student meal."
The nerve… a promo, really?
"150 per lunch pack!" I said.
"50." he haggled.
"150."
"60." he countered again.
This guy is so stingy! And yet, he always throws around huge amounts of money.
"150! That's final! No more bargaining!"
"Tss. You're going to cheat me!"
"I won't! It'll be worth it, you'll see."
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and took a deep breath.
"Start today. Hand over your lunch!" he said and suddenly snatched my bag.
"Hey! What… the hell?!"
I didn't let him, trying to pull my bag back. But the devil, the idiot, was too fast! He smacked my hand, making me let go.
"Ouch!"
"Tss."
He opened my bag and grabbed one of my lunch boxes. He checked what the dish was before giving my bag back. I shot him a glare. Before he could pull another stunt, I turned away and walked toward our usual spot.
But I stopped when I saw Yuri standing near the stairs, holding a paper bag.
"Yuri. What are you doing there?" I asked.
He averted his gaze, and I noticed his cheeks turning red. He even rubbed the back of his neck.
"A-uh... I-I was hoping to eat with you." he answered.
Pfft! That's all?
"Then let's go... The two of them are already waiting for us."
I started walking up the stairs, and Yuri followed. Sure enough, Ci-N and David were already there, seemingly teasing each other.
"You took so long—woah! Why is Yuri here?" Ci-N asked, a bit overdramatic.
"He said he wanted to eat with us."
I sat on the steps, right next to where David was sitting.
I tapped the step beside me. "Sit here."
Yuri didn't move. "Is this really where you guys hang out?"
"We were supposed to move to the second room at the end, but Calix kicked us out. He said that room was only for him and Mica." Ci-N explained.
We were actually going to move there, but then Calix said it was exclusively theirs. Mica was fine with it, but that guy was just being difficult.
"Selfish!" Ci-N shouted.
"Hey! I can hear you!" Calix retorted.
We just laughed. These guys were ridiculous, fighting over a hangout spot.
I handed David and Ci-N their lunch boxes. I was supposed to share with them since Keifer took mine, but I didn't want them to go hungry.
These two have huge appetites. My own stomach can just deal with it—maybe it can just eat whatever's inside me instead.
Yuri sat beside me and handed me the paper bag he was holding.
"What's this?" I asked.
"A bomb." he replied.
I shot him a glare. I was asking nicely! This guy is impossible!
"Just open it." he ordered.
I did as he said. Two packs of sushi!!! My heart jumped with joy! I'd never had sushi before.
It looked like takeout from some fancy sushi restaurant. So rich!
"Is this for me?" I asked, filled with excitement.
"No. I just wanted you to open it for me."
My smile vanished. My heart sank.
You demon! How could he do this to me? Unbelievable! He's making me want to cry.
"Hahaha... Just kidding. One of them is really yours."
But I needed to be sure. This guy is always messing around. Totally abnormal!
"Really? Are you serious?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed one pack, opened it, picked up a piece of sushi, and shoved it into my mouth.
"Believe me now?" he asked.
Since my mouth was full, I just nodded.
He started eating. Ci-N tried to ask for some, but Yuri refused to share.
So stingy!
This sushi is amazing! The sauce is a bit spicy, but it's delicious.
"What made you decide to eat with us, anyway?" I asked Yuri before taking another bite.
"N-nothing really. I just didn't want to eat in the classroom."
"Oh, good decision! I'm sure there wouldn't be anything left for you if you ate there!"
"Yeah... I think so."
"By the way, why did you guys stop our classmates from going to the cafeteria?" I asked, making Yuri and Ci-N go silent.
Oh no!
I talk too much. I think my mouth lost its filter, and I just blurt things out. But Yuri didn't seem bothered.
"Keifer and I agreed on that. It's better if they don't get involved in our fight with Aries." he explained.
"So, it was really just the two of you who banned Section E from the cafeteria?"
"At first... Yes, we did. Then, it seemed like Aries heard about what we did, and he completely prohibited the E students from the cafeteria."
Wow! So Aries was the real villain here. And I just realized something… Ci-N is really bad at explaining things. He already told me about this before!
"Jay..." Ci-N called me. "...whose side will you take if Keifer and Aries fight again?"
I fell silent. Whose side would I take?
Aries is my blood relative. He's mad at me and doesn't seem to want to reconcile. But it still feels wrong not to take his side.
What if he's actually in the wrong?
Wouldn't it be worse to support something that's wrong?
Suddenly, I was confused. I wasn't even sure who was right in their fight. But even so, it still felt wrong to take the side of someone who was in the wrong.
Ugh... Headache!!
"I don't know... I'm confused!" I answered Ci-N.
"You don't have to choose. You've been caught in our mess for so long. No matter who you side with, the ending will be the same. You'll still get hurt." Yuri explained.
Is it just me, or did his words mean something deeper? Like there was some hidden message behind them?
Did he mean something else?
Ci-N averted his gaze. David remained silent. Yuri's eyes were fixed on me.
"H-how do you know that?"
"You're in Section E, where we are. Aries is your blood relative. Do you really think you're not caught up in our mess?"
I couldn't answer.
It felt like that wasn't the answer I wanted to hear. But maybe that was exactly what Yuri wanted to tell me.
Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't.
Or maybe… it was just how I felt.